The building of the Central Bank. Photo by ITAR-TASS From January 9 to 16, Russia's international reserves decreased by $ 30.3 billion to $ 396.2 billion, the Central Bank press release said. This decrease has become one of the most significant in the history of these assets in Russia. Since the fall of 2008, the Central Bank spends reserves mainly on maintaining a relatively high ruble course and the implementation of the controlled devaluation of the national currency.

Anatoly Kvashnin. Photo from the site www.lenta.ru The plenipotentiary representative of the President of Russia in the Siberian Federal District Anatoly Kvashnin was hospitalized with suspicion of serious kidney disease. As RIA Novosti reports, two sources in medical circles reported this at once. "Some time ago, Anatoly Kvashnin underwent an examination, according to the results of which a decision was made on hospitalization," said one of the interlocutors of the agency.

The collapsed house in Ankara. Photo by the newspaper Hurriyet The four -story house fell on Thursday in one of the districts on the outskirts of Ankara, RIA Novosti reports. According to preliminary data, the child died, four people were injured. According to the TV-24 television channel, the collapsed house was recently built. The reason for the collapse is still unknown. There is also no data on whether there are people under the rubble.

Estonian soldier in Iraq. Photo www.defenselink.mil The Government of Estonia, having heard the information of the Minister of Defense Yaak Aaviksoo, on Thursday decided not to continue the presence of the military contingent in Iraq, the newspaper Postimees reports. Estonia will not send the ESTPLA-18 infantry unit to Iraq, but will continue to participate in the NATO mission to prepare the armed forces of Iraq, in which three staff officers will participate.

Harry Minh, photo from the site Government.gov.ru Russian President Dmitry Medvedev decided on the candidate of the new envoy in the State Duma. According to Vedomosti, the director of the legal department of the Government Harry Minh will take this position. In 2008, Minh was the chief lawyer of the Medvedev campaign headquarters. Prior to this, in 2004, he worked at the campaign headquarters of Vladimir Putin.

Yuri Chervochkin. Photo provided by the site Kasparov.ru The case of the murder of the National Bolsheviks Yuri Chervochkin is suspended. According to the press service of the National Assembly, this was told by the mother of Yuri Nadezhda Chervochkin . The decision to suspend the case was made by the senior investigator of the Kashirsk city prosecutor's office of Meshkov.

Journalists in the Gaza sector. Photo http://beckspin.typad.com Israel lifted the ban on the entry of foreign journalists into the Gaza sector. The Etzer checkpoint through which they can get to Palestinian territory will resume work as usual from Friday, January 23, Associated Press reports. The entrance for Gaza journalists was closed on November 5 last year, after there was a threat of disruption of the truce concluded between Israel and Hamas in the summer of 2008.

Flowers and portrait of Anna Politkovskaya at her house on Lesnoy. August 30, 2007. Photos of faces One of the defendants in the case of the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, Jabrail Makhmudov, was put in a punishment cell. According to RIA Novosti with reference to the lawyer of the defendant, the reason for this became 500 rubles, which were allegedly discovered in the Makhmudov cell. The defender said that he was placed in a punishment cell on Wednesday and spend 10 days there.

Dmitry Grobov, sailor of the Premier League '' '' '. Photo kp.ru The sailor of the Nerpa nuclear submarine Dmitry Tombs, suspected of an unauthorized launch of the Fire Premier League system, as a result of which 20 people were killed in November last year, according to a psychiatric examination, was recognized as "absolutely sane," Kommersant reports.

International Court in The Hague. Photo by ar Patrick Robinson, Chairman of the International Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia, satisfied the request for the early liberation of General of the Yugoslav People's Army Paul Strugar, RIA Novosti reports. As the representative of MTBU explained, the decision of the tribunal will enter into force on February 20. Thus, the 76-year-old char will be released a year ahead of schedule.

Shakhters. Frame of the TV channel "Russia" About ten workers of the Klainuninskaya mine, located in the city of Nizhny Tagil of the Sverdlovsk Region, were poisoned by gas, RIA Novosti reports with reference to a representative of law enforcement agencies. According to preliminary data, miners were poisoned by methane. According to the interlocutor of the agency, none of the miners were seriously injured, but the exact number of poisoned are unknown.

Soldiers of the Russian army. Photo from Newsru.com The conscript Anton Yumatov, who died last week in the military hospital of Yekaterinburg from pneumonia, was subjected to mocking from old -timers from his military unit. According to RIA Novosti, in telephone conversations with loved ones, he said that drunken sergeants forced him to wash the floors when he had a high temperature.

The building of the Central Bank. Photo by ITAR-TASS The Central Bank abandoned the sharp devaluation of the ruble to "adapt banks and the population to new conditions." As reports RIA Novosti, this was stated by the Chairman of the Central Bank Sergey Ignatiev. “We gave time to banks, and not only to them, pay off currency debt, increase foreign exchange assets to avoid losses in case of devaluation. This applies to the population that has foreign exchange debt.

The oath of Barack Obama on the Capitol Hill. Photo La Times Barack Obama on Wednesday was re -offered as a new US president, reports Reuters. The oath, as for the first time, was accepted by the chairman of the Supreme Court John Roberts. The procedure was held in the "cartographic room" of the White House. The television journalists and photographers were not allowed there. When Obama pronounces the oath a day earlier, a mistake was made on the steps of the Capitol.

From January 23, the Central Bank sets the upper limit of the technical corridor of the dual-currency basket at the level of 41 rubles. According to RIA Novosti, this was reported to journalists by the chairman of the Central Bank, Sergei Ignatiev. The current value of the dual-currency basket is 37.2 rubles. According to experts, at present the upper limit of the corridor is at the level of 39.3 rubles. "41 rubles is exactly the upper limit for the value of the dual-currency basket.