But the Iraqis are stocking up on machine guns and pistols The head of the UN team of inspectors for the disarmament of Iraq (UNMOVIC), Hans Blix, and the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Muhammad AlBaradei, completed a two-day stay in Baghdad yesterday. The personal representative of President Saddam, Brigadier General Amer Al-Saadi, who was responsible for organizing inspections on the Iraqi side, spoke with them.

Ordinary visitors to pharmacies have hardly felt the changes that have occurred in the pharmaceutical market over the past two months since the introduction of new drug certification rules. After all, the price tags have remained virtually unchanged. However, rumors that the innovation initiated by the Ministry of Health will still hit Russians’ wallets do not subside.

The Kazakh policeman and the Kuban ataman deceived everyone - from Rosrezerv to the Chechens The investigation into the case of large-scale theft of Rosrezerv funds was recently completed by the Investigative Committee (IC) under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. His “heroes” are two businessmen who managed to receive $6 million from the state in exchange for forged documents about the shipment of a huge shipment of wheat to the granaries of their homeland.

Nord-Ost has overcome its own death Before the pre-premiere showing of the revived “Nord-Ost,” I had an eerie feeling: I couldn’t believe that I would enter the hall where the hostages had been languishing for three days and could, “disconnecting” from the terrible backstory, just watch the performance. It seemed that the cheerful atmosphere of “Nord-Ost” left these walls along with the first shots of the terrorists.

Kim Il Sung's sarcophagus is better than Lenin's The main shrine of North Korea is considered to be a mausoleum in which a sarcophagus with the body of Kim Il Sung is installed. Everything that is directly or indirectly connected with the name of Kim Il Sung is revered or even idolized by North Koreans. Foreign guests are especially warned before arriving in Pyongyang: under no circumstances should they throw away newspapers with portraits of the North Korean leader or his books.

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The match of NBA “newbies” against “second-year players” as part of the “All-Star Weekend” in Atlanta ended in victory for the more experienced ones - 132:112. Golden State's Gilbert Erinas (30 points) and Jason Richardson (31 points) were key contributors to their team's first win since the tournament began in 2000. Russian Andrei Kirilenko, who played for the same team, scored 13 points. The best for the newcomers was Caron Butler from Miami - 23 points.

This week, residents of North Korea, which calls itself the Land of Morning Freshness, will widely celebrate the main holiday of the year - the birthday of their leader, Comrade Kim Jong Il. The North Korean leader will turn 61 next Sunday. Preparations for the “happy February day” are painted in thick military-patriotic tones. Last year, Pyongyang defied Washington's policies by expelling IAEA inspectors and demanding a non-aggression pact from the United States.

Radu Poklitaru staged Carmen Suite “Russian Festival Ballet” is one of many domestic troupes that are officially listed as Moscow, but never perform in the capital. There is a removable rehearsal base here (the Zuev House of Culture at the moment), and performances, premieres and earnings are only abroad. Typically, such troupes carry a “Sleeping Beauty” painted for 16 people or a “Swan” plucked for up to 12 birds.

The latest film premieres will also be told between men Last week several long-awaited films were released. They have been described so many times (including in our newspaper) on various occasions - from festivals to prestigious awards - that there seems to be no need to talk about them again. However, having appeared on Russian screens at the same time, these films created a special - and funny - context and brought to life comparisons that in any other situation would have seemed artificial.

Upon receiving a bribe in the amount of 1 million rubles. Last week, employees of the Organized Crime Control Department of Tatarstan detained the director of the Kazan branch of the Russian Academy of Justice, 62-year-old Saidel Shakirov. For this money, the lawyer allegedly promised local businessman Ramil Takaev assistance in resolving a property dispute over the academy building.

“Norma” by the Yerevan Opera House was nominated for the “Golden Mask” and was shown at the Bolshoi The first guest performers performed on the newly opened New Stage of the Bolshoi Theater - artists of the Yerevan Opera and Ballet Theater. Spendiarov, who managed to revive not only the branch’s still modest poster, but also the entire Moscow opera schedule.

Our team won the Swedish Games The bold experiment of the new head coach of the Russian national team, Vladimir Plyushchev, to dramatically “rejuvenate” the team’s composition brought the second golden fruit. After defeating the hosts, our team ahead of schedule became the winner of the final stage of the Eurotour - the Swedish Games. Before this season, in the seven-year history of the unofficial championship of the Old World, the Russian team had never won an away tournament.

Last Thursday, at the famous Russian mountain resort Krasnaya Polyana, located near Sochi, an avalanche covered two skiers from France. As the Vremya Novostey newspaper learned, the snow fell from the Aibga ridge, located at an altitude of 2228 meters above sea level. The avalanche walked along the slope facing Krasnaya Polyana, in the place where the upper station of the fourth stage of the Alpika-Service chairlift is located. Fortunately, there weren't many people there at that moment.

President Signed the federal law “On temporary measures to ensure the representation of indigenous peoples of the Russian Federation in the legislative (representative) bodies of state power of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.” The new law establishes that when constituting electoral districts in certain territories of compact residence of indigenous minorities, the permissible deviation from the average norm of voter representation in elections of deputies to legislative