Voter apathy is the main opponent of Dragoljub Micunovic Serbia will elect a president this coming Sunday. The biggest chance to win is with the Chairman of the Parliament of Serbia and Montenegro, the leader of the not very influential Democratic Union party, Dragoljub Micunovic. He will probably outplay his opponents - nationalist Tomislav Nikolic (Serbian Unity Party) and populist Velimir Ilic (New Serbia Party).

Gazprom sharply increases expenses and understates revenues The budget process in the main state company - Gazprom - yesterday passed the first milestone. The management board of the concern generally approved the financial plan, investment programs, cost reduction and financial investments for 2004.

Forecast for the coming days Most of European Russia will remain at the mercy of the anticyclone. In the northwestern and central regions on Friday there will be mostly no precipitation, with temperatures around 0°C during the day. On Saturday and Sunday in the northern half of the European territory of Russia the weather will be with precipitation, mainly in the form of snow; daytime temperatures in the central region will be -2...+4°C.

Yuri Luzhkov presented to the President candidates for the Russian-Japanese Council As co-chairman of the recently established Russian-Japanese “Council of Wise Men,” Yuri Luzhkov also demonstrated wisdom in forming the Russian part of this body. At yesterday's meeting with the president, Mr. Luzhkov proposed to Vladimir Putin a list of candidates for council members from Russia.

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY FIRST NOVEMBER 17 , MONDAY 6.00 Good morning 8.30, 18.30 Elections 2003 9.00, 12.00, 15.00, 18.00 News 9.10 “PECULIARITIES OF NATIONAL FISHING”. Comedy 11.10 “Foreign cars from dead souls. Case of 2003.” Doc. detective 11.40 Kolobkov conducts the investigation 12.20 City of Women 13.20 “FIND AND DISHARM.” Hood. movie 15.20, 1.30 Star Factory-3 15.30 Guess the melody 16.00 “SHORE OF A DREAM”.

The leaders of the Evraz basketball club (Ekaterinburg) decided to withdraw their protest filed by the team’s head coach Alexander Zryadchikov after the end of the home match with Ural Great, won by the guests with a score of 104:82. At one point in this meeting, Perm had four foreign players on the court at the same time, although according to the regulations there is a limit of three foreign players. This was the second such mistake of the season by Ural Great coach Sergei Belov.

Group "DDT" at the Olimpiyskiy A well-known truth teller of the Russian land, a powerful singer, a hater of totalitarianism and pop music, a poet (and in the past an artist who professionally painted Lenin), a native of the city of Ufa, Yuri Yulianovich Shevchuk and his team “DDT” give concerts very rarely. But very accurate. Why?

Another high-profile economic crime has come to the attention of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Yesterday, the country's top financial regulator imposed a huge fine -- $240 million -- on former Goldman Sachs vice president and chief economist John Youngdahl. Since the end of a series of corporate bankruptcies in America related to various accounting violations, each trial regarding a more or less major economic crime has become indicative.

Experts have calculated the damage from the September earthquake in Altai In the southern regions of the Altai Mountains Republic, which experienced a series of strong earthquakes at the end of September, after long calculations and approvals, the restoration of destroyed buildings and communications has finally begun.

Akhmed Zakayev was not extradited to Russia The Russian Prosecutor General's Office suffered a resounding defeat “on a foreign field.” A London court yesterday refused to extradite former Deputy Prime Minister of Ichkeria Akhmed Zakayev to Russia. Mr. Zakaev was accused in absentia of several “serious” articles of the Russian Criminal Code, including banditry, hostage-taking, premeditated murder and participation in an armed rebellion.

The head of the IMF believes that the press is dramatizing the Yukos problem Vladimir Putin spent 20 minutes yesterday telling the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Horst Köhler, that the fact of the arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky has nothing to do with the progress of economic reforms in Russia. Mr. Köhler, who is currently touring the countries of the former USSR, was in Moscow for several hours.

Politicians and experts tried to present the new parliament Politicians and political scientists gathered yesterday at a meeting of the Open Forum club to share their thoughts on the future Duma: what it will be like, who will join whom in a coalition, what issues will be on the agenda and what scenarios for the country’s development all this will ultimately lead to.

Georgian demonstrators have “exhausted the resource of negotiations” with Shevardnadze The leader of the United National Movement, Mikheil Saakashvili, said at a rally on Rustaveli Avenue yesterday that “the resource for negotiations with Eduard Shevardnadze has been exhausted.” According to him, “there will be no more dialogue” because the president is only “playing for time” and, together with the leader of Adjara Aslan Abashidze, is “mobilizing supporters.” Yesterday evening Aslan Abashidze

Camera phones will scream “bird!” The South Korean government belatedly, but still responded to the “spy boom” that had broken out in the country. Now all cell phone models equipped with a digital camera must emit a loud warning sound when taking pictures. This should eliminate the possibility of using mobile phones as “spy equipment.” Authorities hope that after this citizens will feel safer.

Agassi helped his fellow countryman win the ATP Championship Race American tennis player Andy Roddick ahead of schedule, after the third day of play at the Masters Cup tournament in Houston - the final men's competition of the season with a total prize fund of $3.7 million - became the winner of the 2003 ATP Championship Race.