Unidentified criminals robbed an audio and video equipment store in the Petrogradsky district of St. Petersburg. The robbers got into the store, having previously made a tunnel. As RIA "Novosti" was informed in the Central Internal Affairs Directorate of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, the theft was committed on Wednesday morning, before the opening of the store.

The Bulgarian government has sold an 80% stake in the Bulgartabak holding to the Tobacco Capital Partners consortium, which experts associate with Deutsche Bank, writes Kommersant . The buyer was determined as a result of a tender announced by the Bulgarian government.

More than five hundred Spanish students broke into the building of the National Radio and Television of Spain television center in Prado del Rey on Wednesday. As RIA Novosti reports with reference to the Spanish radio station Cadenaser, the students protest against the manipulation of information in favor of the government, especially in the Iraqi issue. According to the radio station, the students broke the gate and entered the territory of the TV center. Security failed to stop them.

The Federal Migration Service plans to create a unified system of immigration control in Russia and a special immigration inspection, which will carry out "preventive measures to prevent illegal migration to Russia." As "Kommersant" writes , Colonel-General Andrei Chernenko, head of the FMS, spoke about this at a briefing in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The Oktyabrskaya Railway (OZhD) raises the cost of commuter electric trains in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region. As RIA Novosti was informed at the OZhD Public Relations Center, the decision to raise tariffs was made "on the basis of the order of the governors of St. reduction of unprofitability of suburban communication". Starting from March 15, 2003, the cost of the zone fare for travel on the territory of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region will be increased by 1-4 rubles.

Tony Blair. Photo by ar It is possible that the closest US ally will not be able to take part in the military operation against Iraq. The fact is that in the UK the war supports less than 20 percent of the population, CBSNews reports. Therefore, said the British Prime Minister Tony Blair, his country will be able to take part in the hostilities in the Persian Gulf only if the UN resolution that resolves this resolution.

The European Court of Human Rights found that the Turkish authorities violated the rights of Abdullah Ocalan, BBC reports. This decision was made at the suit of the Kurdish diaspora in Turkey. Turkey is found guilty of violating the norms of the administration of justice, which, in particular, was expressed in the fact that not a civilian, but a military judge presided over the trial, and the defendant was limited to contacts with lawyers. In general, the court is called unfair and biased.

A group of militants accused of committing several major terrorist attacks against the military was detained in Chechnya. In particular, the militants are accused of organizing the assassination of Lieutenant General Igor Shifrin on November 16 last year, as well as the shelling of an Mi-8 helicopter in Grozny in September 2001, in which ten officers of the General Staff, including Generals Anatoly Pozdnyakov and Pavel Varfolomeev, were killed.

From the Finnish prison "Jokela", which is considered one of the most reliable and well-guarded in Finland, two prisoners escaped. According to RIA Novosti, these are 25-year-old Estonian citizen Oleg Ivaine and 23-year-old Russian Valery Raykerus (former Ryabov), who served sentences of 7.5 and 11 years for drug smuggling and distribution. They were cellmates.

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Nebojsa Covic has been appointed acting head of government, RIA Novosti reports. He officially confirmed the death of Zoran Djindjic. Covic also said that the government had submitted to the country's parliament for approval a decree on the introduction of a state of emergency in the country.

Café Olenka in Taganrog no longer serves citizens of the United States and Great Britain, Newsru.com reports citing the Internet forum Delovoy Taganrog. At the entrance of the cafe, located at st. Instrumentalnaya, 23, the administration posted the following announcement: "Due to the aggressive policy of the US and the UK and the ongoing attempts to violate the UN charter, citizens of the US and UK are not served." This action caused an unexpectedly great public outcry.

Chechen prosecutor Vladimir Kravchenko said that the explosion of the Government House in Grozny was organized by "leaders of gangs," Interfax reports. The prosecutor drew this conclusion from the testimonies of the suspects in this case. "From their testimonies, a thread can be traced to the very top of the militants - to Basayev, Maskhadov and others," Kravchenko said.

During the investigation of the terrorist attacks in Bali, it turned out that the Jamaa Islamiyya group that organized them has been operating in Indonesia for longer than previously thought. According to the Washington Post, this was stated by representatives of the Indonesian police. It turned out that extremists were involved in the explosion at the residence of the Philippine ambassador in Jakarta in August 2000. Then Ambassador Leonid Kadai was wounded, two more people died.

Flights of American U-2 reconnaissance aircraft over Iraqi territory as part of UN inspections have been stopped after a threat from the Iraqi Air Force. According to CNN, two reconnaissance aircraft were flying over Iraqi territory when the country's air force took off their planes. Later in Baghdad, they explained their actions by saying that only one reconnaissance aircraft could fly over Iraqi territory at a time.

Zoran Dzhindzhich. Photo from the site www.arhiva.glas-javnosti.co.yu At the entrance to the building of the Government of Serbia and Montenegro, unknown people opened shooting. As a result, the Prime Minister of Serbia Zoran Dzhindzhich received two severe injuries - in the chest and in the stomach. In the hospital, he died, despite the efforts of the doctors, reports Ar. A large caliber bullets were shot at it from a long distance. The police detained two suspects.