On the night of January 19, Russian historian and political scientist Anatoly Ivanovich Utkin died. As the Interfax agency reports , the director of the Center for International Studies at the Institute of the USA and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences died at the age of 66. The death of the scientist was confirmed in an interview with Interfax by Sergei Rogov, director of the Institute of Gastrointestinal Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

British pop duo Pet Shop Boys have prepared a new live release for release. On February 15, a recording of the band's London concert, which took place on December 21, 2009 at the O2 Arena, will be released on DVD. The performance was part of a tour in support of Pet Shop Boys' tenth studio album, "Yes"; During these tours, the duo gave concerts in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The disc, which will include 17 tracks, is called "Pandemonium".

The daring attack on the center of Kabul was the Taliban militants’ response to new proposals from the official authorities for peace and an end to the armed struggle. The attack took place on Monday, January 18, the day the ministers of the country's new government took the oath of office. The battle near the presidential palace, where the ceremony took place, lasted almost four hours.

The government of Kyrgyzstan has decided to abolish military departments at the country's universities. This was reported by news agency “24.kg” . According to the agency, this process is planned to be completed by the end of 2010. Already from the beginning of this year, the admission of students to military departments has ceased. Those currently undergoing training there will be given the opportunity to complete their studies.

On January 19 , President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko took part in the celebration of Orthodox Epiphany. According to his press service, the head of state visited the chapel in honor of the Great Martyr Varvara on the territory of the Pushcha-Ozernaya sanatorium complex in Kiev. After this, he attended the liturgy, which took place on the shore of a nearby lake and, according to folk custom, swam in an ice hole that was cut out of the ice.

The conflict between pirates over the distribution of the record ransom they received for the release of the Greek supertanker Maran Sentaurus has escalated into an armed confrontation between bandit clans. reported this on January 18 AFP .

An unknown portrait of Edgar Allan Poe, one of only three surviving lifetime images of the American classic, will be presented to the public for the first time in 150 years, reports the Associated Press . Then, in June, a small watercolor by artist AC Smith will be auctioned. Its current owner, Poe researcher Cliff Krainik, expects to fetch at least $30,000 for the painting; however, it is even more likely that it will sell for more than 50 thousand.

In the United States, famous entrepreneur Glen Bell, founder of the Taco Bell fast food restaurant chain, died at the age of 87. ABC News reports. As specified in a message on the company's website, Bell died at his home in Rancho Santa Fe, California, on Sunday, January 17. The exact cause of death is not known. Taco Bell emphasized that the funeral of the deceased will be held in a private setting with only relatives and close family friends present.

In Moscow, at the age of 86, the writer, publicist, first secretary of the board of the Union of Writers of the USSR, former editor-in-chief of the New World magazine Vladimir Karpov died. this to RIA Novosti on Tuesday, January 19. Vladimir Seredin, General Director of the Writers' Union of Russia, announced According to the agency's interlocutor, Karpov died the day before. The cause of the writer's death has not yet been announced.

The owners of the Singapore nightclub OverEasy offered visitors free drinks depending on their figure, MyFox reports, citing local publications. Women with different body types can receive from one free cocktail to a bottle of vodka from the establishment. A jury of two people of different genders visually determines the size of the visitor's breasts. If she wears a size A bra, she can get one free drink, a size B gets two drinks, and a size C gets three drinks.

The head of the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus, a division of the aerospace holding EADS, Thomas Enders expects a “very difficult” 2010, reports AFP . According to him, the low dollar exchange rate will bring losses of a billion euros to the corporation. Enders added that Airbus, hit hard by the global economic downturn of 2008-2009, will take several years to return to profitability. “However, this process will not last for decades,” he reassured.

The head of the Ukrainian government, Yulia Tymoshenko, plans to offer the former head of the National Bank , Sergei Tigipko , who took third place in the first round of the presidential election, a place in the government in exchange for his support in the second round. writes about this The newspaper "Delo" . There was no confirmation of this information from Tymoshenko or Tigipko.

Two of the three prisoners who died on January 17 in the Ussuriysk detention center were poisoned by drinking water. reported this on January 19 Interfax with reference to the conclusion of its own investigation of the main department of the Federal Penitentiary Service for the Primorsky Territory.

The death toll from the explosion of an oxygen cylinder in hospital number 7 in Lugansk was, as of the morning of January 19, eight people. reports this UNIAN . The bodies of the seven victims have been identified. Four people were rescued. The fate of six other hospital employees remains unknown. Earlier it was reported that rescuers pulled six people from the rubble, all of them were hospitalized. Two of the victims were in extremely serious condition.

19.01.2010, 20:03:56 version Print | PDA/PDA Nikol Pashinyan. Photo from the site nikolpashinyan.com Seven years for the failed Maidan Opposition journalist convicted in Armenia The trial of opposition politician and journalist Nikol Pashinyan has ended in Yerevan. He was accused of assaulting a police officer in 2007 and a more serious crime - organizing mass riots in March 2008, in which supporters of former Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrosyan took part.