15 2 minutes. ... Index 397.57 Change.

To switch to the Russian currency, Belarus can receive a loan of two billion Russian rubles. This loan will mainly be used for early repayment of Belarusian securities. According to the existing plan, Moscow and Minsk must switch to a single currency from January 1, 2005. To switch to the Russian ruble, Belarus will have to nominate its securities in it.

December 24 203 6 min. ...

NHL championship 49 2 minutes. ... Having won their last game before the Christmas break, the Detroit Red Wings took first place in the regular season standings of the National Hockey League. The best player for the Red Wings was again Pavel Datsyuk, who scored a goal and made an assist. Experts state that the tone in the league is increasingly set by young stars. Detroit started the season off to a rocky start. At one time he didn’t even make it into the playoff zone.

and lucky with promises 14 2 minutes. ... Last Monday, the Ulyanovsk aircraft plant "Aviastar-SP" was visited by Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Boris Aleshin. The visit of Mr. Aleshin, who oversees industrial issues in the government, was associated with the creation of an aircraft manufacturing holding, which will unite enterprises related to the production of TU brand aircraft. The holding is expected to include Aviastar-SP, OJSC Tupolev and the Kazan Aviation Plant.

Cordial 1K 3 min. ... the case of Bely and Voskres The story of the detention of two Nizhny Novgorod thieves in law last Saturday in Moscow (see Kommersant on December 22) received an unexpected continuation. It became known that already on Monday a thief nicknamed Bely ran away from the policemen who came for him from Nizhny Novgorod, and his friend nicknamed Voskres was released soon after his arrest. Law enforcement agencies have no complaints against him.

On December 24, the governments of Japan and South Korea imposed a temporary ban on beef imports from the United States due to cases of spongiform encephalopathy (“mad cow disease”) detected in cattle in that country. Outbreaks of “mad cow disease” were identified in Washington state (in the western United States). Japan and the Republic of Korea are large consumers of American beef, with approximately $840 million worth of meat shipped from the United States to Japan in 2002.

Documents on the murder of Franco's successor have been declassified 669 5 min. ... investigation In connection with the 30th anniversary of the assassination of the head of the Spanish government, Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco, who for many years was the right hand of dictator Franco and was considered his most likely heir, sensational documents on this case have been declassified in Madrid. With details - JUAN COBO, RIA Novosti correspondent in Spain, especially for Kommersant.

On December 23, the State Road Service of Ukraine reported that the cause of death of 18 vacationers in a car accident near Alushta on December 17 was faulty brakes of a tourist bus. In addition, violations of the rules for operating vehicles were committed. This conclusion was made by the State Highway Service of Ukraine based on examination data, reports the online publication Gazeta.Ru .

MNB waived its debts 164 2 minutes. ... London's Moscow Narodny Bank (MNB), a subsidiary bank of the Central Bank, for the first time expressed its position on its debts in the amount of $219.8 million. As MNB chief executive Cliff Knowlden said yesterday, “we have no debts to the Russian government, its ministries , Vnesheconombank or Vneshtorgbank".

The Russian Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN) are expected to undergo major reductions. The number of positions will be reduced by more than 10 thousand.

December 24 California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger visited the city of Paso Robles on Tuesday, which was hit hardest by yesterday's earthquake, to personally express his condolences to the victims and relatives of the victims. The new governor also expressed gratitude to the rescuers who spent 24 hours searching the town and clearing away the rubble, reports RIA Novosti . After inspecting the damaged facilities, Schwarzenegger promised to restore the destruction as soon as possible.

at the competition "Russian Story - 2004" 29 3 min. ... Yesterday, at the Novosibirsk House of Music, a meeting of writers and playwrights of the region with members of the expert council of the open competition of literary works and scripts “Russian Plot - 2004” took place.

Private property was equalized in rights with public property 694 3 min. ... reform On Monday, amendments to the constitution were submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC Standing Committee - the Presidium of the highest legislative body of the PRC) for consideration. They proclaim private property, acquired legally, to be as sacred and inviolable as public property.

showing maximum results in the south of Russia 6 1 min. ... Yesterday the Rostov Regional Committee of State Statistics published the main indicators of the region's retail trade in January-November 2003. The results of the activities of this industry allowed statisticians to conclude that trade is one of the most successfully developing sectors of the regional economy.