Main News of January 31

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

WORLD

* Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych signed into law bills declaring an amnesty for demonstrators and canceling unpopular anti-protest laws, his press service said

* US President Barack Obama said that he believes the Winter Olympics in Russia’s southern resort town of Sochi will be safe but that security risks are inherent in any major international event

* The United States will seek the death penalty for accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev for his alleged role in the attack that killed three people and wounded hundreds of others, US Attorney General Eric Holder said

RUSSIA

* Russia’s central bank said that it had raised the upper limit for the ruble trading corridor by 25 kopeks for the second day as the currency continued to trade at historic lows

* Russian defense companies saw a large increase in arms sales in 2012 due to growing domestic procurement, an independent think tank said

* Senior Russian and Japanese diplomats started consultations in Tokyo in a bid to end a territorial row that has kept the two nations from signing a World War II peace treaty

* Russia has stopped imports of pork from EU countries following an outbreak of African swine fever virus in Lithuania, Prime business news agency reported