The White House intends to cooperate with Belarus only on a market basis The Russian government has finally decided to clearly define its position on the issue of Russian-Belarusian relations in the gas sector. True, the White House continues to officially distance itself from the negotiations between economic entities - Gazprom and Beltransgaz, and therefore the information comes from an unnamed high-ranking source in the government.

Vagit Alekperov bought almost 800 gas stations in the USA before his trip to Iraq LUKOIL is strengthening its position in the American petroleum products market. Yesterday it became known that the company acquired almost 800 gas stations in two states from ConocoPhilips, and now LUKOIL owns more than 2 thousand gas stations in the United States.

Ivanovo boarding school will be financed from the federal budget Deputy Prime Minister Galina Karelova has finally put an end to the scandalous story with the Ivanovo international boarding school. Yesterday she told reporters that the government managed to fulfill the plan to the maximum and in the shortest possible time formalize a resolution giving Interdom the status of a federal educational institution and attaching it to budget funding. “This is great luck for me,” Ms. Karelova said.

Supporters of the ex-President of Azerbaijan Ayaz Mutalibov, who lives in Moscow, intend to appeal to the current head of state Ilham Aliyev with a request to allow the first president of his country to return to his homeland. In a conversation with a VN correspondent, the Chairman of the Committee for the Protection of Mutalibov’s Rights, Mr. Abdul Makhmudbekov, said that this would be done after 100 days of the reign of Aliyev Jr., that is, after February 8.

And one in five lives below the poverty line Yesterday, the head of the State Statistics Committee, Vladimir Sokolin, proved to journalists with figures that the stratification of the population is increasing, and the fight against poverty, announced by the president, has so far been a very relative success. Forecasts for next year are also not rosy: inflation growth will most likely exceed the rate set in the budget.

In France and Italy, the police are fighting doping Sports authorities have few ways to combat doping. The IOC and sports federations have virtually no “power levers” other than sample analysis. However, in some countries, law enforcement agencies are also trying to fight with stimulants and anabolics. France has the most severe approach to prohibited drugs: here the very fact of finding an ampoule with a doping agent in the pocket of an athlete or doctor is a criminal offense.

The National Central Bureau (NCB) of Interpol under the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs sent a request to Germany regarding the arrival there of the Chechen emissary Akhmed Zakayev. RIA Novosti learned about this from a source in the National Central Bank. “The request was sent immediately after reports of Zakayev’s arrival in Germany appeared in the media,” the source said. “We asked the German side whether Zakayev is really in Germany.

The number of candidates for president of Russia is declining Yesterday at six o'clock in the evening Moscow time, the Central Election Commission stopped accepting documents and signature sheets from presidential candidates. Because of this, department employees had to work in emergency mode all day. At 11 o’clock in the morning, members of Irina Khakamada’s initiative group delivered to the Central Election Commission 2 million 411 thousand autographs of voters who wanted to see Ms.

Yukos is offered to pay taxes and do landscaping The Ministry of Taxes and Duties does not intend to stop looking for obvious and imaginary sins of the Yukos oil company. As Minister of Taxes and Duties Gennady Bukaev said yesterday, his ministry is conducting an audit of the financial activities of YUKOS for 2001-2002. He also recalled that shortly before the New Year, the Tax Ministry filed claims related to non-payment of taxes for 2000, but YUKOS raised objections.

The editor-in-chief of the independent Iraqi newspaper Al-Mada is known in Russia - at least to Russian communists. Until 1993, Mr. Fakhri KARIM (also known as Abu Nabil) was a member of the Politburo of the Iraqi Communist Party. In this capacity, he often visited Moscow. Now he is an independent politician. And he told the columnist of the newspaper “Vremya Novostey” Elena SUPONINA how the lists got to him.

US presidential candidates are ready for anything Senator John Kerry has a real chance of becoming a candidate from the Democratic Party in the presidential election. On Tuesday, like a week ago in Iowa, he won the Democratic primary in the US state of New Hampshire. 39% of Democratic supporters voted for him. Second in the state was recent Democratic favorite Howard Dean (26%). Third is retired General Wesley Clark (just over 12% of the vote).

Valery Goreglyad resigned from the post of first vice-speaker of the Federation Council First Vice Speaker of the Federation Council Valery Goreglyad left his post yesterday. But the very position of Mironov’s first deputy was left. True, even the speaker of the upper house of parliament does not know who will occupy it now and when. At the first meeting of the spring session, Valery Goreglyad did what he promised, that is, he asked to be relieved of his position.

The priest left the parishioner's family without an apartment An unusual scandal is breaking out in the small town of Revda, Sverdlovsk region: a parishioner of the local Holy Trinity Church is trying to sue the rector for her own apartment, which she bequeathed to him in exchange for healing by the word of God. Anfisa Petrovna Selezneva wrote a deed of gift for her two-room apartment in Revda a little over a year ago.

The situation in Strasbourg was commented on for the Vremya Novostei newspaper by the PACE Vice Speaker, head of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, Mikhail MARGELOV. — A year ago, we started holding PACE plenary sessions, and I conducted them in English for a whole year. Many of my colleagues from the Russian delegation speak fluent German, Spanish, French, and English.

Bailiffs quarrel with prosecutors Bailiffs named yesterday the worst debtors to the budget. These are 168 enterprises that were taken under special control by the chief bailiff, Deputy Minister of Justice of Russia Arkady Melnikov. The blacklist, he said, includes those who owe the state more than 100 million rubles. The record holder here is the Rostov joint-stock company Gukovugol - the size of its tax debt is off the charts at 4 billion.