On February 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order to allocate eight billion rubles in 2018 to support non-profit organizations (NPOs). The money, which will be used to implement social and human rights projects, will be distributed by the Presidential Grants Fund based on the results of two competitions.

In Astrakhan, two pensioners died in their apartment, where a hot water pipe burst. The Investigative Committee for the Astrakhan Region reported that the breakthrough occurred on the night of February 13-14 in one of the apartments on Zelenaya Street, where a couple of pensioners lived. Neighbors called 911 and the couple's children. Rescuers and relatives who arrived at the scene found the bodies of the couple; the floor of the apartment was flooded with boiling water.

The 49-year-old owner of a private zoo in the village of Semiluki, Voronezh region, was found guilty that the bear escaped from the cage and killed an 84-year-old man. The court sentenced the entrepreneur to one and a half years in the colony, reports the regional TFR. As the investigation established, the 49-year-old entrepreneur kept and bred various animals in the courtyard of his private house.

Investigating the murder of one schoolboy by another, Bertold Korke went in search of traces of the Aue, supposedly involved in the crime. And found that there was no movement One teenager killed another with a knife with a knife in the chest in the school stadium. Around it was a little bitter. His friends stood in a few steps, but they looked in the other direction - talked among themselves, and none of them looked around.

In the village of Yugorenok in Yakutia, a state of emergency has been declared due to a fire in the boiler room. Hundreds of people were left without heating, the air temperature is 32 degrees below zero. The boiler room caught fire on the night of February 19. As a result, the heating was turned off in seven apartment buildings, the village administration, the post office and the store.

Deputies have introduced a bill to the State Duma allowing minors to live separately from their guardians from the age of 14. RIA Novosti reports this. According to one of the authors of the project, Olga Batalina, more and more orphans after school are entering technical schools or colleges, which are often located far from the place of residence of the child and his guardian. In this case, teenagers have to live in a dormitory.

On February 18, on Shrovetide, in the art park “Nikola-Lenivts” in the Kaluga region, the art object “Flame Gothic” was set on fire. The building from the branches resembled the outlines of the Gothic temple, so the photographs of burning sculpture caused fierce disputes on social networks and the condemnation of representatives of the clergy.

Large Russian pharmacy chains are preparing to close some of their retail outlets if a law is passed allowing the sale of over-the-counter drugs in stores. Rigla may close almost half of its pharmacies, Kommersant writes . According to the general director of the network, Alexander Filippov, the first to be affected are 250 facilities in small towns operating under the brands “Rigla”, “Be Healthy!” and "Zhivika".

The Kurganinsky District Court in the Krasnodar Territory began an internal audit after one of the judges allegedly suggested sterilizing a mother of many children, TASS reports . An audio recording of a conversation between a judge and a lawyer appeared on the Mash Telegram channel. “As of today, we know about the existence of this recording; an official verification of the authenticity of this recording and this incident is being carried out,” the press service of the court said.

A group of engineers from Northwestern University in the United States, together with a Chicago hospital, began testing a skin sensor for monitoring speech in stroke patients. This was reported on the official website of the university. According to the engineers, the developed sensor is completely portable, attaches to the throat and allows you to distinguish vibrations of the vocal folds.

In the village of Krasnoselskoye, Chelyabinsk region, an 81-year-old woman died while saving three great-great-grandchildren from a fire. The regional Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that the fire in a private house occurred due to faulty wiring. In the house there was an 81-year-old pensioner and her three great-great-grandchildren, aged two, four and six. The woman managed to take the children outside, but she herself died. The children received burns.

In the USA, scientists have created sheep embryos with human cells. The Guardian reports this. According to the publication, scientists plan to grow human organs inside animals. This requires that one percent of the embryo's cells be human. In 2017, the same group of scientists announced the creation of pig embryos with human cells. During experiments with pig embryos, there was one human cell per 100 thousand pig cells.

The State Duma proposed giving the right to juvenile affairs commissions to send children with socially dangerous behavior for medical and psychological examination. Parents who refuse the examination will receive a fine. According to Parlamentskaya Gazeta, such a bill was developed by deputy Igor Shubin after teenagers attacked schools in Perm and Buryatia .

The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case into the rape of pupils in an orphanage near Chelyabinsk. The 51-year-old accused was arrested. As reported by 74.ru, the boys said that teachers were also involved in the rapes - the employees of the orphanage were temporarily suspended from work. As the Chelyabinsk Investigative Committee emphasized, the reason for the criminal case was statements from the management of the orphanage, as well as from three foster families.

Residents of Murmansk found and returned to the animal shelter all the dogs that escaped from there during the pogrom on February 12. TASS reports this. According to the head of the shelter, Oksana Anchishkina, all week Murmansk residents looked very closely at all the stray dogs and brought in escaped animals even at night. One of the shelter dogs managed to find a home and loving owners.