The Security Service of Ukraine opened a criminal case on the fact of preparing a possible assassination attempt on Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma during his stay in Baden-Baden at the beginning of this year. It is reported by "Gazeta" with reference to Interfax. Kuchma himself announced the initiation of a criminal case at a press conference. From December 26 to January 17, Kuchma was in Baden-Baden, where he continued his recovery course after undergoing surgery in November.

MEP Olivier Dupuis ends his hunger strike in support of Chechnya, which he started on 18 January. A press release from the Transnational Radical Party says that on February 25, Olivier Dupuis will call a press conference in Brussels to explain his decision to end the hunger strike. It is also expected that on February 26 a discussion on the Chechen theme will take place in the European Parliament, in which Olivier Dupuis is to take part.

The Swiss prosecutor's office has confirmed that it is considering revenge as one of the versions of the murder of the SkyGuide air traffic controller, who led the Tu-154 and Boeing-757 planes that collided over Lake Constance. It is reported by Reuters with reference to the prosecutor Pascal Gossner. The 36-year-old Danish dispatcher could have been killed precisely for this disaster, the investigation believes.

A major deal is being prepared on the pension market: Raiffeisenbank Austria intends to acquire the non-state pension fund (NPF) Good Deed. According to Kommersant , this is the first NPF acquired by a foreign bank in the secondary market. At the same time, Good Deed is one of the oldest pension funds, which has been looking for new owners for more than a year. Now there is only one pension fund in Russia, owned by the foreign group ING. At the same time, NPF ING was created from scratch.

The fare in Moscow public transport may increase from 7 to 10 rubles at the end of March, RBC reports. Currently, the Regional Energy Commission is calculating fares for travel, specify in the capital's department of economic policy and city development. They note that Muscovites are most likely not in danger of traveling in public transport. Initially, the budget of Moscow for 2004.

The State Council of Chechnya approved the final versions of the state symbols of the republic, Deputy Chairman of the State Council Danilbek Tamkaev, who heads the state commission on heraldry, told Interfax. Before parliamentary elections, the State Council performs the functions of the legislative body of Chechnya.

Four people were killed as a result of the shelling of a car in the north-east of Moscow, a source in the capital's police department told RIA Novosti. "A Mercedes car with the corpses of four men was found at about 22.00 Moscow time near house number 8 in Moscow's Gostinichny Proezd," the agency's interlocutor said. According to him, the investigative-operational group left the scene. The circumstances of the incident are being investigated.

In 2003, more than 24,000 foreigners were deported from Moscow. This was announced on Wednesday at a press conference in RIA Novosti by the head of the passport and visa department of the Central Internal Affairs Directorate of Moscow, Alexander Barabanshchikov. At the same time, Barabanshchikov noted that the deportation of a foreign citizen occurs if he violates the procedure for staying on the territory of Russia.

Jean-Claude Jean-Baptiste, a member of the Cabinet of Ministers and former head of the country's police, fled from Haiti, engulfed in rebellion, reports AFP. Also, foreigners began to leave the country. In particular, Great Britain withdrew 70 of its citizens from the island, and Spain sent a plane for 50 of its subjects. Barricades spontaneously multiply in Port-au-Prince.

Former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov called the government's resignation "almost planned," RIA Novosti reports. "I'm leaving. The contract that Vladimir Putin and I signed in January 2000 has been fully fulfilled," Kasyanov told reporters. "I was preparing, but it was unexpected for me that the resignation took place before the elections. On the one hand, there is no logic, but on the other hand, I understand that there were some aspects of resignation," the former prime minister said.

In the capital's hospitals, according to 15.00 Wednesday, there are 35 victims in the Yasenevsky water park. As RIA Novosti was informed in the capital's Department of Health, out of 35 victims, three are in extremely serious condition, five are in serious condition, 13 are in moderate condition, and 14 are in satisfactory condition. As a result of the collapse of the roof in the water park on February 14, 27 people died, more than 100 turned to doctors for help.

United Russia, which has two-thirds of the seats in the Duma, is applying for posts in the new government, said party leader and speaker of the lower house of parliament Boris Gryzlov. RBC reports. Gryzlov is convinced that the future cabinet should rely on a parliamentary majority, adding that Before nominations are made, United Russia hopes to discuss with President Putin a candidate for the post of head of the new cabinet.

Extinguishing of the smoldering skeleton of a wooden house in Malaya Vishera in the Novgorod region continues. As informed REGNUM was in the press service of the department for civil defense and emergency situations in the Novgorod region, during the analysis of the ruins, 4 bodies of the dead residents of the house were found. Among them is a 7-year-old child. The identities of the dead have not yet been established.

The chief state sanitary doctor for the Chelyabinsk region, Alexander Gavrilov, called the situation in the city with the quality of ready-made salads extraordinary, RIA Novosti reports. After a series of checks, an increased concentration of E. coli and staphylococcus was found in most salads. In all the samples taken, the total microbial number exceeded the maximum permissible standards by tens and hundreds of times. Doctors tested both salads from markets and shops.

A US reconnaissance aircraft "Kiowa" crashed in Iraq, AP reports. The car crashed into a power line near the town of El Hadita and fell into the river. As a result, two soldiers on board the helicopter were killed. Representatives of the US Armed Forces in Iraq confirm the fact of the helicopter crash. According to them, technical problems are considered the most likely cause of the disaster. However, there are eyewitness accounts that the helicopter was hit by a rocket fired from the ground.