The Minister of Ecology, Tourism and Antiquities of Jordan, Alia Khatou-Buran, yesterday opened a tourism office of her country in Russia. On the same day, she concluded an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the relevant field.

St. Petersburg prisoners demand the dismissal of prison authorities About five thousand people under investigation and prisoners in pre-trial detention centers and colonies in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region went on a hunger strike. On Tuesday and Wednesday they sent official statements to the GUIN about refusing food. Convicts and defendants complain of cruelty and extortion from authorities. Such a large-scale protest action in St. Petersburg prisons has not been heard for a long time.

Instead of sturgeons, the sea is populated by snakes and monster fish Scientists at the Azov Research Institute of Fisheries (AzNIIRH) predict that their ward sea will soon lose its status as the most fishy sea in Russia. The fact is that the water in the Sea of ​​Azov, as tests show, changes its chemical composition. The once desalinated inland reservoir is becoming increasingly salty. The main reason for the transformation of Azov water into strong brine is a sharp reduction in river flow.

Glazyev, Kharitonov and Khakamada do not succumb to defeatist sentiments The idea of ​​a boycott of the presidential elections by the right and left opposition is failing again. Sergei Glazyev and Nikolai Kharitonov refused Irina Khakamada’s call to withdraw their candidacies in protest against the unfair conduct of competition by the main contender for the post of head of state, President Vladimir Putin. Mr.

Forecast for the coming days At the end of the calendar winter, warm and humid air literally fell on the European territory of Russia. It is brought by Atlantic cyclones. And in the coming days, cyclonic whirlwinds will attack European territory not only from the west, but also from the south. Therefore, the amount of February precipitation will increase almost everywhere. In most areas of the central region on Thursday afternoon the temperature will rise to -4...+2оС.

The festival of films competing for the Nika Prize has begun The Nika Cinematic Prize was lucky. In the fifteenth year of its existence, an unexpected rival arose - the Golden Eagle cinematic award. “Eagle” independently called itself the main national film award even before its hastily created structures had time to somehow manifest themselves. The film community showed its best side and gave its sympathy to the offended party.

Alexander Veshnyakov can no longer complain directly to the Supreme Court The Constitutional Court gave the Central Election Commission an unpleasant surprise yesterday. It deprived the CEC of the ability, at its discretion, to refer cases of violations of citizens' electoral rights to the Supreme Court as a court of first instance.

The President began consultations on the future government Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin goes to the White House almost as rarely (or as often - as you like) as he dismisses the cabinet. But yesterday's visit by the president to the building on Krasnopresnenskaya embankment, despite all its exclusivity, did not shed any additional light on questions about what the government will look like and who will lead it.

Kyiv approved the An-70 work program Yesterday in Ukraine the official implementation of the state program for the creation of the An-70 military transport aircraft began. To stimulate the production of a new generation aircraft (its main advantage is short takeoff and landing), the Rada adopted the program as a separate law; yesterday President Leonid Kuchma signed this law.

The notorious Italian concern Parmalat is determined to pay off creditors. On Tuesday, the management of the dairy giant announced the start of bankruptcy proceedings for the company's American divisions with a view to their further sale. After the banks refused to extend the loan to Parmalat's subsidiaries (Farmland Dairies LLC, Parmalat USA Corp. and Milk Products of Alabama LLC), its management decided to first protect its property from creditors and then auction it off.

Tremors continue in Morocco Yesterday, seismic stations recorded a new earthquake in northern Morocco. Its strength is 3.8 on the Richter scale. After the devastating earthquake of 6.5 magnitude, which occurred in the province of Al Hoceima on Tuesday night, this is already the fifth disaster strike. The villages of Ait Kamara (14 km from the sea) and Imzuren (20 km) in the provinces of Fes and Taza were wiped off the face of the earth, and old residential buildings were destroyed.

Mikhail Kasyanov took two months to think about it Premiers leave in different ways. Some demand a position in return, others go to the wilderness, to a city on the Volga, others go “to Ukraine,” and others even become presidents. Mikhail Kasyanov, leaving yesterday, did not hide the fact that he was simply leaving.

The Antimonopoly Committee of the European Commission, headed by Mario Monte, has completed an investigation into the activities of the software giant Microsoft. Now the committee's conclusions will be submitted to the leadership of the European Commission for consideration.

The President of Lithuania accuses security officers and the Speaker of Parliament Lithuanian President Rolandas Paksas suspects the country's State Security Department (DSS) of "possible criminal activities." On this basis, his national security adviser, Romualdas Syanovaitis, yesterday seized all materials on the privatization of the Alita winery from the Alytus branch of the State Security Service. It took President Paksas only four days to strike back at the security service and parliament.

In four years, a full-fledged tax system has emerged in Russia The main difference between the tax system with which the country arrived in 2004 and the one that existed before Vladimir Putin came to the presidency is the very fact of its existence. Before the adoption of the Tax Code (TC), the country had a lot of tax laws, often contradicting each other.