Yesterday, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Supreme Archbishop Svyatoslav (Shevchuk), announced that the new Pope Francis is likely to visit Ukraine. “I think that it is necessary to expect him, we even need to prepare for this. The date of the visit will be announced additionally. This should be done on the part of the Holy Father. But from our side he has already received such an invitation,” said Archbishop Svyatoslav.

On Wednesday, the first round of negotiations began in Hanoi on concluding a free trade agreement between the Customs Union (Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan) and Vietnam. The negotiating delegation from the Customs Union (CU) side was headed by the Minister of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC, the supranational body regulating the Customs Union) Andrey Slepnev.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev believes that the level of political culture in Russia is very low, which, in his opinion, is especially evident in social networks. The head of government made this statement while delivering a lecture as part of the Civil University project.” Dmitry Medvedev also noted that the time for non-public politics has passed. According to the Prime Minister, there is no planned information attack or media conspiracy against United Russia.

On March 27, a bomb exploded in the center of Athens, near the Acropolis, reports the Associated Press . It is not yet clear what the purpose of the explosion was or whether there were any casualties. It also remains unclear who will take responsibility for organizing the explosion. Before the explosion, an unknown person called one of the Greek newspapers and reported an impending explosion. The circumstances of the case are being clarified.

The party leader explained to United Russia the principles of public discussion United Russia will continue to remain the ruling party if it does real things. This was stated by its chairman, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, as part of a lecture at the opening of the “Civil University” party project. At the same time, he is confident that the party’s interaction with the government could be more active. And the level of political culture in the country, according to him, is very low.

Spanish operator Telefonica sold its own bonds for 975 million euros, local media reported today. According to the report, the raised amount is necessary to partially repay the company's corporate debts. Today the company's net debt is about 51.3 billion euros. About 1 billion euros need to be repaid in the near future. Analysts note that the company's debt is almost twice its value, so Telefonica is technically bankrupt, but has the support of the Spanish authorities.

Baltika published financial statements In 2012, the net profit of Baltika Brewing Company OJSC, according to RAS reporting, decreased by 2.7 times compared to 2011, while revenue increased by 0.5%, to 89.261 billion rubles. Analysts assess the report neutrally, pointing out that it lacks pronounced positive dynamics of key indicators, which is a consequence of market conditions changing under the influence of administrative regulation.

The founder of the social network Facebook will engage in lobbying The creator of the social network Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, intends to expand his role in politics. According to American media reports, the 28-year-old billionaire is creating a lobbying group that will deal with issues of immigration, economics, education and funding for scientific research. Photo: Reuters 28-year-old billionaire Mark Zuckerberg will create a lobbying group with his friend entrepreneur Joe Greene.

markets The volume of the coated paper market in Russia last year amounted to about 200 thousand tons. At the same time, Russia buys all coated paper abroad - in Europe and China. But we don’t have our own chalk yet. Production should begin soon, but without government support it will be difficult to compete with foreign suppliers.

Basis LLC is gradually increasing its share in the authorized capital of Vostokburvod OJSC. Both companies are registered in Novosibirsk. According to official reports from Vostokburvod, over the past few days it has increased from 62.37% to 66.98%. According to the latest data from the joint-stock company, in addition to Basis, its co-owners are Andrey Kuznetsov (14.59%) and Daria Kuznetsova (7.23%).

Restrictions on capital transactions threaten investment in the Russian Federation Bank holidays in Cyprus will last at least until Thursday. After this, the country’s Central Bank and Ministry of Finance may introduce new restrictions “up to several weeks.” The board of governors of the country's largest bank, Bank of Cyprus, can also freeze deposits in the bank on its own initiative. Funds in the current accounts of the affected banks will also be frozen.

Large depositors of Cyprus' second-largest bank Laiki may have to accept an 80% write-off on uninsured deposits, Finance Minister Michalis Sarris said on Cyprus state television. “Realistically speaking, very little will be returned,” he was quoted as saying by the WSJ . The Minister did not rule out that it will take 6-7 years to return the funds, and the amount that will be returned may be only 20%.

In Kyiv, during the melting of snow, local flooding of Podol, Obolon and Poshtova Square is possible, said Deputy Chairman of the Kyiv City State Administration (KCSA) Anatoly Golubchenko. “There may be flooding in the area of ​​Podol, Obolon, Poshtova Square. They may close the road, and water may appear in the basements,” said Mr. Golubchenko. According to him, to prevent local flooding, work is being carried out on rainwater communications.

The movement of heavy vehicles will be limited in Penza From March 28 to April 26 inclusive, the movement of vehicles with an axle load exceeding six tons on local roads of Penza will be limited. There are three detour routes for heavy goods vehicles. The traffic restriction will not apply to international transportation of goods, public passenger transport, transportation of food, animals, medicines, fuels and lubricants, seed stock, fertilizers, animal feed, mail and postal cargo.

Former vice-mayor of Berdsk avoided court-ordered work Yesterday, the Berdsk City Court sentenced former vice-mayor Vladimir Mukhamedov. The ex-official was found guilty of using a forged document when applying for this position, as well as obstructing business activities, and was sentenced to 400 hours of compulsory labor. However, Mukhamedov will not serve this sentence, since it is “compensated” by house arrest.