Sport Artemyeva and Deeva reached the semi-finals of the European Championships in the 50m breaststroke The European Short Course Swimming Championships started on Thursday in Szczecin (Poland). Russians Valentina Artemyeva and Daria Deeva reached the semi-finals of the 50m breaststroke. Artemyeva won the qualification (30.56), Deeva was fourth (31.11), reports “All Sport” . Vera Kalashnikova (eighth - 31.24) and Anastasia Chaun (21st - 31.93) did not qualify.

08 December 2011, 12:29 Politics Obama chair salesman jailed Former Illinois governor who sold Obama's chair sentenced to 14 years Alexander Artemyev close 100% Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich Reuters Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich received 14 years for trying to sell the seat of a senator from his state, which Barack Obama vacated after his election as president. Blagojevich fully admitted his guilt.

Moscow needs to improve its image to increase the attractiveness of the city, including for investors, admitted the mayor of the city, Sergei Sobyanin . He stated this at an urban forum taking place in the capital. “Everyone knows that Singapore is an innovative city, and Moscow is not innovative, although Moscow is home to 30% of Russian science and scientists, who, I dare to think, will compete with any city in the world,” Interfax quotes Sobyanin .

December 08, 2011, 12:17 News Medvedev dismissed Deputy Foreign Minister Borodavkin from his post Russian President Dmitry Medvedev dismissed Deputy Head of Foreign Ministry the Russian Alexei Borodavkin from his post . The corresponding presidential decree was posted on Thursday in the bank of normative and administrative acts. Borodavkin was relieved of his post due to a transfer to another job, the decree says.

On Revolution Square, where a rally for fair elections is scheduled to take place on Saturday, the world's first “ice theater” will be installed in the form of a four-meter tower. In addition, a carousel will operate during the Russian Winter festival, the mayor's office reported.

Business The dollar rose by almost 8 kopecks The weighted average exchange rate of the dollar to the ruble for settlements tomorrow at the single trading session (UTS) of the MICEX , at which the official exchange rate of the Central Bank is set, increased by 7.82 kopecks and amounted to 31.2308 rubles.

The US government on Wednesday filed a new series of lawsuits against oil producer British Petroleum (BP). This time, BP is accused of violating safety and environmental regulations while drilling a well in the Gulf of Mexico, AFP reports. The US Office of Safety and Environmental Policy says five possible violations occurred during the organization's work that led to the largest environmental disaster in US history and the death of 11 people.

In 2012, the IMF predicts a decrease in the growth rate of the Russian economy to 3.5% from the expected 4.1% in 2011, said the head of the IMF mission, Juha Kahonen, following the results of work in Moscow.

Journalists Svetlana Sorokina and Irina Yasina are leaving the Russian Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights, considering the State Duma elections to be rigged, which they wrote about in their blogs.

British intelligence agent Jim Prideaux ( Mark Strong ) was shot in the back during an operation in Hungary: someone gave up all the identities and passwords. After an epic failure in a top-secret office, which its inhabitants call a “circus,” heads roll: the “owner” who heads the office (John Hurt) is sent into retirement to die. was also sent into retirement His right-hand man George Smiley (Gary Oldman) .

Researchers at the Swiss Center for Experimental Cancer Research at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne for the first time focused their attention not on the primary tumor, but on the metastases initiated by it, and achieved stunning success. They managed to isolate a protein that plays a key role in the development of metastases and, by blocking it, stopped its growth. Scientists say they have identified several conditions necessary for the development of secondary tumors.

Secretary General NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen called on the Russian authorities to spend money on modernizing the country, and not on retaliatory measures, which, in Moscow's view, could neutralize the effect of the deployment of US missile defense facilities in Eastern Europe. “Russian measures to counter the missile defense system will be a waste of money,” Fogh Rasmussen said on the eve of a meeting in Brussels of the foreign ministers of the 28 member countries of the alliance.

08 December 2011, 11:23 Politics Russia blocked the free Internet Sergei Lavrov left the OSCE summit early, refusing to approve a declaration on freedom in cyberspace Ksenia Solyanskaya close 100% Russia blocked the OSCE declaration on freedom on the Internet, which talks about freedom of expression in cyberspace. In response, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that Russia considers the Internet dangerous for its political system, and called the past elections unfree and unfair.

December 08, 2011, 02:05 News Baku-Novorossiysk oil pipeline exploded in Dagestan An explosion occurred near a section of the main oil pipeline in Dagestan, a source in the republic’s law enforcement agencies said on Thursday night. “The incident occurred around 21.00 Moscow time on the 242nd km of the Baku-Novorossiysk main oil pipeline in the Karabudakhkent region of the republic. There was no oil spill. The pipe is not ruptured. She got a dent. Oil pumping has not stopped.

— 08.12.2011 12:57 — The Central Election Commission will contact the Investigative Committee and other law enforcement agencies to look into video recordings of falsifications that may have occurred during the State Duma elections, and to find “customers and sponsors” for the preparation of such videos, said the head of the Central Election Commission, Vladimir Churov.