20.11.2012, 09:48:13 version Print | PDA/PDA Photo by Denis Sinyakov (Reuters) from the series “The Changing Face of Russia” Welcome, migrant! Russian passports will be distributed to 25 million people The State Duma is preparing to consider in the first reading a bill that not only significantly simplifies the procedure for acquiring Russian citizenship for tens of millions of foreigners, but also abolishes the concept of migrant as such.

On the evening of November 20, the Israeli Air Force scattered leaflets over the north of the Gaza Strip, calling on people living near the Israeli border to pack their things and leave for the center of the city of the same name as quickly as possible, reports Agence France-Presse .

State Duma deputy from United Russia Ilya Kostunov proposed limiting the use of mobile devices by civil servants in the interests of national security, the Izvestia newspaper reports. Officials can use smartphones and tablets for personal purposes, but due to the risk of leaks, the transmission of information that is of “official value” through these devices should be prohibited, Kostunov believes.

Development company Archstone Inc, owned by the Lehman Brothers banking group, plans to raise $3.45 billion in its planned IPO (initial public offering). As Reuters points out , in this case the placement will be the third largest in the United States this year after the IPO of the social network Facebook and the Mexican division of Banco Santander. In addition, if successful, Archstone's IPO will be the largest in the history of American real estate companies.

Syrian rebels announced they had seized control of a government air force base located south of Damascus. reported As Reuters on November 19, this was the first time in the entire Syrian confrontation that the rebels managed to gain a foothold at a military facility in the immediate vicinity of the capital. According to the rebels, the battle for the base in the village of Hadzar al-Aswad lasted four days.

Apple has acquired Color Labs, the developer of the Color mobile social network. The deal became known from the legal proceedings between the co-founders of the company, TechCrunch reports. One of the founders of Color Labs, Adam Witherspoon, filed a lawsuit on November 19 against the current head of the company, Bill Nguyen. In the lawsuit, Witherspoon, who is no longer employed by Color Labs, accused Nguyen of intimidating and humiliating company employees.

State tests of the strategic nuclear submarine missile cruiser "Alexander Nevsky" of Project 955 "Borey" will take place in December 2012. reports this RIA Novosti with reference to the press service of OJSC Sevmash. According to the company's press service, the submarine recently went to sea for factory sea trials. It was planned to put the submarine into service in 2013.

From November 20, Alfa Bank increased rates on ruble deposits of individuals by an average of 0.2-0.7 percent per annum. This was reported in a press release from the largest private bank in Russia. The yield on deposits in foreign currency increased by 0.2-0.3 percent per annum on average. Currently, the maximum rates on time deposits “Premium” and “Victory” in rubles in the bank are 9.6 percent per year, and on the seasonal deposit “Lucky Year” - 9.92 percent.

The Investigative Committee has completed its investigation into the case of the former head of the Verkhnyaya Pyshma police department, Marat Khalimov, accused of negligence that led to a conflict in the village of Sagra. This was reported on November 20 on the website of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation. The case materials have been sent to the prosecutor's office for approval of the indictment. The case must then go to trial.

"Spartak" - "Barcelona" Spartak fans in Luzhniki. Photo by RIA Novosti, Alexander Vilf On November 20, Spartak Moscow will host the most awaited match by the team's fans: it will host Barcelona. Spartak only has a chance to advance from the group to the spring part of the Champions League if it defeats the Catalans, but most fans will come to the stadium just to see the best club in the world. Commented by : Alexander Polivanov [ Discuss with other readers ] 16:06' Hello everyone.

The Volokolamsk Highway in Moscow will be expanded to five lanes in each direction and made without traffic lights. This was reported on the website of the capital's Construction Complex with reference to the prefect of the North-Western Administrative District of Moscow, Vladimir Goverdovsky. During the reconstruction, Volokolamskoye Highway will also receive a new modern interchange with the Moscow Ring Road. Work on the project will begin in 2013.

China's richest woman, Wu Yazhun, lost more than three billion dollars due to her divorce from her husband Kai Kui, Bloomberg reports. Wu's stake in development company Longfor fell from 72 percent to 43 percent, while her ex-husband's stake reached 29 percent. Thus, Wu's net worth has now dropped to $4.2 billion, down from $7.3 billion before the divorce. The status of the richest Chinese woman has passed to the owner of Country Garden Holdings, Yang Huiyuan, who has $5 billion.

Moscow lawyer Dmitry Vinogradov, accused of murdering six people, was ordered to undergo a psychiatric examination. This was reported on November 20 on the website of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation. The accused is being examined at the Serbsky State Scientific Center for Social and Forensic Psychiatry. The timing of the examination is not specified. 29-year-old Vinogradov lived in Moscow with his mother and father.

Communists from Volgograd decided to collect one hundred thousand signatures for renaming the city to Stalingrad, told Interfax State Duma deputy from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Alevtina Aparina . She noted that the collection of signatures was timed to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Stalingrad on February 2, 2013.

New York authorities are preparing a lawsuit against the Swiss bank Credit Suisse, Reuters reports , citing unnamed sources. According to the news agency, the prosecutor's office believes that the financial institution misled investors who invested in mortgage-backed securities by not providing them with complete information about the risks associated with such bonds. Damage to investors is estimated at $11.2 billion. The lawsuit is expected to be filed on Wednesday, November 21.