British boxer Lennox Lewis refused the championship fight with Ukrainian Vitali Klitschko. The fight was scheduled for April this year, with Klitschko's agents stating that they had an agreement signed by Lewis' promoter Andrian Ogun. Instead of Klitschko, Lewis intends to fight Mike Tyson in June, who will meet his compatriot Clifford Etienne on February 22. And Lewis has already stated that he will definitely attend this fight. The reasons for Lennox Lewis's refusal are clear.

Mongooses will teach people how to escape snake venom Many in childhood admired the brave little mongoose, which is able to defeat deadly cobras. But the courage of this animal is explained by the fact that mongooses, in the process of evolution, have developed a unique ability. They know how to neutralize snake venom. This property has long aroused human envy.

Cigarette smuggling in Germany was shared by Semyon Mogilevich and a police agent And less than two weeks have passed since in Hamburg nearly a thousand armed detectives broke into the offices of the tobacco concern Reemtsma , as well as the private homes of its top managers. But it is already clear today that in the foreseeable future a criminal case of special magnitude will be developed in Germany.

Opera "Peter the Great" by Andre Grétry at the Helikon Theater The Helikon Theater, known for its noisy manners, led by the extravagant director Dmitry Bertman, offered another repertoire curiosity - a comic opera by the French composer of the late 18th century Andre Grétry about the Russian emperor-carpenter. With a masquerade, theatrical confusion, spoken dialogue, a magnificent overture, a large love duet, a small divertissement, characteristic arias, and without particularly intense action.

Rosenergoatom will create a working group to implement projects with aluminum companies for the supply of electricity, said Oleg Saraev, general director of the Rosenergoatom concern. As the executive director of the concern, Sergei Ivanov, told reporters, Rosenergoatom is currently considering two projects. The first provides for the supply of electricity from the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant to an aluminum plant that will be created in Sosnovy Bor (Leningrad region).

Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Gordeev yesterday stood up for Rosselkhozbank (RSHB), whose activities recently raised questions from the Accounts Chamber. The management of the Russian Agricultural Bank operates within the framework of a business plan approved by the bank’s supervisory board, that is, members of the government, the minister said.

New WTA and ATP rankings have been published. The first place among tennis players with a huge gap from her competitors is occupied by Serena Williams - 6989 points. Following her is her sister Venus (5370), and in third place is Kim Clijsters (3763). Russian Anastasia Myskina moved up one place, occupying 11th place with 2150 points. Elena Bovina also entered the top twenty, moving from 23rd to 17th place.

The Cabinet of Ministers will still become transparent When the government talks about information openness, ministers and heads of departments seem to start to get scared of themselves.

The government is considering the possibility of further restricting agricultural imports The Ministry of Agriculture decided not to limit itself to introducing import quotas for chicken, pork and beef. According to Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Gordeev, the Krasnodar Territory recently came up with a proposal to introduce quotas for rice imports. The government is now considering the possibility of introducing such quotas.

On January 31, 2003, for the first time in Russia, exchange trading in investment fund shares will take place. Trading in units of the interval mutual fund "Dividend shares and corporate bonds" managed by CJSC "Region Asset Management" is organized as part of a joint project of the RTS exchange, "Region Asset Management" and the investment company "Region".

The Iraq problem has divided the whole world Reports on the results of inspections in Iraq, read out on Monday at the UN Security Council by Swede Hans Blix and Egyptian Muhammad ElBaradei, continue to cause fierce controversy. Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday that military action against Iraq at this time was "unjustified" and would undermine global efforts to combat terrorism. “Diplomatic measures have not been exhausted,” the Russian president believes.

The St. Petersburg prosecutor's office opened a criminal case into the theft of budget funds allocated for the construction of the ring road (KAD). According to the investigation, from May 2001 to June 2002, unknown attackers, using forged documents from the Dortekhnologiya Institute, stole 4.5 million rubles, intended for geodetic and geotechnical surveys at the first construction site.

To the already held Russian Championship and the National Cup, another tournament has been added - the Premier League Cup, the final of which will take place on October 10. And the first trophy of the season will be played out on March 8: the winner of last year’s championship, Lokomotiv, and the winner of the national cup, CSKA, will fight for the Russian Super Cup.

It is proposed to change the legislative framework of the security forces It is quite possible that a national security doctrine will soon appear in Russia. Army General Anatoly Kulikov, a member of the State Duma Security Committee, proposed yesterday that it be created on the basis of the existing National Security Concept and Military Doctrine. The former Minister of Internal Affairs justifies his proposal by the need to redirect the state's armed forces to fight terrorism.

Well-known Kazakh journalist and human rights activist Sergei Duvanov, arrested on October 28 last year on charges of “rape of a minor,” was sentenced yesterday to 3.5 years in prison. According to the Kazakh opposition, the case against the 49-year-old journalist, known for his harsh criticism of the country's President Nursultan Nazarbayev, was fabricated and is one example of the suppression of freedom of speech in Kazakhstan.