At the end of 2012, General Director of the CDS group of construction companies MIKHAIL MEDVEDEV told Social Report correspondent YULIA VLASOVA about the state of the residential real estate market in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region, the company’s plans and priorities, and also gave forecasts for the coming year. BUSINESS GUIDE: What was 2012 like for the CDS? MIKHAIL MEDVEDEV: In 2011, we delivered 190 thousand square meters.

Liberal Democrats are back in power Early elections to the lower house of parliament were held in Japan yesterday, which were won by the opposition Liberal Democratic Party. Voters believed the promises of its leader Shinzo Abe, who already served as prime minister, to solve the country's economic problems. However, to do this, he will have to tone down his nationalist rhetoric, which threatens Tokyo with further aggravation of relations with its neighbors - primarily with China.

An explosion at a market in the Khyber region in northwestern Pakistan killed 21 people. Several dozen more were injured of varying degrees of severity; according to doctors, the condition of some of the victims is critical. Terrorists planted a bomb in a car parked next to a bus stop. The explosion damaged 10 cars and more than 15 shops.

Dossier 533 1 min. ... The Supreme Court is the highest judicial body in civil, criminal and administrative cases. He supervises the activities of courts of general jurisdiction, including military courts, and also advises them on legal issues. It is a higher authority in relation to the Supreme Courts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, as well as district (naval) military courts. The court has the right to initiate legislation in the Federal Assembly.

As of today, the official website of Sverdlovsk Governor Evgeny Kuyvashev, who took office in May 2012, began operating. Unlike the websites of his predecessors Eduard Rossel and Alexander Misharin, the address of Mr. Kuyvashev’s website is not tied to his last name. It is located at gubernator96.ru. As Ilya Ananyev, deputy head of the governor’s administration, added, Mr. Kuyvashev does not yet intend to open accounts on social networks. Nikolay Yablonsky, Kommersant-Online

The growth in retail trade turnover in 2013 will be 5.4 percent, according to the updated socio-economic development forecast released last week by the Ministry of Economy. The figure in the forecast did not change in comparison with the latest version, while the department had to change the forecast for 2012 significantly - from 6.1% to 5.7%.

The column is led by Dmitry Polonsky 10.5 thousand kiosks will remain in Moscow according to the adopted scheme of non-stationary retail facilities, said Alexey Nemeryuk, head of the capital’s department of trade and services. Entrepreneurs will receive the right to lease for three years immediately, without the need for annual renewal, the official promised.

On December 17, the Moscow City Court recognized as legal the extension until March 7 of the arrest of Rustam Makhmudov, accused of murdering Novaya Gazeta columnist Anna Politkovskaya, his lawyer Daria Trenina told RAPSI . Thus, the judicial panel rejected the appeal of his defense, in which she asked to change the preventive measure to one not related to detention. Makhmudov, according to investigators, is the direct perpetrator of the murder.

The Hobbit's first weekend box office grossed a record $84.7 million. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey grossed $84.7 million in the US and Canada over the weekend, breaking the record of $77.2 million set in 2007 by Will Smith's I Am Legend, according to BoxOfficeMojo. Peter Jackson's film grossed a record $84.7 million in the US and Canada in its first weekend of release, leaving I Am Legend behind the previous record holder.

Israeli Foreign Minister resigned to justify himself in court Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman resigned yesterday after the Prosecutor General's Office charged him with “fraud and breach of trust.” However, he expects to quickly prove his innocence in court, return to participating in the election campaign, and, if successful in the January elections, to work in the government.

Opposition has difficulty filling vacancies in commissions The upcoming elections in Moscow and the Moscow region, where elections for regional heads will be held in 2013 and 2015, will be held by precinct election commissions (PECs), formed according to a new procedure for five years. Parties are already having problems recruiting candidates for commission members. Party members note that interest in monitoring elections has dropped sharply.

322 1 min. ... Irina Tyurina, press secretary of the Russian Union of Tourism Industry — Russians have begun to resemble foreign vacation lovers and book tours in advance. So the situation is changing? — Yes, this year they started “buying” the New Year much earlier. On the other hand, everything develops according to a sinusoid. Last year was very sluggish and Christmas sales were poor. And now there’s such a rise. Maybe this is due to market development, and not to mentality.

The Leninsky District Court of Yekaterinburg rejected the complaint of the lawyer of the former editor-in-chief of the Ural news agency Ura.Ru Aksana Panova, Sergei Kolosovsky, against the illegal initiation in November 2012 of a criminal case for extorting 1 million rubles from the general director of CJSC Bona Agricultural Enterprise Konstantin Kremko. According to Mr. Kolosovsky, the investigation had no factual grounds to initiate a criminal case.

55 1 min. ... The most interesting broadcasts Monday, December 17 Basketball. NBA. "New York" - "Houston" Sports TV channel "Viasat", 04:30 Tuesday, December 18 Skiing. World Cup stage in Italy. Slalom. Men "NTV-Plus. Sports", 20:40 Wednesday, December 19 Basketball. Euroleague. "Novi Zagreb" - UMMC "NTV-Plus. Sport-Plus", 20:55 Thursday, December 20 Hockey. KHL. CSKA — Ak Bars "Russia-2", 19:25 Friday, December 21 Snowboard. FIS World Cup Eurosport 2, 16:00 Saturday, December 22 Football.

In October, the population of Ukraine increased by 0.002%, or 1.1 thousand people compared to September and as of November 1 amounted to 45,560.3 thousand people. The urban population as of November 1 amounted to 31,363.1 thousand people, which is 0.05%, or 16.3 thousand people more compared to October 1, the rural population - 14,197.2 thousand people, which is 0 .1%, or 15.2 thousand people less compared to the previous month.