The trial of former Minister of Economic Development Alexei Ulyukaev, who is accused of receiving a $2 million bribe, is nearing its end. The debate is over, the defendant will make his final statement, after which Judge Larisa Semenova will retire to make her decision. But it is already clear that Ulyukaev's case will become a precedent both from a legal and political point of view.

The US investigation into Russian interference in the US presidential election is a search for a black cat in a dark room, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov told CBS . “It’s very difficult to find a black cat in a dark room where there isn’t one,” Antonov said, answering a question about how the mistrust that emerged between the countries after the 2016 US presidential election was planned to be overcome.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has ordered the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) to transfer $15 million to create a global anti-doping system. This is stated in a statement by the IOC. In addition, the ROC will have to reimburse the IOC for expenses incurred by the committee during investigations related to doping by Russian athletes. The membership of the ROC President Alexander Zhukov in the IOC has also been suspended.

Evgeniya Shirinkina On average, only 3% of government services in construction are provided electronically in Russia, Mikhail Men, head of the Ministry of Construction, told RIA Novosti in October. At the beginning of 2017, services were provided electronically only in Moscow, now – in 51 regions. But if in Moscow, according to the minister, builders can receive 100% of government services electronically, then in the Moscow Region – 12%, and in St. Petersburg – 9%.

The sixth and final season of the political thriller House of Cards will be released in a shortened form. Instead of 13 episodes, it will have only eight, Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said. This is reported by Variety. Netflix previously pulled the plug on a series starring Kevin Spacey following allegations of sexual harassment. Spacey was suspended from filming and production on the series was halted. Now the company has reached an agreement to resume production in 2018.

A freight train and a passenger train collided near Dusseldorf, Bild reports, citing police. At least 50 people are believed to have been injured in the accident, the newspaper writes. However, the Meerbusch rescue service tweeted that only five people were injured. There may be about 150 passengers on the train. The collision occurred near the town of Meerbusch (North Rhine-Westphalia), the railway company Deutsche Bahn reported. According to the company, at least 20 people were injured.

Business Ombudsman Boris Titov to Take Vacation During Election Campaign / Evgeny Razumny / Vedomosti The Presidential Commissioner for Business Protection Boris Titov, who last week announced his intention to participate in the presidential elections, is confident that he will be able to avoid the abuse of administrative resources during the election campaign. He has already refused an official car.

05 December 2017, 04:56 / Business The airline support fund can be formed at the expense of insurers Vedomosti The Ministry of Transport has named one of the possible sources of funding for a fund to support airline passengers experiencing financial difficulties. We are talking about payments for compulsory civil liability insurance of the carrier. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev previously insisted on working on an option using funds from this compensation fund.

December 05, 2017, 00:24 / Economics The US Federal Reserve is thinking about its own cryptocurrency Bitcoin's popularity is pushing central banks to get into the game Michael Derby Fed Chair Janet Yellen /Cliff Owen/AP The popularity of Bitcoin impressed the Federal Reserve so much that the American regulator started thinking about creating its own cryptocurrency. Fed officials, who for years treated cryptocurrencies as a curiosity, are increasingly considering whether to create their own.

Former head of the Odessa regional administration Mikheil Saakashvili climbed onto the roof of a building during a search of his apartment by the Security Service of Ukraine, UNN reports . The publication, citing Saakashvili's associates, reports that SBU representatives are on the roof with him, trying to detain him, but the politician demands that no one come close to him. TSN and LB.ua report that Saakashvili threatened to jump off the roof.

The reason for the US's confidence in the "Russian trace" of the attacks on the US Democratic Party servers in 2016 was the leak of information through FSB Colonel Sergei Mikhailov, who was detained in the treason case, writes The Bell . It is this leak that is connected to the persecution of Mikhailov and his three comrades in Russia, the publication claims, citing acquaintances of all four. Mikhailov's case is classified as a state secret, so no details of it have been known so far.

Transneft Technologies (a subsidiary of Transneft ) are negotiating the lease of 8,000–9,000 sq. m. Arena office complex m in the VEB (the official name of the stadium of the professional football club CSKA) on 3rd Peschanaya Street, said two sources close to different parties to the potential deal. According to them, the company will occupy vacant space in two of the three buildings of the VEB Arena office cluster (Blue Tower and Red Tower) and will become the largest tenant of the complex.

Ukrainian media reported that supporters of the leader of the Rukh Novykh Sil party, former head of the Odessa regional administration Mikheil Saakashvili, who was detained on Tuesday, were able to pull him out of the security forces' car. As of 14:45 Moscow time, Saakashvili, accompanied by supporters and journalists, walked along Kostyolnaya Street in the center of Kyiv near Independence Square.

The popularity of drones in Russia is growing. From January to September 2017, Russians bought 57,000 drones for 850 million rubles. In units this is 84% ​​more than the same period last year, in money – 65% more. Such data is provided by the retailer M.video, which assessed the total sales of drones in Russia. Oleg Ponfilenok, president of the Small Drones Association, agrees with them.

The Finnish Defense Ministry has announced a possible violation of the country's airspace by a Russian passenger airliner or a Tu-154 transport aircraft. This is stated in a statement by the department. The incident allegedly occurred on December 5 at about 7 a.m. According to the ministry, the plane flew over the Gulf of Finland, south of the small town of Porvoo, which is located 50 km east of Helsinki. "The Finnish Border Guard will investigate this incident," the statement said.