The MTS Board of Directors yesterday decided to explore the possibility of placing the company's shares on the Russian market. In connection with Deutsche Telekom's intention to sell its 5% stake in MTS on the open market before September 30, MTS will assist its shareholder in organizing this transaction on the Russian market and obtaining a listing on the Russian stock exchange. Currently, MTS shares are traded only in the form of ADRs on foreign exchanges, including the NYSE.

The St. Petersburg Road Fund lost 500 million rubles Breaking the usual pattern of its life, which is usually closed to the general public, the Accounts Chamber (CA) decided to make public the results of an audit of the expenditure of federal funds allocated for preparations for the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg.

An exhibition of children's drawings, “Sign of Heat,” was opened at the Ruhrgas headquarters last week. She has already visited Moscow, Berlin, and the Netherlands. The exhibition presents the 100 best works on the topic “Gas Heating”, selected at the All-Russian competition organized on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Gazprom.

Russia remains in Transnistria Transnistria is ready to unite with Moldova into a common federal house, but on the condition that Russia provides it with military guarantees. Let us recall that our country is now removing its weapons from the region and, according to the Istanbul OSCE agreements of 1999, must liquidate the operational group of troops (OGRF) stationed here by the end of this year.

American ballerina Julia Kent performed a “Soviet” ballet at the Mariinsky Theater Julia Kent appeared in St. Petersburg as an afterword to the Mariinsky Festival: the ball was over, all the guests had long since gone home, the hosts sighed and got busy with their daily rehearsal work (two premieres in the near future), and then suddenly a girl came running and said: oh , I also want to dance with you. Well, of course, they answer her politely, how would she do without you.

At the last stage of the World Cup in cross-country skiing, Russian Olga Zavyalova finished third in the 5+5 km pursuit race. The victory was once again won by the early winner of the World Cup, Norwegian Bente Skari. Our skiers were left without medals in the sprint and relay races. The result of the men's team in the 4x10 km relay is especially depressing - only 11th place. Ilya TRISVIATSKY

March 24 0.00. More than 50 people were killed and wounded as a result of US aircraft bombing an area in the Biyare region in northern Iraq. 0.50. According to Iraq, the country's air defense forces shot down 5 enemy aircraft and 2 helicopters. 1.10. The population of Basra, left without water and electricity, faces a humanitarian catastrophe. The power supply to the Basra water intake station, which supplies water to 2 million people, has been disrupted. 2.00.

The criminal case regarding the sale of TNK has been closed The last point in the scandalous criminal case of fraud during the privatization of the Tyumen Oil Company (TNK) was recently put by the Investigation Department (ID) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation for the Central Federal District.

At a representative tennis tournament in Miami, the BTA management announced the names of last season's winners. Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, who won two titles in 2002 - in Helsinki and on the Indonesian island of Bali, was recognized as the best newcomer. The Comeback of the Year prize will be awarded to American Corina Morariu, who has been battling cancer for a long time.

The unexpectedly strong resistance of the Iraqis, which the allies encountered in the very first days of the campaign in Iraq, raises doubts about the effectiveness of the tactics chosen by the command. The American Washington Post wrote about this yesterday. The Pentagon expected the Americans to be greeted as liberators, but Baghdad remains firmly on its feet.

The Ministry of Economic Development heard from bankers and insurers The Ministry of Economic Development continues to attract more and more representatives of the business community to discuss its socio-economic development program for 2003-2005. Following the academics and oligarchs, the program was discussed yesterday by representatives of financial markets. Among the participants in the discussion, it has become good form to mainly criticize the program.

BASKETBALL. Russian Championship. Men. Super League . 17th round. UNICS -- "Ural Great" -- 79:74, "Spartak" (St. Petersburg) -- CSKA -- 65:127, "CSK VVS--Samara" -- "Avtodor" -- 87:96, "Dynamo" (M) - "Lokomotiv" (MV) - 93:80, "Khimki" - "Evraz" - 94:74. Leading : CSKA - 33 points, UNICS - 32, Ural Great - 31, Khimki - 27. The central match in the round, after which all eight participants in the playoffs were finally determined, was the match in Kazan.

Yesterday, on the official website of the Russian Presidential Administration, the texts of 17 decrees were posted on the personnel and structural changes in the “power” structures announced by Vladimir Putin two weeks ago. As it turned out, some of them - relating specifically to the liquidation of some departments, and the reassignment and creation of others - come into force from the date of publication. The texts of the decrees should appear in Rossiyskaya Gazeta today.

Passenger transport, like the weather, is something that affects everyone. (Well, maybe, except for a few complete homebodies.) Every average person has an opinion about both the weather and transport, and this opinion, as a rule, is impartial. As the Vremya Novostey newspaper found out, transport professionals absolutely agree with ordinary citizens on this: that is, they see a lot of problems and shortcomings in their field of activity.

Theologians demand excommunication of Bush, Blair and Aznar The leaders of the anti-Iraq coalition (in addition to military and political opponents) also acquired spiritual opponents. The protesting presidents, pacifists and anti-globalists were joined by theologians from the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians and the Association of Theologians in Honor of Pope John XXIII.