The traditional annual carnival starts on Friday in Brazil. In Rio de Janeiro and San Paulo, where samba dance schools compete on the carnival, the holiday will be opened by the presentation of symbolic keys to the city of a fictional character-King Momo. This hero will open the passage of each dance school in a sambadrom, which is a special concrete strip, 600 meters long and 20 meters wide, on both sides of which there are spectator stands.

In Ukraine, a 13-year-old girl gave birth to a 13-year-old girl in the city of Vinnitsa. The father of the child is 21 years old, parents are not going to abandon the newborn, ITAR-TASS reported in the regional administration. Over the years of independence of Ukraine, this is the second case, when a minor becomes a mother. In January 2004, an 11-year-old girl gave birth to a 11-year-old girl in Kharkov, she became a grandmother at 28. True, then the father abandoned the child.

The Qatarian authorities arrested on Thursday two people suspected of involvement in the murder of the former head of the self -proclaimed Ichkeria Zelimkhan Yandarbiev. According to the Katar news agency with reference to the "responsible source in the Ministry of Internal Affairs", the authorities continue investigative actions with suspects of the murder of Yandarbiev.

The idea of ​​the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Finance to increase the income tax rate for Russians, and at their expense to reduce the unified social tax for enterprises, did not find understanding in the tax department.

On February 12, Irina Khakamada and Nikolai Kharitonov appealed to the CEC of the Russian Federation with statements about those who, in their opinion, violations of the legislation related to the coverage of the federal television channels of the meeting of Vladimir Putin with their proxies on February 12.

Now electronic messages will be able to delight not only eyes and hearing, but also smell: the British enterprise Telewest Broadband and American scientists from Trisenx have developed a high -tech device connected to a computer that will generate the aroma “connected” with an electronic message, and the aroma may vary the fiction to the smell of toilet water, from the smell The beaches and coconuts to the smell of juicy beefs, frying on the coals, which, although not too romantic, is very

On the behalf of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, Vnesheconombank made payments on February 20 on debt repayment and servicing to the member countries of the Paris Club of creditors for a total amount equivalent to $ 2.13 billion. Payments were made in nine currencies and made in hard accordance with schedules agreed with sovereign creditors.

In Moscow, a teenager was detained, who "mined" his own school, in the management of information and public relations of the Moscow Central Internal Affairs Directorate of Moscow, was detained. “On Friday, the police detained a 14 -year -old teenager who called the 02 service from the taxophone,” said the representative of the department, Yevgeny Makarova, RIA Novosti reports.

The US authorities accuse the Israeli businessman Asher Carney, living in South Africa, on the sale of nuclear materials to Pakistan and his likely enemy - India. Initially, Carni brought criminal charges of exporting nuclear charges to Pakistan. However, recently, the US Magistral Court received new data indicating that Karni negotiated with an Indian businessman who wanted to secretly purchase nuclear material for two Indian missile production plants.

Russian President Vladimir Putin submitted to the State Duma for an urgent order draft law "On the formation of a new constituent entity of the Russian Federation as a result of the association of the Perm region and the Komi-Permyatsky Autonomous Okrug." On December 7, 2003, a referendum was held on the unification of the Perm region and the Komi-Permyak Autonomous Okrug. Then most inhabitants of the two regions supported the association.

In the regional center of Kamchatka, non -ferrous metal hunters destroyed the memorial to soldiers who died in the Great Patriotic War. The vandals tried to steal wreaths and chains made of non -ferrous metal. However, they failed to completely saw off the structures, the weight of which exceeds several tons. Filted wreaths and chains under their own weight collapsed. On Friday, employees of ZhEU Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, in whose territory there is a memorial, will begin to restore it.

An explosive device sent by mail worked in the police department of the Italian city of Perugi, Ansa's news agency reports on Friday. As a result of the explosion, one policeman was seriously injured. Two other law enforcement officers were assisted at an ambulance. “The package -bomb was addressed to the mistress of one of the city bars, who had previously received threats,” RIA Novosti was told in the Pyruji police department.

President of Pakistan Perevez Musharraf announced new measures to combat the propaganda of terrorism and extremism, RIA Novosti correspondent reports.

The leaders of the US Catholic community are unhappy with the attitude of the probable presidential candidate from the Democratic Party of John Kerry to the problem of abortion. Catholic on religion, Kerry, nevertheless, openly supports abortion and for expanding the rights of homosexuals, Blagovest-Info reports.

President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma assured the Federal Chancellor of Germany Gerhard Schroeder in the fact that he would not nominate his candidacy in the coming presidential elections in 2004. Schroeder announced this at a joint press conference with Kuchma in Berlin, dedicated to the results of Ukrainian-German political consultations. According to Shreder, the heads of the two states discussed the constitutional reform in Ukraine.