The Commission of the Lithuanian Parliament should release today the materials of the investigation regarding the alleged ties of the President of Rolandas Paxas with the mafia. It depends on the conclusions of the commission whether the parliament will begin the percentage of impeachment. Yesterday in Vilnius there was a thousands of demonstration demanding the resignation of Paxas.

The commander of the North Caucasus Military District ordered to purchase 150 donkeys-for transporting goods in a mountainous area, mainly in Chechnya. According to the Interfax agency, animals will be sent to special mining and brown units of the district. The donkeys will be acquired in Dagestan and other mountain republics of the south of Russia at a price of 3 to 6 thousand rubles.

Leonid Gergei prepared : December 1, 1918, a poet, playwright and translator Ivan Elagin was born in Vladivostok. His father, the Futurist Poeter Venedikt Matveev wrote under the pseudonym Venedikt Mart and called his son a double, futuristic name Ivan-Zangvili. Matveev was arrested and killed during the Yezhovschina. The adolescence and youth of Ivan-Zangvil Elagin took place in Kyiv.

Two American motorcades, on which yesterday almost simultaneously there was an attack in the city of Samarra in the north of Iraq, transported a large number of new Iraqi currency. The American command is confident that the attack was clearly coordinated. In battle, 54 militants were destroyed. Five American soldiers are injured. Tanks were thrown against the attackers. Several houses in the city are damaged by fire.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order to send Russian troops to Liberia in the UN peacekeeping mission. Up to 40 communications officers, military observers and headquarters will go to Liberia. All expenses are paid by the UN. The Ministry of Defense and Foreign Affairs will deal with organizational issues from the Russian side.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder arrived on a visit to China. He is accompanied by a large delegation of representatives of German business. Schroeder will hold negotiations with the Chinese leadership and visit the provinces of Guangdun and Sichuan. Germany is China's main trading partner in Europe. This is the fifth visit of Schroeder to China during his stay in the office of the chancellor. On Thursday, he will go on a two -day visit to Kazakhstan.

US Secretary of Defense Donald Ramsfeld expressed confidence that the intention of the European Union would not cause damage to the NATO Union to create its defensive structures. The head of the Pentagon announced this on Monday at a meeting of ministers of the defense of NATO countries passing in Brussels. Washington previously opposed EU plans to create pan -European defensive forces.

The US Supreme Court accepted on Monday the issue of the right of agents of American intelligence agencies to detain people suspected of crimes in other countries and deliver them to the United States for the court. The White House said he needed such powers.

The Israeli army is conducting a large -scale anti -terrorist operation on the west coast of the Jordan. In the city of Ramallah, there are a search for militants Hamas. The operation began at night - tanks and other armored vehicles entered the Ramalls. There is a fierce shootout in the city. 3 Palestinians who opened fire on the Israeli troops were killed. There are reports of dozens of arrested.

The Australian national team for the 28th time won the Davis Cup on tennis. On their herbal courts, the Australians won 3: 1 from the Spaniards, thereby taking a revenge from them for a loss in the Cup final in 2000 with the same score. Last weekend, the main events at the stages of the World Cups in winter sports unfolded in the Finnish Kuusmo, where skiers, biathlles and jumpers from the springboard competed.

From January 1, India and Pakistan are resuming air communication, interrupted two years ago. An agreement on this was reached today in Delhi in the negotiations of representatives of civil aviation of the two countries.

The defense ministers of NATO countries discuss the pressing problems of the Union in Brussels, including the issue of expanding operations in Afghanistan. NATO Secretary General George Robertson warned that the failure of a peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan would undermine the reputation of the Union, and the country itself may again turn into a base of international terrorism.

In Brussels today, a two -day conference of Ministers of Defense of NATO countries begins. On the agenda - NATO combat effectiveness and the expansion of the peacekeeping operation of the North Atlantic Alliance in Afghanistan. Our correspondents report that the topic of discussion may be a new project of European defense, nominated the other day by Great Britain, France and Germany.

OSCE observers of the OSCE for democratic institutions and human rights have criticized the coverage of the pre -election activities of parties in the Russian media and methods for the formation of precinct election commissions. Speaking today in Moscow, European human rights defenders said that state television channels show a clear bias in the favor of United Russia, and precinct election commissions are often consisted of supporters of this party.

In different countries, employees of the diplomatic missions of France today - for the first time in history - conduct a one -day strike against reducing financing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At the same time, a rally of protest of employees of the ministry takes place near the parliament building in Paris, where the budget is being discussed.