“Kazakhstan has seen 600% growth in prices for housing in the last 12 years”, “American Firm Wins EXPO 2017 design idea”, "Russian court declares Jehovah's Witness brochures extremist", "Khodorkovsky Visits Former Associates in Israel"

kazakhembus.com. “An American Firm Wins EXPO 2017 design idea for the Expo 2017 Exhibition Site” - An American architecture firm will design the EXPO2017 Astana Exhibition Hall in Kazakhstan. The Chicago-based Adrian Smith+Gordon Gill Architecture Company will design the 173.4 hectare Expo grounds that will include housing projects, socio-cultural, education and health-care facilities, shopping centers, parks and boulevards.

themoscownews.com. "Chechnya to pay $1,000 to families naming kids after Muhammad"-The head of the southern Russian republic of Chechnya said Monday that his mother’s charity would pay $1,000 to families naming newborns on that day after the founder of Islam. Monday marked the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad in the tradition of Sunni Islam.

"Russian court declares Jehovah's Witness brochures extremist" - A Russian court has declared brochures produced by the Jehovah’s Witnesses to be extremist, the Prosecutor General’s Office said Monday.

"Russia's Putin named world’s third most-admired person" - Russian President Vladimir Putin has been named the third most admired person in the world, behind Microsoft founder Bill Gates and US President Barack Obama, according to a new poll for The Times.

tengrinews.kz. “Kazakhstan has seen 600% growth in prices for housing in the last 12 years” - Prices for housing in Kazakhstan have grown 600% in the last 12 years, Tengrinews.kz reports, citing the State Agency for Competition. “Prices for primary market housing from 2001 to October 2013 grew by over 600%, with the growth being stable throughout almost the entire period, excepting 2007-2009: in the two years of the global financial crisis, prices dropped by 15%”, the Agency’s spokesman said.

topnewstoday.org. "Khodorkovsky Visits Former Associates in Israel" -Former tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky has visited Israel where several of his business associates from dismantled oil giant Yukos are living.

ria.ru. “Russian Ship Reaches New Zealand After Escaping Antarctic Ice” - A Russian research ship that was trapped in Antarctic ice for several weeks arrived Tuesday in New Zealand’s Bluff port to undergo repair work, the vessel’s owner said.

“Uzbek President Warns of Growing Threats in Central Asia” - The leader of the Central Asian nation of Uzbekistan said Tuesday that he was concerned by mounting threats on its borders, including in neighboring Afghanistan.

“Nobel Laureates Urge Russia to Scrap 'Gay Propaganda' Law”- Several dozen Nobel prize laureates called on Russia to overturn controversial legislation dubbed “the gay propaganda law” in an open letter published Tuesday in British newspaper The Independent.

“Russian Nationalist Leader Zhirinovsky Calls for Cap on Sex” - Attention-seeking Russian nationalist leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky is calling on party members to follow a stringent recipe for a healthy lifestyle that includes limiting sex to once every three months.