Two more employees of the NTV television company submitted applications for dismissal today. The correspondent Alexei Pivovarov and the host of the program "Today" Natalya Zabuzova announced their departure. Previously, this was done by Leonid Parfyonov and Tatyana Mitkova. The head of the company "Gazprom-Media" Alfred Koch does not exclude "more stringent" methods for resolving the conflict around the NTV.

In the USA ended the world hockey championship among women. Gold medals were won by the Canadian team, who won in the decisive match at the team of housewives - 3: 2. The third were the Russians who defeated rivals from Finland - 2: 1. Today the regular championship of the National Hockey League has ended . His winner "Colorado" won another victory, this time over "Minnesota" - 4: 2. Pittsburgh was stronger than Carolina - 6: 4, San Jose confidently won with the Anaheim - 4: 1.

The presenter of the Crime program on NTV Mikhail Frolov said today that the editorial office of the program is leaving the TV channel. “In this situation,” said Frolov, “we cannot find a common language with those who determine the channel’s policy today.” Earlier, four more NTV journalists - Leonid Parfenov, Tatyana Mitkova, Alexey Pivovarov and Natalya Zabuzova announced the departure.

In Uzbekistan, the court sentenced eight people to a long time for imprisonment for the creation of an extremist religious organization and calls for rebellion. The court refused to take into account the statements of the defendants that they pleaded guilty to torture. The Government of Uzbekistan began a campaign against the so-called "religious extremists" after a series of explosions in Tashkent in February 99.

Representatives of the US Embassy today again met with the crew of an American military aircraft, which has been holding on the Chinese island of Hainan for the ninth day. The plane made a forced landing on the island after a collision with a Chinese fighter. The United States insists on the speedy return of the aircraft and the crew, warning that the delay in the crisis can seriously complicate relations with China. China continues to demand official apologies from the United States.

In St. Petersburg on Monday, a two-year meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chancellor of Germany Gerhard Schroeder began. The main topics of negotiations are the settlement of Russian debt to Germany, economic cooperation, the situation in the Balkans, US plans for the deployment of a new missile defense system. On the initiative of the German side, the situation around the NTV television company will also be discussed.

Detroit neurophysiologists received the first experimental evidence that the functions of the central nervous system lost after a stroke are restored as a result of autotransplantation of stem cells. Employees of the Henry Ford medical center worked on rats with cerebrovascular accident. Sick animals were administered intravenously propagated stem cells, extracted from their own bone marrow.

Victor Rezunkov, St. Petersburg: German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who had already arrived in St. Petersburg to meet with Vladimir Putin, answering questions from journalists said that the situation around NTV would not be at the center of discussion of participants in the Russian-German Forum "Petersburg Dialogue", since there are more important problems. However, as Gerhard Schroeder noted, this topic will be affected, since the forum will be about building civil society. Meanwhile, in St.

The agreement between the European Union and Macedonia will be signed today in Luxembourg. The contract contains the obligation of the Macedonian authorities to adhere to the principles of democracy, legality and a market economy. The EU leadership considers this document as the first step on the path of Macedonia entering the Union. It is still unclear whether the leader of the country's largest party, Arben Jafuri, will join the Macedonian delegation.

The chairman of the All -Russian television and radio broadcasting company Oleg Dobroduev does not agree with the tactics of the conflict around the NTV, chosen by the editor -in -chief of the television company Yevgeny Kiselev.

Iran’s parliament summoned the head of the special services of Ali Yunes to demand an explanation for the detention of several dozen liberal politicians. On Saturday in Tehran and Iranian provinces, more than 40 prominent representatives of the opposition were detained. The revolutionary court accused the arrested in a conspiracy to overthrow the Islamic regime.

Representatives of the European Union today stated that they managed to enlist the support of China on the issue of the Kyotsky protocol on the fight against global warming. The European Union does not agree with the position of US President George Bush, who stated that Washington will not adhere to the conditions of this document, which establishes restrictions on the atmosphere of gases causing a "greenhouse effect". So far, no country has yet ratified the Kyoto protocol signed in 1997.

Marina Timasheva, Moscow: According to tradition, on its birthday, the head of the Kinotavr company Mark Rudinshtein reported the somewhat changed rules of open Russian and international festivals "Kinotavr". Festivals will be held from 1st to 14th June in Sochi. This year, the Russian and international parts of the festival will coincide in time, in past years they were built sequentially. For the first time, two documentary cinema programs and a program of debut films will be shown.

Victor Rezunkov, St. Petersburg: Federal Chancellor of Germany Gerhard Schröder, who had already arrived in St. Petersburg for a meeting with Vladimir Putin, answering questions from journalists said that the situation around NTV will not be at the center of discussion among the participants of the Russian-German forum “Petersburg Dialogue”, since there are more important problems.

Victor Rezunkov, St. Petersburg: "Hands off NTV"; “Putin, remember the fate of Milosevic”; “NTV is not a bandit, you can’t throw it in the toilet”; "Children of St. Petersburg for NTV." Under such slogans, yesterday afternoon on Trinity Square, about 6 thousand St. Petersburg residents gathered for a rally in support of their favorite television company.