NGK Slavneft plans to complete the reorganization of ZAO Slavneft-Tsentrnefteprodukt by April 2003 by merging with it a number of enterprises engaged in the wholesale and retail sale of petroleum products.

The designer of the world famous machine gun put his name into operation Yesterday it became known that the inventor of the world-famous assault rifle, General Mikhail Kalashnikov, intends to lend his name to a German umbrella production company. The AK-47 assault rifle, which celebrated its 55th anniversary at the end of last year, evokes legitimate pride.

The creation of an alternative “Moscow Congress of Municipalities”, as well as the prospect of lengthy litigation with the four “rebellious” districts, was calmly accepted by the capital’s authorities. At least externally. Because, according to Deputy Prime Minister of the Moscow Government and representative of the mayor in the Moscow City Duma Anatoly Petrov, local government in the capital will still be structured according to the city law that came into force on January 1.

“New People” (Epic/Sony) is a fresh creation from the group “Spleen”, presented to the public at the end of last week. The album is not to say very long-awaited - just right. There is an actual hit, the hilarious song “Handball”, not to mention the fact that almost all the other songs are potential hits.

In 2003, the Russian Federal Property Fund will have to fulfill a two-year privatization plan The government has more than doubled its privatization plan for this year. According to the order of Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, the state intends to sell its shares in 1,444 open joint-stock companies in the coming months, as well as privatize 825 federal state unitary enterprises (FSUE).

The US wants to punish Pyongyang with sanctions The Pentagon and the US State Department are developing draft sanctions against North Korea. The influential newspaper The New York Times reported this yesterday, citing high-ranking officials of these departments. Sanctions will be imposed if Pyongyang does not abandon the creation of nuclear weapons.

Yesterday Nikolai GORNOVSKY commented on his resignation to Vremya Novostei newspaper correspondent Alexey GRIVACH. — When did you find out that Gazprom was terminating your employment contract? - This afternoon. First, I was invited to Nametkin (to the central office of Gazprom - Ed. ), where Alexey Borisovich (Miller - Ed. ) invited me to take the place of general director of Lentransgaz (the transport subsidiary of the concern. - Ed. ).

Atlético Madrid boss Jesus Gil demands shares in club For two seasons, the Spanish championship in the first division took place without the participation of Atlético, whose permanent president Jesus Gil is perhaps the most controversial figure in Spanish football. The range of epithets awarded to this man by Spanish fans extends from “criminal” to “martyr”, and the state has been at war with him throughout the 17 years of his presidency.

The ministry believes that it has figured out how to get rid of oil dependence On Thursday, at a government meeting, a new version of the socio-economic development program for the medium term, developed by the Ministry of Economic Development, will be considered. A quick glance does not reveal any significant differences between the new and old text.

Panic in a nightclub led to tragedy At least 21 people died yesterday in a stampede at a Chicago nightclub. About 30 others were badly injured, some in critical condition. The number of lightly wounded cannot be counted. The very popular Epitome Chicago establishment (translated as something like “Chicago in miniature”) is located in the black quarter. On the occasion of the national holiday - Presidents' Day (Founding Fathers Abraham Lincoln and George Washington) - the club was packed.

The Ministry of Finance partially complied with the instructions of Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov and submitted a number of bills to the government to change the tax system. They are now being studied by government experts. They will have to determine, in particular, whether the Ministry of Finance has become less conservative in its approaches to tax reform - the ministry was harshly criticized by the prime minister at a cabinet meeting in early February for its reluctance to reduce rates.

The possibility of abolishing visa restrictions for the leadership of Belarus was commented on by the new head of the OSCE office in Minsk, Eberhard Heiken. In November 2002, 14 European Union countries, joined by the United States, announced that they would not issue visas to the president and seven top government officials of Belarus.

Victory at the tournament in Qatar allowed Anastasia Myskina to rise to 10th place in the ranking of the best WTA tennis players. Two other Russians also found places in the second ten of the table of ranks - Elena Bovina and Elena Dementieva, occupying 17th and 18th positions, respectively. And the Williams sisters traditionally top the rankings, the youngest of whom, Serena, takes first place, more than 2,000 points ahead of Venus. By the way, Venus has changed her performance schedule.

Metropolitan areas unite to fight for the right to self-government About ten municipalities of Moscow intend to unite into the “Moscow Congress of Independent Municipalities”. The leaders of the Congress are not going to be content with the powers that the capital government has endowed them with through its generosity.

The prosecutor's office found the organizers of the assassination attempt on adviser Gennady Seleznev The St. Petersburg prosecutor's office announced the disclosure of a high-profile political assassination attempt in the late 90s - one of the crimes because of which the label of “criminal capital” was firmly attached to St. Petersburg.