The bill seeking to introduce a nation-wide ban on ?homosexuality propaganda? passed first reading in the State Duma of the Russian Federation. Izvestia writes that this has triggered a diplomatic scandal with the Russian ambassador to Germany Vladimir Grinin being summoned to the nation?s Foreign Ministry. Germany?s Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has harshly criticized the bill, claiming it violates the European human rights convention. Thus such legislation could harm the country's relationships with Europe, the Minister highlighted, adding that homophobia is spreading with alarming speed among the Russian society. Science Director of the Russia-Germany Forum Alexander Rar told the daily that Germany, unlike other western states, has not lost hope of Russia becoming more democratic; in fact it wants to build a bilateral partnership based on modernization; however, while Moscow is seeking primarily economic benefits, Berlin is focused on human rights and would like to deal with a civil society. The article notes that neither German embassy nor Russia?s foreign ministry could comment on the situation at this time. The daily also reminds that on Monday Venetian city council has voted to dissolve partnership with St. Petersburg, a city unofficially dubbed The Northern Venice ? the reason for such a decision is the same ? allegedly homophobic legislation, adopted by St. Petersburg last spring.
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The Ministry for Economic Development recently had to deal with an unorthodox problem. RBC Daily reports that six members of the Cabinet, Prime Minister and President of Russia have received an official request from The International Ra?lian Movement to establish a new embassy? to house interplanetary diplomatic missions. The 65,000-strong movement has asked for a land plot with an extraterritorial status and a neutral airspace, offering prospects of immense revenue from tourism and transformation of Russia into a spiritual center of the planet. The letter also promised to finance the construction of the embassy itself, all necessary infrastructure buildings and even a museum and a science center out of the organization?s own pocket. The article notes that the Economic Ministry was the one tasked with issuing an official reply. Signed by Deputy Real Estate Department, it only explains that the Cabinet is not the body to contact for construction permits, thus leaving no hope for Russia to become Earth?s window to extraterrestrial cultures, the article concludes.
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Novye Izvestia takes a look at the latest report published by Transparency International regarding the military and defense sector. The level of corruption in the global defense sector is estimated to $20 billion per year. On a scale of A to F, Russia was awarded a D, meaning that the country has a high risk of corruption, placing it between Pakistan and Rwanda. The main problem plaguing the Russian army is opaque procurement procedures, according to researchers ? due to lack of transparency the Ministry of Defense fosters corruption, even despite acting democratic institutions which are supposed to remedy the situation ? half of defense budget is classified, meaning that no one can oversee it from the outside. According to Elena Panfilova, Director of Transparency International Russia, Russia?s Defense Ministry was one of the countries which chose to ignore the 76-point questionnaire sent by the organization to help evaluate transparency. She emphasized that no one plans to compromise national security and opening books is unlikely to have this negative effect. Quote ?Defensive potential of the country will not be jeopardized if we?ll know how many sheepskins and beds for soldiers are bought and how much is spent on heating? unquote. Other experts interviewed by the daily agree: it?s understandable to keep cutting-edge military hardware purchases classified, but when it comes to day-to-day expenses, they should be made public.
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Moskovskiy Komsomolets talked with Andrey Stas?, one of the authors of the concept for a new image for Moscow, which aims to portray it as a modern city, attractive for tourists. Quote ?Moscow should attract visitors with its grandeur, diversity and even somewhat of an emotional extremity? unquote. One of the aspects of the new concept is to destroy existing negative stereotypes and turn around problems by looking at their bright side: for instance, the busy, crowded streets may not just be stressful ? they indicate that the city is alive and it grows, whereas the majority of European capitals are stagnating, the expert said. Existing and underappreciated features include a wide variety of arts, entertainment, and cuisine, where almost every kind of artistic expression, every region and every time frame are represented in the huge city. Finally, the author plans to play on the Eurasian status of the city, being a hub for a wide variety of cultures.
Source: http://english.ruvr.ru/radio_broadcast/25950828/103015558.html
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