The world annual turnover of falsified goods is about $ 500 billion at the beginning of 2007, the World Customs Organization said on the eve of the International Customs Day, which is celebrated on January 26. In the EU alone, from 1998 to 2004, the volume of fake products withdrawn by customs services increased 10 times.

The Italian government unanimously approved the bill proving to imprisonment for the denial of the Holocaust, the Agency Agency reports. For such actions, it is proposed to be imprisoned for a period of 6 months to 4 years, and for propaganda of racial superiority - up to three years. The bill was submitted on the initiative of the Minister of Justice Clemente Mastella.

In Ecuador, two military helicopters collided on Wednesday. As a result of the plane crash, the Minister of Defense of this country Guadalup Larriv, her daughter, several high army ranks and two pilots, died. This was announced by the official representative of President Ecuador Juan-Carlos Toledo. According to the administration of the President of the country, the minister was heading in a helicopter for the Manta Air Force base for the inspection.

Under Khasavyurt (Dagestan), unknown people fired at the traffic police patrol car, one policeman was wounded, a representative of the Khasavyurt District Department of Internal Affairs said, Interfax reports. "At about 19:00 Moscow time in the area of ​​the village of Engerei, unknown people from automatic weapons fired at the VAZ 2107 police car, in which traffic police officers were traveling. One of the police officers was wounded," the police department said.

The Italian football club "Milan" bought from Madrid Real Madrid Brazilian striker Ronaldo. According to RIA Novosti , a consultant of the Red-Black Ernesto Bronzetti told reporters about this on Thursday. He said that an agreement on this was reached last night, and also confirmed that the Italians would pay about 7 million euros for the striker.

Officials participating in the meetings of the Committee of Permanent Representatives at the European Union (Coreper) were confused by the new rules that the representative of Germany distributed at the first meeting. Recall that this country has been presiding in the EU since January.

On Thursday, the first court hearing began in the case of a fight in the restaurant of the Karelian city of Kondopog, after which mass riots occurred in the city. On the bench of the defendants are residents of Kondopoga Yuri Pliev and Sergey Mozgalev. According to the investigation, it was they who provoked a fight in a restaurant, beating a bartender and administrator. One of the defendants in this case Yuri Pliev said at a court meeting that he did not plead guilty, RIA Novosti reports.

The administration of St. Petersburg will fulfill the law - if it is impossible to build a “brewery” for the new stadium for “Zenith” on Krestovsky Island, the possibility of laying the pipeline will be considered, according to which non -alcoholic drinks will be transported to the lodges and cafes in the cup of the structure. According to REGNUM , this was stated on January 25 by the vice-governor of St. Petersburg Alexander Vakhmistrov.

The remaining corrections to the law “On the status of a member of the Council of the Federation and the State Duma deputy”, which remained without the Council of the Federation by the Council, depriving parliamentarians of the right to use special and personal cars, not all people's chosen ones began to get up earlier to work on time, some are now engaged in the fact that they are inventing new ways to stand out from the flow, writes the newspaper “News Time” .

Veterinarians of the Belgian city of Antwerp are seriously concerned about the state of the male Iguana named Mozart. Iguan is in a state of "deep stress" due to inflammation of the penis, writes the Spanish newspaper El Pais . A constant erection can lead to the fact that veterinarians simply amputate Mozart Penis. (Full text on the website inopressa.ru .) Doctors say that Iguana's love life began well: the male mated with the female, and she became pregnant.

One of the British collectors of Rembrandt’s painting intends to sell the largest museum in Amsterdam Reixmuseum (Rijksmuseum), the canvas of the Dutch artist Rembrandt Harmena Van Rhine “Portrait of Catherine Hoghsat” from the castle of Penrkhin for 40 million pounds, or almost $ 80 million. This canvas will be the most expensive work of art ever acquired by the Danish museum. Its price is twice the cost of the most expensive picture ever sold at the auction.

The silver medalist of the 2006 Olympiad in sanitary sports is Russian Albert Demchenko, as a result of the fall in the training of the World Cup in Oberhof two weeks ago, he received numerous injuries, after examining the famous doctor from Salzburg, Mohammed Khalifa begins to train and speak at the World Championship in Igles on February 2-4. This was reported to the whole sport agency by the president of the Russian Sailor Federation Valery Silakov.

In Japan, a new outbreak of "bird flu" in the Prefecture of Miyazaki on the Southern Island of Kyusu is confirmed. This was announced on Thursday by a representative of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan. According to him, additional tests will be carried out in the near future, RIA Novosti reports. Miyazaki Prefecture is the central poultry area of ​​Japan. The last time the disease of the "bird flu" in the Prefecture of Miyazaki was recorded in February 2004.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) supported the proposal of the Russian delegation and excluded from the draft resolution "On the threats of life and freedom of journalists" the recommendation of the State Duma and the Federation Council to conduct a parliamentary investigation of the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya and submit the results of the investigation of PACE.

During the collapse of the US Air Force helicopter in Baghdad, on January 20, the head of the medical service of the American troops in Iraq died. According to RIA Novosti in the press service of the American military department, the 46-year-old Colonel Brian Olgood was on board the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, which crashed in Baghdad on January 20. Olgood was assigned to the 30th Medical Brigade of the European Regional Medical Command, deployed in Germany.