Fitch International Rating Agency has announced a decrease in Japan's credit ratings, the third economy of the world after the United States and China. The rating for the country's obligations in the national currency is reduced by one step - to the fifth, according to Fitch, the level from the highest, and for obligations in foreign currency - at once by two steps. The main reason is called, in the opinion of the agency, the efforts of the Japanese government to reduce accumulated public debt.

In Irkutsk, employees of the regional enterprise "Avtokolonna - 1880" are striking. They do not receive a salary for the third month. The employer owes them three million rubles. According to the Radio Liberty correspondent in the Irkutsk region, Ekaterina Vertinskaya, employees of the Avtokolonna -1880 open joint -stock company, 100% of the shares of which are owned by the Irkutsk region.

Benjamin Cardin Irina Lagunina: May 7, on the day of inauguration, Vladimir Putin signed a decree on measures to implement the foreign policy.

Igor Sechin Former Deputy Chairman of the Russian Government Igor Sechin will head the state company Rosneft. The directive of the election of Sechin was given by the head of the board by the board of directors of Rosneft, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. During the current meeting with Sechin, Medvedev outlined the circle of basic tasks in a new position. Among them - providing the domestic market with oil products at the most stable prices.

The presidents of Turkey and France - Abdullah Gul and Francois Hollande - express hope for a new rapprochement between the two countries, the relations between which have recently worsened. Gul and Hollande met late at night on Monday on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Chicago. Under the former President Nicolas Sarkozy, a law on criminal liability for the denial of the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire was introduced into the France parliament during the First World War.

The head of the Republic of North Ossetia, Alania Taimuraz Mamsurov, sent the government of the republic. This was announced today on his page on Facebook and Twitter by the head of the administration of the head and government of North Ossetia Sergey Takoev. A source in the North Ossetian government in an interfacial interfax confirmed this information.

The Russian State Duma today considers the bill on a multiple increase in fines for violations in the organization of mass shares in the first reading. Amendments to the Administrative Code were proposed by the United Russia party. The RFRF factions, the “fair Russia” and the LDPR have already stated that they would not support the bill, which, in particular, provides for an increase in fines for violations on mass shares to one and a half million rubles.

Falcon 9 launch vehicle at the start From the cosmodrome at Cape Kanveral (Florida), this early morning for the first time in history was launched by the Dragon commercial ship, developed by a private company, with a load for the International Space Station. The docking with the station is scheduled for the end of this week. Last Saturday, the first attempt to launch was made. But due to the emergency stop of the engines, the launch vehicle with the ship remained on the launch pad.

In the Primorsky Territory, a fire was eliminated in a warehouse of ammunition near the village of Sungach. This was announced today by the representative of the Ministry of Emergencies to Interfax. It is noted that in the near future the withdrawal of the forces of the Ministry of Emergencies will begin from the territory of the emergency warehouse. The fire in the artillery warehouse began on May 18.

Leader "Yabloko" Sergey Mitrokhin The leader of the Yabloko party, Sergei Mitrokhin, who turned out to be among the 6 detained participants in the protest “festivities” near the State Duma building, was released without charges. According to the party’s press service, in relation to three members of the Youth Apple and two civil activists, protocols on an administrative offense were drawn up.

Deputy Gennady Gudkov on a control walk in Moscow writers and readers Mikhail Sokolov: In our Moscow studio - Deputy Head of the Duma faction "Fair Russia" Gennady Gudkov. We will talk about the protests of the last week, about the new composition of the Russian government and the latest events in the State Duma. Today, the State Duma voted for the prohibitive version of the Law on rallies.

The investigation restored the picture of a crime committed on November 28, 2009 On May 22, in the Tver Regional Court , a verdict was announced in the case of the undermining of the "Nevsky Express": nine people were sentenced to seven years to a life imprisonment. They are found guilty of terrorism, murders and illegal turnover of weapons.

Former head of Karelia Andrei Nelidov The head of Karelia Andrei Nelidov left his post. His resignation of his own free will today was adopted by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The temporarily acting head of the region was appointed Alexander Khudilinen. Nelidov headed Karelia since July 2010. He became 19 governor in Russia, who had lost his position since the beginning of the year.

Russian President Vladimir Putin Russian President Vladimir Putin signed decrees on appointments in his administration and the Security Council. As head of the Russian Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev remained. His deputy was the former head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Rashid Nurgaliev. Sergei Ivanov will continue to work as the head of the presidential administration. The post of first deputy head of the administration was preserved by Vyacheslav Volodin.