The State Council will discuss foreign policy problems The main result of the day before the State Council meeting was the Kremlin’s readiness to transfer some powers to the regions to “defend national interests and strengthen global stability in the world.” We are talking about establishing direct relations between neighboring countries and Russian border regions.

Russia is consolidating its position in the Belarusian economy The Presidium of the Belarusian government yesterday approved a draft presidential decree regarding the corporatization of petrochemical enterprises. According to the project, enterprises can be privatized only for money. Now the document is being submitted to Alexander Lukashenko for signature. The process of privatization of the gas transport concern Beltransgaz is also being discussed in Minsk.

Andrei Illarionov promises that the Duma will approve energy bills Yesterday, presidential adviser Andrei Illarionov, speaking at a briefing in St. Petersburg, shared his not too optimistic forecast for the development of the Russian economy in 2003-2004. According to the economist, there will be no significant increase in growth rates, but rather stagnation. Industrial production volumes, Mr. Illarionov believes, will grow by no more than 3-4% and will not exceed the 2002 figures.

In Kabardino-Balkaria, on the slope of Elbrus, the body of Moscow climber Grigory Alekhine, who disappeared in early January, was found. According to the Republican Ministry of Emergency Situations, rescuers found him on Monday near a mountaineering trail. 29-year-old Grigory Alekhine, as part of a group of climbers from Moscow, intended to climb the Eastern peak of Elbrus (5621 meters).

SVR denied the New York Times The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service did not admit its cooperation with the CIA against North Korea in the early 90s of the last century. The New York Times newspaper, which is close to the US intelligence services, according to some retired Russian intelligence officers, spoke about this.

Turkmenistan again blocks negotiations on the Caspian Sea Yesterday, Russian Minister of Natural Resources Vitaly Artyukhov received unexpected news. The Director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), Fritz Schlingemann, who is currently in Ashgabat, informed the Russian minister that the signing of a framework convention on the protection of the Caspian Sea environment, scheduled for January 25-26 in Tehran, will not take place.

Moscow police officers announced yesterday the prevention of fraud with shares of the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works. As it turned out, on January 9, entrepreneurs from Chelyabinsk Alexander Aristov and Pavel Rabin contacted the Moscow company “Registrar-Status” (the registrar of the plant’s shares). They presented a power of attorney from a certain citizen Volkov for the right to carry out transactions with Magnitogorsk securities worth several million dollars.

The channel's chief producer will be fired on January 31 There are again personnel changes in the leadership at the TVS channel. In the near future, Alexander Levin will leave the post of chief producer of the channel. According to the Vremya Novostei newspaper, this decision was made by the General Director of the Sixth Channel CJSC Ruslan Terekbaev, after which he had a conversation with Alexander Levin. Mr.

The Germans failed to balance the budget This dark day for the German government has finally arrived. Yesterday, during a meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels, a decision was made to begin a “penalty process” against Germany. Thus, following Portugal, Germany can be severely punished with the “ruble” for sins against the European “Stability Pact,” which prohibits EU countries from exceeding the annual budget deficit by more than 3% of GDP.

The mayor agreed to help literary magazines The Moscow authorities are ready to provide “soft” rental conditions for literary magazines, which are the cultural heritage of Russia. Yesterday, Yuri Luzhkov made such a promise to deputy Yevgeny Bunimovich, who oversees cultural issues in the Moscow City Duma. The list of especially valuable ones will include “Banner”, “October”, “Friendship of Peoples”, “Questions of Literature”, “Foreign Literature”, “Our Contemporary”.

On Tuesday night in Ivanovo, one of the largest shopping centers in the region, “Silver City,” was robbed. Criminals armed with pistols attacked two guards, shot one of them in the leg, tied them up, and then began to calmly open numerous magazines. In total, the robbers “visited” about 80 stores out of a hundred located in the center and took away everything that was there - gold, cell phones, household appliances, perfumes, clothes, shoes, etc.

The TV company is waiting for the “right person” NTV General Director Boris Jordan officially announced yesterday that he was leaving his post. “When the shareholders expressed their position,” said Mr. Jordan, “I consider it impossible for me to continue to remain in the position of general director of NTV. I declare my readiness to leave this post and begin transferring affairs to the person whom the shareholders name.

The prosecutor's office of the Vladimir region recently opened another criminal case in connection with disconnection of heating from residential buildings. It concerns an accident on a heating main that occurred last week during severe frosts, which led to the defrosting of the entire heating system of one of the central districts of Vladimir. There, residents of 82 apartments and two schools were left without hot water and heat.

A trial has begun in Italy regarding the smuggling of Russian weapons to Yugoslavia The trial of one of the most “promoted” cases by Western intelligence services, the smuggling of weapons from the CIS to Yugoslavia in circumvention of the UN embargo, began on Monday in Turin.

Moscow authorities will clear the snow along with the cars Capital car owners are facing new troubles. The Moscow government is already preparing a decree that will allow city utility workers to be very free with cars parked on snow-covered streets - that is, in the absence of the owners, move them to neighboring streets. Yuri Luzhkov announced this yesterday at a meeting of the Moscow government.