The United States facilitates the visa regime for Russians who apply for a visa through 12 travel companies. This was announced by US Consul General in the Russian Federation James Wallik at a press conference in Moscow, Interfax reports. On February 1, the US Embassy has begun the implementation of a special program, in which a number of travel agencies will receive accreditation and will be able to apply for a visa directly to the consular department of the embassy.

According to New Gazeta , Kremlin Banker Sergey Pugachev traded with Boris Berezovsky on the sale of TV-6 channel. This was stated by Berezovsky himself in an interview with the newspaper. “Indeed, this gentleman came to me and negotiated the purchase of TV -6. To which he received a polite, or impolite, refusal. The only agreement that managed to achieve was not to disclose the very fact of the meeting that Mr. Pugachev immediately violated.

The head of the transition government of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, said that 15 thousand Afghan pilgrims will perform Hajj in Saudi Arabia this year. In an interview with the Saudi newspaper "Decree", according to RIA Novosti correspondent, Karzai noted that due to the lack of a Saudi embassy in Kabul, pilgrims will have to receive visas in Islamabad, which will require extra time.

The British police are looking for unknown hackers who made an attack on the servers of one of the oldest British Internet providers last week, Cloud Nine. As a result, the company simply ceased to exist, and eight of its employees were left without work. According to Emeric Miszti, one of the founders of Cloud Nine, the provider would have to spend too much time to restore work, so the company simply decided to stop working.

The Olympic Committee of Russia (OKR) plans to complete by mid -March the creation of its television company OJSC "Television Company" Sports of Russia ". Interfax, the head of the propaganda department of the OKR Rudolf Nazvets, stated this. “I think that by March 15, all work to create our television company will be completed. Although, if not for the Olympics, where the leadership of the committee will be present, everything would have been done even earlier,” he said.

The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry Igor Ivanov holds negotiations in Kabul with the head of the Provisional Administration of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai, RIA Novosti reports. The meeting takes place in the residence of the head of the Provisional Administration of Afghanistan. According to some reports, the Russian minister must transfer Hamida Karzay an invitation to visit Russia on a visit at a convenient time for him.

The Japanese team at the 2002 football championship will be much more comfortable. At least, this is stated by designers who developed Adidas for Japanese athletes during the sponsorship of the well-known manufacturer of sportswear, T-shirts will be 35 percent easier than the previous ones. The team coach Filip Trusier said that the form for the national team was made taking into account the most to facilitate the performance of his wards in the competitions.

In Kursk last night, six people died as a result of a traffic accident, Interfax reports. Audi 20-year-old driver, following one of the city streets, drove into the oncoming lane, said on Monday in the Department of Internal Affairs of the Kursk Region. In the oncoming lane, he collided with a car of a similar brand, at the wheel of which was a 23-year-old driver of the Tyumen oil company.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon intends to meet again with three leaders of the Palestinian National Administration (PNU), with whom he held negotiations last Wednesday in his residence in Jerusalem. Sharon has recently given several interviews with the Israeli media in response to criticism of him that he does not often turn to the nation during the crisis, inopressa.ru writes today with reference to The Jerusalem Post .

In response to the shelling of an observer from the air defense batteries of Iraq, located on the border of the "useless zone", American and British fighters struck a bombing blow to the Mosul region in Northern Iraq, sources in the Pentagon reported on February 4. None of the allies were injured, but the next base of Iraqi air defense was completely destroyed, newspapers said.

In the Primorsky city of Arseniev, a valuable picture was discovered, a few years ago, abducted from the Museum of Grozny. RIA Novosti was reported on Monday at the press center of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Primorsky Territory. According to experts of the Internal Affairs Directorate of Primorye, the canvas was written by artist Makovsky in 1857, and its estimated cost is about 35 thousand US dollars.

Possessing a military budget, almost thirty times inferior to the American, Russia nevertheless tries to preserve the military potential appropriate to Supreme Power. Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov, who oversees the problem of the defense complex in the government, announced a difficult choice: the victim of good prospects was brought to the army in the present.

In Moscow, on Monday, a parliamentary hearings were held in the State Duma on the problem of social and legal protection of children from sexual exploitation and molestation, RIA Novosti reports. The meeting was held at the initiative of the Duma Committee on Women, Family and Youth. The participants in the hearings talked about the problems of crime and neglect of minors, sexual exploitation of children, using them in the drug business, prostitution .

In connection with the threat of the explosion, people are evacuated from the territory of the Izmailovsky market, RIA Novosti reports. Information about the explosive device laid down in the Izmailovsky market was received by the Izmailovo police officer at the Moscow time at about 10:00 in the morning Moscow time, the Department of Civil Defense and Emergencies of the Capital said. All operational services of the city arrived at the scene.

The head of Microsoft Corporation Bill Gates said that he did not see signs of a significant improvement in the business situation in the field of high technology, as well as in the US economy in 2002, Bloomberg reports. “In 2002, I do not expect a significant rise,” he said in response to a question regarding the dynamics of the Nasdaq exchange index this year.