Sequel: Santa's Office Avoids Bankruptcy The office of Santa Claus, one of the theme parks in Lapland, has gone bankrupt. On August 19, the court declared the company bankrupt, because it could not pay taxes in the amount of 200 thousand euros. The head of the company, Jarmo Kariniem, hopes that his company will be able to negotiate with the tax authorities and save the company. Santa's office has to pay taxes within a week.

The story of the birth of the Mortal Kombat by the eyes of its creators: Hollywood Reporter Frame: "Deadly Battle" On August 18, 1995, the film “Deadly Battle” was released (it is more familiar to Russian viewers from the original name - Mortal Kombat). The adventure action movie based on the game of the same name was extremely successful, despite the fears of the creators of the game.

Meduza speaks to internationally acclaimed Russian novelist Lyudmila Ulitskaya Photo: Grigory Sysoev / TASS / Scanpix Pro-Kremlin activists consider Lyudmila Ulitskaya to be part of a “fifth column”: she speaks out against the regime, advocates for former-oligarch, turned-dissident Mikhail Khodorkovsky, and condemns many of the trends in Russia today. But none of this stops Ulitskaya from remaining a successful writer, whose books are sold in great numbers.

The former head of Russian Railways, Vladimir Yakunin , refused to comment on his resignation . He wrote a message to an RBC correspondent: “Go to hell, it’s late at night!” Vladimir Yakunin is spending his vacation in the Far East . On August 20, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev dismissed Yakunin “in connection with a transfer to another job.” Oleg Belozerov, who worked as First Deputy Minister of Transport, was appointed as the new head of Russian Railways.

Greece will hold early parliamentary elections. According to Reuters , Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will announce on television later in the evening of 20 August that elections will take place on 20 September. Tsipras will leave his post to participate in the campaign, the agency said. Later, Tsipras appeared on TV and confirmed that he was retiring. Alexis Tsipras of the left-wing Syriza party came to power in the January 2015 elections.

Wikipedia has refused to delete or restrict access to an article a Russian court has outlawed. The article in question—an encyclopedia entry about charas, a hashish form of cannabis—was banned in late June by a court in Astrakhan. Earlier today, officials from Roskomnadzor, the Kremlin's media watchdog agency, threatened to ban Wikipedia in its entirety, if the website refuses to remove access to the drug-related content.

July 2015 turned out to be the hottest month throughout the planet throughout the history of observations that have been conducted since 1880. This is stated in a press release from the National Administration of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research of the United States. The average temperature of July was 0.81 degrees Celsius higher than the average in the 20th century. The average temperature in July on the planet was 16.61 degrees Celsius.

The Stavropol Regional Court confirmed the decision of the lower instance and decided to release the 24-year-old prisoner Anton Lanshakov from the colony, which was sick with cystic fibrosis. On June 30, the Kochubeevsky District Court of the Stavropol Territory admitted that Lanshakov should leave the colony. Nevertheless, he remained in conclusion, since the prosecutor's office demanded that the prisoner be released.

In Rostov-on-Don, the trial of the “Crimean terrorists” Sentsov and Kolchenko ends. Reporting Ilya Azar Photo: Vasily Deryugin / Kommersant In Rostov-on-Don, the first of two high-profile “Ukrainian processes” ends-the case of filmmaker Oleg Sentsov and Anti-Fascist Alexander Kolchenko (the process of the pilot Nadezhda Savchenko will most likely over the next few weeks).

For which the militants of the “Islamic state” executed the Syrian archaeologist: The Guardian Photo: Marc Dedille / Gamma-Rapho / Getty Images On August 19, it became known that the militants of the “Islamic state” (in Russia, the group was recognized as extremist, its activity is prohibited) who captured Palmyra, beheaded by the Syrian archaeologist Haled Assad.

The decision to introduce a free floating tenge regime was made at the request of exporters, the Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs, small and medium-sized businesses. This was stated by the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. The devaluation of the national currency, the President of Kazakhstan said, will help restore the country's competitiveness and preserve jobs.

American boxer Roy Jones Jr. has applied for Russian citizenship. At a special press conference in Yalta, Jones said that he was "Russian", and he needed citizenship in order to "facilitate the task of building a bridge between countries and uniting them." A day earlier, Roy Jones Jr. met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said he was not against Jones' Russian citizenship if he connected his future with activities in Russia.

Roskomnadzor, the Kremlin's media watchdog agency, has threatened to block Wikipedia in Russia, following a court ruling in Astrakhan in late June against an entry on the website about charas (a hashish form of cannabis). Roskomnadzor has sent a letter to Wikipedia's administrators, threatening to block the website in its entirety, if it refuses to delete the article in question. This marks the first time a Russian court has banned content on Wikipedia.

Two men wanted in connection with the Bangkok attack voluntarily surrendered to the police, Thai authorities said. We are talking about two men in white and red T-shirts, who, according to CCTV footage, were sitting on the same bench in the temple with the main suspect. According to the Sky News channel , those who came to the police said they were working as tourist guides and had nothing to do with the attack.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev named the new head of Russian Railways. They appointed Oleg Belozerov, who previously worked as the first deputy head of the Ministry of Transport. Belozerov is also on the board of directors of the state-owned company. Vladimir Yakunin resigned. In the fall of 2015, he may become a senator from the Kaliningrad region. Medvedev noted Belozerov's experience in transport and railways, in particular. TASS Vladimir Yakunin has headed Russian Railways since 2005.