S.S. (Photo: AP ) Who has the worst life in the promised land? You won’t believe it: the first person in the country. The head of the Israeli cabinet, Ehud Barak, whose premiership was not a success from the very first day, experienced a week that would not be imagined even in a nightmare. Blows rained down on poor Barack's head from all sides. And he, as befits a renowned army general, did not even try to dodge.

A.P. (Photo: Max Novikov ) Last week, the irrepressible Deputy Chairman of the Accounts Chamber, Yuri Boldyrev, announced the start of a new audit of RAO Gazprom. The reason for concern of the Accounts Chamber was the trust agreement, according to which the chairman of the board, Rem Vyakhirev, votes for a 35 percent state stake.

Masha Gessen No one here knows what to do with children abandoned by HIV-infected mothers. But the whole world knows how to save a newborn from infection Children abandoned by HIV-infected mothers are immediately “registered” as sick - there is no special diagnostic equipment. (Photo: Alexander Sorin ) It's quiet time in the department, but the kids don't sleep.

Boris Zhukov The German government does not waste words. Less than six months ago, Chancellor Schröder put forward the idea of ​​​​introducing a special residence permit (similar to an American green card) for highly qualified foreigners (primarily specialists in the field of information technology). And on July 31, in Nuremberg, Labor Minister Walter Riester presented the first such document to 25-year-old Aachen University graduate, Indonesian Haryanto Wijawa.

Vladimir Abarinov The US presidential race is entering a decisive stage. The Russian issue does not appear in it yet, but it may well come up, as has happened more than once In a few more days, the candidates for the post of owner of the White House - Democrat Al Gore (left) and Republican George W. Bush (right) - will meet face to face in a televised debate.

Anton Pryshvin In payment for gas, Russia, if it tries, can gain control over Ukrainian main pipelines In an interview with the online Ukrainian newspaper "ProUA", Roman Manekin, head of the Ukraine department of the Institute of CIS Countries (Moscow), recently noted: “A group of intellectuals, administrators, businessmen and politicians are now being formed around Vladimir Putin, who will work in the “Ukrainian direction.” True, now "The president has many other problems - the fight against

Steven Levy (Newsweek) New Macintosh models: the design is getting cooler, the prices are getting higher New iMacs in fun colors ( Apple Computer, INC. ) “I really think people judge a book by its cover,” says Steve Jobs, head of Apple Computer, as he unveils his new product. “When you see something that smart on the outside, you say, 'Oh, yeah, it's must be very smart inside.

A.P. “Volodya is being taken to the hospital” - the voice of my best friend’s mother could not get through the interference of the telephone connection. I managed to hear only one word: “HIV.” The name "Falcon Mountain" sounds beautiful and romantic - until you visit it. On Eighth Street of Sokolinaya Gora, in a gloomy white seven-story building, the Second Moscow Infectious Diseases Hospital is located.

Natalia Shkurenok (Photo: Pavel Gorshkov ) Already ten years ago, in the “dormitory” areas of St. Petersburg, nicknamed “GDR” (Citizen Further than the Stream) and “FRG” (Fashionable Citizen District), there were tough teenage and youth groups. They were formed mainly by metalheads and punks, then “goblins” joined them. It was there, in remote areas of the city, closer to the forests and away from the center, that Nazi extremist groups gathered.

Viktor Vtorov The Russian Museum is trying for the first time to prove that there was impressionism in Russia In a series of exhibitions dedicated to the largest trends in Russian fine art of the 18th-20th centuries ("Romanticism in Russia", "Symbolism in Russia", "Russian Futurism"), an experiment with identifying impressionism (impression) in Russian painting seemed the most risky.

Dmitry Khitarov It is still not clear what lies behind the idea of ​​​​creating the State Council: the president’s desire to concentrate all power in his hands or an attempt to compensate for moral damage to the governors (Photo: EPA ) During the campaign to expel the current senators from the upper house of parliament, President Putin assured the offended governors that by taking away their mandates as members of the Federation Council, he did not intend to thereby deny them access to his

Carla Power (Newsweek) The lower classes of Indian society - the real untouchables - began to fight for their civil rights By killing untouchables, representatives of the upper castes do not consider themselves criminals at all. They deeply believe that their actions are sanctified by Hinduism. (Photo: AP ) The slum dwellers on Delhi's Lodi Road do not formally exist.

“There can’t be any redistribution of property at all. Because as soon as you start redoing it, it – ugh!..

Boris Zhukov The director of the Russian representative office of the World Wildlife Fund prefers not to demand, but to negotiate. But today he is one of the central figures in the confrontation between environmentalists and the authorities ((Photo: Pavel Gorshkov ) “The development of market relations that has occurred in Russia over the past decade...

Ilya Kukin Stanislav Eremin is tormented by various doubts, but not about his place of work (Photo: Sergey Kuznetsov ) Last spring, after another, 9th consecutive, victory for CSKA in the national championship, Stanislav Eremin resigned as head coach of our best team. The overwhelming majority and even very knowledgeable people were sure that now he would definitely leave. Foreign clubs have repeatedly made him tempting offers.