Anna Kournikova is back on the court! True, just for a day and for a charitable purpose. Together with her, such tennis stars as John McEnroe , Jim Courier, Andy Roddick and Tommy Haas , held a charity mini-tournament in Houston to help victims of the tsunami, which killed more than 156,000 people from 11 countries, and raised more than half a million dollars.

The decision of the International Aquatics Federation (FINA) to deny Montreal, Canada, the opportunity to host the World Championships in the summer of 2005 brought tragic results. On Thursday it became known about the death of the executive director of the organizing committee of the competition, Yvon Desrochers. The 59-year-old functionary has recently been under fire from severe criticism due to FINA's decision.

03 February 2005, 17:11 Business The money will be found somewhere in Asia Irina Kryuchkova China says it did not give money to Yuganskneftegaz. Immediately, India offered the services of Rosneft, which lays claim to a share in the former YUKOS asset. The market believes that the scheme for repaying Rosneft’s debts and the composition of its participants will be determined when the Kremlin decides whether the merger of Gazprom with Rosneft is necessary at all.

03 February 2005, 18:06 Politics Basayev was accused posthumously Ilya Barabanov On Thursday, the Prosecutor General's Office accused the leaders of Chechen militants Aslan Maskhadov and Shamil Basayev of organizing the seizure of a school in Beslan. At the same time, news came from Abkhazia about the death of Shamil Basayev.

03 February 2005, 13:26 Society Zhvania was killed by smuggling Sergey Ivashko Russian criminologists have confirmed the possibility of the death of Zurab Zhvania from a faulty water heater. It turned out that the culprit in the death of the prime minister was the most popular and dangerous smuggled product in Tbilisi. Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania could actually die from carbon monoxide poisoning.

15:29 Russia is negotiating early payment of debt to the Paris Club Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia is negotiating the possibility of early repayment of debts to the Paris Club. “But, of course, we will make this decision if it is economically beneficial. Such a decision must be fair to all parties involved. We hope for your positive influence on this process,” the Russian President said, addressing World Bank President James Wolfensohn. RIA "Novosti"

03 February 2005, 20:44 Politics Saakashvili became everything Ilya Zhegulev In connection with the death of Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania, the president assumed the duties of prime minister. Mikheil Saakashvili called for maintaining order and not violating discipline, and the Prosecutor General’s Office together with the American counterintelligence service will investigate the causes of the death of the head of the Georgian government.

05 February 2005, 11:54 Business Evil Lukashenko is furious in Belarus Ekaterina Shaposhnikova (Minsk) Alexander Lukashenko began the fight to improve production indicators. Now the heads of enterprises using state support will be punished by law for failure to fulfill the plan. On the personal initiative of the president, offending directors will be fined, deprived of their positions or imprisoned, depending on the degree of guilt.

03 February 2005, 18:31 Society Millionaire freed himself for one and a half million Irina Petrakova In Sweden, one of the largest businessmen, the owner of the Siba retail chain, Fabian Bengtsson, was released from hostage. He was held captive for two weeks and was found in a park in Gothenburg on Wednesday. Police claim that Bengtsson was released during a special operation, but according to other sources, $1.5 million was paid for his release.

04 February 2005, 09:21 Business The Central Bank paid back on reserves Georgy Demidov The volume of gold and foreign exchange reserves of the Bank of Russia has grown - sharply and to indecently large sizes. According to the Central Bank, as of January 28, reserves amounted to $128.3 billion. Thus, over the week the volume of gold and foreign currency reserves increased by $9.6 billion, or 8%.

Alexey Fedorov said that the government is doing “all the necessary work” to corporatize RSK MiG. Fedorov hopes that MiG will be corporatized already this year or early next year. 100% of the company's shares will belong to the state.

03 February 2005, 12:29 Politics Bush introduced new enemies and friends Vasily Sergeev George Bush delivered his annual State of the Union address, in which he outlined the foreign and domestic course of the United States for the coming year. The president promised, as before, to promote democracy, fight terrorism and boost the economy. In conclusion, he presented a new list of enemies of the United States.

04 February 2005, 10:32 Society The court hides werewolves Irina Petrakova The Moscow City Court has begun a trial on the case of werewolves from the Moscow traffic police who were involved in the theft and sale of expensive foreign cars. Their trial is being held closed to the press. Most of the defendants do not admit their guilt, although they were caught red-handed during the operation.

03 February 2005, 16:17 From the editor Fathers and sons of the velvet revolutions "Gazeta.Ru" The death of Zurab Zhvania cannot but become the subject of speculation, doubt and speculation. The relatively young politician, who died tonight at the age of 42, had already become a real political bison, one of the most influential politicians in the entire Caucasus.

03 February 2005, 20:16 Politics The government of Karachay-Cherkessia was filled with Semyonovites Aliya Samigullina The government in Karachay-Cherkessia has almost completely changed. Prime Minister Alik Kardanov formed a new cabinet from old, Soviet officials. The President of Russia only added to them a new Minister of Internal Affairs, who was sent to Cherkessk from Rostov-on-Don.