The fire that destroyed the elite Moscow nightclub Dyagilev began due to a fault in the electrical wiring, RIA Novosti reported on February 8, citing a source in the capital’s law enforcement agencies. “Presumably, the fire occurred due to a short circuit,” the agency’s interlocutor said. Previously, it was suggested that the cause of the fire could have been violations during welding work in the basement of the building.

A man has been arrested in London suspected of murdering a man whose headless body was found days earlier. According to Sky News, a man and a woman suspected of complicity in this crime were also arrested. A naked body without a head was discovered on Wednesday, February 6, in the back of shops located on a street in the north-western part of the British capital. The corpse was wrapped in blankets and placed in a box.

Promsvyazbank announced the results of 2007 in the field of international business. The total volume of Promsvyazbank's international financing transactions in 2007 increased by 63 percent compared to 2006 and amounted to about $2.4 billion. Of this, $2.2 billion is short- and medium-term trade finance for clients with a term of up to five years, and $255 million is long-term project finance with a term of up to 12 years, mainly involving export credit agencies.

Representatives of the "United Opposition" of Georgia handed over materials about corruption in the state-owned company "Georgian Railway" to the General Prosecutor's Office of the republic, reports REGNUM news agency . Oppositionists claim that the management of this company “wasted millions of dollars.” In addition, a significant part of the income of this industry, according to them, ended up in the pockets of President Mikheil Saakashvili and other high-ranking officials.

Hillary Clinton considers only Republican candidate John McCain her rival in the election race , writes The Washington Post. The former first lady no longer views Barack Obama as a competitor. The New York senator addressed voters in Virginia on February 7, where the Democratic primary will be held on February 12. As the publication notes, supporters of the Democratic Party, when choosing between Clinton and Obama, will primarily focus on which of them can compete with John McCain.

Russian Andrei Kirilenko was recognized as the best basketball player in Europe based on the results of 2007. The International Basketball Federation (FIBA), which awards this prize, noted the performance of the captain of the Russian national team at the European Championship in Spain, where the Russians won gold medals, as well as his performances for the NBA Utah Jazz club, according to the official website of the European branch of FIBA.

The Oscar-nominated film “Charlie Wilson's War,” starring American film stars Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, will not be released in Russia for economic reasons. Earlier, there were reports in the Russian media that the film, which touches on the theme of the Soviet-Afghan war, would not be released due to the “certain focus of the film.” The head of Universal Pictures International Russia, Evgeny Beginin, told Lenta.ru that distributing the film in Russia would be unprofitable.

Lukoil has acquired a stake in eight gas fields in Uzbekistan, Interfax reports . A subsidiary of Lukoil OJSC, Lukoil Overseas, reached an agreement with CJSC MGNK SoyuzNefteGaz on the acquisition of a controlling stake in a group of companies that includes Soyuzneftegaz Vostok Limited. The latter is a participant in the production sharing agreement (PSA) at the Yugoslav fields. Western Gissar and Ustyurt. This territory contains reserves of about 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

A computer game will be created based on the youth film comedy “Juno,” according to the 1up website. There are no details about the computer adaptation of Juno yet, but it is known that the developers are targeting the casual games market. The film "Juno" is about a pregnant schoolgirl who is looking for adoptive parents for her unborn son. The main role in the film is played by 20-year-old actress Ellen Page. The film received four Oscar nominations.

First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev ordered the completion of the first stage of the Eastern Siberia - Pacific Ocean (ESPO) oil pipeline by the end of this year. He made the corresponding orders to the Minister of Fuel and Energy Viktor Khristenko and the President of Transneft OJSC Nikolai Tokarev , RIA Novosti reports . On February 7, Nikolai Tokarev said that the commissioning of the first stage of ESPO will take place no earlier than the fourth quarter of 2009.

President Vladimir Putin is confident that Russia has ended the political lack of rights of the people. Speaking at a meeting of the State Council of the Russian Federation, he said that work on “the formation of a stable and capable political system” had continued since the late 1990s.

The Grand Master of the Order of Malta, Fra Andrew Bertie, has died, the Times of Malta reported on Friday . The 78-year-old master died in Rome after a short illness. He has led the order since 1988. newspaper The Izvestia recalls that during Berti's reign, the Order of Malta established diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation. The Grand Master spoke Russian fluently and knew many other languages.

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer believes that the Alliance summit in Bucharest will be an excellent occasion to review relations between Ukraine and the North Atlantic bloc. According to Deutsche Welle , the Secretary General announced this in Vilnius after a meeting with the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Yuri Yekhanurov . At the same time, according to Scheffer, Russia’s opinion will not influence Kyiv’s accession to the NATO Accession Action Plan. “NATO makes decisions.

An unauthorized rally was held in St. Petersburg in support of the British Council, reports RIA-Novosti . The police officers and security guards of the Consulate General located in the same building who observed what was happening did not interfere with the action. Students who studied English at British Council courses and activists of political organizations gathered for the rally and came to the building of the British Cultural Center with a poster in support of Council employees.

In Kenya, the opposition and the ruling party have reached an agreement to form a coalition government. According to Sky News, this was stated by William Rutto, a member of parliament from the opposition Orange Democratic Movement. According to him, both sides came to the conclusion that there are problems in the country that should be solved together, but the composition of the coalition government is still under discussion.