Microsoft has released a preview version of Windows 8.1. The operating system, on the one hand, continues the general line of Windows 8, which appeared seven months earlier - two interfaces, two browsers, two different types of devices, and on the other hand, it contains innovations designed to reconcile users with this fact.

Representatives of Lithuania's Muslim communities expressed outrage at the image in the window of a Vilnius casino, Delfi.lt reports. According to Muslims, a mosque is depicted there, and this offends their religious feelings. The casino in question is located on Gediminas Avenue in the center of Vilnius. on the window There is an image - a black silhouette on a yellow-orange background.

The Government of the Russian Federation has submitted to the State Duma a bill on the reform of state academies. The documents are posted on the website of the lower house of parliament. It is still unknown when the first reading will take place.

In the city of Fortaleza in northeastern Brazil, clashes broke out between police and demonstrators, writes BBC News. As a result, about 90 people were detained. Several activists and police were injured. The clashes occurred on June 27, a few hours before the start of the Confederations Cup football match between Spain and Italy. Then about five thousand people marched to the stadium. The police dispersed the most aggressive demonstrators with tear gas.

The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs has announced the timing of the introduction of a simplified scheme for registering road accidents without injuries. This is reported in the plan ( .pdf ) of the department’s activities for the period from 2013 to 2018.

The promising military transport aircraft Il-476 (Il-76MD-90A) received a full-fledged toilet cabin with a toilet and washbasin, the Izvestia newspaper writes. According to the former head of intelligence of the Russian Airborne Forces, reserve colonel Pavel Popovskikh, toilets were not installed on Soviet-designed transport aircraft.

New rules providing for the confiscation of cars from drunk drivers in Belarus will also apply to Russians caught driving drunk on the territory of the republic. Interfax-West reports this. “Russian reckless drivers who commit offenses on Belarusian highways will be treated the same as with Belarusian ones,” explained Prosecutor General of Belarus Alexander Konyuk.

Five people were injured as a result of an emergency landing of a plane in the Khabarovsk Territory, Interfax reported on Friday, June 28, citing the press service of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations for the region. The plane was partially destroyed. The victims, who received fractures of varying severity, were transported to the regional hospital in Khabarovsk by a Mi-8 helicopter of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations.

Molecular biologists from Cornell University measured the force with which an individual enzyme molecule unwinds the DNA double helix during RNA synthesis. The work was published in the journal Science , and its summary can be read on the university website. During the study, scientists used the so-called optical tweezers method, which allows one to manipulate microscopic objects, such as a quartz crystal, using a laser beam.

One of the Terminator 2 characters on display in Japan. Photo: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP Paramount Pictures will film a trilogy as part of the popular Terminator franchise, Reuters reports on Thursday, June 27, citing the press service of the film company. The first part of the trilogy is planned to be released in 2015, representatives of the film company said. Previously, only plans to shoot one new Terminator film were known.

Prices of goods have ceased to be a decisive factor for Russians when choosing a store. newspaper writes about this in its issue dated June 28, The Vedomosti citing a Nielsen ShopperTrends study conducted in 54 countries, including Russia. The study showed that when choosing a store, Russians consider the most important thing to be the opportunity to find the product they need, as well as buy everything they need in one outlet.

In Belarus, the criminal prosecution of photographer Anton Suryapin and realtor Sergei Basharimov, who were accused of involvement in last year’s “plush landing”, has been stopped. This was reported by Interfax-Zapad with reference to the State Security Committee of the Republic. The KGB press service stated that “all necessary investigative actions were carried out” in relation to these citizens, as a result of which it was decided to terminate the criminal prosecution.

A group of illegal bankers suspected of illegally cashing out seven billion rubles has been neutralized in Moscow. This was reported in a press release from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, received on June 28 by the editors of Lenta.ru. Five suspects were detained, including the alleged leader. These are mainly natives of Turkey and Syria. Two of them (ordinary gang members) have already been released on their own recognizance.

American film studio Pixar, specializing in 3D animation, will reduce the production of sequels. The head of the company's animation division, Ed Catmull, spoke about this in an interview with the American portal BuzzFeed. At the same time, Catmull admitted that from time to time either the company itself or its viewers want to see a continuation of a story that has already proven its success. However, the studio does not intend to abandon new stories because of this.

The State Duma rejected the draft of the Presidential Council for Human Rights (HRC), which had previously proposed renaming the concept of “foreign agent” to “organization financed from foreign sources” in the law on NGOs. This is stated in a letter from the head of the parliamentary committee on affairs of public associations and religious organizations, Yaroslav Nilov, which was published on the Council’s website.