Law enforcement agencies of Tatarstan discovered an underground workshop in the capital of the republic in which pirated audio and video discs were packaged and packaged. As Interfax reports with reference to the republican Ministry of Internal Affairs, the police seized about 300 thousand such media, the total value of which is estimated at nine million rubles. It is noted that the seized products are of low quality.

A man who formerly headed the Illinois prison system has been sentenced in the United States. reports AP The state's former chief jailer, Donald Snyder, who was found guilty of accepting bribes, will spend two years in prison, the . The investigation established that the convict received money from lobbyists representing the interests of certain suppliers of the Illinois Department of Corrections.

The world's second largest airline, United Airlines, has filed a lawsuit against its pilots' union, ABC News reports . The union incited pilots to pretend to be sick and refuse to work overtime, causing United Airlines to slow down, the US company said. Thus, the union is trying to resist United Airlines' plans to reduce the number of employees and reduce the number of flights.

On July 31, officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia detained another high-ranking representative of the Ministry of Economic Development of the republic - the head of the privatization organization department Tamaz Tatabadze. This was reported by Novosti-Georgia news agency with reference to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The Yaroslavl football club "Shinnik" was fined 120 thousand rubles for the behavior of its players and fans during the match of the 15th round of the Russian championship with Grozny "Terek", RIA Novosti reports . The decision to apply sanctions was made on July 30 at a meeting of the Control and Disciplinary Committee of the Russian Football Union (RFC KDK).

The Tretyakov Gallery's complaint sent to the Moscow City Court against the refusal of the court of first instance to satisfy the claim against Alexander Sokolov , the former Minister of Culture, was rejected. reports this Interfax . The decision of the Khamovnichesky Court was recognized as correct, and, thus, the litigation that lasted more than six months can be considered over. The lawsuit against Sokolov was filed after the minister alleged corruption in the gallery in October 2007.

The authorities of North Ossetia are introducing a state of emergency due to the spread of African swine fever. reports this RIA Novosti with reference to the North Setin Ministry of Emergency Situations. Earlier, as the agency notes, such a recommendation was made by the plenipotentiary mission of the President of the Russian Federation in the Southern Federal District.

administration officials George W. Bush may be summoned to congressional hearings and are required to answer questions from congressmen regarding their official activities. This decision, AP reports, was made Thursday by federal judge John Bates.

Four suspects in the St. Petersburg McDonald's bombing in February 2007 had their arrest terms extended for another six months each. This decision was made at a preliminary court hearing in the Sanut-Petersburg City Court, Interfax reports . The case will be considered by a jury. The judge scheduled their selection for August 28, 2008. An explosion at the McDonald's restaurant on Nevsky Prospekt on February 18, 2007 injured 10 people.

Nintendo sold 5.17 million Wii game consoles in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, writes Gamasutra. This is 1.74 million more consoles than were sold during the same period last year. With 29.62 million consoles currently sold worldwide, the Wii is leading the race for next-generation gaming systems. From April 1 to June 30, Nintendo posted a net profit of 107.3 billion yen ($992 million), up 33.7 percent from last year.

53 percent of Russians take cash receipts from small stores. These are the results of a survey by the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VTsIOM). Women take a check more often than men - 60 percent versus 45. 28 percent of respondents always or almost always collect checks, the remaining 25 only “when necessary.” It is much more common to take a check for wealthier citizens.

The Zenit football club on Thursday signed a four-year contract with French Nancy defender Sebastien Puygrenier, Sports.ru reports . Saint-Etienne also claimed the 26-year-old player. Puygrenier initially agreed to join this team, but after Zenit’s offer he changed his mind. In addition to Saint-Etienne, the French Rennes, Lyon, Bordeaux and PSG, as well as the Greek Panathinaikos, were interested in the defender. The transfer amount, according to unofficial data, was six million euros.

American radio host Howard Stern will produce a remake of the 1979 film "Rock and Roll High School". Variety reports this. Rock 'n' Roll High was about a group of rebellious students who, with the help of the punk band Ramones, thwart the plans of the school's music-hating principal. The script for the remake will be written by actor Alex Winter, who starred alongside Keanu Reeves in the 1989 film Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.

The American Immigration Research Center found that the number of illegal immigrants in the United States fell by 11 percent (1.3 million people) over the past year, The New York Times writes. According to the center's experts, this is primarily due to the tightening of immigration laws that began in the summer of 2007.

In the Ukrainian city of Chernivtsi, which suffered from flooding, police detained seven people who were stealing goods from the flooded Kalinovsky Market shopping complex. reports this Zaxid.net . According to the publication, young people, among whom were local residents, as well as residents of the Khotyn district of the Chernivtsi region, stole clothes and computer equipment. The stolen property was confiscated.