Three militant bases were discovered in Chechnya, one of which contained a strong poison, Ilya Shabalkin, a representative of the Regional Operational Headquarters for managing the counter-terrorist operation in the North Caucasus, told RIA Novosti. "During the operational-search activities, three bases of illegal armed formations equipped with engineering structures were discovered and destroyed.

In Kabardino-Balkaria on Thursday night, two of the four criminals who escaped from the household yard of the Nalchik pre-trial detention center on the evening of April 12 were detained, Newsru.com reports citing Interfax. A day earlier, another fugitive was detained - Timur Kochesokov, sentenced for theft to 8 years in prison. On Thursday night, Zalimkhan Byatov and Timur Tkhazaplizhev, convicted of murder, were detained.

CIA director George Tenet was accused of lying to the 9/11 investigation committee on Wednesday. Tenet said he did not meet with US President George W. Bush in August 2001, AP reports. Answering a question from one of the members of the commission, Tenet noted that he had never communicated with Bush in person during the month before the tragedy. "He was on vacation and I was here," Tenet said. However, according to the head of the CIA, they talked on the phone.

Love Kudelin. Photo ORT To date, the Ministry of Defense has more than 9,300 claims in the amount of 783 million rubles. Last year, the country's military department spent more than 800 million rubles to pay for court claims. And over the past three years, about 3 billion rubles have gone from the military budget. Unsplanned, because no budget provides for the repayment of possible lawsuits. The same for the Ministry of Defense in three years turned out to be almost 87 thousand.

In the mountains of Switzerland on the Zurich-Bern highway in the Baregg tunnel, several trucks and one passenger car collided, Euronews reports. As a result, according to preliminary data, one person died, five more were injured. At the moment, the search for the injured and the dead continues. Traffic on the highway has been stopped. The accident occurred when one truck ran into another and pushed it into a passenger car. The passenger car caught fire. The fire spread to a nearby truck.

Attractions "Whirlwind" and "Surprise" have design flaws and do not meet safety requirements, President of the Russian Association of Parks Vladimir Gnezdilov said at the opening of the international exhibition "Amusement and Entertainment". This is reported by the Newspaper news feed with reference to Interfax. Gnezdilov noted that despite the design defects of the aforementioned rides, there are no standards by which it would be possible to prohibit their use.

The American magazine In Touch Weekly has compiled a list of the most enviable suitors in Hollywood. According to Ananova.com, Ben Affleck topped the list. The magazine's analysts believe that his fortune and the star status of his former girlfriends, Jennifer Lopez and Gwyneth Paltrow, contribute to his prestige. In second place was George Clooney.

An Iranian diplomat was shot dead outside the Islamic Republic's embassy in Baghdad, Reuters reports. A Reuters correspondent saw two bullet holes in the victim's car. According to RIA Novosti, the embassy secretary for culture and information, Khalil Naimi, was killed. Eyewitnesses claim that several people shot at his car. Nobody took responsibility for the murder.

Governor of the Ulyanovsk region Vladimir Shamanov unexpectedly announced the resignation of the regional administration on Thursday, Gazeta.ru reports citing Interfax. 8 deputy governors and 5 heads of departments of the regional administration were fired. "The apparatus worked inefficiently," Shamanov explained his decision. "The governor was elected by the people, while I appointed the officials myself." He admitted that some of his personnel decisions were wrong.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili is holding a meeting with the leaders of Our Adzharia, an opposition organization to Adjarian leader Aslan Abashidze, RIA Novosti reports. "The purpose of our meeting with the president is to work out a plan on how to shake Aslan Abashidze's chair," Tengiz Asanidze, a former prisoner of the temporary detention center of the Ministry of State Security of Adjara, said before the meeting.

The Prosecutor General's Office has filed a final charge against the last member of a criminal gang created by high-ranking officers of the Moscow police department and the Russian Emergencies Ministry in 1997, the Gazeta news feed reports , citing Interfax. Charges were brought against police lieutenant colonel Nikolai Demin. Earlier charges were brought against police officers Vladimir Taratorin, Igor Ostrovsky, Yuri Samolkin, Vadim Vladimirov and Alexander Breshchanov.

Former general director of Rosaviakosmos, Yuri Koptev, will head the defense industry department at the Russian Ministry of Industry and Energy, RIA Novosti reports. "I have already begun my new duties," he said. "As far as I understand, there shouldn't be any revolutions. My duties will be within the limits of authority determined by the ministry," he said.

Starting next year, it is planned to oblige all ministries to report on the results and main directions of their activities, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said Thursday at a government meeting. It is reported by RIA Novosti. According to him, this is one of the measures to improve the efficiency of budget spending, which is expected to be introduced as early as next year. The Ministry of Finance invites the government to approve the regulation on these reports.

Gazprom plans to place two more issues of ruble bonds worth 5 billion rubles each by the end of the year, Reuters reports citing a source in the company. The gas monopoly's borrowing program for 2004 is 150 billion rubles, of which 15 billion rubles were planned to be raised on the Russian market through the placement of bonds. "The board should approve the bond issue one of these days," the source said.

April 15, 2004 Alexey Levin Lemons without bones This week, lemons will appear on the shelves of British supermarkets of Sainsbury's, in which there are no bones at all. The history of the origin of the world's first free -and -free lemons is covered with a romantic haze. They got to England through Outspan Corporation. This company manufactures all kinds of bleeders and juicers and supplies fruits to obtain fresh juices and mashed potatoes.