In New Zealand, a balloon with 11 people on board broke, they all died. The preliminary reason for the crash was the touch of the power line, which is why the ball and basket with people lit up, reports the Daily Mail . According to the healthcare service of New Zealand, five couples were killed, participating in an air walk, as well as a pilot of the ball of the Cameron A-210 model. Local mayor Ron Mark said that there were both tourists and citizens of the country on board.

The city police opened a criminal case under Article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "Hooliganism" on the fire of the Ural police car , which occurred on December 31. The responsibility for the arson was previously assumed by activists of the “war” art group, namely Leonid Nikolaev, known under the nickname “Lenya E *** Toy”. According to ITAR-TASS, the police nevertheless decided that we were talking about intentionally arson.

The American Federal Bureau of Investigations for the first time in 83 years updated the definition of rape. Now, not only women, but also men will be legally recognized as victims of violence. People who physically did not resist their violence can be considered victims.

The documentary "Christmas" will be shown at 10:55 on Saturday on Channel One. “This is not a job for those who go to church, but for those who walk past the church, who habitually put the Christmas tree and decorates it with an asterisk, gives gifts for Christmas, bakes Easter cakes, but does not particularly think about where these traditions came from,” the announcement published on the channel’s website, the Interfax -religion portal.

The holiday of Christmas is one of those phenomena of spiritual life, where the religious tradition, closely intertwined with folk customs, forms a general cultural tradition, existing for two millennia. The main content of the current holidays is joy. And today, not only believers of Christians are able to feel it. After 40 days of the Filippov post, the joyful time of the Christmas saints came - twelve holy days ending in the holiday of the Baptism of the Lord .

British Prime Minister David Cameron said that the idea of ​​creating a biographical film "Iron Lady" about the career of Margaret Thatcher during her lifetime is erroneous, ITAR-TASS reports. This assessment was given to the sensational film by the British prime minister in an interview with the Today program of the BBC Radio 4 radio station. The picture of the British director Fillida Lloyd with the American actress Maryl Streep on Friday goes to a wide British rental.

Venezuela President Hugo Chavez has appointed new ministers of the defense of General Henry Ranhen Silva, who is accused of involvement in drug trafficking, Radio Liberty reports. The general rejects all the accusations. In 2010, Ranhel in an interview declared his devotion to Chavez, noting that the Venezuelan army would not accept the victory of the opposition in the 2012 presidential election.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia summed up the results of ensuring the law and order and security of citizens during the period of Christmas holidays. "In total, this year Christmas services took place in more than 8 thousand churches and churches. Over 2 million believers became participants in religious events," the statement posted on Saturday on the website of the department.

A resident of Pervouralsk (Sverdlovsk Region) was sentenced to 17.5 years in prison for committing violent acts in relation to minors, Interfax reports.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Svetlana Medvedeva on Christmas again visited the orphanage number 3 in Ivanovo, where they talked with his pupils and got acquainted with the progress of the repair of the building. The orphanage is repaired for presidential money, and the average salary of the teacher is less than 10 thousand rubles. But only new computers were asked from Medvedev. The head of state exactly a year ago already visited the Ivanovo orphanage No.

Orthodox Russians celebrate the Christmas of Christ on Saturday - an event with which a new era of the history of mankind began 2012. “God is born in the flesh in order to show His love to people and help to find the fullness of being to every person who wants to hear his call,” Patriarch Kirill said in the Christmas Epistle . On the night of January 6 to 7, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church headed the Christmas service in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

Ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and President Viktor Yanukovych congratulated Ukrainians on Merry Christmas. The text of the congratulations in the colony Yulia Tymoshenko handed over with her daughter Eugenia. Yanukovych did not have to resort to tricks. Tymoshenko was sentenced to seven years in prison for abuse of authority when signing a gas agreement between Gazprom and Naftogaz of Ukraine in 2009. Since December 30, it is contained in a colony in Kharkov.

Reinforced police outfits are on duty near the building of the Tver court of Moscow, where on Saturday the process is held on the complaint about the arrest of the leader of the Left Front movement Sergei Udaltsov, which was released on January 4. Before the meeting, the building was launched only on the lists, checking with passports. The press about the unexpectedly closed process is not given explanations. Udaltsov himself did not appear in court - he feels bad after a dry hunger strike.

In Mariupol, Donetsk region of Ukraine, a 55-year-old man was detained who scored his paralyzed mother before his death, Glavred reports with reference to the press service of the Mariupol city police department. The report notes that a local resident turned to the duty unit of the Mariupol police, who reported that she had discovered her paralyzed neighbor dead. Employees of the investigative-operational group immediately arrived at the scene, where they detained the suspect.

On the wings of the Airbus A-380 aircraft, which are currently the largest serial passenger airliners in the world, microscopic cracks were found that do not pose a threat to flight safety. About this, according to ITAR -TASS, two airlines exploiting giant liners - the Australian Qantas and Singapore Airlines. "The microscopic crack was found to the parts of the A -380 liner wing belonging to our airline and now repairs in Singapore," the Australian statement said.