17:41 // 12/20/2007 The Government of the Russian Federation allocated $ 1 million as a one-time targeted contribution to the UN World Food Program Fund, ITAR-TASS reports. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, these funds will be used to provide "urgent humanitarian assistance to the population of Somalia, who is in need of food." “The Ministry of Emergencies of the Russian Federation will be engaged in the purchase and delivery of food,” the ministry informed.

11:59 // 12/20/2007 The police resumed on Thursday morning in the Untsukul district of Dagestan a special operation to search for a group of militants, which resisted on Wednesday near the village of Gimra, a source in the power structures of the republic told RIA Novosti .

11:45 // 12/20/2007 In the south of Italy, an earthquake of magnitude 3.7 took place, the representative of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said, RIA Novosti reports. In his words, the epicenter of the earthquake was near the city of Kozenets. The civil defense service reports that there are no destruction and victims. Source: gzt.ru

In the Untsukulsky district of Dagestan, a large -scale special operation continues, begun by decision of the National Anti -Terrorism Committee of Russia. The surroundings of the village of Gimras for a week have been a zone of counter -terrorist operation for a week. However, little is known about its results. The police entered the shootings with extremists three times. Meanwhile, the local population, which is in complete isolation, begins to show discontent.

16:49 // 12/20/2007 To monitor the progress of extraordinary presidential elections in Georgia and plebiscite on January 5, 2008, the Central Election Commission of Georgia registered four more international organizations. According to the News-Georgia in the press center of the CEC, the Romanian Embassy in Georgia was registered; Italian Embassy in Georgia; A group of observers of the Senate of France and the Central Election Commission of Kyrgyzstan.

17:25 // 12/20/2007 Power engineers restored the power supply of more than 200 houses in two settlements of the Stavropol Territory, interrupted last night due to a break in power lines with a strong wind, the representative of the press service of Stavropolenergo told RIA Novosti .

11:08 // 12/20/2007 The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation postponed on December 25 the consideration of the legality of the investigation in Chita in relation to the ex-head of the "Yukos" Mikhail Khodorkovsky and the head of Menatep Plato Lebedev. Thus, the Prime-Tass notes, the request of Lebedev, who asked to postpone the meeting due to the absence of his lawyers, was satisfied.

10:04 // 12/20/2007 The number of Hospitalized after the explosion at the chemical plant in the American city of Jacksonville (Florida) increased from five to 14 people, the representative of the local fire department Tom Francis said, RIA Novosti reports. He also confirmed the previously sounding information that three people were killed during the explosion.

11:50 // 12/20/2007 In the UN Security Council, "the crisis is brewing, which especially clearly demonstrated the discussion of the Kosovo issue." This opinion was expressed by ITAR-TASSS Russian high-ranking diplomatic source. “Probably, the consequences will arise for the European Union,” he said. “All this is a reflection of the crisis in the relations of Russia and the USA,” he said.

Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan is already building a Caspian gas pipeline the Kremlin’s idea of Russian control over the export of gas from east to west received documentary evidence on Thursday. Presidents of Russia and Kazakhstan Vladimir Putin and Nursultan Nazarbayev signed an agreement on the construction of the Caspian gas pipeline. The heads of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Islam Karimov also confirmed their agreement by telephone.

11:29 // 12/20/2007 Israeli soldiers shot 4 Palestinian militants today in the central part of the gas sector, ITAR-TASS reports. The Army press service confirmed that "in the area of the al-store refugee camp, a routine operation is being carried out against terrorist threats." In the raid, special forces are involved with the support of tanks. The extremist group "Islamic jihad" has already confirmed that at least two of the dead are its activists.

15:37 // 12/20/2007 The Iranian intelligence agencies destroyed the four leaders of the Sunni extremist group "Dzhundall" ("warriors of Allah"), associated with the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization, RIA Novosti reports. Four liquidated militants were involved in the explosion last year in the Southeast Province of Sistan and Belujistan near the border with Pakistan and Afghanistan. The victims of the explosion then became 12 Iranians.

15:57 // 12/20/2007 A new gross violation by Japanese fishermen of the Russian sea border, which occurred immediately after the exchange of documents on the conditions of the providence for 2008 and shortly after the end of Russian-Japanese intergovernmental consultations, "causes special regret." About this, as ITAR-TASS reports, said today in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

16:57 // 12/20/2007 The government is not ready to increase the tax on mining (NPI) and gas. This opinion was expressed by the Minister of Economic Development and Trade of the Russian Federation Elvira Nabiullina, ITAR-TASS reports. “I don’t think we have matured now,” she said.

10:36 // 12/20/2007 Representatives of the American military department said that the two US Army brigades with a number of 3 to 5 thousand people will remain in Germany for another two years, RIA Novosti reports. Deputy Commander of the United States Ground Forces General Richard Cody as a reason, why it was decided to postpone the return of these units to his homeland, called the impossibility of currently ensuring the placement of soldiers who returned from the ocean.