`There should be competition´: Russian President Vladimir Putin will seek re-election as an independent
(World News Russia)

Russian President Vladimir Putin kicked off an annual press conference on Thursday, his first major public appearance since announcing he would seek a new six-year term in March 2018 elections. The marathon event has in the past lasted up to almost five hours and this year more than 1,600 journalists were accredited. Proceedings began with a question from a Moscow radio station on the reasons the president was seeking re-election, after the long-expected confirmation of his candidacy last......