The most famous specialist working in the first division is Anatoly BYSHOVETS. True, this coach, who won gold medals with the USSR Olympic team in Seoul in 1988, does not hold the post of coach at Khimki near Moscow, but the position of vice president. - Anatoly Fedorovich, you attended all the team’s pre-season training camps. How do you assess Khimki’s prospects in the upcoming championship? - The team needs to use this season to assert itself and only then raise the bar to a greater height.

Space tours for 2005 already In the still not yet fully formed space tourism industry, competition is already emerging. Recently, InterOrbital Systems (IOS), headquartered in California, announced that starting in 2005 it intends to begin regular week-long tours to low Earth orbit for everyone.

In Siberia they want to revive the traditions of the Zemsky Sobor Church and state in Siberia will unite once a year. In Omsk, a decision was made to create the Russian Siberian People's Council - a public organization of scientists, religious figures and artists. From now on, meetings of the new civil organization will be held every year in one of the cities of Siberia. The first such council will meet in Omsk at the end of May this year.

Arthur Andersen Chief Executive Joseph Berardino announced his resignation after former US Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker offered himself as Arthur Andersen's "savior". At the beginning of the week, Mr. Volker, who heads Arthur Andersen's supervisory board, proposed a plan to rescue the auditing company, including a change in management and the transfer of powers to manage it to the supervisory board.

Without attracting migrants, Russia's population will drop to 100 million By the middle of this century, gloomy jokes on the topic “less people - more oxygen” threaten to turn into reality for Russia. Yesterday, Goskomstat's demographic forecasts for the next 50 years became public. They contain nothing fundamentally new: the country's population will steadily decline and age.

In Rostov, a regional court on Wednesday sentenced Mayerbek Varaev to 12 years in prison for complicity in the May 30, 2000 attempt on the life of former mayor of Grozny Supyan Makhchaev. The investigation established that Varaev, together with his acquaintance, blew up a Volga car on Minutka Square in Grozny with a radio-controlled landmine.

The leading driver of the West McLaren Mercedes team, David Coulthard, chose an interesting tactic before the Brazilian Grand Prix. Usually, drivers of prize teams on the eve of the next start talk more about progress and bright prospects, but the Scot, remembering two failed races, decided to behave more modestly. “I am very disappointed with my first results as I was hoping to win races and fight for the title this year.

Moldovan authorities are accused of kidnapping If 36-year-old member of parliament from the opposition Christian Democratic People's Party (CDPP), member of the Moldovan delegation to PACE, Vlad Cubryakov, who disappeared a week ago, is not found in the coming days, the Chisinau authorities risk a big scandal in the central square. The Grand National Assembly will take place here on March 31st. It is clear what questions and demands the CDPP supporters are addressing to the authorities.

Owners of gas stations in the capital will now have to pay social tax, from which they were previously exempt. As compensation, yesterday Moscow City Duma deputies reduced the tax rate on imputed income from 20 to 15%.

Hockey. NHL. Regular season. "Vancouver" -- "Los Angeles" -- 4:0, "San Jose" -- "Dallas" -- 3:2 -- Zubov "D" (1+1), "Toronto" -- "Tampa" " -- 7:2 -- Mogilny "Tr" (2+1), "St. Louis" -- "Minnesota" -- 1:2, "Montreal" -- "Florida" -- 1:2 -- Petrov "M" (1+0), Ulanov "F" (0+1), "Edmonton" -- "Columbus" -- 3:1, "Carolina" -- "Boston" -- 2:3 -- Samsonov " B" (1+0), "Buffalo" - "Washington" - 3:4 - Zhitnik "B" (0+1). Troubles rain down on the Rangers one after another.

On Wednesday, employees of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Central District of Moscow liquidated a medical health center located in one of the houses on Prechistenka Street. It turned out that ordinary prostitutes who came to Moscow to work from the former Soviet republics worked there as masseuses.

Vladimir Bogdanov scared investors Russia's third largest oil production company, Surgutneftegaz, announced yesterday its development prospects this year. The most important of them - the continuing decline in profits - did not please investors. As of yesterday, the company's shares fell by 4.6% on the RTS.

The Presidium of the Supreme Court sent the case of illegal classification for retrial The Supreme Court will have to re-examine whether the Ministry of Defense had the right to classify information in the manner that it established in August 1996. This is what the Presidium of the Supreme Court ordered yesterday, ordering the military board to conduct a new trial.

French psychopath shoots up municipal council The morals of America, where shooting in public places is a fairly common occurrence, are gradually conquering Western Europe. Last night, 32-year-old Richard Durne opened fire on participants in a meeting of the municipal council of the Parisian suburb of Nanterre.

The Arab united front failed Participants in the League of Arab States (LAS) summit in Beirut yesterday failed to demonstrate unity in the face of a common enemy - Israel. Not only did a number of leaders not attend the forum, including key Middle Eastern players such as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordanian King Abdullah, but the very first meeting ended in embarrassment. The Palestinian delegation, offended by the organizers, defiantly left the hall.