Ministry of Agriculture asks to protect domestic rice farmers The Commission on Protective Measures in Foreign Trade yesterday considered a request from the Ministry of Agriculture to introduce quotas on rice imports and increase import duties. It was proposed to “work through the issue of quotas in more detail,” and it was recommended to increase duties to 10%. The Ministry of Agriculture proposed introducing a quota on rice imports - 350 thousand tons - and selling it at auction.

The Ministry of Finance proposes to exchange old papers for new ones Although the budget includes funds for series 30 federal loan bonds (OFZs) to be redeemed in December, the Ministry of Finance invited market participants to partially exchange them for new GKOs and OFZs. The ministry calls the purpose of this operation to prevent a market collapse. According to Deputy Minister of Finance Bella Zlatkis, 30 billion rubles intended for repayment.

Now, when registering goods, exporters will also go to the tax authorities On November 17, the joint order of the State Customs Committee and the Ministry of Taxes and Duties “On strengthening customs and tax control when declaring goods in accordance with the customs regime for export” will come into force. The heads of both departments signed it back in August, then it was registered with the Ministry of Justice and now it comes into force.

Three hundred illegal immigrants did not reach rich Australia The terrible tragedy that unfolded late last week near the Indonesian island of Java once again reminded the world of the problem of refugees from impoverished countries who are ready to take mortal risks in order to join a well-fed and prosperous life. On a small wooden boat heading to the shores of Australia were citizens of Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine and Algeria.

The Novosibirsk regional court, which is considering the case of Viktor Tikhonov, accused of attempted murder of the governor of the Kemerovo region Aman Tuleyev, continued yesterday to examine the evidence. Audio recordings of the suspects' conversations were heard at the trial. The recordings were made secretly by FSB officers.

Airport CEO resigns Yesterday it became known that the day before, the general director of the largest airport complex in Russia, Sheremetyevo, Sergei Sutulov, resigned. The resignation must still be approved by the board of directors of Sheremetyevo International Airport OJSC, 100% of the shares of which belong to the state. Nevertheless, Vremya Novostei newspaper sources in aviation circles claim that Sutulov’s departure is a done deal.

Bin Laden will not prevent LUKOIL from entering world stock markets LUKOIL hopes to receive a full listing on the London Stock Exchange by the end of the year. This means that any Western investor will have the opportunity to buy shares of the largest Russian oil company in the same way as he is used to buying shares of Ford or Microsoft.

Today, the Kuntsevo Court in Moscow will begin hearings in the case of the famous TV presenter Sergei Dorenko. The journalist is charged under Art. 213, part 3 “hooliganism with the use of weapons or objects used as weapons.” The incident in which Dorenko was involved occurred on April 15 of this year in the area of ​​the bicycle track in Krylatskoye. Captain 1st Rank Valery Nikitin stated that Dorenko ran into him on his motorcycle.

Today the Russian fencing team flies to France, where the World Championships start on October 26. All the strongest Russian fencers will take part in the tournament. Among them is Olympic champion epee fencer Pavel KOLOBKOV. — How important is the upcoming championship for you? - To be honest, this season is not as important for me as the next two, when the immediate preparations for the 2004 Olympics begin. But this does not mean that I am going to France without the desire to win.

Illogical bribes appear in the case of the Novocherkassk prosecutor Testimony against Novocherkassk prosecutor Nikolai Voskresov, accused under six articles of the criminal code, was given yesterday in the Rostov Regional Court by one of the main prosecution witnesses, businessman from Novocherkassk Gevorkyan. Nikolai Voskresov was arrested in his office on April 9 this year.

Aquarius will help Americans receive Russian government orders The Russian company Aquarius will assemble personal computers and servers under the well-known Hewlett-Packard (HP) brand. The Russian origin of the equipment will allow HP to participate in tenders for supplies to government customers. The Russian assembly of HP has yet to confirm its quality, according to market participants.

The International Athletics Federation (IAAF) and Skiing Federation (FIS) decided to expand the list of disciplines cultivated. Track and field athletes initiated the introduction of mountain running, and skiers initiated the introduction of duathlon. For now, mountain running, popular in the countries of the Old World, will be included as an experiment in the European Championships program. Duathlon, a protégé of German representatives, is a combination of two racing styles: classic and free.

A Japanese center opened in Nizhny Novgorod. The initiator of its creation is Plenipotentiary Representative Sergei Kiriyenko. Six months ago, during a meeting in Tokyo with Japanese parliament member Muneo Suzuki, Mr. Kiriyenko convinced him to open a center in Nizhny. Muneo Suzuki and the Japanese Ambassador to Russia Minoru Tamba arrived at the opening ceremony of the center.

The Rostov region is counting the first monetary losses from the launch of RoNPP Loading the Rostov nuclear power plant to 100% capacity has become one of the main reasons for the current excess of electricity in the North Caucasus. As a result, another large station in the region - Novocherkassk State District Power Plant - is forced to reduce production volumes.

British police detained 38-year-old Egyptian Yasser Al-Sirri, whom they consider the organizer of a terrorist network. As The Evening Standard newspaper reported, it was he who could provide terrorists with “a key document for organizing the assassination of the Taliban’s main opponent in Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Massoud.” Al-Sirri, sentenced to death in his homeland on charges of conspiracy against former Prime Minister Atif Sydki, heads the Islamic Information Company in London.