This year's debutants can only be called young additions only partially: 27-year-old Ralph Ferman and Cristiano da Matta, who will turn 30 in September, should be classified more likely as the middle generation of riders who have already managed to gain a foothold in the “royal” racing. In contrast, 24-year-old Justin Wilson and Antonio Pizzonia, at 22, belong to the generation of drivers who have the immediate future of Formula 1.

In the first round of the ATP tournament with a prize fund of 380 thousand dollars in Scottsdale (USA), Russian Dmitry Tursunov, who made it into the main draw of the competition through the qualification barrier, lost to the sixth “seeded” player, Spaniard Alex Corretja - 4:6, 2:6. The best tennis player in the world, Australian Lleyton Hewitt, also entered the fray. In the opening round, he easily dealt with Fernando Vicente (Spain) - 6:4, 6:3.

Another season starts tomorrow Formula 1 is going through difficult times. Financial and sporting problems, closely intertwined, threatened the very existence of the “royal races”. It is unlikely that the emergency measures taken by the International Motor Sports Federation (FIA) this off-season will be able to radically change the situation. But at least the first stage of the 2003 season, starting tomorrow, is highly anticipated.

Igor Kravchenko, suspected of organizing an attempt on the life of acting the head of Novorossiysk, Vladimir Sinyagovsky, was released from custody. He was released from the temporary detention center, as it turned out, at the end of last week, and the police did it completely unnoticed. But the arrest of Mr. Kravchenko made a lot of noise.

Basketball. NBA. Regular season . "Atlanta" - "Denver" - 92:86, "Miami" - "Milwaukee" - 91:100, "Detroit" - "Houston" - 96:83, "New York" - " Cleveland" -- 89:80, "Dallas" -- "New Jersey" -- 88:79, "San Antonio" -- "Phoenix" -- 97:104, "Seattle" -- "Minnesota" -- 92:83, “Golden State” – “Indiana” – 107:100, “Washington” – “Toronto” – 86:89. Michael Jordan was injured and had to leave the court in the second quarter against Toronto. In his absence, Washington lost to the association outsider.

Ukraine is interested in developing trade with Russia Tomorrow, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov will meet with the Ukrainian and Belarusian prime ministers and take part in a meeting of the Russian-Ukrainian mixed commission on trade and economic cooperation. According to unofficial data, issues related to agreeing on an agreement on the formation of a single economic space will be discussed.

Yesterday the foreign ministers of France, Russia and Germany met in Paris. Dominique de Villepin, Igor Ivanov and Joschka Fischer clarified their joint position on the eve of tomorrow's meeting of the UN Security Council, at which Hans Blix and Mohammed ElBaradei will present their next report on the disarmament of Iraq. Perhaps it will be the last one before the war.

Forced treatment for drug addiction and 21 years in special regime camps - this was the sentence handed down yesterday in Vladivostok to Andrei Syromyatnikov, who a year ago killed Japanese student Takashi Furukawa. Accomplices in the crime Vladimir Maslov and Andrei’s brother Sergei Syromyatnikov will spend 18 and 5 years behind bars.

The new president of Armenia, according to preliminary data, is the current president Robert Kocharyan. He received 67.5% of the votes. 32.5% of voters voted for his rival, leader of the People's Party of Armenia Stepan Demirchyan. The election process was monitored by 6.5 thousand observers, including from the OSCE, CIS, and Council of Europe. “Armenia has every opportunity to conduct the second round of elections properly.

Sheremetyevo has lost a client British Airways (BA) announced yesterday that it is moving its Moscow base of operations from Sheremetyevo to Domodedovo. Rumors about BA's imminent departure from the overloaded Sheremetyevo-2 have been circulating for several years, but the final decision, according to the airline's regional commercial director for Eastern Europe, Daniel Burkard, was made only last Tuesday.

Minsk expects increased investment The Belarusian economy's need for investment over the next ten years is estimated at $35-37 billion. This was stated by Prime Minister Gennady Novitsky at a meeting of the Advisory Council on Foreign Investment. Through domestic investment, the government expects to provide two-thirds of the planned volume - by reducing the tax burden on the real sector, as well as providing greater freedom for enterprises to dispose of profits.

The Ministry of Communications proposes to sell Svyazinvest later and entirely The issue of selling shares of the telecommunications holding Svyazinvest, once again included by the government in the privatization program, seems to be resolved. Representatives of the Ministry of Property even claim that there are several options for selling the holding’s shares.

The court pardoned another deputy, Vladimir Yakovlev In St. Petersburg, the trial of the city’s vice-governor Anatoly Kagan, who heads the Smolny Health Committee, ended on Tuesday. He was found guilty of negligence, but the case against the official was closed by a court decision due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. Mr. Kagan has become the most high-profile figure in what has been dubbed the “insulin case,” an investigation that began three years ago.

US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld ordered the transfer of 24 B-1 and B-52 strategic bombers to the island of Guam in the Pacific Ocean. The order became known a day after four DPRK fighter jets dangerously approached an American reconnaissance aircraft in international airspace on Sunday. The Pentagon called the order “a means of deterrence and strengthening defense” and said that from now on spy planes will fly near the borders of the DPRK, accompanied by US Air Force fighters.

President Held a working meeting with Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov. The head of government informed the head of state about the measures taken by the government to support the balance of regional budgets. The meeting discussed the progress of consideration in the State Duma of bills introduced by the government, as well as the general financial and economic situation in Russia. Held a working meeting with the Chairman of the Constitutional Court Valery Zorkin.