Participants in the Dakar rally -2008 start did not wait for ... The anniversary, 30th rally Dakar was supposed to start on January 5 in Lisbon, but the day before its beginning, the organizing committee canceled the races at the insistence of the French government. What are the economic consequences of this story? The Cabinet of Ministers of the Fifth Republic fears possible terrorist attacks in the territory of Mauritania, where seven Frenchmen were stolen and killed at the end of 2007.

The Russian Foreign Ministry sent a note to France in connection with the arrest of the Central Bank’s accounts at the VTB France bank in the lawsuit of the Swiss company Noga. Such a decision was made by the French court. AK reported in the act of bailiffs, ”says our correspondent in Paris Natalya Rutkevich,“ this decision was made on the basis of the decision of the Stockholm International Court in the suit of the NOGA company of February 1, 1997.

Oppositionists insist on canceling the voting results in a number of areas Opposition protests are held at the buildings of public Georgian television and the Tbilisi city court. Oppositionists demand that they be the opportunity to speak live and insist on canceling the voting results in a number of areas, where, in their opinion, the results of the presidential election on January 5 were falsified.

Japan intends to introduce a language test for foreigners who want to live and work in the country. According to the authorities, such a measure will contribute to the social integration of visitors, the services of which are increasingly resorting to Japanese firms and companies. As a rule, foreigners are cheap labor in Japan.

In the regular NHL championship, Pittsburgh defeated the New York Rangers 4: 1. Three pucks from the winners were abandoned by Evgeny Malkin, a goal and pass on the account of Sergei Gonchar.

The European Union is ready to send experts and allocate funds to measures to strengthen mutual trust in Transnistria. This was stated by the Chairman of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barrosa, speaking in Brussels after negotiations with Moldova President Vladimir Voronin. Barrosa positively appreciated the reforms carried out in Moldova, adding, however, that further efforts are needed to improve democratic institutions and improve the situation in the field of human rights.

January 16 in St. Petersburg in the Central Library named after V.V. Mayakovsky will be presented with the book of Tamara Ivanovna Nikolaeva about two outstanding St. Petersburg architects of the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries Viktor Schirester and Jerome Kitner. The book was published by the publishing house "Kolo".

The program is conducted by Alexei Kuznetsov. The Radio Liberty correspondent in Moscow Olga Vakhonicheva takes part. Alexei Kuznetsov: Today in Moscow, a panachid for the famous radio host of Gennady Bachinsky will be held in the central house of a journalist. He will be buried at the Troekurovsky cemetery in Moscow. Recall that he died last Saturday in a traffic accident in the area of the city of Kalyazin of the Tver region.

Vladimir Bukovsky at a rally of opposition in Moscow, 2007 The program is conducted by Alexander GOSTOV. Radio Liberty correspondents Maxim Yaroshevsky and Andrey Shari take part. Alexander GOSTEV : The Supreme Court of Russia today rejected the cassation appeal filed by the lawyers of the writer and human rights activist Vladimir Bukovsky.

The Minister of Defense of Poland Bogdan Klich holds negotiations in Washington on the possible installation of US anti -missile defense systems on the Polish territory. In anticipation of negotiations, the head of the Polish military department said that his country would seek large security guarantees from Washington in exchange for the placement of American interceptor missiles in Poland.

The Louvre remained the most visited museum in the world in 2007. The number of its visitors was 8 million 300 thousand people. The Louvre collection has 300 thousand works, and 35 thousand are constantly exhibited in the halls of the museum.

The introduction of visa restrictions for British working in cultural organizations in Russia will only worsen the diplomatic disagreements between Moscow and London. The head of the British Foreign Ministry made such a statement. David Milliband reacted to the statement made by the Kremlin the day before - about the possible suspension of the issuance of visas - in response to London’s disagreement to close the offices of the British Council in St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg.

The program is conducted by Mikhail Salenkov. The Radio Liberty correspondent in Tbilisi George Kobaladze takes part. Mikhail Salenkov: In Georgia, opposition activists today resumed protests and sent a lawsuit to the court demanding that the official results of the elections are demanding. They insist on providing air on public television.

In the city of Zheleznovodsk, the Stavropol Territory, on January 16, was declared a day of mourning for the dead in the explosion of gas in a residential building. As a result of the explosion, six people were killed, including two children. It is believed that the explosion occurred due to careless handling of gas devices. In the city of Novokuybyshevsk, Samara region, one person died in an explosion in a residential building.