On December 18, the State Duma adopted in the third, final, reading a draft law, according to which the tax on the purchase of foreign banknotes and payment documents denominated in foreign currency is abolished. The bill was supported by 291 deputies with 226 votes required for its adoption. 115 voted against, one MP abstained. Now the law has been sent to the Federation Council for consideration, after which, if approved, it will go to the president for signature.

The head of the administration of the Novosibirsk region, Viktor Tolokonsky, signed a resolution on the sale for private use of the Marshal Pokryshkin metro station to commercial organizations. It is reported by RIA Novosti. This decision is due to the fact that untimely funding of the metro from the federal budget does not allow the development of the city metro at the proper level. If such an experiment succeeds, several more stations will be put up for sale.

The Moscow City Duma at a meeting on Wednesday decided to allocate an additional 91 million 50 thousand rubles for the installation of a monument to the writer Mikhail Bulgakov at Patriarch's Ponds. Including additional funds, the total the cost of installing the composition "Master and Margarita" and the general improvement of the ponds will exceed 160 million rubles, Interfax reports. The monument will be erected according to the project sculptor Alexander Rukavishnikov.

The auction for the sale of a 74.95% stake in Slavneft will take place under unprecedented security measures provided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Federal Security Service, Interfax reports. Just in front of the entrance to the building of the Russian Federal Property Fund on Leninsky Prospekt, the agency correspondent counted at least 5 police cars and at least 10 police officers.

The premiere of the second part of Peter Jackson's monumental film saga based on the equally monumental literary saga of J.R.R. Tolkien took place in London, at the cinema in Leicester Square, to the great delight of the fans. It is reported by the Air Force. The main stars of the film - Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett, Dominic Monaghan and Sean Austin - attended the ceremony.

The auction for the sale of a 74.95% stake in the Slavneft oil company began at noon and ended in 4 minutes in favor of Sibneft and its owner Roman Abramovich, NTV reports. Abramovich paid $1 billion 860 million for the state stake, RBC reports. The starting price of the package was $1.7 billion, the auction step was $20 million. The auction was conducted by RFBR employee Vladimir Korovkin.

Another resident of the village of Sadovoye, Arbuzinsky district, Mykolaiv region, was bitten by a wolf, RIA Novosti reports with reference to the press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Ukraine. He became the 9th victim of wolf bites. He was hospitalized in the central regional hospital with wounds on his cheek and hand. Last Sunday, 8 residents of the villages of Sadovoye and Vinogradny Yar were hospitalized, bitten by the same wolf.

On Tuesday evening, on Rustaveli Street (Moscow), a driver knocked down a 9-year-old boy and fled the scene. According to RIA Novosti, the child died on the spot. The incident happened at house number four at 18.45. A 39-year-old woman and her son were crossing the street at a marked pedestrian crossing with a green light on. Suddenly, a car appeared on the road, without stopping, the driver ran into the boy, and then disappeared.

George W. Bush's advisers will advise him to accuse Iraq of violating the latest UN resolution. However, they do not see the outburst as a reason for immediate military action against Saddam Hussein. It is expected that the advisers will express their opinions and recommendations during the report to the President on the 1200-page UN Iraqi report.

Eleventh grader Reid Ellison of Anzar High School in San Juan Batista devoted part of his high school lecture to the history of hacking. As a lab work, he hacked the school computer network. Before carrying out this action, he warned the school administration. The school administration didn't mind. Having hacked into the computer network, the student lowered his own grades, since there was nowhere to raise them.

The Day of the Russian Language was held at the Jordanian University in Amman on Wednesday, RIA Novosti reports. Rector of the University Shativi Abdallah stressed that this is the first such event, which is held to popularize the Russian language and to strengthen ties between Russian and Jordanian scientific and educational institutions.

The Federation Council on Wednesday approved the law on the federal budget for 2003, Interfax reports. 139 people took part in the voting. 127 senators voted for the adoption of the budget, seven against, five abstained. Now the budget should be sent for signature to the President of the Russian Federation.

On Wednesday, the correctional chamber of the court of the Parisian suburb of Bobigny invalidated the suit of the Swiss company Noga against the management of the Paris Le Bourget airport and a number of French organizations, RIA Novosti reports. Lawyers for the firm believe that it was these organizations that prevented the arrest of two Russian aircraft that took part in the 44th International Aviation and Space Salon in July 2001.

The Moscow Conservatory, in which a fire broke out the day before, will be repaired with funds from the federal budget. This is reported by "Echo of Moscow" with reference to the statement of the Minister of Culture of Russia Mikhail Shvydkoy. The Moscow government yesterday expressed a desire to bear the cost of repairs, but, according to Shvydkoy, the federal government should do this.

A little-known black-and-white portrait of Marilyn Monroe, showing the legendary pop star smiling at the camera with one shoulder up, was sold at Christie's for £14,100 - more than double what was expected. It is reported by Ananova.com. Perhaps the price of the portrait was "stuffed" by the melodramatic story of Monroe's relationship with the person to whom the star presented and inscribed this portrait, John Hyde.