Mars may not be a "dead" planet. Such a sensational conclusion was reached by European scientists. True, it is not about biological life, but about seismic activity. New photos of the Martian volcano Olympus (the largest volcano of the solar system) made by the European Mars Express module allowed scientists to conclude that there were once existing volcanoes on Mars and, quite possibly, a new eruption could soon occur.

The bureau of the executive committee of the Russian Football Union at today's meeting approved by the work plan for 2005 and an expanded list of 30 candidates for the Russian team, presented by the head coach of the National Team, the head coach of the National Team. There was a hypothetical possibility of not approving this plan, which could lead to the remaining of Yartsev.

The new year 2005 Muscovites will be met at home, eating Olivier salad. This is evidenced by the results of the New Year's survey of the Romir Monitoring research holding. The vast majority of respondents (63%) are going to celebrate the New Year at home. Another 10% are going to visit and only 2% of respondents admitted that they have already booked places in nightclubs and restaurants. 1% of respondents gather abroad for the holidays.

In Chechnya, the so-called emir of the Terrible Alikhan Mashugov was destroyed, said the representative of the regional operational headquarters (Rosh) on the management of the counter-terrorism operation in the North Caucasus, Major General Ilya Shabalkin. "The operation to destroy the Emir of Terrible an hour ago was carried out by employees of the combined detachment of the federal forces in the village of Cherovali," he said.

The court of the Petrograd district of St. Petersburg at a meeting on Thursday issued a sanction for the arrest of the governor of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug Vladimir Butov. Due to the absence of Butov’s court on Thursday, the state prosecutor filed a motion to change the preventive measure to the defendant, which the court satisfied.

Orange became the color of hope for the Democrats in the territory of the entire former USSR, where democracy, except for the Baltic countries, is still an exceptional phenomenon. After the events in Kyiv, many ask the question - who is the next? Which of the many authoritarian systems can shake? Before Ukraine, only in Georgia, "revolution against imitation of democracy" was a success.

Chinese scientists have proposed a new way to measure how attractive the man is. It can be a high brunette, but scientists believe that you evaluate its growth in combination with volume to understand whether he is beautiful. Their work hints that the size of the body is much more important than the weight, when it comes to love at first sight, writes on Thursday Nature (translation on the website inopressa.ru ). In the past, scientists were interested in several body parameters.

The State Tax Code of Rosneft bought a 100% share in the company from the owners of Baikalfinance group LLC, becoming the owner and the asset belonging to it - 76.6% of the shares of Yuganskneftegaz OJSC. Information about the purchase of Yuganskneftegaz Rosneft Interfax reported around midnight Moscow time from Wednesday to Thursday, when a court of Yukos was completed in Houston .

In Sri Lanka, the train collided with a herd of wild elephants, as a result of three elephants died, according to the daily newspaper SEATTLE POST-INTELGENCER . According to the representative of the country's railway, as a result of the incident, the locomotive of the train, transporting about 500 passengers, left the rails. There are no human victims. The incident occurred 100 miles northeast of Colombo. A hundred years ago, about 10-15 thousand elephants lived on Sri Lanka.

The Georgian parliament in the evening on Wednesday adopted in the first reading a bill on the legalization of the finance and property that were not detected from 1992 to 2003. The chairman of the Parliamentary Commission on Finance and the Budget Roman Gotsiridze informed reporters on Wednesday evening that the bill "On the amnesty and legalization of property and undeclared tax liabilities" introduced to the Government parliament he had undergone significant changes during the hearing.

Group Menatep believes that Baikalfinance Group was an auction of the interests of the Russian government, and the purchase of Rosneft Baikalfinancagranus - evidence of this, the Group Menatep said. “We believe that“ Baikalfinance group ”was nothing more than a screen for the Russian government, and a message about the sale of Baikalfinance group Rosneft, which will become part of Gazprom - the main evidence of this, if required,” the message emphasizes, Interfax reports.

Yukos shares sharply rose during the exchange trading on Thursday. At MICEX, they increased by 46.059% compared to the closure of the previous day to 24.83 rubles per share. In the RTS, the company's shares went up by 76.72% - to $ 1 per share. According to the head of the trading department of the investment company "Prospekt" Anton Kashtanov, the growth of Yukos shares is speculative.

On Wednesday, before the French Embassy in Baghdad, journalists were waiting for the possible appearance of Sheno and Malbryuno - two French journalists stolen in August. The embassy stood only a few representatives of the French media - they were the only ones who were interested in this business, says Liberation . (Translation on the website inopressa.ru ). “The liberation of the French hostages?

This director does not work undercover, and he is not one of those who are easy to disguise and merge with the crowd. Realizing that Michael Moore, the author of the sensational film "Fahrenheit 9/11" , chose a new target for himself, any industry should think about precautions. At least the 6 largest American pharmaceutical companies issued internal orders to their employees, warning that they beware of an "untidy guy in a baseball cap" who asks too many questions.

Zbignnev Brzezinsky was a national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter. Pole by origin, he is a recognized expert on East European politics. According to the American political scientist Zbignev Brzezinsky, we are talking about a new historical process. He told about this in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera .