The concern is trying to get Northgas at the negotiating table Having regained control over Purgaz, Vostokgazprom and Zapsibgazprom and thereby increased its production in 2002 by 7.7 billion cubic meters, Gazprom began to take on other “promising” projects in this area. The next object of interest for Alexey Miller's team was one of the new independent gas producers - Northgas, which will produce 5 billion cubic meters this year.

American rules of the game have become international It is almost impossible to write about this war. Firstly, because it is already close to completion, and may even end unexpectedly while this issue of the newspaper is still being typed. Secondly, because it is difficult to write seriously about a war that is as similar to a war as the Terminator’s duel with the old woman Shapoklyak.

The actions of the forces of the anti-Iraqi coalition are still of an implicit, vague nature from a tactical point of view. And this allows us to judge the possible development of events. Well-known military experts told the military observer of the Vremya Novostei newspaper Nikolai POROSKOV about their vision of the nature of the situation in the coming days.

The Iraq war will not be able to plunge the Russian economy into crisis The Iraq war is not able to dramatically negatively affect the Russian economy. There is no threat to the execution of the budget and servicing the national debt. This is what they think both in the Russian government and the State Duma, as well as in analytical and expert centers. However, no one can yet give a more or less accurate forecast of the impact of the Iraq war on the domestic economy.

Socialists, communists and Tymoshenko were against Yesterday, the Rada, despite the fact that about one and a half thousand opponents of the US war in the Persian Gulf gathered under its walls, supported the president’s proposal to send the Ukrainian 19th battalion of radiological, chemical and bacteriological defense to Kuwait. Three opposition factions voted against - the Socialist Party, the Communist Party and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc.

The Russian team's opponents were let down by inaccurate shooting On the fifth day of competition at the Biathlon World Championships in Khanty-Mansiysk, the Russian team finally won its first gold medal. It was won by a relay quartet of girls - Albina Akhatova, Svetlana Ishmuratova, Galina Kukleva and Svetlana Chernousova. The advantage of the Russians over the Ukrainians who took second place was almost a minute and a half.

Mustang began to fight with GUM, TsUM and Planet of Sports The representative office of the German company Mustang has begun a large-scale fight against sellers of counterfeit jeans. Yesterday, letters were sent to the Kitay-Gorod police department, the Moscow State Trade Inspectorate and the Central District Prosecutor's Office notifying that the Grif Jeans company, which trades in GUM, and Talas and Co., which rents space in TSUM, are selling counterfeit jeans. Mustang brand.

Leading expert of the Research Institute of the German Society for Foreign Policy Alexander RAR answers the questions of the special correspondent of the Vremya Novostei newspaper in Berlin Yuri Shpakov. - The anti-war alliance, which included France, Germany and Russia, did not achieve its goal. How will it end? “It will all end in failure of this French-German-Russian alliance.” It's fragile. Europe will not become the united front it seems. Germany and France turned out to be too weak.

Hockey. NHL. Regular season. "Rangers" -- "Buffalo" -- 3:0, "Atlanta" -- "Dallas" -- 4:5 (OT) -- Kozlov "A" (0+2), Zubov "ND" (0+2 ) , “Florida” – “Minnesota” – 1:3 – Kozlov “F” (1+0) , “Chicago” – “Anaheim” – 3:4 – Chistov “A” (1+0 ), Korolev "H" (0+1). Despite the fact that Pavel Bure has refused to go on the ice in recent matches due to worsening pain in his knee, his Rangers continue to win. This time the richest NHL club beat the poorest - Buffalo.

The Russian Championship playoffs began with a sensation After the opening matches of the first round of the playoffs in all four pairs, the teams took a one-day break with the same score 2:0. In three duels, as expected, success accompanied the hosts, who took higher places in the regular championship, but a real sensation broke out in Omsk. The capital's Dynamo shocked the city of a million by defeating Avangard twice at home.

Apple Computer Inc. intends to strengthen its leadership team. If last year Business Week magazine could call its board of directors one of the worst in America, now such wording is unlikely to be acceptable. On Wednesday, it was decided to add former vice president and former US presidential candidate Al Gore to Apple's board of directors. Mr. Gore is one of the most technologically savvy American politicians.

And the McLaren boss is not happy with the new rules The results of the first Formula 1 Grand Prix in 2003 gave great hopes for intrigue to fans and specialists of this type of auto racing. The victory of David Coulthard, the fiasco of the Ferrari drivers, and the exciting, tense plot of the Australian race again stirred up the audience's interest, which was fading with each new victory of Michael Schumacher.

The Decade of New Drama ends at the Chekhov Moscow Art Theater Four new dramas were selected, and for each there was a production team of enthusiasts who took on the task of presenting an unknown work to the public for the first time. As a result, four semi-finished performances appeared on the small stage of the Moscow Art Theater, staged “student style” - with the selection of random props and hastily prepared roles. Which, however, does not mean that it was done poorly.

Sunil Gandhi opened a diamond factory in Vladivostok A diamond cutting factory with 100 percent foreign capital opened on Wednesday in Vladivostok. The enterprise, owned by Indian businessman Sunil Gandhi, will annually produce diamonds worth over $20 million.

French police have uncovered the mystery of a fugitive Russian cryptographer The investigation into the activities of the former head of the security service of the largest Russian processing company Union Card, Andrei Golov, which is being carried out by the intelligence services of dozens of countries, is acquiring more and more scandalous details.