Two rare Russian books - lifetime editions of the works of Lomonosov and Mendeleev - were withdrawn from auctions held in London by Sotheby's on Wednesday. We are talking about the publication of Mikhail Lomonosov's treatise "The First Foundation of Metallurgy and Ore Affairs" (St. Petersburg, 1763) and Dmitri Mendeleev's book "Fundamentals of Chemistry" (St. Petersburg, 1869-71).

Photo light On December 3, sixteen guards from the Taman division fled to Moscow to seek protection from the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers. The fugitives wrote statements where they indicated the company commander of the senior lieutenant Gasilin as the main evil, which forced them to look for salvation outside the unit. Applications, as usual, were transferred to the military prosecutor's office. In particular, the Alabinsk garrison, where the 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Taman Division is deployed.

Judge Frederick Motz, who is considering the Sun Microsystems lawsuit against Microsoft Corporation , at the first hearing after hearing the parties' lawyers, made it clear that the inclusion of Java in the Windows operating system seemed to him an "attractive" solution to the dispute. Sun Microsystems Corp. filed the lawsuit after an appeals court overturning District Judge Jackson's decision to split Microsoft in two upheld his finding that Microsoft was anti-competitive.

Filming NTV Sixteen servicemen of the 2nd motorized rifle Taman division in the Moscow region (commander-Major General Alexander Glushchenko.-Ed.) Selfly left the location of the unit, the press service of the Moscow Military District told Interfax-AVN. "All military personnel were without weapons, now the reasons are being established that prompted them to commit this act," the press service of the MVO said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis said his country will allow the US to use military bases in Turkey to attack Iraq. According to AP, this will happen if the UN approves a military action against Iraq.

On Wednesday, parliamentary hearings "Society, Media, Power: Freedom of Speech and Censorship" are held in Ukraine. Speaking from the parliamentary rostrum, the chairman of the newly created independent trade union of journalists, Andriy Shevchenko, said that "censorship in Ukraine exists not de jure, but de facto," ForUm reports. "There are thousands of journalists who have not announced censorship in their media, but their patience is not eternal.

On Wednesday, Israeli helicopters launched several rocket attacks on Palestinian administrative buildings in Gaza City, Reuters reported. The attack was carried out by two helicopters. At least three rockets were fired at a complex of administrative buildings in the city center. Witnesses report that a black cloud of smoke rose into the air as a result of the explosions. In addition, people were seen running out of the burning houses. The Israeli military has yet to comment on the incident.

A five-story old building collapsed in San Antonio, Texas, according to AP. The building was being restored, there were 20 workers inside. At least three were injured, and the busy street where the building stood was littered with debris. City rescue services are searching under the rubble for those who could walk on the sidewalk when the facade collapsed. The house was built in the 1880s.

Kidnapped by unknown criminals Sadi Sharifov, father of the vice-president of the largest Russian oil company "LUKOIL", may be released in during the day. This was stated to Interfax by the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia Koba Narchemashvili. "There is new information regarding this incident," said Narchemashvili.

The Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Russia and India are creating a working group to counter terrorism. According to RIA Novosti, this is stated in the Memorandum of Understanding between the governments of Russia and India on cooperation in the fight against terrorism, signed on Wednesday following the results of Russian-Indian talks at the highest level.

Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee received an invitation from Vladimir Putin to pay a visit to Russia and accepted this invitation with satisfaction. According to RIA Novosti, Vajpayee said this in his opening speech at a joint press conference following the talks with the head of the Russian state. Vajpayee noted that during the talks, special attention was paid to the problem of terrorism.

Saparmurat Niyazov. Photo by ar The United States "regret the violence that has been encountered during the attempt on the president of Turkmenistan Saparmurat Niyazov." This is stated in a statement by the press secretary of the State Department of the United States, Philip Riker.

Ten Nizhnevartovsk air traffic controllers went on a hunger strike, RIA Novosti reports. Thus, they supported their colleagues from Surgut and Khanty-Mansiysk, who demand higher wages, the preservation of social guarantees and a change in leadership. The hunger strike continues for the fifth day in the Surgut air traffic control center. For health reasons, 16 people were suspended from work, including five flight directors.

Minister of State Security Valery Khaburdzania of Georgia does not rule out that bases may be located in South Ossetia inland kidnapping groups Georgia, according to Interfax. He noted that abducted on December 1 on east of Georgia, the father of the vice-president of the largest Russian oil company "LUKOIL" Sadi Sharifov can be transferred to South Ossetia.

Diplomatic Russian representations abroad resume accepting applications for obtaining Russian citizenship. This was reported on the official website of the Russian Foreign Ministry. Consideration of applications for Russian citizenship has been temporarily suspended after the entry into force on July 1, 2002 of the federal Law "On Citizenship of the Russian Federation".