In connection with the upcoming elections, Russian TV channels will change the broadcasting schedule, RIA Novosti reports. On the voting day for the elections of deputies to the State Duma and to local governments, the Vesti program on the Rossiya TV channel will be aired according to the working day schedule. From 21:00 Moscow time, an information channel will start working on the Rossiya channel.

On Friday evening, the opponents of the Russian national football team in the third qualifying group of the 2006 World Cup, which will be held in Germany, became known. This is reported by Interfax. According to the results of today's draw, Russia will compete for the 2006 World Cup final with Portugal, Slovakia, Latvia, Estonia, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg.

On Saturday night, the Metekhi Cathedral was robbed in Tbilisi, Gazeta.ru reports with reference to Interfax. According to the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs, the criminals broke open the door of the cathedral and took away a piggy bank with donations, which contained about 800 lari (about $400). The icons hanging in the temple remained untouched. They are looking for criminals.

In Ingushetia on Friday evening, unidentified persons fired on the building of the Republican FSB Directorate, NEWSru.com reports citing Interfax. According to the first deputy head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the republic, Abukar Kostoev, a grenade launcher was fired from a grenade launcher in the direction of the building of the FSB of Ingushetia from a forest area located not far from Magas.

The Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation at a meeting on Saturday canceled the decision of the Moscow City Election Commission regarding the participation in voting in the capital of persons without a fixed place of residence, RIA Novosti reports.

On Friday evening, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Vitaliy Gaiduk was dismissed from his post, Gazeta.ru reports citing Interfax. Gaiduk supervised the issues of the fuel and energy complex in the government of Ukraine. Earlier on Friday, the Deputy Prime Minister said that Ukraine refused to create a gas consortium together with Russia.

The Main Directorate for Civil Defense and Emergencies (GO and Emergencies) of the Kaliningrad Region announced a storm warning and the introduction of a regime of "high readiness of forces and means" in the region. It is reported by Gazeta.Ru with reference to Interfax. During the day, a strong western wind is expected in the region. Currently, its gusts are already 17-24 meters per second, and in some places they will reach 28 meters per second.

Lieutenant-General Valery Chkheidze, Chairman of the State Department of Border Protection of Georgia, has resigned, RIA Novosti reports. On Friday, after a meeting of the National Security Council of Georgia, Chkheidze told reporters about his decision. He sent a letter of resignation to the Acting President of Georgia, Nino Burjanadze. However, Burjanadze did not grant Chkheidze's request.

The district election commission of the 115th district of the Moscow region refused to deregister a candidate for the State Duma of Russia, judge of the Moscow City Court Olga Kudeshkina, Ekho Moskvy reports. According to the judge, she sent all the documents on withdrawing her candidacy to the district and regional election commissions, and did it within the time limits established by law. However, until today the district election commission refused to accept these documents.

Georgian businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili presented to the National Security Council of Georgia his explanations regarding the visit to Tbilisi by Russian businessman Boris Berezovsky living in the UK. According to Interfax with reference to the statement of acting. Security Council Secretary Dzhemal Gakhokidze, an official document received by the National Security Service says that Berezovsky flew to Patarkatsishvili for a friendly meeting.

From 00:00 on Saturday, December 6, the campaign period for the election campaign for the election of deputies of the State Duma ends. According to Gazeta.Ru, this was reminded to journalists by a member of the Central Election Commission (CEC) Sergei Bolshakov the day before. "On December 6, it is forbidden to conduct any campaigning, including through the mass media," Interfax quotes Bolshakvoa as saying.

Rosanna Davison. Photo AP On Sunday, on the Chinese island of Hainan, the final of the Miss World-2003 contest was held, BBC reports. The winner was 19-year-old Rosanna Davison, representing Ireland. Rosanna is the daughter of a popular Irish musician Chris de Burg. The second place was taken by Canadian Nazanin Afshin -Jam, and the third - Chinese Ki Guan. The 21-year-old Russian woman Svetlana Goreva, the holder of the title of "Beauty of Russia" this year, did not reach the final.

The head of the American administration in Iraq, Paul Bremer, predicts a large increase in terrorist attacks in the next six months, when the process of transferring powers from the occupying forces to the Iraqis begins. According to Bremer, quoted by CNN, the goal of the militants is to disrupt this process. The head of the administration believes that now in Iraq one has to deal with "professional terrorists", many of whom served in the secret services under Saddam Hussein.

A Ukrainian tug lifted a Russian ship from the shallows near the Tuzla Spit, RIA Novosti reports. According to the press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Ukraine, on the eve, one kilometer from the northern part of the island, a Russian vessel collecting dirty water ran aground, en route from the port of Poti to Kerch. Five hours later, the Russian vessel was refloated and taken to the Ukrainian port of Kerch. None of the teams were hurt.

Major Irakli Papava, head of the analysis service of the State Department for the Protection of the State Border of Georgia, and Lieutenant Colonel Khvicha Dvalishvili, head of the Tbilisi airport checkpoint, who allowed businessman Boris Berezovsky to cross the border on the night of December 2-3, have been removed from their posts. This was announced to Interfax-AVN on Saturday by a high-ranking source in the border department.