In Moscow, broadcasting on the sixth meter television channel was temporarily discontinued. The reason for the suspension of broadcasting is planned prevention, said NTV -Plus, which in recent days broadcasts sports programs on the sixth channel - after the Ministry of Press has deprived the television company TV -6, previously released at this frequency.

Evgeny Bovkun, Bonn: Discussions about the legality of tough measures against prisoners of terrorists in Guantanamo are unilateral in Germany. Under the pressure of national and international human rights organizations, Germany policy carefully condemn the anti -human conditions for the detention of prisoners. Those who silently approve of strict measures prefer to talk about the dangers of international terrorism.

China will allocate $ 150 million for the post -war recovery of Afghanistan. This was announced by the chairman of the State Council of the PRC Jiang Zemin after a meeting with the head of the temporary Afghan administration Hamid Karzai. About 4 million of these funds will enter Afghanistan as humanitarian assistance. Chinese experts will take part in cleansing the territory of the country, the construction of roads and other facilities.

From now on, residents of Kostroma will have to pay 15 percent more for the services of housing and communal services than before. Such a decision was made yesterday in the City Duma. Now, for a two -room apartment of improved layout, for example, it will be necessary to pay not 580 rubles a month, as before, but 660.

Natalya Golitsyna, London: In the London Royal Theater "Covent Garden", the performances of the great opera singer Luciano Pavarotti ended. Many musical critics are convinced that this was the last appearance of a 66-year-old singer on an opera stage. Before the start of the tour at Kovent Garden, where Pavarotti performed the Kavaradossi party in Puccini’s opera “Toska”, the great tenor received the news of the death of his 86-year-old mother. The news came during a rehearsal.

In Afghanistan, the first issue of the Kabul While weekly was released today. In the newspaper, published at the expense of UNESCO, articles in the languages of Dari and Pashtu are printed, as well as in English and French. The circulation of the first number of the weekly - two and a half thousand copies.

US President George Bush said his administration decided to increase the military budget by $ 48 billion. If the document is approved by the US Congress, 380 billion dollars will reach the defense and security costs next year. Speaking yesterday in Washington in front of reservoir officers, Bush emphasized that most of this money will increase salaries for military personnel, the development of high-precision weapons, financing a new missile defense system and ensuring domestic security.

The head of the interim administration of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, arrives today in Dushanbe for negotiations with Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov. It is assumed that the meeting will discuss the problem of the delivery of international humanitarian aid to Afghanistan through the Tajik terror and the issue of electricity supply to the Northern Afghan provinces.

Oleg Kusov, Moscow: In Strasbourg, at a session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, a discussion of the situation in Chechnya continues. The Russian delegation opposed the continuation of political dialogue with representatives of the Chechen resistance. The position of the Russian delegation at the PACE session on the Chechen problem compared to past meetings has not changed.

In the Palestinian territories, collisions do not stop. Today in Ramallach, during a shootout, Israeli troops killed an officer of the Palestinian security forces. Last night in the gas sector, two Palestinians were blown up on their own explosive device.

Tatyana Voltskaya, St. Petersburg: An interregional conference “Demographic situation and prospects for its development in the Northwestern Federal District” was held in St. Petersburg at the Tauride Palace. The conference was held within the framework of a joint project of the United Nations Population Fund and the Ministry of Labor and Social Development of the Russian Federation.

Latvian Prime Minister Andris Berzins said he would invite the government to cancel the exams in the Latvian language for candidates for parliamentary deputies and local authorities. The Russian -speaking population of the country opposes these exams, which were introduced in 1991 after Latvia gained independence. Berzins believes that the exams can be canceled even before the general elections scheduled for October.

Azerbaijan President Heydar Aliyev arrives today in Moscow on an official visit. Aliyev will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov. The problems of bilateral relations and prospects for resolving the conflict in Nagorno -Karabakh will be discussed. The presidents of the two countries will also affect the future of the Russian station of electronic tracking in the Azerbaijani village of Gabal.

Elchin Tyre-Oglu, Baku: Today, the official visit of the President of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev in Moscow begins. Aliyev will arrive in Moscow in the afternoon and hold an informal meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Tomorrow Aliyev and Putin will negotiate one on one, then they will meet in an expanded composition involving members of the government of the two countries.

Lev Roitman: Vladimir Putin announced this year the year of Ukraine in Russia. Russia and Ukraine: communications and rejection - we discussed this problem in one of the programs “Facts and Opinions”. Among the numerous feedback, a letter from Tartu seemed very interesting. Professor-culturalist Mikhail Lotman writes that studying the semiotics of fear in Russian culture, he noticed a specific Ukrainian complex, even phobia.