As of 06:00 on Wednesday, 19 victims of the collapse of the dome in Transvaal Park are in hospitals, Gazeta.ru reports with reference to Interfax. Two of them remain in extremely serious condition, two in serious condition, 4 in moderate condition and 11 - in satisfactory. According to official figures, 28 people died as a result of the collapse of the dome in the water park on February 14.

Sibneft. Photo from the site www.lenta.ru The Ministry of Taxes and Duties sent a letter to the Sibneft NK, in which tax claims were presented in the amount of $ 1 billion based on the results of 2000-2001. This was announced by Interfax on Tuesday evening a source in the ministry, Gazeta.ru reports. The company itself confirmed the receipt of a letter.

24 activists of the National Bolshevik Party, who took part in the action to seize the office of the public reception of the United Russia party in Moscow and were detained by the police, are in the Meshchansky police department, Regnum news agency reports. According to the detainees, they are being treated fairly, but so far no charges have been brought against them.

Acting Minister of Education Vladimir Filippov believes that it is necessary to extend the period of postgraduate studies. The Ministry of Education will ask the Ministry of Economic Development to extend the period of postgraduate studies to four years, the minister told RIA Novosti. According to the Ministry of Education, no more than 20% of those who enter graduate school defend academic dissertations.

Train. Photo by ar The Ministry of Internal Affairs of France came from an unknown terrorist group demanding a payment of $ 1 million and 4 million euros, AFP reports. In case of refusal, terrorists threaten to blow up passenger trains. The requirements of the mysterious abbreviation "AZF" are signed. In their last ambassadors of February 17, terrorists announced that 10 bombs have already been laid on the roads, and two objects that are valuable as symbols would be affected.

YUKOS candidates to the board of directors of OAO Sibneft are included in the ballot for voting at the company's extraordinary meeting of shareholders on March 28, a representative of Sibneft told RIA Novosti. Yukos nominated nine people for nine seats on the Board of Directors of Sibneft. The remaining shareholders of Sibneft did not present their candidates for election to the new board of directors of the company.

40% of Russians assess the four-year period of the government of Mikhail Kasyanov rather with a "plus" sign, 45% - rather with a "minus" sign, reports Interfax. These are data from a survey by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM). The all-Russian poll was conducted on February 21-22, 2004 in 100 settlements of 39 regions, territories and republics of Russia. 1587 people were interviewed, interviews at the place of residence. The statistical error does not exceed 3.4%.

A Nigerian court on Wednesday refused to release on bail 13 Russian sailors from the crew of the Greek tanker African Pride, Gazeta.ru reports citing Interfax. The tanker was arrested by Nigerian authorities on October 8 on suspicion of illegal export of crude oil. Since then, he has been held in the port of Lagos. The judge justified his decision by the fact that, having been released, the sailors can escape from justice. The next court hearing is scheduled for March 24.

As of Wednesday morning, 18 victims of the terrorist attack at the Avtozavodskaya metro station remain in hospitals, Gazeta.ru reports citing Interfax. The condition of one of them is assessed as serious, 4 people are in a moderate condition and 13 are in a satisfactory condition. A subway explosion on 6 February killed 40 people and injured more than 120.

The first interrogation of Belgium's most notorious pedophile, Marc Dutroux, is due to take place in Arlon's jury on Wednesday, AFP reports. The process is open. The pedophile's lawyer, Xavier Magnier, built his defense on the fact that Dutroux was just a small fry in a huge pedophile network, which included high-ranking officials. Magnier expressed the hope that during the interrogation the accused would finally name the true customers of the crimes.

OJSC "Sibneft" intends to challenge the claims of the Ministry of Taxes and Duties of the Russian Federation regarding tax non-payments in the amount of $1 billion, RBC reports. The press secretary of Sibneft Alexei Firsov told the agency about this. According to him, the Accounts Chamber of Russia repeatedly checked the company's activities for 2000-2001. and did not find any violations in the activities of Sibneft.

Supporters of presidential candidate Irina Khakamada demanded to suspend the broadcast of the commercial of the CEC of the Russian Federation under the code name "What is the President of Russia?", ITAR-TASS reports. The video, which has been seen by viewers of all Russian TV channels since February 17, uses children's drawings depicting the president as a man. Supporters of Khakamada considered this offensive.

In the Saratov region, as a result of flooding, the village of Nizhnyaya Krasavka remains without gas supply, where a nursing home and 120 residential buildings were left without gas, Gazeta.Ru reports. According to the press service of the regional Ministry of Emergency Situations, emergency recovery work is difficult due to flooding of the territory. Measures are being taken to convert the boiler house of the nursing home to diesel fuel.

Four pilots were killed in the crash of two Turkish Air Force planes near the city of Konya, located in the center of the country, RIA Novosti reports with reference to the Qatari TV channel Al Jazeera. Villagers informed the police about the incident. According to them, they heard a loud noise and saw how the planes collided just above the top of the mountain. The gendarmerie managed to establish that the cars fell in a forested area with difficult terrain.

The Russian Ministry of Defense intends to involve commercial structures in catering for military personnel. According to the news agency RIA Novosti, this was announced on March 3 by the head of the rear services of the armed forces, deputy minister of defense, General of the Army Vladimir Isakov. According to him, the Ministry of Defense intends to hold competitions among firms that will take over the organization of food. The first such competition is scheduled for May 2004.