Members of the female military battalion 'Peshmer' are waiting for winter to begin in Kurdistan. They believe that in the winter the United States will begin the war with Iraq. This will allow them to put into practice the knowledge gained in the Peshmer training camp, which in translation means "faced face to face with death." This camp is located in the vicinity of the Kurdish city of Sulaiamayah.

On December 16, a congress of the peoples of Chechnya will be held in Moscow. This was announced by the State Duma deputy from the Chechen Republic Aslanbek Aslakhanov, Interfax reports. According to him, about 900 delegates from all regions of Russia, which will be elected in the constituent entities of the Federation, including the Chechnya itself, will take part in the congress. Another 200 people will be present as invited.

Lawyer Stanislav Markelov, who presented the interests of the victim to the Kungaev family in the court hearings in the court of Yuri Budanov, most likely will not participate in the process, Interfax reports. “I participate in those processes where there is a practical benefit from participation. Where I see that my actions can lead to some positive result. And I just did not want to be decorating the process,” Markelov said.

In the current economic situation, the majority of respondents consider it acceptable in the family of one child - 44%, but also the proportion of those who consider it possible to have two children - 43%. These are the results of the survey conducted by the Agency of Regional Political Studies (ARPI). The presence of three or more children is considered acceptable only 6% of respondents, the same part of the respondents are optimal today to date considers the absence of children in general.

As already reported , in the Nigerian state of Zamfar (in the north of the country), inhabited mainly by Muslims, Fatva was published, calling for the faithful to the murder of journalist Ishioma Daniel, the author of the scandalous article dedicated to the Miss World competition. This article was condemned as the insulting religious feelings of Muslims.

Over 100 arrests were held in Turkmenistan after a failed attempt on the president of the country Saparmurat Niyazov, in which the Turkmen authorities accuse the opposition. Turkmen special services hold mass arrests among relatives of suspects, although they have nothing to do with the attempt, the Provisional Executive Council of the People’s Democratic Movement of Turkmenistan reports.

Relatives of the victims of the Washington Sniper received a total of 260 thousand dollars as compensation from the charity fund. According to the chairman of the Gregori VIMS Foundation, on Monday, relatives of the ten dead and four wounded personally or by mail received checks worth more than 18.5 thousand dollars for each family.

The Pension Fund is afraid for the timely payment of pensions. Amendments to the Law "On Labor Pensions", providing for the inclusion of non -insisted periods in the total work experience, will lead to a significant reduction in the reserve funds of the Russian Pension Fund, the adviser to the chairman of the PFR, Vladimir Vyunitsky, said in an interview with Interfax. The bill was adopted last week by the State Duma of the Russian Federation in the second reading.

Storm warning is announced in the south of Sakhalin. According to the operational duty officer on civil defense and emergency situations of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, on November 27, according to forecasts of weather forecasters, the south of Sakhalin will cover heavy snowfall with a wind of 17-22 m/s. On the passes and the coast, the wind speed will reach 25-30 m/s, RIA Novosti reports. Forecasters warn that visibility will be limited to 500 meters. Wet snow will stick on the wires of power lines.

A fraudster who tried to avoid justice, posing as a brother that allegedly died as a result of the attacks on September 11, was sentenced on Monday to 4 years in prison, RIA Novosti reports. Against the 28-year-old native of China Stephen Lin, a lawsuit was previously opened in Hawaii in connection with the fake of the passport. He decided to avoid punishment by issuing a certificate of his death.

Advisor to the Canadian Prime Minister Francoise Ducro, who called the US President at the NATO summit in Prague, “an idiot”, resigned. Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien accepted the resignation, the American media reported with reference to the press release of the Canadian prime minister’s office.

The United States proposes to cancel duties on goods produced by the WTO participants. According to the Bush administration, duties within the WTO can be abandoned by 2015. According to Wall Street Journal , according to the US plan, by 2010, duties for all goods should be reduced to 8%, then for five years are gradually reduced to zero. Duties, now not exceeding 5%, should be abolished by 2010.

Several dozen Israeli tanks and armored vehicles under the cover of helicopters invaded the Palestinian refugees camp on Tuesday at night Deir al-Balah (central part of the gas sector). The Israeli military took up positions in residential areas. According to the Palestinians, armored vehicles also occupied a settlement that was adjacent to the city. Information about skirmishes and losses on both sides has yet been received.

Representatives of the Russian special services on Tuesday demonstrated to reporters an audio recording with the appeal of the ideologist of Chechen separatists Movladi Udugov, indicating the strife in the highest echelons of the leadership leaders.

In India, he turned over with a ferry, on board which was, according to various sources, from 60 to 150 passengers. The incident occurred on the Bidya River in the Indian state of West Bengal, ITAR-TASS reports. As a result of the disaster, there are numerous human sacrifices. From the water it was possible to get only three bodies. The search for the rest continues. This is the second disaster in India over the past three days.