The three European leaders according to the Association of European Football Statistics has undergone significant changes: the “Royal Club” from the capital of Spain, which occupied the 4th line last week, came to first place from 61.03 points. The second is the former leader of the rating - Leverkuzensky Bayer with 59.72 points. The winner of the Champions League 2000/01 and the holder of the intercontinental Cup Munich Bavaria (59.45) follow him.

By 2006, the MORS rocket group will be reduced by about one third - "to the level of about 500 launchers", RIA Novosti reports with reference to the assistant commander of the Strategic Missile Forces Colonel Alexander Vovka.

Santa Claus, who granted a Christmas to one of the Bank’s branches in San Diego , did not come there at all with congratulations, reports his own correspondent of Komsomolskaya Pravda in the United States. Approaching the window, he menacingly demanded a collection bag. And although the bandit did not even get a weapon, the frightened cashier meekly obeyed. Grabbing the bag, Santa Claus rushed to run, tearing off his beard and cap.

The 23-year-old resident of Veliky Novgorod, convicted of crime, immediately after the verdict made it to commit suicide, reports NTV "CRC". He was taken into custody for hooliganism . The court took place, it was decided to give the suspect four years of prison. Apparently, being in a shock from the listened sentence, the young man jumped out of the window of the fifth floor. Now Andrei Rakitin is located in the emergency room of the Novgorod city clinical hospital.

According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, every fourth American Internet user, that is, about 28 million people, are looking for spiritual or religious information in it, the New York Post reported. The study showed that users are mainly busy searching for educational or reference information (69%) or study other religions (50%). 35% of users offer spiritual advice on the Internet, and they are looking for 21%.

Russian GDP growth in forecasts for 2001 will be 5-5.5%. This was announced by the Minister of Economic Development and Trade of the Russian Federation German Gref, Interfax reports. According to the results of the third quarter of the current year, he noted, according to various calculation models, either zero growth of GDP or slight growth was noted.

In Britain, a traditional Christmas swim is taking place for the Peter Pena Cup. Fans of voyage in ice water are ready to overcome the speed of 900 meters of the Serpentin pond located in the center of London. Competitions of "walruses" are held annually for 137 years. The first swim took place in 1864, and the prizes of the winner were handed by writer J. M.

The maximum cost of the services of plumbers, electricians and other working housing offices is increased by the decision of the Moscow authorities. According to the Moscow Komsomolets at the City Hall of the capital, the new prices for services that have not risen for almost two years are entered from January 1. So, changing the valve head for cold and hot water mixers will cost no more than 13 rubles 48 kopecks. Previously, the upper limit of the value of this service was 6 rubles.

The planned on Wednesday, December 26, in the Savelovsky inter -municipal court of the capital, repeated hearing in the lawsuit of Vladimir Gusinsky to the deputy prosecutor general of the Russian Federation Vasily Kolmogorov "On the Protection of Constitutional Rights" will not be held. According to RIA Novosti , this is due to the disease of Judge Irina Yurova, who will preside in the process in this case. The start date of consideration of the claim will be determined later.

By decision of UNESCO , 2002 was declared the year of Antonio Gaudi. This will become the recognition of the meaning of the contribution made to the world culture by the famous Catalan architect. According to Gaudi’s projects, there were buildings that were recognized as masterpieces of architecture, in particular the Cathedral of the “Holy Family” and the Palace of “La Pedreer” in Barcelona.

One of the founders of the gambling business in Novosibirsk was killed, RIA Novosti reports. 44-year-old Sergey Boykov was shot on December 24 near his cottage. The killer fired several shots from firearms. Including a control shot was made, which indicates that the murder can be attributed to the category of customs. Boykov’s wife from the cottage window saw how the hired killer dealt with her husband, but could not describe the appearance of the criminal.

According to the Shanghai newspaper South China Morning Post, the decision to build a new automotive industry in the anting, the suburb of Shanghai was made. The work will begin in the near future in the calculation of the fact that in order to apply for an invitation to China of the stage of the World Cup in 2004.

One of the options for increasing the tariffs of natural monopolies for 2002 provides for their increase in two stages. This was stated by the head of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation German Gref at a press conference on Tuesday in Moscow. "We assume several scenarios for the development of the economic situation in the country for next year, including in tariffs," he said.

The chairman of the Palestinian National Administration (PNU) Yasir Arafat could not arrive at Christmas in Bethlehem, Interfax reports. The chair in the Bethlehem Cathedral of St. Catherine, which was specially prepared for him, where midnight services took place, remained empty. From Ramallah, where Yasir Arafat was forced to spend a Christmas night, he turned on television to the Palestinian people. In his appeal, he said that “Israeli tanks and barricades” prevented his arrival in Bethlehem.

The former head of Gazprom-Media, Alfred Koch, leaving the media business, is busy implementing a large commercial project-the construction of a seaport in Ust-Luga (Leningrad Region), he himself announced this in an interview with Izvestia newspaper. As Koch admitted, after the story with NTV, he “lay down on the bottom, like a submarine,” and having retired to the “swamps and forests”, began to implement the seaport project.