The Dagestan Ministry of Internal Affairs has launched an investigation into the detention of Zulay Kadyrova, the daughter of the deceased president of Chechnya and the sister of the deputy prime minister of the republic. The representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs promised that, based on the results of the inspection, the perpetrators would be punished.

On Wednesday, a rocket carrying the Flyby and Impactor spacecraft will launch from Cape Canaveral as part of the Deep Impact mission, MSNBC reports. In six months, they must fly to comet Tempel 1, after which the 370-kilogram Impactor must ram it. The comet's nucleus will be attacked on July 4th, US Independence Day. Impactor will have to enter the comet's trajectory and collide with it at a speed of 37 thousand kilometers per hour.

The European Parliament ratified the text of the first European constitution on Wednesday and called on the governments of all countries of the union to follow this example as soon as possible, reports the Associated Press. 500 deputies voted for the decision to approve the new constitution at a parliamentary meeting in Strasbourg. 137 people were against, 40 abstained.

At the fifth stage of the Biathlon World Cup, which started in Ruhpolding, Germany, the Russian women's team won the relay race and became the sole leader in the overall standings in this discipline. Olga Pyleva, Anna Bogaliy, Svetlana Ishmuratova and Olga Zaitseva ran for the Russian team. The Germans took second place, the Norwegians took third. At the last stage in Oberhof, the Russian women's team took second place, losing to the Germans.

Three Russian human rights activists will receive the Olof Palme Prize for 2004, which is worth 50 thousand dollars, the BBC Russian Service reports . The prize was awarded to the head of the Moscow Helsinki Group Lyudmila Alekseeva, the president of the Institute of Human Rights Sergei Kovalev and Novaya Gazeta columnist Anna Politkovskaya. “The three laureates are powerful symbols of the long struggle for human rights in Russia,” the Olof Palme Foundation said in a statement.

Felix Neumann, commercial director of Moskab OJSC, was killed in Moscow. As the press service of the Moscow prosecutor's office told the RIA Novosti news agency, the murder occurred on January 11 in the evening, at approximately 19:30. The Moskab company was engaged in transporting passengers from Moscow airports to the city and region. Neiman was killed near house 24 on Grina Street in the South-Western Administrative District of Moscow.

BBC News. In particular, analysts note that one of the biggest shortcomings is the speed with which intelligence flows from intelligence officers to government officials.

Europe needs its own green card to saturate the labor market, which current EU resources can no longer satisfy. This, as the Financial Times writes on Wednesday, is stated in a statement by the European Commission. According to its participants, Europe should move from a short-term work visa scheme to the system practiced in the United States. This will make it possible to conclude labor contracts with foreign workers for the future.

Russian-Israeli relations are on the brink of crisis due to the Russian Federation’s decision to sell high-precision Iskander-E operational-tactical missile systems to Syria, the Kommersant newspaper wrote on Wednesday. Israel was extremely concerned by the fact that if Iskander missiles were deployed, for example, near the demarcation line in the Golan Heights, almost the entire territory of Israel would be within missile range.

Pensioner revolt, senseless and... Protests against the abolition of benefits began in Russia Plot Benefits for disabled people: The central government was once again faced with a problem that it should have foreseen. In the first days of 2005, protests by pensioners protesting against the replacement of benefits with money took place in various cities of Russia.

RIA "Novosti". As previously reported, the Georgian police deployed special forces units into all Georgian villages located on the border with the Gali region of Abkhazia. RIA Novosti, the police received orders to shoot to kill if the violators resist. Meanwhile, Abkhaz authorities say that an attempt to disrupt the elections was recorded in the Gali region of the unrecognized republic.

The presidential elections in Abkhazia can be considered completed. told Interfax about this. A source in the Central Election Commission of the republic The CEC reported that by 18:00 Moscow time, out of 121 thousand registered voters, taking into account additional lists, 64,800 people had voted, which is about 53 percent of the total number of voters.

The New York Times obtained emails from American Admiral Paul Sullivan, indicating that the US Navy command downplayed the consequences of the accident of the San Francisco nuclear submarine. Sullivan writes that as a result of the submarine's collision with the seamount, 60 sailors were injured - almost half of the crew of 137 people. It was officially reported that 23 submariners were injured. As stated in the admiral's letters, the outer plating of the submarine was seriously damaged.

Actors from leading Russian theaters performed a Christmas play at the Russian Embassy in the United States for children from Russia and the CIS countries adopted by American families. As a RIA Novosti correspondent reports from Washington , the performance with the participation of Russian Father Frost, American Santa Claus, Snow Maiden and Baba Yaga, as well as the main character of the animated film "Shrek" was enthusiastically received by children and their adoptive parents.

From February 1, 2005, the managers of Moscow hotels, wholly or partially owned by the city authorities, must terminate contracts with tenants of the number of rooms using this area for offices and various types of activities (trade, medical, etc.), and in the future the rental of rooms to office tenants is prohibited , reports Vremya Novostey . The corresponding order was signed by Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov.