EU enlargement threatens losses for Russian exporters The expansion of the European Union will create many problems for Russia, of which Kaliningrad is just the beginning. As Elena Danilova, head of the department of trade policy and multilateral negotiations of the Ministry of Economic Development, said on Wednesday, the accession of Eastern European and Baltic countries to the EU could lead to losses for Russian exporters of up to $300 million a year.

Violations of cleanliness in public gardens and courtyards will result in fines. Yesterday, deputies of the Moscow City Duma showed concern for the cleanliness of the capital by unanimously adopting in the first reading amendments to the law “On penalties for offenses in the sphere of city improvement.” We are talking about a significant increase in fines for one of the most common offenses in the city, where almost every street is in full swing with small or large construction.

Sociologists study the opinions of foreigners about Moscow Most foreigners living in Moscow believe that the Russian capital cannot be even closely compared with other European and American metropolises.

Collaborator Papon released By decision of the Paris Court of Appeal, Maurice Papon was released early due to his advanced age and poor health. In April 1998, he was sentenced to ten years in prison for crimes against humanity - the deportation of Jews during the Nazi occupation.

The city authorities continue to seize federal land in the city In the near future, the mayor's office expects a whole string of scandals related to the determination of ownership rights to land plots. As officials of the Ministry of Property, who are involved in delimiting land ownership rights, found out, many land plots can no longer be recognized as federal. They are being actively developed in compliance with a number of resolutions of the Moscow government.

Chairman of the Board of Gazprom Alexey Miller signed the “Regulations on the formation and implementation of investment programs.” This document identifies priority projects in the short and long term, which will be financed first.

The owners of Hershey Trust said that the sale of the American confectionery giant Hershey Foods Corp. will not take place. The trust's board of directors has rejected all offers to buy Hershey Foods and is asking it to stop seeking potential buyers. The announcement of the intention to sell Hershey caused a wave of protests within the country in connection with the possible closure of factories and the dismissal of company personnel.

In Rostov, a daring robbery was committed at the largest manufacturer of denim clothing in Russia - the Gloria Jeans company. Yesterday morning, when the drivers of the company's Gazelle and ZIL cars arrived at the Rostov office of Gloria, four unknown men opened fire on them with pistols. One of the drivers was killed on the spot, the second is now in critical condition in the hospital.

Bank of Japan Governor Masaru Hayami announced unprecedented measures being taken to lift the country out of a protracted recession. As Bloomberg reports, the national bank is going to buy back part of the shares of the country's financial institutions, which will reduce their losses associated with the latest collapses in the stock market.

The Chairman of the State Department of Intelligence of Georgia, Avtandil IOSELIANI, answered the questions of the Vremya Novostei newspaper’s own correspondent in Tbilisi, Mikhail VIGNANSKY. - Where is the main irritant of Georgian-Russian relations now, Ruslan Gelayev? - I have never seen him in my life. We don’t have it - that means in our homeland. Maybe now he is in Grozny, maybe in Urus-Martan or in Shatoi. By the way, we now have special attention to the Shatoi region. -- Why?

The personal car of the chief of staff of the head of the Chechen administration, Yan Sergunin, was stolen in Moscow by unknown criminals. His Lincoln Navigator jeep disappeared on Tuesday night from the house on Zemlyanoy Val Street, where Mr. Sergunin’s relatives, who used the car, live. So far the police have not been able to find either the car itself or the thieves. Alexander LYAKHOV

Mass poisoning in Nanjing caused by family conflict In just a couple of days, Chinese police have found a suspect in poisoning hundreds of people with rat poison. The tragedy occurred on Saturday morning, when customers at the Heshengyuan fast food restaurant in the town of Tangshan near Nanjing, one after another, fell unconscious after barely touching the food they bought.

The UN Commission on Iraq has Belarusian contracts worth $300 million awaiting approval, Alexander Lukashenko said. Belarusian exports to Iraq in 2001 amounted to more than $26 million, in January-May of this year - $11.5 million. According to Lukashenko, Belarus “could have a significant impact in establishing constructive relations, and oil would be cheaper, and there would be no problems.” He also said that the West is interested in Iraq more because of oil.

The island of Sri Lanka will remain indivisible Yesterday in neutral Thailand, the first stage of historic negotiations between representatives of the Sri Lankan government and the opposition organization Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which has been waging a civil war on the island for 19 years, ended. Over these years, almost 64 thousand people died, more than one and a half million lost their homes and were forced to leave their homes. The war cost a billion dollars annually.

But Russian oil was of no use to America At today's summit of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which will be held in Osaka, oil ministers will apparently decide not to increase oil production quotas. Almost all countries included in the organization agreed with this decision, as reported by world news agencies, with the exception of Algeria, whose position has not yet been announced.