PACE observers for the upcoming presidential elections were informed that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's presidential candidate would not be able to meet with them during this visit due to his busy schedule. The head of the PACE observation mission, Tini Cox, spoke about this at a press conference on Saturday in Moscow.

Four militants were killed during a special operation in the Karabudakhkent region of Dagestan. One FSB officer died. The special operation began on Friday evening. The militants were blocked in one of the private houses. The bandits were asked to lay down their arms and surrender. In response, the National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC) reports, they put up fierce resistance and opened fire, as a result of which a special forces soldier was wounded and one FSB officer was killed.

Up to a third of dismissals are made for communication on the Internet Employers monitor the Internet communications of their subordinates, so entertainment on the Internet during working hours can cost work. Most often, employees are fired for irrational use of time, communication on social networks and instant messengers, caustic remarks about superiors and corrupt connections, which employers have already learned to track even in voice messages of instant messengers.

The international rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded the credit ratings of 34 Italian banks. The downgrade follows a downgrade of Italy's sovereign rating to BBB+. Among the banks whose ratings were downgraded are such large institutions as UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo. In particular, the rating of UniCredit was reduced from A to BBB+, Intesa Sanpaolo - from A to BBB+, Monte dei Paschi was downgraded from BBB+ to BBB. The forecast is negative.

And the State Duma - the West and Middle Eastern monarchies Syria is confronting an international conspiracy led by Israel. This version was put forward yesterday by Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Miqdad.

Today marks the 46th anniversary of Oleg Sienko, General Director of the Research and Production Corporation Uralvagonzavod OJSC. Sergei Smyslov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Rail Garant, congratulates him: — Dear Oleg! I wish you a happy birthday with all my heart! I wish that your inexhaustible energy, drive and creativity become the source of new large-scale achievements and victories that you are used to achieving in work and life.

What are you looking forward to in the coming week? Alexey Brui, Chairman of the regional branch of the Russian motorists movement in Chelyabinsk: — Next week I will be working on uniting local taxi drivers. The fact is that new federal legislation is now in full swing, which should regulate the activities of taxi companies. In theory, associations and partnerships should be created that will improve the work and quality of taxis.

Defenseman imprisoned for extortion and blackmail To 12 years in prison and a fine of 500 thousand rubles. Yesterday, the Tverskoy District Court of Moscow sentenced to state income the deputy general director of one of the largest Russian defense enterprises - RATEP (part of the Almaz-Antey air defense concern), a prominent activist of the Combat Brotherhood and the public organization Justice, Dmitry Baranovsky.

result Italian Championship 23rd round. "Lazio" - "Cesena" 3:2 (Hernanes, 53; Lulic, 61; Kozak, 63 - Mutu, 14; Iaquinta, 35 (pen.)). Team position. 1. Juventus - 45 points (after 21 games). 2. Milan - 44 (22). 3. Lazio - 42. 4. Udinese - 41 (22). 5. Inter — 36 (22). 6. Roma - 35 (22). Italian Cup 1/2 finals. The first match. "Siena" - "Napoli" 2:1 (Reginaldo, 42; D'Agostino, 66 - Pesoli, 86 (own goal)). Tennis WTA tournament in Paris. Prize fund - $635 thousand. Second circle.

The international rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded Egypt's credit rating by one notch - from B+ to B - with a "negative" outlook, according to the S&P website. The reason for the downgrade was the lack of positive changes in the country's economy. Analysts noted that against the backdrop of political instability, the outflow of capital from the Arab Republic continues, and financial risks continue to grow due to a sharp decline in foreign investment.

Officials asked to finalize designs for design streets in Perm Yesterday, the commission for the implementation of the general plan of the city of Perm criticized the projects of designer streets presented by the PERMM Museum of Contemporary Art. Deputies and officials admitted that the projects need serious revision regarding the price and timing of their implementation. It turned out that some projects may encounter insurmountable difficulties.

Russian Albert Demchenko showed the second result at the World Luge Championships in Germany, losing only to German Felix Loch. At the competition in Altenberg, Demchenko showed a time of 1 minute 47.660 seconds based on the sum of two attempts. The German, 0.328 seconds ahead of the Russian, set a track record (53.590 seconds) in his first attempt. Italian Armin Zoggeler was third, losing 0.414 seconds to the winner. Competitions in Germany will continue on Sunday.

Moscow will not support the transfer of discussion of the Syrian issue to the UN General Assembly until the draft resolution on Syria is balanced, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov. “We cannot support the transfer of the Syrian issue to the UN General Assembly with the same unbalanced content of the draft resolution,” Gatilov wrote on Saturday on Twitter.

Last weekend, mass demonstrations took place in Moscow dedicated to the presidential elections on March 4. Opponents of the election of Vladimir Putin held a procession along Bolshaya Yakimanka (pictured), supporters gathered for a rally on Poklonnaya Hill. Both shares were comparable in size

tournaments The official website of the Russian Basketball Federation published a letter from the head of the Euroleague, Jordi Bertomeu, in which the functionary expressed doubts about the development of commercial basketball tournaments, in particular in Russia. “There are various formulas for holding competitions, and, without a doubt, the Adriatic League (clubs representing the former Yugoslavia participate in it. - Kommersant ) is one of them.