Venezuela President Hugo Chavez sent troops to protect gas stations. In the country, which has been paralyzed for several days for a universal strike, there is an acute shortage of fuel. Oil exports - the main source of Venezuela's income - has completely stopped.

Yuri Zhigalkin , New York: On Friday, President Bush undertook his first shaft of his administration, proposing to resign the Minister of Finance Paul O'NILU and the leading adviser to the economy Larry Lindsay. Critics of President Bush met this event as the recognition by the White House the weakness of their economic policy. What can this unexpected step of the White House mean?

Ayya Kuga , Belgrade: On Sunday in Serbia, repeated presidential elections were held. Their results will again be called invalid, since the necessary 50% of voters did not participate in the vote. At night, as soon as it became known that only 45 percent of voters voted in Serbia’s presidential election, the chief candidate Voislav Koshtunitsa said in an angry voice that he did not recognize such results.

The European commission took control of the situation with the supply of Danish goods to Russia. The authorities of Denmark requested the help of the chairman of the commission Romano Prodi. The European Commission is aware of reports on the difficulties faced by Danish exporters at Russian customs, said Sylvia Kofler, spokeswoman for this organization, a spokeswoman for this organization in Moscow.

The Israeli authorities, apparently, will not allow the head of the Palestinian autonomy to Yasir Arafat to arrive in Bethlehem for Christmas for the second year in a row. As the assistant to the Prime Minister of Israel, Rianan Gissin, said today, there is no place in the Christmas service, where people pray about the world. The head of the Palestinian autonomy has been in its headquarters in Ramallach for many months for many months on the western coast of Jordan.

The presidents of Russia and Ukraine - Vladimir Putin and Leonid Kuchma - are discussing the problems of bilateral cooperation in Moscow. The meeting is attended by the Prime Ministers of Russia and Ukraine Mikhail Kasyanov and Viktor Yanukovych, as well as the head of the presidential administrations. The meeting takes place within the Year of Ukraine in Russia, the completion of which the leaders of the two countries should be announced today.

In Vienna, representatives of Belarus and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe are discussing the problem of resuming the work of the OSCE mission in Minsk. The meeting agreement was reached last week during a meeting of the OSCE Foreign Ministers in Portugal. Earlier this year, the Belarusian authorities accused the OSCE mission of interfering with the country's internal affairs and actually sent its employees.

The Ecology Ecology Ecology of the European Union at a meeting in Brussels reached an agreement on Monday to create in 2005 the first international quotas trading system for the atmosphere of gas waste at the largest industrial enterprises. The signed document should be approved by the European Parliament. The future quotas trading system for the release of carbon dioxide is a key stage in the fight against global warming.

More than half a million Turkish citizens living in Germany signed a petition to adopt Turkey in the European Union. The head of the Turkish community of Germany, numbering more than two million people, Khakca Keskin called on the EU to determine the date of the start of negotiations on Turkey’s entry into the organization.

In Moscow, a picket of activists of an independent trade union of the miners of Russia is held near the Russian government building. Shakhters require them to guarantee worthy pensions and sanatorium treatment. The picket passes twenty people. According to the chairman of the mining trade union Nikolai Shtyrkov, the action will last until December 13. If the government does not go to negotiations, the picketers will require his resignation.

In Moscow, a woman was detained, who fired at two clergymen yesterday. Law enforcement officers suggest that the detainee-a 30-year-old coming from the Volgograd region-belongs to the organization of Satanists.

The first group stage is completed at the European Gandball Championship in Denmark. The Russian national team in the 3rd round lost to the Norway team 18:24 and took 2nd place in the group of “C”, missing the Norwegian forward. The Spaniards became the third, despite their defeat from rivals from Germany 27:31.

Presidents of the United States and Tajikistan George Bush and Emomali Rakhmonov are discussing the problems of combating international terrorism in Washington today. Rakhmonov arrived in the United States from Paris, where he had negotiated with France President Jacques Shirak. The leaders of the two countries agreed to coordinate efforts to combat drug smuggling.

He has been cooperating with RS since 1991. The editor and host of the Road to Freedom Program Vitaly Portnikov on Facebook , Twitter Portnikovv@rferl.org

Five skiers died and five were seriously injured on Sunday as a result of snow avalanches in the northern part of the French Alps. Incidents occurred in the area of the cities of Gravov and Bes-en-UAZAN.