Yesterday, the Iraqi leadership officially confirmed that the termination of the contract with the Russian private company LUKOIL for the development of the giant West Qurna-2 oil field was caused not by economic, but by political reasons.

A wave of contract killings swept through Irkutsk yesterday. According to the Internal Affairs Directorate, four people were shot at once in two hours in different areas of the city. In the morning, a well-known businessman in Irkutsk, Oleg Khrushchev, who owned a chain of stores selling computers, was killed in his apartment.

TV viewers judge favorably, but not specifically We interviewed about fifty people living in Moscow and working or planning to work in the field of art. They asked them three questions: “Watch the channel “Culture”?”, “What do you like best?” and “How is your area of ​​professional interest covered?” Naturally, it is impossible to publish all the answers, but in general this is what we got.

Russia was almost deprived of the right to transport goods by road Russia was almost deprived of the right to transport goods to Europe by road and to pass through goods transiting from Europe. Just a week ago, the International Road Transport Union (IRU) was determined to deprive Russia of this right for 2003. On Tuesday it became known that they decided not to offend Russia.

The practice of switching off television and radio broadcasting in Russian regions is becoming a thing of the past. This was stated yesterday by the General Director of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise “Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network” (RTRS) Gennady Sklyar.

"Get away from aggressive red" The commercial directorate of Aeroflot presented the outlines of a new corporate style, which is being developed for the airline by the London-based company Identica. The project aims to completely change the image of Aeroflot and, due to its complexity and scale, is still far from complete.

The Dagestan prosecutor's office has transferred to court a criminal case against seven servicemen of the 136th Buinaksk Mountain Rifle Brigade, accused of stealing six MON-90 anti-personnel mines from their unit and selling them to militants. According to the investigation, the ammunition was taken out of the warehouse in April of this year by the head of the brigade’s engineering service, Lieutenant Colonel Yamkova, along with two officers and three warrant officers.

The Federation Council feigned disagreement with the government Yesterday the Federation Council adopted the law “On the Federal Budget for 2003”. Moreover, in the words of speaker Sergei Mironov, “stepping on the throat of one’s own song.” As always, the senators felt that the budget infringed on the interests of the regions and socially vulnerable segments of the population. Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin tried to convince them otherwise.

De Beers Corporation has clearly stated its interest in further exploration and possible participation in the development of the diamond pipe. Grib (Verkhotinsk diamond-bearing territory in the Arkhangelsk region), whose reserves are estimated at approximately $5.3 billion.

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The dense streams of academic music in the “Culture” broadcast network seem immense. And it impresses. The channel easily allows itself something that no other channel dares to do: a musical excerpt can sound independently, without voice-over text, for more than a few seconds in a row. A more attentive look identifies in this stream cycles, sections, series of “talk shows”, “reviews”, “broadcasts”, etc.

The Moscow City Telephone Network (MGTS) is introducing a new type of payment for payphone services using bank cards. Under an agreement with the United Credit Card Company (USC), MGTS payphones will accept Visa International, Europay (Eurocard/MasterCard), Diners Club, JCB and STB-Card credit cards for payment. Their owners will be able to use the services of special MGTS payphones that provide local, long-distance and international communications.

Russian detectives found a foreign hero-lover in the basement Employees of the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation freed the president of the French company Treiter Tradition France, 54-year-old Leonel Malabar, from gangster captivity. On December 13, he flew to Moscow for a romantic date with a young Ukrainian woman.

The State Duma yesterday dealt with Yeltsin, the family of Nicholas II and the media The State Duma yesterday adopted a resolution on the creation of a commission to finalize amendments to the laws “On the Media” and “On the Fight against Terrorism” in connection with the presidential veto. The commission from the State Duma included representatives of all factions and deputy groups, as well as representatives of the Federation Council and the President.

Perhaps one of the most unexpected personnel changes in the highest power structures of Russia may occur next week. As it became known yesterday, one of the old-timers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, the head of the traffic police (GAI) Vladimir Fedorov, who has held this position for ten years, will most likely lose his post. Moreover, the general must move to the Federation Council, where he will become a senator representing Karelia.