France and the US abandoned Aristide Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide left the capital Port-au-Prince yesterday and fled abroad - most likely to the neighboring Dominican Republic. Guy Philippe, the leader of the opposition that captured half the country in three weeks of civil war in Haiti, achieved his goal without unnecessary bloodshed - he suspended the offensive and simply closed the ring around Port-au-Prince.

Boris Gryzlov, Speaker of the State Duma I worked closely with him when I was head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. I know him as a sincere, fair, real fighter against corruption. Mikhail Fradkov has the opportunity to lead a government that will carry out strategic reforms in the country.

Uralvneshtorgbank demands translation of system rules into Russian MAP, together with the Central Bank and the Association of Russian Banks (ARB), are starting a joint antimonopoly investigation into the Visa International payment system. They will have to determine how reasonable the criteria for membership in Visa are for Russian banks, and also assess the risks of their participation in payment systems.

according to VTsIOM-A, % ROMIR, % (survey conducted February 13-16) (survey conducted February 13-17) Vladimir Putin 80 77 Nikolai Kharitonov 5 2 Sergey Glazyev 4 3 Irina Khakamada 3 2 Others no data 3 Against all 4 7 The latest polls by sociologists VTsIOM-A and ROMIR agree on one thing: Vladimir Putin will win on March 14, that is, already in the first round. At the same time, what sociologists also agree on is that the president’s rating has been stable for the last two months.

The head of the Russian Federal Property Fund was accused in the YUKOS case Amid the noise of the election campaign, the resignation of the government and in the absence of Vladimir Putin, who was on a trip to Siberia, the Prosecutor General's Office took a decisive step. A major government official, the chairman of the Russian Federal Property Fund, Vladimir Malin, is involved in the YUKOS case.

The increase in pharmaceutical market volumes was facilitated by changes in exchange rates The year 2003 was one of the most stable in recent times for the Russian pharmaceutical market. This is evidenced by data from the analytical company RMBC (Remedium Group of Companies), which was the first to sum up the preliminary results of last year. The volume of the pharmaceutical market increased by 19% compared to 2002 ($3.7 billion) and amounted to $4.38 billion in final consumption prices.

Forecast for the coming days The end of February in European Russia was marked by rains, heavy in some areas, and rising temperatures. This weather was brought by southern cyclones, which attacked European territory one after another. In the next day or two, another cyclone will pass from northern Italy to Belarus and move further to the northeast.

The second Beijing meeting of six countries on North Korea ended with statements about its “constructiveness,” hopes for future negotiations, a lack of real progress in North Korea’s nuclear disarmament, and Pyongyang’s accusations against Washington of “unwillingness to negotiate.” The result is predictable - after all, the starting positions of the DPRK and the United States have not changed.

The new face of Japanese dance Along the perimeter of the stage there is the designation of an arcade, as if in the courtyard of some castle. In the middle of the “yard” there are three beds with patterned headboards, they are also tombstones. Behind them are four chairs. On each one sits a Japanese girl dressed in black. The girls will either hold their nose and sneeze, or clutch their foreheads, or put their hands to their mouths as if they are sick, or simply sob. This is the corps de ballet.

The Deposit Insurance Agency indicated the consequences of non-payment of contributions to the insurance fund The Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA) for the first time published its official documents in the Bank of Russia Bulletin - on the procedure for calculating and paying banks' contributions to the deposit insurance fund, from which depositors will be able to receive compensation.

Hollywood stars spoiled their mood on the eve of the Oscars ceremony On the eve of the Oscars, other awards were handed out to filmmakers in the American town of Santa Monica. Last weekend the 25th Golden Raspberry Awards ceremony took place there. All Hollywood stars know this prize, but they frankly do not like to receive it, since the “berry” is awarded for dubious achievements in cinema. All winners received anti-prizes worth $4.89.

How to properly receive money from the state The second month of the declaration campaign is ending in Russia. Even if you are not engaged in business and you are not required by law to file a return, now is the time to visit the tax office. And not at all in order to leave money there, but on the contrary, in order to receive excessively overpaid taxes from the state.

Two Qatari athletes arrested in Moscow The Russian ambassador to Qatar, Viktor Kudryavtsev, as the Vremya Novostei newspaper learned, was summoned yesterday to the Foreign Ministry of this Arab monarchy for an impartial conversation. “The conversation was not with the minister, but at a high level,” Mr. Kudryavtsev told us. He gave the “necessary explanations” for the detention of two Qatari athletes at the Moscow airport. They were about to fly to Serbia for a Greco-Roman wrestling competition.

Belgian pedophiles in the dock The provincial Belgian city of Arlon with a population of 22 thousand people has become the center of attention of the world media. 1,300 journalists from around the world are accredited to the trial of 47-year-old Marc Dutroux, which opens there today. There is not a person in Belgium who does not know this name. For adults, this is “criminal number one”; for children, it replaced the terrible Gray Wolf from the fairy tale about Little Red Riding Hood.

Preparations for the film adaptation of "The Master and Margarita" were carried out in secret The Rossiya channel intends to film Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita” in the near future. Just a month ago, representatives of the channel did their best to disown the project, and superstition had nothing to do with it. After the success of Vladimir Bortko’s serial film “The Idiot,” the channel announced its intentions to film several works of Russian classics.