4.1% is how real incomes of the population grew in March after growing by 4.3% in February, Rosstat reported. They grew by 0.9% over the quarter, taking into account the one-time payment of 5,000 rubles to pensioners in January 2017, due to which real incomes fell by 7% in January 2018. Without taking this payment into account, Russians' incomes grew by 3% over the past quarter. Real wages grew by 6.5% in March compared to February, and increased by 9.5% over the quarter in annual terms.

April 19, 2018, 15:54 / Economics Russia requests consultations with the WTO over US tariffs on steel and aluminum Vedomosti Russia has asked the World Trade Organization (WTO) for consultations on import tariffs on aluminum and steel introduced by US President Donald Trump. This is stated in a document on the organization’s website.

Russia and Syria are "disinfecting" the site of a suspected chemical attack in the Syrian city of Douma, located near Damascus, US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said at a briefing, Reuters reports. "We have credible information that Russian officials are working with the Syrian regime to delay, to hold up the access of these [Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons] inspectors to Douma," she said.

According to Rosstat, the cost of construction of 1 sq. m in Moscow and St. Petersburg in 2017 was almost equal: 61,244 rubles versus 60,403 rubles. Developers in both capitals complain that they have to work with a minimal margin, but continue to increase the supply of new buildings. In the Northern Palmyra, it has exceeded 5 million sq. m, in the White-Stone City – over 3 million sq. m.

The administration of US President Donald Trump believes that the Cuban people will not have more freedoms after the election of a new leader. The US authorities do not plan to soften their policy towards the island's government, Reuters reports, citing the words of an official White House representative. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the U.S.

We are talking about articles that describe tragic incidents, disasters, terrorist attacks, etc. / Evgeny Egorov / Vedomosti The recommendation service Yandex.Zen announced that it has made changes to the rules for placing advertisements: it will no longer show them in materials about tragic events, as well as in materials that violate the service rules.

Lars von Trier's new film, The House That Jack Built, will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, The Hollywood Reporter reports. Trier's film will be shown in Cannes for the first time in seven years. The Danish director was banned from the Cannes festival after he said at a press conference following the premiere of his film Melancholia in 2011 that he sympathized with Adolf Hitler. Trier's new film will be shown outside the competition program.

April 19, 2018, 19:03 / Finance The Central Bank urged insurers to invest less in government securities and banks Currently, about 30% of reserves are placed on deposits Danis Yumabaev Alexandra Astapenko The Central Bank called on insurers to invest less in government securities and banks / Evgeniy Razumny / Vedomosti Life insurers should reduce the share of investments in banks and government securities, Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank Vladimir Chistyukhin said on Thursday.

The Russian embassy in London suspects that a chemical may have been injected into Yulia Skripal's blood before her blood was taken for analysis, RIA Novosti reports. According to the embassy's press secretary, it is unclear how experts were able to detect an undecomposed toxic chemical in Yulia Skripal's blood 18 days after the attempted poisoning. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) released the results of its investigation into the Skripal case on April 12.

April 19, 2018, 00:43 / Business The Ministry of Natural Resources wants to encourage companies to explore new deposits It is proposed to more than double the tax deduction for companies. By 2035, this could add 618.8 billion rubles to the budget, the ministry estimates. Vitaly Petlevoy Gazprom Neft platform at the Prirazlomnoye field in the Pechora Sea.

April 19, 2018, 22:01 / Business The Russian Foreign Ministry allowed the cessation of air traffic with the United States due to visa problems Vedomosti The Russian Foreign Ministry does not rule out that the United States and Russia may stop air traffic between the countries. This is stated in the department's message. This may happen due to problems with issuing visas to Aeroflot employees.

The Indian delegation was pleased to inspect the production facilities of the Yantar plant / Vitaly Nevar / TASS On Thursday, Director General of Procurement of the Indian Ministry of Defence Apurva Chandra visited the Yantar shipyard in Kaliningrad accompanied by a delegation of Rosoboronexport and the United Shipbuilding Corporation ( USC ), where he got acquainted with the enterprise's capabilities for building Project 11356 frigates, six of which are already in service with the Indian Navy

April 19, 2018, 16:25 / Business The average price of gasoline in Russia exceeded 40 rubles per liter Vedomosti The average retail price of gasoline in Russia exceeded the psychological mark of 40 rubles. per liter According to Rosstat, as of April 16, a liter of gasoline cost an average of 40.09 rubles. The previous registered price (April 9) was RUB 39.95. per liter The cost of AI-92 gasoline increased to 38.3 rubles. per liter, AI-95 – up to 41.31 rubles, AI-98 – up to 46.62 rubles.

In Russia, it is not customary to settle disputes out of court / Andrey Gordeyev / Vedomosti The Association of Managers recently announced the creation of an ethics committee, which will discuss examples of ethical behavior by Russian companies and develop standards of business ethics in Russia. The committee has an ethics commission, which will consider disputes between companies that are members of the association.

Armenian police detained 106 protesters in central Yerevan on Thursday, TASS reported, citing police spokesman Ashot Aharonyan. The detainees were taken to police stations. "If they are not released in three hours, it means they are suspected of violations," Aharonyan explained. Mass rallies began in Yerevan and other cities of Armenia on Monday, April 16, after the nomination of former President Serzh Sargsyan for the post of Prime Minister.