Profit of consumer cooperation in Komi based on the results of 2005. reached 22 million rubles, which is 11 times higher than in 2002. The results of the consumer cooperation activities were discussed at a meeting on February 28. According to the Republican Union of Consumer Societies, the total volume of economic activity in 2005. amounted to 622 million rubles.

Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein has ended his hunger strike, which he had previously declared to protest against the manner in which he and his former associates were being tried. According to the head of the ex-president's group of lawyers, Khalil Dulaimi, Saddam Hussein refused food for 11 days, but health problems forced him to stop the hunger strike, Al Jazeera reports. A. Dulaimi did not specify what exactly caused the deterioration in Saddam Hussein’s condition.

More than a thousand tree supports arrived at the branches of Arkhenergo OJSC in February 2006. for repair work on power lines in the region. As the company reported, following an open tender, Opora LLC (St. Petersburg) was selected as the supplier. In total, over the course of the year, more than 6 thousand wooden poles with antiseptic impregnation will be delivered to the energy company's branches. The financial volume of annual supplies exceeds 16 million rubles.

One third of the total amount of gasoline sold in Moscow is surrogate or, as they now say, “scorched” fuel. These data were presented today at a meeting of the Moscow government dedicated to the city’s environmental program for the next three years, reports the NTV television company. Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, speaking at this meeting, compared “scorched” gasoline with low-quality vodka. “Surrogate vodka is harmful to human health.

By well-known order of the Government of the Russian Federation dated December 30, 2005. N2360-r, a ban was introduced on the import of a number of goods under the customs regime of the free customs zone (FCZ), operating in the territory of the Special Economic Zone of the Kaliningrad Region. However, according to the press service of the regional government, the above-mentioned document did not fully take into account the proposals of the government of the Kaliningrad region.

The first device in Komi for the rapid diagnosis of bird flu will be put into operation by April 1, Komiinform reports. This was reported by the chief state veterinary inspector of the region, Tatyana Burnadze. According to her, the government of the republic has allocated 1 million rubles to fight the dangerous virus. Most of these funds are intended for the purchase of equipment. The polymer chain reaction device will make it possible to diagnose viral diseases of both animals and birds.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), to date, 173 human cases of bird flu have been officially confirmed in the world, of which 93 were fatal, reports (C) Associated Press. The last on the WHO list are two residents of China - their condition is assessed as critical, as well as a 27-year-old resident of the Indonesian province of West Java, who died last week. Meanwhile, another case of bird flu among humans has not been confirmed.

In the Arkhangelsk region since the beginning of 2006. There were 456 fires in which 62 people died. As reported by the administration of the Arkhangelsk region, two thirds of all cases were registered in the residential sector. The cause of fire is most often a violation of the rules for operating electrical appliances and furnace equipment, as well as careless handling of fire, and more than 70% of the deaths are people who were drunk.

The reprivatization that took place in Ukraine a year ago was a “strategic mistake.” This statement was made by the head of the government of the republic, Yuri Yekhanurov, at a meeting with journalists. “We must forget attempts to command the economy like a bad dream,” said the Prime Minister, recalling the attempts of Yulia Tymoshenko’s government to re-divide property in the country.

A temporary parking lot will be opened on the site of the destroyed Basmanny Market, as well as areas for car maintenance and driving license exams. In the future, the authorities plan to build a new shopping complex on the territory of the market. This was reported by the Rossiya TV channel. A temporary parking lot will be opened on the site of the destroyed Basmanny Market, as well as areas for car maintenance and driving license exams.

An amendment to the law on information protection concerning interaction between telecom operators is planned to be adopted before the end of 2006. This was announced today at the regional meeting “The first results of the application of new regulations adopted as part of the implementation of the federal law “On Communications” by Deputy Minister of Information Technologies and Communications of the Russian Federation Boris Antonyuk.

One of the main assistants to the leader of the Iraqi al-Qaeda cell, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was caught, a source in the special counter-terrorism unit of the Iraqi Interior Ministry said. According to him, during the raid a certain Abu al-Faruk was detained. This name had not previously appeared on the list of Iraqi terrorists. The operation was carried out near the city of Al-Bakr, 48 km west of Ramadi, one of the strongholds of the Iraqi insurgents.

Over the past day, February 27, 2 of the most significant traffic accidents were registered on the roads of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region, as a result of which 2 people were killed and 1 person was injured. As reported by the Traffic Police Department of the Main Internal Affairs Directorate of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, traffic police squads detained 35 drivers for driving while intoxicated, and 76 people were detained on suspicion of committing crimes.

The quiet Australian town of Picton has recently been literally terrorized by gangs of teenagers who have taken to the habit of shooting eggs at civilians. The police decided to nip this outrage in the bud and issued an order according to which local stores should not sell their main “weapon” to juvenile hooligans. In the suburbs of Sydney there is a gang of 14-15 year old teenagers who, tired of idleness, have come up with a very exciting activity.

Investments in the economy of the Arkhangelsk region. in 2005 amounted to 23 billion 800 million rubles. - more than 120% compared to 2004. As reported by the administration of the Arkhangelsk region, the main investment targets in 2005 were: steel construction of the Nyuksenitsa - Arkhangelsk gas pipeline, mining and processing plant, modernization of pulp and paper production, construction and reconstruction of highways.