At the 7th conference of the International Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague, which ended last week, the request of the Russian delegation to extend the deadline for the destruction of toxic substances was not satisfied. For comments, columnist for the Vremya Novostei newspaper Nikolai POROSKOV telephoned OPCW Director for Special Issues Sergei BATSANOV.

As the Vremya Novostey newspaper learned, on October 9, Mikhail Kasyanov approved the plan for the implementation of the Concept for the Development of the Russian Automotive Industry in the medium term, presented by the Ministry of Industry and Science, for 2002-2004. This plan was developed by ministry officials back in June, but was submitted to the government only in mid-September.

Drugs become biological weapons The spread of drug addiction poses a threat to Russia's defense capability - this was the conclusion drawn yesterday by participants in special hearings in the State Duma on the problem of countering drugs in law enforcement agencies. Each conscription of drug-abusing youths enlists three to four times more than the previous one. More than 20% of recruits have experience using heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and so on.

Al-Qaeda network discovered in Indonesia The organizer of the explosion in the Indonesian resort of Bali , which claimed the lives of more than 180 foreign tourists, could have been al-Qaeda, Indonesian Defense Minister Matori Abdul Jalil said yesterday. “I see that this was done by professionals. “I am not afraid to say, although many are afraid to say it, that there is an al-Qaeda network in Indonesia,” the minister explained.

More than 300 Chinese and Taiwanese fishing vessels entered Russia's exclusive economic zone in the Kuril Islands yesterday, fleeing Typhoon Bali raging in the North Pacific. Representatives of these countries submitted a corresponding request to the Russian authorities last week through diplomatic channels, and on Sunday they received permission from Russian border guards.

Chelyabinsk border guards immediately fulfilled the “smuggling” plan for half a million dollars. They were helped in this by a balaban falcon, which they secretly tried to smuggle from Chelyabinsk to Dubai. Employees of the South-Eastern Regional Directorate of the Federal Border Guard Service of Russia noticed that while waiting for a flight to the UAE, the Russian citizen was too nervous.

Krasnoyarskenergo accuses coal miners of an “unconstructive approach” to the debt problem In Krasnoyarsk, coal miners and power engineers almost had a fight. This is the first conflict that occurred between them after the largest mines became part of the MDM group.

Basketball. Russian Championship. Men. Super League . Division "A". 2nd round. CSKA - "Ural Great" (Perm) - 78:73. The leaders are: CSK VVS-Samara, CSKA - 4 points each. The landmark confrontation between CSKA and Ural Great in the previous three championships did not lose its attractiveness even after the transfer of the former general director of the Perm club Sergei Kushchenko to work for the army team.

LUKOIL-Neftegazstroy has been selected as the main subcontractor for the design, obtaining permits, onshore transportation, logistics from local sources, construction, installation and commissioning of pipelines for the Sakhalin-1 project. LNGS and other Russian subcontractors will be entrusted with work worth over $300 million, which is approximately 70% of the total contract value.

Shares of the Orenburg Oil Company (ONAKO) will be converted into shares of TNK International (owns the Tyumen Oil Company) by the end of 2002. As the head of Alfa Group (the main shareholder of TNK) Mikhail Fridman told reporters, “the conversion could happen in the next 2-3 months, both partners agree.” The Tyumen oil company controls 85% of the shares of ONAKO, Sibneft owns 40% of the shares of its main production company Orenburgneft. According to Mr.

A glass factory started working on Channel One As Zhvanetsky said, “we only have two, three, four.” This season, two central channels simultaneously announced the release of show programs about the thorny path to the top of the music industry. RTR and the W Media company present the “Be a Star!” project, which they called, by the way, national (there were auditions for young talents in ten cities, and now specialists are making a pop group out of the provincials who passed the competition).

Azerbaijani gas is not yet in demand The largest gas project, Shah Deniz, is under threat of failure. Yesterday, the participants in the consortium for the development of this field postponed the decision to begin its development until the beginning of 2003. Türkiye is in no hurry to accept Azerbaijani gas.

Putin bought time for the “creator of Iraq’s glory” Today, Iraq is holding a national referendum on extending Saddam Hussein's presidency for a new seven-year term. The population perceives the vote as a challenge to America, so the result is beyond doubt. Hussein, 65, has been in power for 23 years - during a similar expression of popular will in 1995, he was supported by 99.96% of the adult population.

CLUBS Nigel Burch & The Flea-pit Orchestra. The first concert of the beginning tour of the cult English group. The drummer played with The Pogues for 15 years, besides him there are two (!) violinists in the group, a double bassist and, most importantly, frontman Nigel Birch, who plays the banjuleili (small banjo). All of them are friends of the group The Tiger Lillies, already familiar to the Moscow public.

Mario Cipollini won $3 million The World Cycling Championships ended on Sunday in Zolder, Belgium. Organizers from the International Cycling Union (UCI), as befits experienced promoters, saved the main event for the last day. The winner was the one who was truly the strongest under the given conditions. By and large, few doubted Cipollini's victory. Of course, the pancake-flat landscape of the track in Zolder helped.