Mikhail Kasyanov cares about a good climate There will be no radical restructuring of the government. Mikhail Kasyanov said yesterday that “there will be no reform or restructuring of the government.” You should expect “adjustments to improve work efficiency” and “certain personnel clarifications.” Results may follow in the second half of May. As a Vremya Novostey correspondent learned from a source in the government leadership, the changes expected are indeed not very radical.

The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade has prepared a package of bills designed to bring Russian legislation into line with the requirements of the World Trade Organization. Yesterday, speaking to deputies of the lower house, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade Maxim Medvedkov said that these documents are currently being agreed upon with federal executive authorities and are being prepared for submission to the State Duma.

Six and a half thousand spectators witnessed the decisive matches of the basketball “Final Four” in Paris. Alas, this time the Russians were unable to repeat their success of five years ago, when they won bronze medals there, in Paris. This time, the army team’s path to the podium was blocked by the Turkish “Efes Pilsen”, which defeated our basketball players in the match for 3 with a score of 91:85 (pictured) .

Yesterday in Lenkom they played the premiere of "Jester Balakirev" Mark Zakharov and his troupe resemble a football team that always plays on the verge of a foul. The referee whistles shrilly, shows the players yellow and red cards, and awards penalties, but the team still wins more often than it loses. The defeated (or rather, conquered) opponent is, naturally, the audience, and the arbiter is its advanced part, called critics. The latter's indignation is understandable.

Vice-president of the Rosenergoatom concern, 60-year-old Evgeny Ignatenko, died last Sunday at the Sklifosovsky Research Institute of Emergency Medicine in the capital. On Friday, at about two o’clock in the afternoon, Ignatenko’s official car was involved in a car accident at the 128th kilometer of the Leningradskoye Highway in the Tver Region, when the official was heading to the Kalinin Nuclear Power Plant.

One of the oldest Russian thieves in law, Vladimir Savoskin, known in criminal circles under the nickname Savoska, died in one of the Moscow clinics. The 64-year-old criminal general died in hospital last Saturday from heart disease. Savoskin was convicted five times and spent more than 15 years in prison. He was considered one of the most influential Russian authorities.

Coulthard doesn't let Schumacher get away Last weekend, the sixth Grand Prix of this season took place at the Austrian F1 Ring circuit. The small alpine country once gave the world two great drivers, world champions in Formula 1. The first of them, Jochen Rindt, won his title in 1970, alas, posthumously. The second, Niki Lauda, ​​became world champion three times.

The church intends to create its own youth organization At the congress of Orthodox youth that opened last Sunday in Moscow, a sensational statement was made by Alexy II. The Patriarch said that an official youth organization of the church would soon be created. The congress has two more days of work ahead, and it is quite possible that it will end with the proclamation of an Orthodox “Komsomol”.

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The FSB Directorate and the Novosibirsk Region Prosecutor's Office again summoned Olympic biathlon champion Alexander Tikhonov, who is now in Moscow. He is accused of preparing an assassination attempt on the Kemerovo governor Aman Tuleyev and must arrive in Novosibirsk to familiarize himself with the materials of the criminal case.

Workers of Krasnoyarsk JSC Sivinit held a protest The largest protest rally in recent years took place in Krasnoyarsk yesterday. About six hundred workers of JSC Sivinit (formerly the Krasnoyarsk synthetic thread plant) marched in a column along one of the busiest highways in the city - Krasnoyarsky Rabochiy Avenue, and then blocked the communal bridge. As a result, huge traffic jams formed on both the left and right banks of Krasnoyarsk. For several hours, traffic in the city was paralyzed.

The cost of horsepower in Moscow may increase The danger of increasing car taxes again looms over the capital's car owners. Yesterday, at a meeting of the budget and financial commission of the Moscow City Duma, amendments to the law “On tax rates levied on road funds” were discussed.

A Chinese poacher was shot dead by Russian border guards of the Amur Region at the Novopetrovskaya border post of the Blagoveshchensk border detachment. On Sunday afternoon, the border patrol discovered two Chinese poachers fishing 200 meters from the border on the Russian coast. When trying to detain the violators, they opened gun fire and tried to escape in a motor boat. The border patrol returned fire, the boat capsized and sank 5-7 meters from the shore.

Currency traders devalued the ruble again Since yesterday, the dollar has exceeded the 29-ruble mark. The official course, however, is still holding. Based on the results of the single trading session (UTS), it amounted to 28.99 rubles. for a dollar. But deals on the market are already being concluded at higher prices. The ETS opened at 28.9650 rubles/dollar.

Cell phone rivals cross each other's path Two main rivals of the Russian mobile communications market, Mobile Telesystems (MTS) and VimpelCom (owner of the Be Line trademark), announced new products yesterday at the Svyaz-Expocomm-2001 exhibition. We were talking about services related to providing Internet access from mobile phones. Both firms are looking to expand their holdings in market segments traditionally dominated by their rival. However, analysts doubt the demand for these services.