The Lower House of the Russian Parliament has unanimously passed the initial version of a Kremlin bill for business - and R&D-friendly customs and taxation regimes in the planned Russian research and development hub in Skolkovo, in the valley of the River Setun just west of Moscow.

The Russian government has no plans to raise the retirement age in the near future, Minister of Health and Social Development Tatyana Golikova said.

Russia slapped "smoking kills" warnings on cigarette packages from Saturday in an effort to crack down on an addiction kills up to 500,000 people a year and is on the rise.