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).

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.

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.

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 President wants to save the life of the state from deputies Yesterday, the Ukrainian president appealed to the Constitutional Court with a request to give an official interpretation of those provisions of the country's basic law that refer to the early dissolution of parliament.

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?

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.

Signed amendments to the federal law on Russian citizenship. According to these amendments, citizens of the former USSR who were born on the territory of the RSFSR, who arrived in Russia from states that were part of the USSR, and were registered at their place of residence in Russia as of July 1, 2003, or who received a temporary permit, can acquire Russian citizenship in a simplified manner.

Deputy Prosecutor General proposed returning to Soviet management methods It seems that Deputy Prosecutor General of Russia Vladimir Kolesnikov is becoming the main spokesman for the Prosecutor General's Office. Having started with comments on the Khodorkovsky case, the day before yesterday he already spoke about corruption in the highest echelons of power, and yesterday he entered into unprecedented territory.

Valery Toryanin has been appointed General Director and General Designer of the Russian Aircraft Corporation (RSC) MiG. Yesterday, the press secretary of the Russian Prime Minister, Tatyana Razbash, told reporters that Mikhail Kasyanov had signed a corresponding government order. The post of head of RSK remained vacant since November 4, when Kasyanov relieved the former general director and general designer of MiG, Nikolai Nikitin, from these duties.

Washington again does not believe the IAEA findings - this time on Iran Washington received the report prepared by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regarding Iran's nuclear program with undisguised irritation. “This is simply impossible to believe,” responded US Deputy Secretary of State John Bolton, who oversees nonproliferation and arms control issues. He was angered by the conclusion that there was currently “no evidence” of the existence of an Iranian nuclear weapons program.

RSUH dismisses Leonid Nevzlin Former first deputy chairman of the board of NK Yukos Leonid Nevzlin (also a former head of the Russian Jewish Congress and senator from Mordovia) did not serve long as rector of the Russian State Humanitarian University. As the Vremya Novostey newspaper learned, an extraordinary academic council is meeting at the Russian State University for the Humanities this evening, the main agenda of which is the re-election of the head of the university.

A Muscovite’s social card is almost never accepted anywhere The Moscow program “Muscovite Social Card”, which has been actively lobbied in the capital’s mayor’s office in recent years, has finally begun to bear its first fruits. At yesterday's press conference, the heads of the Bank of Moscow reported on the issuance of the millionth social card.

Human rights activists stood up for the diet of Russian soldiers The average Russian soldier is sick and hungry. This fact, long known to the domestic public, was recently discovered by representatives of the international human rights organization Human Rights Watch.

The State Council and the Security Council decided to fight disasters Yesterday's joint meeting of the Security Council and the Presidium of the State Council of Russia in the Kremlin, chaired by Vladimir Putin, had an awkward agenda: “On measures to ensure the protection of infrastructure critical to national security and the population of the country from man-made, natural threats and terrorist manifestations.” And the result of the event, announced at its end, did not look impressive: