The Legislative Assembly of Omsk Region has found a replacement for Governor Viktor Nazarov and Senator Igor Zuga, and the Omsk City Council has found a replacement for Vyacheslav Dvorakovsky, who has become mayor. The regional electoral commission summed up the results of the elections that took place in Omsk Oblast on Sunday.

The Russian division of the French Renault and the Federal State Unitary Enterprise Russian Post have signed an agreement on the use of electric vehicles in test mode, Renault in Russia reported. Under the lease agreement, ten Kangoo ZE vans will be used by the postal service in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Sochi and Krasnodar for three years. Two Twizy microcars will be used in Sochi and Kazan.

The solemn ceremony of the enthronement of Pope Francis ended on Tuesday in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican. The Archbishop of Buenos Aires, 76-year-old Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was elected the 266th Pope in the fifth round of voting at the conclave, which took place in the Sistine Chapel of the Apostolic Palace on March 12-13.

The child died from a ruptured artery caused by an injury sustained during the game, according to prosecutor Bobby Bland; Laura Shatto will not be charged; Pavel Astakhov is upset Developments: The Investigative Committee opened a case of negligence during the adoption of the Kuzmin brothers → Prosecutors will not bring charges against Alan and Laura Shatto from Texas in connection with the death of their three-year-old son Maxim, adopted from Russia.

Rarely does a business event in Russia – a conference, a forum, a seminar – feature strict adherence to the rules. Even at very prestigious conferences, the schedule often slips by an hour and a half or more. Why is it so important to follow the rules? If there is none, participants cannot plan their actions – for example, get to a particular section on time. Or schedule a call, a business meeting, a coffee break or lunch. After all, breaks are almost guaranteed to start at the wrong time.

The Ministry of Communications does not see any grounds for revoking frequencies from the mobile operator Osnova Telecom, the head of the department, Nikolai Nikiforov, told journalists.

From personal archive Larisa N. writes: "Our company has an additional benefit for sick leave payments: 100% payment to an employee for up to 15 working days per year. But we have an employee who is constantly “sick”, and this year we do not want to provide him with such a benefit. Should we somehow formalize this in writing? Is it possible to cancel (not apply) this benefit for only one employee?

Volkswagen Group reported record operating income of 11.5 billion euros ($15 billion) for 2012. In this indicator, the German automaker surpassed General Motors with $7.9 billion and Toyota Motor with 1.06 trillion yen ($11.1 billion) last year, Bloomberg notes. The German concern is going to become the largest carmaker in the world and the leader in profitability by 2018. WV CEO Martin Winterkorn can cross one item off his to-do list, the publication notes.

Irina Bozhenko and Dmitry Trunov are nominated for the Golden Masks for best performance of opera roles / A. Filippov / RIA Novosti More and more Russian theatres are turning from provincial into European ones.

The police are investigating how a section of the vestibule of the Varshavskaya station in Moscow was transferred from metro ownership to private ownership; the value of the premises is estimated at 39 million rubles, the capital's main police department reported on Tuesday.

The haircut of bank deposits in Cyprus caused such genuine shock among the top officials of Russia that conspiracy theories naturally arise. Judging by the reaction of Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev, Cyprus's decision was as unexpected and offensive to them as it was to thousands of ordinary investors on the sunny island. No one even warned them! And yet everyone around them considers Cyprus to be almost a Russian province. Where were the intelligence officers looking?

In 2013, the pre-tax profit of the German car manufacturer Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) will remain at the level of the previous year. According to BMW Chief Financial Officer Friedrich Eichiner, there will be no growth in profit due to the reduction in car sales in Europe and the increase in the company's expenses in connection with the release of 25 new models in the next two years.

The BSA (British Software Association) has summed up the results of its work in 2012. The expenses of Russian companies to settle relations with copyright holders in connection with the illegal use of software from BSA member companies amounted to more than 73 million rubles (about $2.4 million), the association reported.

Transfin-M LLC, one of the largest leasing operators of railway equipment in Russia, plans to borrow at least 40 billion rubles this year in loans and by placing bonds. This was reported by the company's general director Dmitry Zotov. He said that in 2012 the company placed bonds for a little over 10 billion rubles and attracted loans for approximately the same amount; this ratio will be maintained.

Syria's opposition leaders have elected Ghassan Hitto, a Western-educated technocrat, as interim prime minister, hoping the move will be a first step toward filling the power vacuum left by the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. At a meeting of the Syrian National Coalition in Istanbul that lasted well past midnight, Hitto received 35 votes out of about 50 cast by coalition members. "I warmly thank the heroes and revolutionaries of the Syrian people.