The government liked the government's financial plan Perhaps 2003 will be the last of those few years when Russia's budget revenues exceeded its expenses. Opening yesterday's cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov announced that in the coming years the government intends to move away from the practice of running a budget surplus. After all, a surplus, according to the prime minister, means that the state withdraws more funds from the economy than it needs. And his deputy, Mr.

The Russian men's basketball team, which is preparing for the World Championship starting at the end of August in the USA, played a friendly match with the host team in Spain. Head coach Stanislav Eremin's team lost 80:87. Let us remind you that upon arrival in the Spanish city of Malaga, the players and coaches of our team, due to the fault of British Airways employees, were missing luggage. Because of this, I even had to cancel training.

Vladimir Putin talked for an hour and a half yesterday with the President of Ingushetia, Murat Zyazikov. During this time, they discussed all Ingush problems: the economic situation, restoration work after the flood, social issues, the return home of Chechen refugees, relations between Ingushetia and North Ossetia. And many things pleased Mr. Putin, for example, the number of Chechens willing to return.

Slogan of the day: “Only a sober Russia will become great!” Some Urals residents are haunted by the laurels of Andropov and Gorbachev, famous fighters against drunkenness. The region was gripped by widespread anti-alcohol sentiment. The largest enterprises in Yekaterinburg have introduced a system of secret rewards for information about drinking in the workplace. Those who like to “think for three” are in shock - they have to go deep underground.

The meeting of the ARB Committee on Monetary Policy and Banking Supervision, held at the Bank of Moscow, was devoted to practical measures necessary to transform Russian savings into investments.

He will raise money for the development of sports Yesterday, by decree of Vladimir Putin, the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for Physical Culture and Sports was created. The Council was created to inform the head of state about the state of affairs in sports in Russia and abroad and to determine priority areas of state policy in sports.

Premiere of the opera “Eugene Onegin” at the Mariinsky Theater The Mariinsky Theater is only now closing its season, which by the final summer stage had become noticeably livelier and more attractive. During the year, the Mariinsky Opera Company prepared only five premieres. This is surprisingly little for her.

The Board of Directors of RAO UES of Russia yesterday decided not to hold an extraordinary meeting of the company’s shareholders to approve changes to the charter regarding control over transactions with shares of the energy holding’s “granddaughters”. A working group from among the members of the board of directors, which prepared amendments to the charter, recommended their approval at the next annual meeting of shareholders, which should be held in April - mid-May 2003.

In one of the military units near Khabarovsk yesterday afternoon, soldier Anatoly Danilov, armed with a machine gun, tried to desert. When his platoon was heading on foot to the shooting range, at the 37th kilometer of the Khabarovsk-Komsomolsk-on-Amur highway, the young soldier fell behind his colleagues and went back to the unit’s location. At the checkpoint, Danilov wounded a sentry with a knife and tried to steal the commander’s UAZ, but the car turned out to be faulty.

Putin and Lukashenko switched places Belarusian opposition politicians regarded Putin's integration initiative as a clear loss for Lukashenko. Yesterday, an emergency meeting of the advisory council of democratic forces took place (it includes right-wing radical and some social-democratic parties), at which the Russian leader’s proposal was sharply condemned.

How many wives a leader has and what they look like is a state secret in a number of countries. Especially in the East. Nevertheless, the wife of the Crown Prince of Kuwait, Sheikh Saad, and he is second in rank after the emir, agreed to a conversation with the columnist of the Vremya Novostei newspaper Elena SUPONINA. Her Highness Latifa Al-Fahd Al-Salam AS-SABAH is the President of the Kuwait Women's Affairs Committee.

Deputy Speaker of the State Duma Vladimir Zhirinovsky, traveling around America, got into an accident yesterday afternoon on the way to Boston. One of the cars in Mr. Zhirinovsky's motorcade, in which he, his security chief and an assistant were, was driving along the highway along the ocean coast at a speed of 120 km/h. The driver of a car driving nearby rammed the car of the State Duma vice speaker and tried to throw him into a cliff. The driver managed to brake and hold the car.

Another day of play at the overseas ATP and WTA tournaments for Russian tennis players turned out to be extremely unsuccessful. After the second round matches of these competitions, not a single player of ours remained among those who are still continuing to fight for the title. At the women's competition of the 1st category with a prize fund of 1 million 224 thousand US dollars in Montreal, Elena Dementieva lost to South African Amanda Coetzer - 3:6, 3:6.

After the Chinese football team made its debut for the first time in its history at the World Cup held in Japan and Korea, losing in all three meetings in Group C, the Celestial Empire decided that it was time for the Chinese fan to see the World Cup matches with their own eyes, live. “If in 2014 it is decided to return the World Cup to Asia, then China will definitely take part in the dispute for the right to host it,” said the vice-president of the Chinese Football Association, Zhang Jilon.

News Corporation, the media empire of tycoon Rupert Murdoch, has informed shareholders and investors of the biggest loss in Australian corporate history. For the year, the firm's losses amounted to 11.7 billion Australian dollars (6.3 billion US dollars). At News Corp. headquarters. they say that the main reason for the losses is unjustified investments in the interactive television company Gemstar. Shares in Gemstar, 42% owned by News Corp, have halved in price since June this year.