A small atomic force microscope, part of the MECA instrument on the Phoenix spacecraft, has captured the first-ever atomic force micrograph of a Martian soil particle.

15 August 2008, 08:56 News WP: relations between Russia and the United States will not change dramatically There will be no significant changes in relations between Russia and the United States. According to The Washington Post , this is how American officials commented on the words of US Defense Secretary Robert Gates about reviewing relations with Russia in connection with military actions in Georgia.

15 August 2008, 09:58 News Guardian: Russia wants to manipulate Abkhazia and Ossetia Statements by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev about supporting any decision by South Ossetia and Abkhazia regarding Georgia made it clear that Russia is seeking to take full control over these regions. At the same time, as The Guardian newspaper writes , Russia would prefer to leave the question of the status of these regions open and not include them in Russia, so that the situation can be manipulated.

15 August 2008, 02:26 News The first youth construction team left for Tskhinvali The first youth construction team from Vladikavkaz left for Tskhinvali to participate in the restoration of the capital of South Ossetia, said Alan Tatarov, leader of the Kharon youth search organization. According to him, members of the construction team are ready to clear the rubble, look for explosive objects, participate in the collection and identification of the bodies of the dead and disinfect the territory.

August 15, 2008, 20:46 News An American who tried to bring weapons into the Capitol was sentenced to 22 years. A Virginia judge sentenced Michael Gorby to 22 years in prison on charges that he tried to bring a loaded weapon into the US Capitol building. Explosives were also found in his truck. Gorby was arrested on January 18 and a long knife was also found on him.

15 August 2008, 19:53 Sport The KHL inspected 18 clubs By Friday, the Department of Inspections and Control of the Continental Hockey League had inspected 18 hockey clubs and sports palaces. According to the official KHL website, the commission checked the ice structures for compliance with the provisions of the competition regulations.

August 15, 2008, 11:19 News Three Russian TV channels will start broadcasting in Tskhinvali Three Russian TV channels will begin broadcasting in Tskhinvali on Friday, , who flew to Sochi from Vladikavkaz, said late the night before at a meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Sergei Shoigu . “How are things going with communications in South Ossetia?” — the Russian president asked.

15 August 2008, 13:41 News Archer Badenov won bronze Individual archery competitions take place at the Olympics on Friday. In the fight for bronze, Russian Bair Badenov defeated Mexican Juan Rene Serrano with a score of 115:110.

15 August 2008, 08:19 Sport Yop: we have created a good foundation Defender of the Moscow football club Mariusz Jop, after the victory over the Polish Legia (2:1) in the first match of the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup , commented on the progress of the game. “I'm pleased with the result. In the opening half, both teams played very poorly. This is probably due to the inevitable nervousness in such matches. After the break the game got more interesting.

August 15, 2008, 10:58 News A drunken prisoner killed two employees of the GUIN of Kyrgyzstan An armed attack on employees of the main department of execution of punishment of the Ministry of Justice of Kyrgyzstan was carried out by a convict of a special regime colony while intoxicated.

15 August 2008, 18:26 News Maoist leader elected Prime Minister of Nepal Legislators in Nepal elected as Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, a Maoist who led an uprising against the country's monarchy. At a special meeting of the Constituent Assembly, Dahal received 464 votes out of 577.

— 15.08.2008 06:44 — Yushkov and Sofiin qualified for the shot put final The track and field competitions take place at the Beijing Olympics on Friday. Qualification in the men's shot put has ended. Russian Ivan Yushkov qualified for the final with a score of 20.02 m, Pavel Sofin with a score of 20.29, and Anton Lyuboslavsky could not make it to the final competition. The best result in qualifying was shown by Pole Tomasz Majewski – 21.04 m. "Gazeta.Ru"

15 August 2008, 09:51 News Bush spent two hours in the CIA cafeteria US President George W. Bush headquarters visited CIA at Langley near Washington on Thursday, where he received two "classified briefings" and then had the opportunity to chat informally with members of the intelligence agency over lunch, White House spokeswoman Dana said. Perino .

August 15, 2008, 10:23 Culture Park Head of a statue of a Roman empress found during excavations in Turkey Archaeologists from the Catholic University, Leuven, Belgium, during excavations in Turkey, at the site of the ancient city of Sagalassos, 100 kilometers north of Antalya, discovered a marble head of a Roman empress. Scientists believe that this is a fragment of a statue of Empress Faustina (Faustina the Elder), wife of the Roman Emperor Antony Pius.

August 15, 2008, 12:02 Business FAS filed a case against TZK-Avia The Rostov Department of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (UFAS) of Russia opened a case on grounds of violation by the TZK-AVIA company of the Law “On the Protection of Competition” in terms of establishing monopoly prices for aviation fuel, the FAS said in a statement . "TZK-AVIA" is the only company providing aircraft refueling at the Rostov-on-Don airport.