At the end of 2017, Russia for the first time came into second place in the world in arms sales by the largest companies (9.5%), displacing the UK (9%), which had been in second place since 2002, reported the Stockholm Institute for Peace and Conflict Research (SIPRI). ). It also follows from the institute’s report that the leaders in arms sales - US companies - not only did not lose, but also strengthened their dominance, occupying 57% of the market.

The Kremlin considers the refusal of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to extend the treaty of friendship and cooperation with Russia as a manifestation of disrespect for Ukrainians. This was stated by presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov, as quoted by TASS.

A pair of Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers (RF-94100 Nikolai Kuznetsov and RF-94108 Vladimir Sudets) flew across the Atlantic on Monday morning with their transponders turned on, according to data from the website Flightradar24.com. According to this resource, the same morning an An-124 transport plane and an Il-62 passenger plane of the Russian Aerospace Forces landed in Venezuela.

Russian woman Maria Butina, arrested in the United States, told the District Court in Washington that she was ready to change her position on her case. This was reported by Bloomberg and other media outlets, citing a joint statement by Butina and US federal prosecutors. Butina agreed to a deal with federal prosecutors and wants to change her testimony in which she called herself innocent. She asked the court to set a hearing date.

Acting Governor of the Sakhalin Region Valery Limarenko will participate in the elections of the head of the region as a self-nominated candidate, Interfax reports . Early elections will take place in September 2019. “I think that I will be a self-nominated candidate, because I would like there to be not political elections, but related to regional interests,” Limarenko explained to reporters after the ceremony of introducing him to the regional government.

Vancouver police are investigating a reported break-in at a home belonging to Liu Xiaozong, the husband of Chinese Huawei CEO Meng Wanzhou. this . reported Global News The incident occurred the day before, on December 9. The attackers broke into the house, but when confronted with one of its inhabitants, they hastened to leave. The call to the police came at about 5.30 am, when the criminals had already fled. No one was injured or arrested, police said.

State-owned oil and gas company Qatar Petroleum has agreed with ExxonMobil to purchase a 10% stake in three offshore exploration blocks in the Angoche and Zambezi river basins in Mozambique. This is stated in a statement from the Qatari company. The agreement signed by the parties must be approved by the Mozambican government. In the event of a deal, Exxon (the project operator) will own 50%, Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos - 20%, Rosneft - 20%.

December 10, 2018, 17:52 / Updated December 10, 2018, 21:58 / Business Exclusively by subscription One of the largest independent refineries in Russia shut down Antipinsky Refinery does not have money to buy oil, but Sberbank will lend 23 billion rubles Vitaly Petlevoy Galina Starinskaya Antipinsky Refinery Since December 5, oil supplies to the Antipinsky Oil Refinery in the Tyumen Region have been stopped and the enterprise has been shut down, Reuters reported, citing sources.

December 10, 2018, 23:52 / Finance / Interview Exclusively by subscription Manager of the Astana financial center: “We are both “fin” and “tech” - two sides of the same coin” Kairat Kelimbetov talks about how the financial and legal oasis in Kazakhstan will transform the country and what place Mikhail Overchenko can take in the world Kairat Kelimbetov, Manager of the Astana International Financial Center / Maxim Stulov / Vedomosti In 1968, an adviser to Singapore's first prime minister, Lee Kuan

Vice Admiral Igor Kostyukov has been appointed head of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. about this Sources told TASS and Interfax . “The appointment took place at the end of last week,” a source familiar with the situation told Interfax. Kostyukov has been working in the GRU for decades, a Vedomosti source said. He is under US sanctions.

The plane of the Belarusian airline Belavia made a hard landing at Kyiv Boryspil airport on Sunday evening. Because of this, Boryspil closed one runway and redirected planes to other airports, reported. the resource 112.ua According to his information, a total of eleven planes were redirected to Kharkov and Odessa due to the accident. “The airport is operating as normal. While taxiing, the Belavia plane knocked down the lights. We closed the strip for a while to clear it.

December 10, 2018, 19:56 / Economics Exclusively by subscription Economists don't expect a global recession yet Although a lot could go wrong next year Paul Hannon Consumer spending rose 2.9% year-on-year in the US in October, better than the average over the past four years / Yiannis Kourtoglou / Reut Frightened by instability in financial markets, investors are increasingly fearful of a possible recession in developed countries, and for good reason.

There is a common saying: “Behind every great man there is a great woman.” Two films released within a week of each other - Björn Runge's The Wife and Wash Westmoreland's Colette - illustrate it with almost frightening directness. Their heroes are second-rate writers who can barely squeeze out a five-page story. But they receive fame, bonuses and millions for novels written by their wives - weak, loving and ready to do anything, even to forever remain in the shadow of their spouses.

The formation of Russian identity, in the Kremlin's view, is largely complete - with his decree, Vladimir Putin has established what the Russian nation, civic self-awareness and even common values ​​for citizens are. The main point is the commitment of citizens to the interests of the state, which is not surprising: it was the state that took the initiative in this matter.

At least 14 family members, business partners and members of US President Donald Trump's presidential campaign had contact with at least 17 Russians almost from the very beginning of the campaign in 2015 until Trump's inauguration, The Washington Post (WP) writes , citing new interim results. investigation by US special counsel Robert Mueller. The volume of contacts with the Russian side was greater than previously thought, the newspaper emphasizes.