Pope John Pavel the Second positively appreciated the idea of expanding the European Union. Speaking yesterday in the Vatican at a reception in honor of the chairmen of parliaments of 15 EU countries, the head of the Catholic Church warned against the danger of the falling of the European Union "into selfish isolationism."

The Palestinians rejected today the proposal to sign a partial agreement on the world with Israel, postponing the issue of the status of Jerusalem on a later term. Ahmed Korea, a member of the Palestinian delegation at peace negotiations, said that an agreement - if it is reached, should be comprehensive.

Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said that - as it is expected - the primary surplus of the Russian budget - that is, the excess of income over expenses excluding debt payments - will be about 6 percent of GDP this year. He also said that the inflation rate this year in Russia will not exceed 20 percent laid down in the budget, and most likely will be 18 percent.

The International Olympic Committee announced today that, according to the tests conducted, the Latvian rower Andris Rindhols used doping and to leave him to leave the Olympics. Previously, the disqualification of three Bulgarian barlords for the use of prohibited drugs was announced. Their results were canceled, and the entire team of weightlifters of Bulgaria was removed from the competition.

According to official figures, more than 220 people became victims of catastrophic retaining in the east of India. About 15 million people were cut off from the surrounding world in villages due to spill rivers. Over the past five days, ongoing rains have made impassable roads. Forecasters predict the continuation of rains in the coming days. The authorities are afraid that the number of victims may increase.

The Minister of Defense of North Korea Kim Il Cher arrived today in South Korea to take part in negotiations between the two countries. For the first time after 1953, when a ceasefire was signed, the head of the North Korean military department crossed the border in the village of Phanmunge, where, under the terms of the ceasefire, a line that separates the states of the Korean Peninsula.

The leading industrial countries of the world praised the economic program of the Russian government aimed at creating a legal basis for investment, implementing structural reforms and strengthening economic stability. In the Communist of Ministers of Finance "Big Seven", adopted yesterday at a meeting in Prague, it is noted that the recently approved reform of taxation can be a decisive step in the implementation of the economic program.

The United Arab Emirates supported the decision of the United States to use part of their strategic oil reserves to reduce raw oil prices. According to the Minister of Oil of the Emirates Saif al-Nasseri, the price of oil in the near future should decrease to about $ 25 per barrel. The United States decided to use 30 million barrels of oil from strategic reserve due to the insufficient number of oil in the country on the eve of winter.

On the Tajik-Afghan border, Russian border guards closed the Nizhny Punzh checkpoint, the headquarters of the Russian border group in Tajikistan said today. This item is located opposite the Afghan Port Sherkhan on the Pyanzh River, which was captured by the Taliban on Saturday.

Editor and host: Anatoly Shot Anatoly Shot: Historians will talk about what the civil war for the Russian Orthodox Church became. Large public shocks of the 20th century revolution rarely did without the active participation of the clergy. Such were civil wars in Mexico, and in Spain, and in Greece. Civil and partisan wars in Latin America gave rise to revolutionary bishops and the theology of liberation, not to mention Islamic countries.

In Switzerland today there is a referendum on the issue of amendment to the Constitution that limits the number of immigrants in the country by 18 percent of the population. The authors of the so -called "initiative to regulate immigration" are a group of parliament deputies advocating to restrict the tributary of cheap labor in the country.

Karen Agamirov: Says Radio Liberty. Face to face. The leader answers reporters. The weekly program of the Moscow editorial office of Radio Liberty. Our guest today is Alexander Pochinok, Minister of Labor and Social Development of Russia. Questions are asked by Fleming Rose, Yullands Posten, Denmark, and Andrei Vandenko, Komsomolskaya Pravda. Conducts the program of Karen Agamirov. Alexander Petrovich, one of the distinguishing features of your character is optimism.

In France, a referendum will be held today on the issue of reducing the deadline for presidential rule from seven years to five. According to the current constitution, the president may be in power for two terms, that is, 14 years. Supporters of the current system believe that it contributes to political stability, however, polls by public opinion Sweat that many Frenchmen advocate a reduction in the presidential mandate.

Today, Robert Kocharian, President of Armenia, arrives in Moscow with an official five -day visit. It is expected that Kocharyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin will sign a bilateral declaration of strategic cooperation in the 21st century. According to the Armenian Embassy in Moscow, one of the main topics of the President of Armenia will be military cooperation with Russia.

At the Olympic Games in Sydney, at competitions in sports gymnastics, Igor Viros from Latvia became a champion among men in free exercises. Russian Alexei Nemov received a silver medal. Bronze - at Yordan Yovchev from Bulgaria. The best on the horse was the Romanian gymnast Mariusz Urzhitsa, silver at the Frenchman Eric Pozhada, Alexei Nemov won bronze.