The world's largest insurer caught in fraud American International Group Inc. (AIG), the world's largest insurance company by market capitalization, is accused of financial fraud and will be fined $10 million. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) caught AIG using insurance schemes to cut losses at mobile phone distributor Brightpoint and accessories for mobile communications. According to the SEC decision, Brightpoint itself will pay a $450 thousand fine.

On September 12, on the second anniversary of the publication of the “sacred” book “Rukhnama” written by Turkmen President Niyazov, which in this country is equated to the Koran, the Amnesty International (AI) organization held a picket at the Turkmen embassy in Moscow. Human rights activists brought with them the cover of Turkmenbashi’s work, enlarged to gigantic size, and proposed to supplement it with the missing new chapter - on human rights.

Svidler again became the national champion At the Russian Chess Championship that ended in Krasnoyarsk, Peter Svidler won. Before the last round, Svidler and his main rival Alexander Morozevich had the same number of points. Both title contenders played as black against Grischuk and Malakhov, respectively. As a result, Svidler and Morozevich reduced their games to a draw, and the champion was determined by the Buchholz coefficient.

Late yesterday evening in Stockholm, in the Lithuania-Spain match, the new European champion was determined. For the Russian team, this championship ended in the quarterfinals, after which ours were left without a ticket to the Olympics. It’s time to think about the next four years, and during this period our youth can grow into mature masters.

Alexander Sokurov’s film “Father and Son” was released in Moscow On Friday, the premiere of the film “Father and Son” took place at the Roland cinema. Before this, the film was shown in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, then at Kinotavr, as well as in Vyborg and at the Festival of Festivals in St. Petersburg.

Based on materials from news agencies and our own information President At the initiative of the French side, I had a telephone conversation with French President Jacques Chirac. During the conversation, Vladimir Putin and Jacques Chirac exchanged views on current international issues. During the discussion of the Middle East settlement, it was stated that the latest development of events poses a serious threat to the prospects for the implementation of the Road Map plan.

The parliament of Ichkeria came to life for the presidential elections The “Parliament of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria” impeached the “President of Ichkeria” Aslan Maskhadov - last Friday he was officially dismissed from office for violating the law, misappropriation of power and other criminal actions. Forty-two deputies cast their votes for impeachment—the vast majority of the survivors. In total, the parliament of Ichkeria, elected in 1997, included 52 people.

Land reform in Russia is stalled. The point of the reform is to ensure that enterprises use land assets in their economic turnover. And this is only possible if the rights to land plots are registered. However, enterprises resist this, believing that during the privatization of real estate they have already paid for everything in full. And officially, land today is considered state property until it is demarcated.

Boris Berezovsky found refuge from the Russian Prosecutor General's Office and hired killers London Magistrates' Court on Friday decided to stop hearings on the extradition case of Boris Berezovsky to Russia. The servants of Themis considered it inappropriate to continue the process, since the British Ministry of Internal Affairs granted political asylum to the businessman. During the trial, new scandalous details of this story emerged.

Deputies claim a stabilization fund As deputies read the draft 2004 budget, they like this document less and less. On Friday, the Duma budget subcommittee was unable to make a final decision on whether to recommend the project for adoption or not. The deputies did not agree with the mechanism proposed by the government for the formation of a stabilization fund and proposed their own option.

Vladimir Putin received the president's dad Yesterday, for the first time in the history of the city of Sochi, the US President visited it. True, ex. But now, apparently, a visit to Sochi by the current American president is not far off. Vladimir Putin did not hide the fact that he invited George Bush Sr. and his wife Barbara to visit the Sochi residence of the head of Russia “Bocharov Ruchey” with a certain intention.

Estonia joins the pan-European family The efforts of the Estonian authorities to promote the delights of life in the European Union seem to have been crowned with success. Estonian Foreign Minister Kristiana Ojuland will not have to shoot herself. “If the referendum fails, the only thing left to do is shoot yourself,” she said on the eve of yesterday’s nationwide vote on the country’s accession to the European Union. However, last night the situation remained nervous.

Gennady Raikov and his associates held a congress in Moscow The People's Party of Russia held its second congress yesterday in the Column Hall of the House of Unions, at which delegates discussed the strategy and tactics of the election campaign, and also approved the electoral lists.

Yabloko became the first party whose electoral list was approved by the Russian Central Election Commission. Now Yabloko can rightfully begin a new stage of the election race - collecting signatures in their support, which, according to the election law, must be collected at least 200 thousand. Signatures must be collected in all regions, but no more than 14 thousand in one.

Lukashenko came to Putin because of “insurmountable contradictions” The conflict between the Russian and Belarusian authorities, which has been quietly intensifying for several years, has developed with alarming speed in recent days. The Kremlin has long decided that there is no point in speeding up unification processes before the elections - the futility of efforts would only bring disadvantages during the election campaign.