POLITICS

* US Ambassador in Russia Michael McFaul met with members of Russia’s Public Chamber to express concern over the unprecedented wave of inspections on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society groups across Russia. Russian officials responded with accusations that US bodies sponsoring Russian NGOs were led by spies and former military officials. (Kommersant)

* Celebrated British rock guitarist and singer Mark Knopfler has canceled concerts in Moscow and St. Petersburg, citing the wave of spot checks by Russian authorities on prominent rights groups and other nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Russian concert managers and music industry experts fear more Western musicians could follow suit. (Kommersant)

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

* Russia has suggested Poland revive the Yamal-Europe 2 gas pipeline project. Warsaw greeted the proposal with little enthusiasm, as Russian energy giant Gazprom wants partial ownership of the Polish stretch of the pipeline. (Kommersant)

* The Russian Finance Ministry is trying to convince regular citizens to invest in financial markets by offering favorable tax rates. Experts believe that,in its current form, the draft proposal is unlikely to be effective as Russians prefer to keep their money in bank deposits or invest in real estate. (Kommersant)

* Russia’s Gazprom Neft and Royal Dutch Shell are expected to agree to jointly drill for shale oil in Western Siberia and explore Russia's Arctic shelf as Russia has recently stepped up efforts to drill into tight oil, which accounts for roughly two-thirds of its 26 billion tons of recoverable reserves. (Vedomosti)

* Russia’s largest bank Sberbank, its subsidiary Sberbank Leasing and US aerospace and defense corporation Boeing have reached an agreement on an order for 12 Next-Generation 737-800 aircraft, worth over $1 billion. (Vedomosti)

* The future of the Russian aerospace industry. Interview with the head of the United Aircraft Corporation Mikhail Pogosyan. (Rossiiskaya Gazeta)

* Russian tycoon Alexander Lebedev has sold his Moscow-based airline Red Wings for a symbolic 1 ruble (less than a dollar) after it was grounded following a fatal crash of one of its Tupolev jets. (Vedomosti)

WORLD

* An international network of journalists has obtained some 2.5 million records from tax havens detailing shell companies, offshore accounts and dubious financial deals. The unprecedented leaks expose some 120,000 letterbox entities, offshore accounts and other dubious deals in more than 170 countries. (Kommersant)

DEFENSE

* Russia may extend the deadline for complete destruction of its chemical weapons arsenal until 2020 as it lacks industrial capacity to finish the task on schedule. (Izvestia)

* Russia is planning to modernize its fleet of about 3,000 Soviet-era BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) as their replacement – the Kurganets IFV – is expected to go in production only in 2016. (Izvestia)

* The Russian military believes that the potential military conflict on the Korean peninsula will not spread into the Russian territory as the ballistic missile reportedly moved to North Korea’s eastern coast is not targeted at Russia. (Kommersant)

SPACE

* Russia’s space agency Roscosmos may join NASA’s ambitious mission to capture an asteroid and place it in high lunar orbit for exploration. Interview with Russia’s space chief Vladimir Popovkin. (Rossiiskaya Gazeta)

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