Deputy director of the FSB, General Vladimir Pronichev, who led the headquarters for the release of the hostages, and the head of the Special Purpose Center, General Tikhonov, received the Stars of the Hero of Russia. This was reported by Novaya Gazeta on Monday.

On Monday at 8.12 am at the Okhotny Ryad station of the Moscow metro, an unknown man jumped onto the rails. According to Interfax, as a result, train traffic was stopped for 12 minutes. The disturber of the peace fled, it was not possible to detain him. Traffic was soon restored.

A resident of Penza was injured in a bomb explosion. According to RIA Novosti, an elderly 68-year-old cleaning lady, who, apparently, was returning from the morning shift after cleaning, found an explosive device in the courtyard of a residential building. It worked in her hands. The woman was injured and was taken to the hospital. None of the bystanders were hurt. An operational investigation into the incident is currently underway. The issue of initiating a criminal case is being resolved.

The Turkish government, under strong pressure from the United States, will ask the Majlis to again vote on whether the US military can be allowed to use Turkey as a springboard for a war with Iraq. This was reported to the New York Times by Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis. representative of the Turkish government. The government will appeal to parliament this week after completing the formal procedure for responding to the results of Saturday's vote on the same issue.

A poster with the symbols of the organization "Russian National Unity" (RNU) was hung out by unknown persons in the town of Yelizovo in Kamchatka. As RIA "Novosti" was informed in the press service of the Department of Internal Affairs of the Kamchatka region, a red poster with RNU symbols measuring 3 by 1.5 meters was hung at the end of the house on Zavoiko Street. In addition to the emblem of the RNU, the poster reads: "Russia. Russians. Order." In fact, the ATC is checking.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov may sign a resolution this week to raise oil export duties to $40.3 per ton. This was announced on Monday by the head of the Department of Government Information Alexei Gorshkov. According to him, "tentatively on Wednesday this week, a decision to raise duties will be made by the Commission on Protective Measures in Foreign Trade, headed by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin," RIA Novosti reports.

Italy invites Saddam Hussein to urgently send the masterpieces of the Assyrian kingdom stored in Baghdad to Milan for an exhibition. According to art historians, this action will save them from destruction in the event of hostilities.

The Norwegian Coast Guard arrested the Russian fishing vessel Kharovsk. As a source in the FPS told RIA Novosti on Monday, the ship was arrested at the end of last week. The vessel "Kharovsk", owned by CJSC "Morskoye Sodruzhestvo" and assigned to the port of Murmansk, fished blue whiting in the Norwegian economic zone of the Barents Sea. According to the source, the reason for the arrest was the fact of fishing in the area closed for fishing.

Photo by ar Participants in the Live Shield campaign began to leave Iraq, reports Ar. This was announced by the official representative of the organizers of the action Christian Briggs. The reason for the return is a “live shield” is not sure of his safety. “Our main goal was mass. If there were 5-10 thousand of us, the war would not have begun,” Briggs said. As part of the action in Baghdad, only about a hundred activists arrived on two two -story buses from London - mostly Europeans.

In the Amur Region, in the village of Vozzhaevka, a man was killed while illegally dismantling the walls of an abandoned boiler room, reports Regions.ru. According to the Department for Civil Defense and Emergencies of the Amur Region, four reinforced concrete slabs collapsed on a man. On February 20, a similar tragedy occurred in the Amur city of Svobodny. Five men tried to dismantle the roof of one of the abandoned buildings for the illegal sale of metal.

The chief doctor of the maternity hospital of the Jalal-Abad regional hospital in Kyrgyzstan tried to sell the newborn. As RIA "Novosti" was informed on Monday in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kyrgyzstan, the doctor tried to sell the baby, who was abandoned by the mother, for $ 200, but was detained during the transaction. Law enforcement agencies of Kyrgyzstan opened a criminal case on the fact of child trafficking.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/2813835.stm China, who intends to send a person to space this year, announced the next important step of its space program - the study of the moon, AFP reports with reference to Sunday messages of the State Chinese media. As soon as the first Chinese astronaut will fly around the earth, the next challenge will be made to the moon, said Luan Enjze, director of public administration of space research.

The mayor's office of the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates on March 3 organized a mass wedding of its 24 employees, RIA Novosti reports. This is the second such event organized by the city authorities in order to reduce the costs of newlyweds for organizing wedding celebrations. About 2,500 guests are invited to the municipal club stadium for a festive ceremony, which will be accompanied by a laser show, fireworks and performances of dancers and singers.

A diamond of 232.9 carats was mined at factory number 12 of the Udachny Mining and Processing Plant, located in the Arctic Circle, RIA Novosti reports. According to Rubtsov, the chief concentrator of the enterprise, the last time a diamond of equal size was mined was in 1991. The mined tobacco-colored diamond, somewhat irregular in shape, transitional from the octahedron - the classical form of diamond, has no man-made disturbances, it has only natural chips.

http://www.chemsoldier.narod.ru/art.html The Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia prescribed to suspend the destruction of chemical weapons at the training ground in the village of Gorny, the Saratov region. According to Monday RIA Novosti in the press service of the ministry, during February 25-27, the Ministry of Economic Academy of Sciences discovered a number of violations of environmental legislation.