Alcohol industry The Moscow City Court rejected the claim of the Moscow Interregional Transport Prosecutor's Office (MMTP), which demanded a ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages stronger than 15°C at airports and train stations.

American politicians and experts believe that the time for a new START treaty has long passed The International Nuclear Security Summit in Washington (see article on this page) provoked a new attack in America on the Russian-American START Treaty. Opponents of Barack Obama, among whom the tone is set by former key figures in the administration of President Bush, accuse the head of the White House of signing a document that ignores the urgent tasks of strengthening US national security.

Today, April 14, Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation Alexei Kudrin, at a meeting with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, announced that Russia will provide Kyrgyzstan with a grant of $20 million and a preferential loan through the Russian Agricultural Bank of $30 million. In turn, the Russian Prime Minister said that Russia is ready, if necessary, to increase the volume of assistance to Kyrgyzstan.

Author's column Dmitry Belikov, special correspondent for Kommersant The crisis affected the commercial vehicle market more than the passenger car market: its fall in 2009 was 49% for light commercial trucks and 62% for medium and heavy commercial vehicles. While the first is still comparable to the passenger car market (it also fell by 49%), the second is not. It is not surprising that in the truck segment the number of canceled investment projects was greater than in the passenger car segment.

Today, April 14, the US Department of Labor reported that consumer prices rose 0.1% in March compared to the previous month. The result coincided with the average forecast of analysts. Consumer prices increased by 2.3% compared to March last year; experts expected an increase of 2.4%. Interfax-Afi

Deal In the near future, control of the English football club Arsenal may pass to Russian entrepreneur Alisher Usmanov, who owns 26.29% of the Londoners' shares and has repeatedly tried to increase his share. One of the main shareholders of Arsenal, Nina Braswell-Smith, turned to the investment bank Blackstone to find a buyer for her 15.9% of the club. Ms Braswell-Smith expects to receive at least £100 million for her shares.

Today, April 14, AFP reports that in the capital of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, for the first time in history, the statue of Christ the Savior is closed to tourists. The reason for its closure was damage to the access roads to the statue as a result of heavy rains that fell throughout the past week. According to officials, about $142 million will be required to restore the city after the natural disaster, and work to repair the road to the statue will take from 2 months to six months.

The State Duma approved in the first reading two bills on the use of video conferencing systems in court hearings. Legislative initiatives are designed to reduce the length of court proceedings, as well as government costs for transporting prisoners. The first law allows the questioning of a witness in a court hearing using video conferencing systems. The second provides that a convicted person serving a sentence in prison can participate in a court hearing directly or via video conferencing.

Polish television reported overnight that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev confirmed that he would come to Krakow on Sunday for the funeral of Lech and Maria Kaczynski. It is known for sure that Barack Obama will fly to Krakow. Almost all European heads of state. The Polish police are very nervous. This will be an unprecedented security operation for the Poles. And Medvedev is highly anticipated in Poland.

Sentence The Irkutsk District Court issued a guilty verdict against the former chief specialist of the land department of KUMI Irkutsk, Maxim Kushkin, for taking a bribe, exceeding official authority and official forgery (Articles 290, 285, 292 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Kushkin was sentenced to three and a half years of suspended imprisonment; he was deprived of the right to hold positions in the civil service and in local government for a period of one year.

Only three years may be left to collect documents and begin construction. The Russian government apparatus has approved a bill for submission to the State Duma, according to which land plots can be confiscated from developers through the courts if they have not received a construction permit within three years and have not at least partially built the facility.

Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz decided that President Kaczynski and his wife would be buried in the Cathedral of the Wawel Royal Castle in Krakow. The Kaczynskis will find peace next to the graves of Józef Pilsudski and General Sikorski. This cathedral is the tomb of Polish kings until the 16th century, in my opinion. The place is holy. On Tuesday in Krakow, some citizens already protested against this decision, and clashes almost broke out between supporters and opponents of this idea.

Parliamentary committees received new leaders from among the deputies of the Party of Regions Yesterday, the coalition appointed its representatives to almost all the vacant posts in the Verkhovna Rada committees, agreeing to cede only one committee to the opposition - on freedom of speech and information. The BYuT faction, which promised to block the adoption of this decision and themselves applied for some positions, unexpectedly abandoned their plans.

Igor Shuvalov proposes to send dividends to the budget again The government is abandoning the anti-crisis measure allowing JSCs with state participation not to pay dividends - the corresponding document was signed by First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov. The cancellation of the benefit occurred not due to the end of the economic crisis, but due to the use in 2009 by companies such as Svyazinvest and Sheremetyevo of the net profit of 2008 to increase payments to employees and management.

The Cabinet of Ministers will restore promising territories The government of Mykola Azarov continues to use the developments of Yulia Tymoshenko. Yesterday, the Cabinet of Ministers unveiled a draft law developed back in January on the creation of promising development territories (PDTs) starting in 2011. According to the project, enterprises investing in such zones, as before 2005, will receive tax preferences.