NTV received the video recording used in “Anatomy of Protest 2” from “an unknown person of Georgian nationality.” This, as a Lenta.ru correspondent reports, is stated in the testimony of channel employee Alexei Malkov, which was read by the judge at a meeting to select a preventive measure for activist Konstantin Lebedev. According to the NTV employee, he left the house and received these images from a man unknown to him.

In recent years, the number of mortgage transactions in the Russian housing market has more than tripled. As a Lenta.Ru correspondent reports, Irina Radchenko, vice-president of the International Academy of Mortgage and Real Estate (MAIN), stated this at the forum held at the Domexpo exhibition. According to her, currently every second home purchase transaction is carried out using borrowed funds. In 2005, this figure was about 15 percent.

The mother of Hermitage Capital employee Sergei Magnitsky , who died in a pre-trial detention center , filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights, reports the Open Society Justice Initiative Foundation, which represents her interests. Natalya Magnitskaya accuses the Russian authorities of violating six articles of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

Alfa Group The AAR consortium, owned by Mikhail Fridman's Renova , Viktor Vekselberg's and Leonard Blavatnik's Access , abandoned its intention to make an offer to British BP to buy out its stake in TNK-BP. reported this on October 18 RIA Novosti , citing a source familiar with the situation. According to the source, this decision was largely made due to the fact that BP is considering the possibility of selling its stake to rival Rosneft as a priority .

In Ukraine, on October 18, the law “On Security Activities” came into force, which allows employees of private security firms to use traumatic weapons and special equipment. The text of the relevant document was published on the Verkhovna Rada website. Security officers also received the right to independently detain possible offenders, demand documents from them to establish their identity, and inspect their belongings.

A forceful operation to free the sailors captured in Nigeria's territorial waters on Monday, October 15, is not planned, Interfax reports , citing an employee of the Russian Embassy in this country. The source commented on the information that appeared in the media about a possible assault and noted that it “does not correspond to reality.” According to him, this information appeared due to an incorrect interpretation of the official statement of the representative of the Nigerian Navy.

Former State Duma deputy from A Just Russia intends to create the Civil Union association, which will help Gennady Gudkov opposition representatives get into the Moscow City Duma. Izvestia writes about this on Thursday, October 18.

An investigator from the Krasnoselsky District Department of Internal Affairs opened a criminal case based on a statement from a participant in an LGBT party at the Moscow club 7freedays, which was attacked, reports Open News Agency. The case was opened under Article 115 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Intentional infliction of minor harm to health”). On the evening of October 11, unknown persons broke into a club located on Milyutinsky Lane and committed a pogrom there.

Free transportation of fans between the cities that will host the 2018 FIFA World Cup will cost Russian Railways four billion rubles. reports this Interfax with reference to RZD-TV. Free rail travel is a promise made by Russia to FIFA even before the country received the right to host the tournament. It is assumed that tickets for football matches will also become tickets for trains, as well as for reserved seats and general carriages, if we are talking about long journeys.

On October 18 , the coordinator of the “Left Front” Sergei Udaltsov is going to hold a series of pickets near the building of the Moscow department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in support of the detained activist of the communist organization RCRP-RPK Konstantin Lebedev . Udaltsov reported this to Interfax . Both Udaltsov and Lebedev the day before became defendants in a criminal case for organizing mass riots.

In the third quarter of 2012, the number of smartphones used worldwide exceeded one billion for the first time. Bloomberg reported this on October 17, citing a study by Strategy Analytics. As the study notes, in the last year alone, the number of active smartphones has increased by 47 percent, from 706 million to 1 billion 38 million devices. Strategy Analytics experts suggest that the two billion smartphone mark will be passed in 2015.

In Greece, a general 24-hour strike began on October 18, reports Reuters . The action is intended to paralyze life in the country and demonstrate to the government the unacceptability of further austerity measures. The strike is being organized by the country's leading trade unions ADEDY and GSEE, which unite approximately two million people, that is, about half of the Greek workforce.

In Moscow, journalists decided to start searching for Lieutenant Colonel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Andrei Kulikov, who disappeared under strange circumstances in 2011. A report on the journalistic investigation was published in the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper on October 18. The newspaper asks that its publication be considered an official appeal to the Ambassador of Uzbekistan to the Russian Federation.

The Russian national hockey team will play the opening match at the Channel One Cup on December 13 against the Swedish team. In the second game of the tournament, the Russians will meet the Czech Republic, this match will take place on December 15. The final match of the Channel One Cup with Finland will take place on December 16. This was reported by the official website of the Russian Hockey Federation (RHF). The final match of the Channel One Cup will take place on December 13 in Helsinki.

The McDonald's restaurant located in the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuel II, a covered street in the heart of Milan, has closed after 20 years in business. The Guardian writes about this. It will be replaced by a Prada store. McDonald's paid about 200 thousand euros a year to rent the premises. The city authorities decided that they could get much more money for this territory. In 2011, the site was put up for tender and the rental price ended up being €2.118 million over five years.