70 2 minutes. ... The Prosecutor's Office of the Altai Republic (RA) completed the investigation and transferred to the court the case of district police department investigator Gennady Yankinov, accused of official forgery and abuse of power. According to the prosecutor's office, in order to avoid responsibility for red tape in the investigation of a criminal case, investigator Yankinov falsified documents.

German Chancellor to lift arms embargo on China German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder intends to lift the ban on the supply of arms to China even if the Bundestag speaks out against such a step.

vacation/hotel No matter how attached we are to the wonderful hotels we have already lived in, new ones that have just appeared always excite the imagination. A week ago, Kasbah Tamadot opened in Morocco, the new brainchild of British billionaire and philanthropist, head of Virgin Sir Richard Branson. It all started, as is usual among billionaires, on a whim. In 1998, Sir Branson, known for his adventurous projects, attempted to fly around the world in a hot air balloon, starting in Marrakech.

vacation/festival The Cannes Film Festival is the central social event of the year in one of the most secular places in the world - on the Cote d'Azur. At the end of May, not only every cinematic person, but also every socialite flocks to little Cannes. ANDREY PLAKHOV talks about the Cannes party. The Cannes Film Festival is usually criticized as “big bedlam”. But it is those who scold the loudest who cannot live without him.

his speaker's powers in the Voronezh City Duma of the new convocation 29 4 min. ... Yesterday, at the first meeting of the Voronezh City Duma of the new convocation, deputies elected Sergei Koliukh, who was the speaker of the City Duma of the previous convocation, as chairman. The regional administration was completely satisfied with his candidacy. Judging by the fact that Mr. Koliuch was elected by an overwhelming majority, the new convocation will be more pro-governor than pro-mayor.

On March 30 , Kommersant received the first version of the text of amendments to the legislation concerning the liberalization of tax administration. On March 29 , President Vladimir Putin discussed with members of the government the progress in preparing the relevant amendments to the Tax Code. As businessmen have been repeatedly promised, the amendments involve streamlining tax audits. But, as it turned out, in parallel with this, liability for tax offenses will be strengthened.

holidays/old times Antique life in Europe does not stop for a day, even in the most languidly hot summer months. And although this summer there will be many high-profile auctions (in May and June all the most expensive things will be sold, from Russian art to impressionists), I don’t want to spend precious days of summer in stuffy auction halls that smell of dust and money. Moreover, there are many other opportunities to look at antiques and breathe fresh air.

for more expensive gasoline 18 2 minutes. ... Gasoline prices have begun to increase on the St. Petersburg fuel market. All petrol dealers interviewed by Kommersant said that they had either already changed the price tags at their gas stations, or would certainly do so in the near future. Most experts do not undertake to predict how much fuel prices will rise this year; some cautiously put the figure at 20%. In mid-March, selling prices for gasoline went up at all oil refineries in Russia.

Politicians - about the governor's speech 27 2 minutes. ... Yesterday at the Mariinsky Palace, Governor of St. Petersburg Valentina Matvienko delivered her second annual message to the Legislative Assembly. This time, the deputies treated it much more critically and began to analyze not even the message itself, but what was not in it.

On March 31, the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a commentary on the work of the Qatari TV channel , noting that materials about Chechnya are “obviously custom-made.” “We have to admit that they completely distort the true state of affairs in the Chechen Republic, hushing up the consistent efforts of the federal and local authorities to restore the economy and normalize socio-political life,” the statement says.

Manmohan Singh Prime Minister of India "History calls on us to use every opportunity to establish peace. We cannot change borders, but in the context of globalization, borders should not matter too much." These words were spoken by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday at a meeting with a delegation of the Pakistan Muslim League, Pakistan's ruling party, led by Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain.

46 4 min. ... It is well known that it was after alpine skiing was assigned the title of “presidential” sport that both ordinary citizens and representatives of commercial companies who saw prospects in the alpine skiing business began to show increased interest in it. Exactly the same applies to specific vacation spots. Today, the Baikal resort “Mount Sobolinaya”, which Vladimir Putin visited three years ago, is known far beyond the borders of the Irkutsk region.

On March 31, the operation to deliver 2.5 thousand tons of diesel fuel to the Koryak Autonomous Okrug, which is experiencing a severe energy crisis, was completed, ITAR-TASS reports. Currently, fuel delivered to the district by ships is being delivered to villages, the Far Eastern Regional Center of the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported.

On March 31, the European Commission decided to impose trade sanctions against the United States. According to the representative of the European Commission, Christina Nagy, the sanctions will come into force on May 1. We are talking about the introduction of an additional 15 percent customs duty on agricultural, textile, paper and engineering products.

feminism Yesterday, US First Lady Laura Bush arrived on a visit to Afghanistan. During her six-hour stay in the country, she managed to meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, express solidarity with Afghan women and have lunch with American military personnel in the country. Information about Laura Bush's visit to Afghanistan was kept strictly secret.