On Friday, the Formula 1 stage of the German Grand Prix World Championship started with two races as part of free practice. The Hockenheimring circuit, where the Grand Prix takes place, can rightfully be considered the most ascetic in the championship calendar. But the track itself makes up for everything. This is a former Mercedes test site that has been transformed beyond recognition by many renovations.

The largest Russian oil company Rosneft bought a 6% stake in the oil and gas company Itera, RIA Novosti reports. The acquisition of the share took place on July 4, 2012, but this became known only on Friday. The Federal Antimonopoly Service ( FAS ) of Russia in April approved Rosneft's application to purchase 51% of Oil and Gas Company Itera LLC .

Sport Relay race as a holiday Gazeta.Ru correspondent about the Olympic torch relay stage Marina Karapetyan (Lambert-Moscow) close 100% On Friday, the Olympic flame arrived in London, where it will be carried throughout the city over the course of a week, ending its relay on the opening day of the Olympics on July 27.

Business Russian stock trading opened sharply lower Russian stock indices fell sharply in the first minutes of trading after a significant increase the day before. The RTS index lost 0.65%, amounting to 1,404 points. The MICEX fell by 0.76% to 1423.62 points. On Thursday, against the backdrop of rising oil prices , the RTS index reached a two-month high .

Capital outflows from funds investing in Russian stocks resumed after just one week of inflows, amounting to $52 million for the week, according to Emerging Portfolio Fund Research (EPFR). Last week's inflow, which was preceded by a long period of outflow, amounted to $51 million. Thus, from the beginning of 2012 to July 18, the total inflow into Russian funds amounted to $735 million.

A Chinese court has rejected an appeal by famous artist and dissident Ai Weiwei to fine him 15 million yuan ($2.3 million) for tax evasion, the BBC reports. The artist was prohibited from being present in the courtroom. A fine for the specified amount was assessed to Beijing Fake Cultural Development Ltd., the founder of which Ai Weiwei is. It was through this company that the artist sold his works. Ai Weiwei was arrested in Beijing in April 2011 for tax evasion.

The remarkable preservation of historical objects in Italy , coupled with the achievements of modern science and technology, sometimes gives amazing results. Three years ago, the remains of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio , one of the most famous artists of the Italian Baroque, were discovered in the cemetery of the small Tuscan town of Porto d'Ercole.

Fourteen people are killed and about 50 injured in a shooting at the premiere of the new Batman film in Aurora, outside Denver. reports The Denver Post . Ten people were previously reported dead. According to the publication, four victims died in hospitals. According to police officials, the suspect who opened fire has been detained. He is 24 years old.

The current head of the self-proclaimed republic, Bako Sahakyan , was re-elected as President of Nagorno-Karabakh, the local Central Election Commission told Interfax on Friday. According to preliminary data, 66.7% of voters (47,085 people) voted for Sahakyan, and 32.5% (22,966 people) voted for his main competitor, deputy of the NKR National Assembly, General Vitaly Balasanyan. The third candidate, Arkady Soghomonyan, received 0.8% of the vote.

— 20.07.2012 02:41 — A car and a minibus collided in Signalny Proezd opposite the Voskhod Hotel in north-east Moscow, two people were killed and three were injured. “Around 01.00 on Friday, a car and a minibus collided here. As a result, two people from the car died on the spot, three more from the same car were seriously injured and were hospitalized,” a law enforcement source told Interfax. An operational investigation team is working at the scene of the incident.

In the UK, arms dealer Michael Ranger, who tried to buy surface-to-air missiles from North Korea in order to then sell them to Baku, was sentenced to three years in prison. reports this Interfax . “Ranger's relationship with Azerbaijan was not only illegal, but also potentially very dangerous,” British prosecutors said in a statement. According to the department, Ranger is an international arms dealer who used a company registered in Hong Kong in the name of a girlfriend to smuggle goods.

Business The dollar exchange rate at the opening lost 7 kopecks, the euro - 10 kopecks The dollar exchange rate for tomorrow settlements fell by 7 kopecks in the first minutes of trading, to 31.92 rubles. The euro exchange rate decreased by 10 kopecks to 39.12 rubles.

The presentation of the new concept from the Volzhsky Automobile Plant will take place at the Moscow International Motor Show from August 31 to September 9 this year. As stated in the official press release of the concern, this will be a new crossover that will receive the Lada B platform of its own design. The exterior of the car was developed by the new chief designer of AvtoVAZ, Steve Mattin , who previously worked for Volvo and Mercedes.

Several hundred dairy farmers have blocked three milk processing plants in England to protest low milk prices, Sky News reports . According to the publication, farmers using tractors blocked the Robert Wiseman plant in Somerset, the Arla plant in Leicester and another plant in Leeds. Dairy farm owners are unhappy with the reduction in milk fees to £2 per liter - the amount they receive on average from factories.

deputies State Duma , members of the inter-factional working group, believe that the flood in the Krasnodar Territory was not man-made and occurred as a result of a natural disaster, Interfax reports . “As a result of studying the circumstances of the emergency situation in the Krasnodar Territory, the deputies - members of the working group came to the conclusion that the natural disaster was not man-made.