Yesterday, Lithuanian President Rolandas Paksas admitted that “he could have made a big mistake - accepting his former sponsor Yuri Borisov as an adviser.” Entrepreneur Borisov is one of the main characters in the political scandal, because of which the presidential impeachment procedure began on March 8 this year.

Prime Minister Blair shook hands with Colonel Gaddafi Yesterday, the Libyans rolled out the red carpet for British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who arrived in Tripoli. The handshake between Blair and Gaddafi was the culmination of Libya's rapprochement with the West. The negotiations took place in a tent against the backdrop of the desert in the vicinity of the capital. The previous visit of this rank took place in 1943, when Winston Churchill visited Libya.

Reform is not the enemy of budget revenues First Deputy Head of the State Customs Committee of the Russian Federation Leonid LOZBENKO is confident that the reorganization of customs will not lead to a weakening of its law enforcement functions, as well as to a reduction in payments to the budget. He spoke about this in an interview with the Vremya Novostei newspaper.

Totmyanina and Marinin won gold at the World Championships for the first time The old truth that sports do not like forecasts was confirmed at the World Figure Skating Championships in Dortmund. Before the start of the competition, almost all experts, including Russian ones, believed that the “gold” in pair skating would most likely go to the pair from China. Xu Shen and Hongbo Zhao had been in the lead all season and were clearly determined to win.

Afghan President presented with ultimatum Yesterday, mourning prayers were read in one of the largest mosques in Kabul in memory of the victims of the bloodshed that occurred on March 21 in the center of the western Afghan province of Herat. In armed clashes between supporters of Herat Governor Ismail Khan and fighters of the 17th government division sent to Herat under the command of Zahir Naibzadeh, about a hundred people were killed.

EU summit strengthens solidarity The declaration on joint actions in the fight against international terrorism was adopted at a two-day meeting of the heads of state and government of the European Union that opened yesterday in Brussels. The document calls for closer cooperation in information exchange and mutual access to data on terrorist groups. The Declaration also contains a provision on the mutual protection of EU member states from attacks by international terrorism.

Sanitary doctors consider Uralbiopharm guilty of contaminating the kindergarten The State Sanitary and Epidemiological Supervision Service of the Sverdlovsk Region found the Uralbiopharm enterprise guilty of “polluting kindergarten No. 261” in Yekaterinburg. Let us remind you that at the end of February, 42 children were poisoned after walking along the kindergarten playground, where the snow turned out to be yellow.

The “victim” of Governor Butov admitted to the slander The Petrograd District Court of St. Petersburg yesterday began hearings in the case of the Governor of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Vladimir Butov. On the very first day of the trial, it became clear that the head of the district would most likely not be convicted. The policeman, whom investigators accuse Mr. Butov of beating, yesterday retracted his testimony, saying that he slandered the governor in order to avoid punishment.

Premiere at the Ikshansky juvenile colony Immediately after the performance, a press conference began in the club of the Ikshansky correctional colony. The colonist actors, inspired by the attention of the public and warmed up by their participation in the theatrical action, willingly answered questions from journalists. Their eyes sparkled - boys who had done an important, good deed, they rejoiced at the well-deserved praise and, perhaps for the first time in their lives, felt like heroes.

Arkhangelsk and Ryazan elect governors On Sunday, the second round of gubernatorial elections will be held in the Ryazan and Arkhangelsk regions. To win, candidates only need a simple majority of votes. Moreover, in both regions, it is quite possible that there will be a change of power, which will confirm the emerging trend of voters becoming “tired” of the current regional leaders who have been in office for a long time.

As soon as the situation around Adjara has calmed down, new shocks await Georgia - parliamentary elections will be held on Sunday. The leader of the opposition Union of Traditionalists, parliamentarian Akaki ASATIANI, told Mikhail VIGNANSKY, a correspondent for the Vremya Novostei newspaper in Tbilisi, about his understanding of the political situation in the country. —What can you say about President Mikheil Saakashvili’s policy towards Adjara?

The government has decided on oil prices and the number of deputy ministers Yesterday the government basically approved the scenario conditions for economic development for 2005-2007, on the basis of which a forecast of the country's socio-economic development will be developed, and then the budget for next year.

Yesterday, the Russian Foreign Ministry sharply condemned the lawlessness in Kosovo and called on the world community to take the “most stringent measures” to suppress hotbeds of violence, to ensure reliable protection of the civilian population and to strictly implement the requirements of the UN Security Council regarding the principles of the Kosovo settlement, primarily resolution No. 1244.

Pensioners are promised cash instead of a social package The unpopular reforms, the imminence of which Vladimir Putin warned at his first meeting with the government after the elections, seem to begin even faster than expected by political scientists who advised the president to take advantage of the credit of popular trust received on March 14 to eliminate old imbalances in the economy.

The winner of the parliamentary elections in Georgia is known in advance On Sunday, March 28, early parliamentary elections will be held in Georgia. The opposition declared the voting results of November 2 last year falsified. This led to mass protests, the “Rose Revolution” and the resignation of Eduard Shevardnadze. On Sunday, 14 parties and five blocs will compete for 150 seats exclusively on party lists. To get into parliament, you need to overcome the seven percent barrier.