The chief of the French Interior Ministry refused to give Corsica autonomy French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin accepted my resignation yesterday Minister of the Interior Jean-Pierre Chevenman. He submitted the corresponding petition himself, protesting against the government's plans to grant limited autonomy to the island of Corsica. The minister is a staunch opponent of concessions to the separatists; he believes that the Corsican precedent will undermine the unity of France.

The 57th Venice Film Forum opens today Until recently, the Venice Festival was considered the second most important in Europe, second only to Cannes. But after this year the Berlin Forum changed its geography, expanded the range of its cinematic tastes and gave the main prize to the sensational “Magnolia” by Paul Thomas Anderson, the oldest film festival (it was first held in Venice in 1932) is no longer so confidently in second place in the European table about ranks.

Nobody will get the Trepca plant The formula for Kosovo's economic prosperity fits into four numbers - 99.99. This is the percentage of purity of metal, lead and zinc extracted from ore at Europe's largest deposit, Trepca.

Victor Kazantsev The main achievement of Plenipotentiary Representative Kazantsev over the past hundred days should probably be recognized as the reconciliation of the head of the Chechen administration, Akhmad Kadyrov, and his deputy, Bislan Gantamirov. Of course, complete reconciliation of these Chechen leaders is hardly possible in principle. However, when in July of this year, Mr. Gantamirov, as a sign of protest against the personnel decisions of Mr.

The Russian team starts in the World Cup 2002 On August 31, the Russian national team flies to Zurich, where on September 2, with a game against the Swiss national team, they will begin the fight for a ticket to the final part of the World Cup. The Russians will spend the last stage of preparation at their Bor base near Moscow, where 19 of the best, according to the head coach of the national team Oleg Romantsev, gathered.

Tomorrow at a meeting of the Russian government the cultural budget for 2001 and the federal target program “Russian Culture (2001-2005)” will be discussed. The program consists of three sections: “Development of culture and preservation of the cultural heritage of Russia”, “Cinematography of Russia”, “Archives of Russia”.

The meeting of the working group of the Siberian Agreement interregional association, which was supposed to determine the mechanism for creating a unified fuel company for all of Siberia, ended in failure. Coal-mining regions could not reach a consensus with the consuming regions. It is expected that the working group will return to this issue in two months. Vasily POLEVANOV, Novosibirsk

The engineering firm Miller and Lents (USA) has completed an independent assessment of LUKOIL's oil and gas reserves in Russia and abroad as of January 1, 2000. LUKOIL's total reserves (proven, probable and possible) include 23 billion barrels of oil and 6.6 trillion cubic meters. feet of gas. Proven reserves (technologically recoverable and economically viable) are determined at 13.5 billion barrels of oil and 3.9 trillion cubic meters. feet of gas.

Presidential representatives cannot yet boast of great successes The institute of presidential plenipotentiary representatives in seven federal districts, created in the spring, celebrated its hundred-day anniversary this week. Then, in May, there were strong expectations that presidential governors would not just play the role of “the eyes and ears of the sovereign,” but would begin to actively intervene in the political life of the territories entrusted to them.

Vice Speaker of the State Duma Irina Khakamada (SPS): - Firstly, there is no television only in Moscow and the Moscow region. Secondly, it’s summer, vacation time, many are at their dachas, watching NTV+. So I don't think anything will change much. If, of course, we imagine an abstract picture that Channels 1, 2 and NTV have stopped broadcasting all over Russia, well, then there will be a complete degradation of society, since modern society exists normally if it has information.

The Czech Republic is preparing to prove to Wall Street that it is not like Chechnya This only happens once in a lifetime. The inspired Mayor of Prague, Jan Castle, could not contain his delight. “Our country has not had such a brilliant opportunity to show itself for at least the last two hundred years,” this is how Mr. Castle assessed the prospects for holding the annual session of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in the capital of the Czech Republic.

Anatoly Bykov does not consider himself released on the security of shares “If we fail to reach an agreement with Abramovich and Deripaska, I will sell my stake to structures that compete with them. I myself don’t intend to fight anymore.” This statement was made in an interview with the NTV television company by the former chairman of the board of directors and owner of a blocking stake in the Krasnoyarsk Aluminum Plant, Anatoly Bykov.

Alexander Zhukov highly appreciated the prospects for the 2001 budget The 2001 budget will definitely be adopted before the end of this year. This is the opinion of the Chairman of the Duma Budget Committee, Alexander Zhukov.

On August 30, Tataria celebrated the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Sovereignty with festivities and fireworks. The general fun was preceded by a plenary session of the State Council of the Republic.

The Southern District of New York Bankruptcy Court has scheduled a hearing for October 11 to recognize the legitimate restructuring of Russian Credit Bank, including a moratorium on the fulfillment of the claims of its creditors. According to the public relations department of the Agency for the Restructuring of Credit Institutions (ARCO), all objections by creditors to the protective measures requested in the application in the case must be submitted by September 15.