NEWS

Ak Bars and Traktor will tonight contend for advancing into the Gagarin Cup final. The seventh, decisive, game of the semifinal series will take place at Kazan’s Tatneft Arena.

Rubin Kazan, Russia's last surviving representatives in Europe, come into Thursday's Europa League quarter-final clash against Chelsea on the back of good league form.

On Saturday, Rubin clinched a morale-boosting 2-0 win over visitors Lokomotiv Moscow to move up to fourth in the Russian Premier League, with goals from Israeli midfielder Bibras Natkho and forward Vladimir Dyadyun.

Two bicycle tourists from Kazan, Alen Khairullin and Pavel Grachev, have finished the US leg of their world cycling tour. The cyclists who five months ago embarked on a world cycling tour commemorating the upcoming 2013 Summer Universiade and the 100th anniversary of Onisim Pankratov's journey around the world, have finally reached Los Angeles after crossing the United States from the East Coast to the West Coast.

And again Kazan is getting ready to welcome guests. Heads of Delegation (HoD) of more than 120 nations will gather in the host city of the 2013 Summer Universiade on April 3-7. Sports ministers and heads of National University Sports Federations (NUSFs) from the United States, Canada, China, Latin America, Africa, Asia, European Union and CIS are expected to arrive in Kazan for the HoD Meeting.

Grand National Assembly of Turkey’s vice speaker, Meral Aksener, has visited the State Council of Tatarstan. She met with SC chairman, Farid Mukhametshin, and deputies.

The Tatarstan Artistic Gymnastics Individual Open Cup came to an end in Kazan. The test competition was held at the Gymnastics Centre, one of the 29 unique competition venues built especially for the 27th Summer Universiade. Men's and women's finals were held on Day 3 of the tournament to determine champions and runners-up in each medal event.

Ak Bars of Kazan failed to save the 5th match of the Gagarin Cup semifinal series against Traktor of Cheliabinsk. Belov’s men 10 minutes before the final siren managed to get even and gain some overtime. Eight seconds before the additional time expired, however, they missed a goal.

The Rossia 1 TV channel in conjunction with the Russain Geographic Society on 25 March to 29 September holds a Russia 10 competition, to reveal country’s ten main places of interest. As of 1 April, the Raifa Monastery was among the top ten Volga Federal District sights, ranking seventh.

Two bicycle tourists from Kazan, Alen Khairullin and Pavel Grachev, who embarked on a world cycling tour around the world, are currently approaching the West Coast of the United States. The cyclists, who dedicated their odyssey to the upcoming 2013 Summer Universiade and the 100th anniversary of Onisim Pankratov's circumnavigation, reached Brawley, CA.

Tatarstan has for 5 years in a row become the leader in military service training, and organisation and holding a conscription campaign.