Russia CEC sending delegation to Abkhazia elections.

MOSCOW, December 10 (Itar-Tass) - Russia's Central Election Commission
(CEC) gives special attention to the Abkhazian presidential elections that
will be held on December 12. Even membership of CEC delegation that will
go to the republic testifies to this. "CEC head Vladimir Churov, his
deputy Stanislav Vavilov, CEC members Yevgeny Kalyushin, Valery Kryukov
and Siyabshakh Shapiyev will be working at the elections as observers,"
secretary of the Russian CEC Nikolai Konkin told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.
He explained that Shapiyev will be simultaneously watching the
progress of the Abkhazian presidential elections at a polling station
organised in the Cherkessia republic. Besides, CEC member Vasily Volkov
will perform observer functions at a polling station for the Abkhazian
presidential election set up in Moscow.
A delegation of the State Duma lower house of Russia's parliament led
by the head of the house CIS affairs committee Alexei Ostrovsky and
representatives of non-governmental organisations will also go to Abkhazia
to monitor the elections.
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.RF govt presidium to approve RZD investment prog.

MOSCOW, December 10 (Itar-Tass) - The Russian government's presidium
on Thursday will consider a draft investment programme and draft financial
plan of the Russian Railways (RZD) joint stock company for 2010 and the
planned period of 2011-2012. There will be two reporters on this issue -
RF Transport Minister Igor Levitin and RZD President Vladimir Yakunin, it
is said in materials on the official website of the Russian cabinet
prepared for the meeting.
Yakunin said earlier that RZD plans to get profit of 10-15 billion
roubles next year (on 2009 results the profit should reach some 2.5
billion roubles). According to Yakunin's forecast, the volume of cargo
transportation in 2010 will begin to grow at a pace of about 3.7 percent.
The 2009 drop in transportation volume is expected to reach 15 percent to
2008 level.
Vice Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov for his part told journalists that
in 2010 it is planned to allocate to the main railway company of the
county some 50 billion roubles for the compensation of shortfall in
income. Besides, budget financing of the construction of the
Kizil-Uralkino railway section, as well as the St. Petersburg-Helsinki
bypass is also envisaged.
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.Russia govt presidium to decide on aid to Nevsky Express victims.

MOSCOW, December 10 (Itar-Tass) - The Russian government's presidium
at a meeting on Thursday will make decisions on the provision of aid to
citizens affected by the Nevsky Express train crash and in a nightclub
fire in Perm, according to materials placed on the cabinet's official
website.
In particular, Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu will report
at the presidium meeting on the government's plans for the provision of
aid to "citizens whose health was harmed and the families of citizens
killed in the Nevsky Express train crash that occurred as a result of a
terror act on November 27, 2009." First Vice Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov
said earlier that the families of the deceased will be paid 300 thousand
roubles each from the federal budget, heavily injured citizens will get
100 thousand roubles each and lightly injured - 50 thousand roubles.
Meanwhile, aid to the terrorist act victims is not expected to be limited
only to payments from the federal budget. According to Zubkov, the same
sums will be paid to the affected people from budget of regions were they
reside. The Russian Railways (RZD) company, he said, has also made a
decision to provide aid to the families of the killed - 500 thousand
roubles to each, and 200 thousand roubles to lightly injured. "Thus, on
the whole the families of those killed will get over 1 million roubles and
the injured will get a sum slightly less," Zubkov said.
Vice Prime Minister, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin will report at the
presidium meeting on aid to citizens - Perm nightclub fire victims. Aside
from the "provision of one-time material aid to the families of the killed
and citizens injured in the Perm fire on December 4," the government is
expected to provide financial aid as subsidies from the federal budget to
the Perm Territory.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said at a meeting in Perm on
December 8 that the families of the people who died in the fire will get
from the federal budget 400 thousand roubles each, and the injured - 300
thousand roubles. According to him, the Perm Territory is also ready to
provide aid that will pay to the families of the deceased and injured in
the fire 100 thousand roubles each.
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.Russia-Italy industrial workgroup to discuss cooperation.

ROME, December 10 (Itar-Tass) - Issues of economic interaction will be
discussed at the XV meeting of the Russian-Italian working group on
industrial districts and cooperation in the sphere of small and
medium-sized businesses here. Russian Economic Development Minister Elvira
Nabiullina will meet within the two-day session on Friday Italian Economic
Development Minister Claudio Scajola.
The group's meeting agenda includes roundtables devoted to the
development of high technologies, including nanotechnology, cooperation in
the sphere of wood processing, metallurgy, in the banking sector, as well
as prospects for the use of renewable energy sources and protection of the
environment. This meeting, in the view of the Italian Foreign Trade
Institute that is one of the meeting organisers, provides an excellent
possibility for the exchange of experience and concrete direct contacts
between Italian and Russian regional companies.
During seminars on specific issues representatives of regions,
sectoral associations, industrial districts, as well as other
organisations operating with support of programmes for
internationalisation of companies, will present their projects. It is
planned to sign on the results of the work the Final Protocol of the XV
meeting of the workgroup and the plan of actions within the framework of
the workgroup for 2010-2012, as well as four agreements on cooperation
between regions/companies of Russia and Italy.
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