Patriarch Kirill called on representatives of the Cossacks to unite and regain their historical role in the Caucasus. reports this Interfax with reference to a statement by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church made within the framework of the Stavropol forum of the World Russian People's Council (VRNS). “In a sense, the situation in the North Caucasus today is a colossal challenge to the very identity of the Cossacks, their authenticity,” the patriarch said.

Forward of the Russian national hockey team Alexander Perezhogin was injured before the Channel One Cup, the first match of which will take place on December 13. The head coach of the Russians, Zinetula Bilyaletdinov, spoke about the player’s injury, the online publication “Championat.com” reports. Bilyaletdinov said that initially he wanted to see Perezhogin on Evgeni Malkin’s line with Alexander Popov, but this plan was disrupted by Popov’s injury, and now Perezhogin was also injured.

The German publisher bitComposer Entertainment AG announced the acquisition of the rights to develop games from the STALKER series. The company's official website reports that it has entered into a corresponding deal with Boris Strugatsky. Details have not been disclosed. It is also unclear when the agreement was reached. As you know, the writer died in November 2012. The company's statement says that it bought the rights directly to the STALKER brand.

In Voronezh, two employees of the State Drug Control Service were detained on suspicion of murder. This was reported on December 12 on the website of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation. According to investigators, on the night of November 24, 2012, drug police were on the street intoxicated. For unknown reasons, they attacked a 30-year-old man whom they had not previously known. The beaten man died on the spot.

Two top managers of the Swedish-Finnish telecommunications company TeliaSonera were involved in a bribery case in Uzbekistan. This was reported by the Swedish publication The Local with reference to the program “Uppdrag granskning”, shown on Sveriges Television (SVT) on December 12. The names of the suspects have not been released.

The command of the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces intends to conduct experimental and combat training tests of the new A-235 "Samolet-M" missile defense system, which in the future will replace the outdated A-135 "Amur" in the spring and autumn of 2013. As the Izvestia newspaper writes, citing a source in the command, almost immediately after the tests, if they are considered successful, the new missile defense system can go on combat duty.

In the Primorsky Territory, a criminal case has been initiated against the head of the Ussuriysk traffic police. agency reported this on December 12 The Interfax . According to information from open sources (doc) as of September 2012, the name of the head of the Ussuriysk traffic police is Dmitry Sokolovsky. The case was initiated under Article 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (exceeding official powers).

Saudi Arabia has cut oil production to its lowest level since the beginning of the year. According to The Financial Times , by December the country was producing 9.5 million tons of oil per day. At the same time, in June, Saudi Arabia set a ten-year record for oil production - the figure was 10.1 million barrels per day.

The Australian radio station 2Day FM, whose presenters played a prank on a British nurse who was later believed to have committed suicide, will pay compensation to the family of the deceased in the amount of $500,000. As ABC News reported on Friday, December 11, Jacintha Saldanha's husband and two children will receive the money.

Japanese brewing corporation Suntory Holdings plans to list its soft drinks and food division, Suntory Beverage & Food, on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Bloomberg reports this citing unnamed sources. It is expected that as a result of the IPO (initial public offering), the company will be able to raise up to 500 billion yen (about six billion dollars). According to Agence France-Presse sources , the IPO could take place in the summer of 2013.

On December 12, the hashtag “ #PutinCountry ” became one of the global trends on the Twitter microblogging service. As of 12:55 Moscow time, the hashtag was ranked third in the list of top Twitter topics. The expression “#PutinCountry” entered global trends during President Vladimir Putin’s address to the Federal Assembly. This hashtag is used in Twitter broadcasts of Putin’s speech by a number of media outlets, including RIA Novosti, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Vedomosti and Voice of Russia radio.

Moldova plans to introduce a fine for untimely destruction of weeds on agricultural lands. As Moldnews reports, the government of the republic came up with a corresponding initiative. It is proposed to amend the Code of Contraventions, which will specify the amount of fines for “failure to fulfill obligations to destroy weeds on agricultural lands.” Fines for individuals will range from 20 to 150 conventional units, for legal entities - from 150 to 500 conventional units.

Indian musician and composer Ravi Shankar has died in the United States, Reuters reports citing his relatives. Shankar was 92 years old. The musician died in a hospital in San Diego, California, where he was awaiting surgery, notes Agence France-Presse, citing Indian television. However, Reuters reports that Shankar underwent surgery on Thursday, December 6. The reasons for his death have not been announced, but relatives note that Shankar had been in “poor health” in recent years.

A former police officer who killed nine people in 1986 was executed in Florida. reports Associated Press . As noted, 56-year-old Manuel Pardo was executed by lethal injection. For his last meal before execution, he chose rice with vegetables, roast pork, pumpkin pie and a cup of Cuban coffee. Pardo joined the highway patrol in the mid-1970s, but was fired in 1979 for falsifying tickets, after which he was hired by a police department in a Florida county.

Danny Boyle has said he is not interested in working on James Bond films. The director voiced his opinion during an appearance on BBC Radio 4's Front Row. In 2012, Boyle staged the opening ceremony of the XXX Olympic Games in London. One of the components of the event was Boyle's short film starring James Bond played by Daniel Craig (this actor played Agent 007 in the last three Bond releases to date). Some viewers saw the short as a hint at Boyle's desire to make a feature-length Bond film.