Commonwealth games in Delhi
The President of India Pratibha Patil and the Prince Charles of Wales have opened the international sporting event, the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. Prince Charles read a personal message from Queen Elizabeth II, who is the Commonwealth’s head, to the Games’ participants. More than six thousand athletes from 71 countries have arrived to participate in the Games. They will last till October 14, with competitions being held in seventeen different sports and 272 sets of medals at stake. The opening ceremony, according to the organizers, was the most expensive in all the years of the Commonwealth Games’ existence. The audience of the ceremony that took place at New Delhi’s main sports arena, the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. The Commonwealth Games are the largest international sporting event to be held in India in the past thirty years.
Georgia alarmed by Russia’s actions
The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Grigol Vashadze stated that Russian military objects on the territory of Armenia are dangerous for Georgia. The minister who is on an official visit in Yerevan stressed that Armenia is a sovereign state, which decides itself what is advantageous for it from the viewpoint of national security. “Georgia doesn’t have the right to interfere with Armenia’s affairs, but at this Georgia is a sovereign state as well and it has the right to make statements regarding Russian bases in the region,” stated Vashadze. According to him, Russian bases are a threat for the security and stability of Georgia. In the north of Armenia, in the city of Gyumri, the 102 Russian military base is deployed. It operates within the framework of the united air defense system of the CIS. The Russian military base is equipped with a surface-to-air missile complex C-300 and MiG-29 fighters. The base houses some five thousand people. According to the new agreement, it will ensure the safety of not only the Russian Federation but also Armenia together with its military forces till 2044.
Aircraft joint venture in Ukraine
An agreement on establishing a Ukrainian-Russian aircraft industry enterprise is to be signed on October 24. The Ukrainian Minister of Industrial Policy Dmytro Kolesnykov announced this during the opening of the International Aviation Salon “Aviasvit-XXI” in the Kyiv region. As the press service of the ministry reports, Kolesnykov pointed out that participation in the joint venture will be on parity basis: “Fifty-fifty, half Ukrainian, half Russian. The enterprise will deal with selling aircrafts of the Antonov brand, bringing them to the foreign market, with the issues of developing new technological solutions and products.” The minister also highlighted that the Ukrainian aircraft industry would not suffer losses: “No material assets are passed over to the joint venture now, the state will not lose know-how either. The design documentation will remain the property of Ukraine.” According to the minister, he does not see any factors which could impede the signing of the agreement.
