A French film festival is taking place in Moscow The fifth anniversary festival "French Cinema Today", like the four previous ones, has much less to do with cultural phenomena than with propaganda - lifestyle, alcoholic beverages and products of the leading European industry for processing celluloid into net profit.

The number of people diagnosed with gambling is on the rise in Russia Modern life leaves people with no peace. In recent years, such unknown diseases as “manager syndrome” or “chronic fatigue syndrome” have become known in Russian society. Now it turns out that the passion for chips and “one-armed bandits” is already becoming a typical disease for large cities in our country. It is not true that regulars at gambling establishments are rich people who waste extra money.

Vasily Aksenov received the thirteenth Booker Prize for the best novel of the year in Russian The expected happened. The novel “The Voltaireans and the Voltaireans” (“October”, 2004, No. 1--2; book edition - M., “Isographus”, 2004) defeated five strong competitors. The thirteenth Russian booker, laureate of the Booker - Open Russia Prize, was Vasily Aksenov. The award is well deserved.

The clash of interests between Russia and the West in Ukraine is obvious. But will it be possible to harmonize them in the course of the subsequent political development of this country? Rainer LINDNER, one of the leading German experts on Eastern European history, author of the recently published book “Ukraine and Belarus in Transformation,” told Vremya Novostei special correspondent in Berlin Yuri Shpakov about this.

The authorities are not abandoning the “national project” The approaching 2005 promises to be a turning point for Russian mortgages, which this spring were proclaimed one of the “national projects.” Although the consideration of a package of bills on creating an affordable housing market in the Duma is not without difficulties, they will apparently be adopted as a priority.

Leonid Kuchma and Vladimir Putin met on the fly Yesterday, while the Supreme Court of Ukraine continued to discuss the legality of the results of the presidential elections, the country's current president, Leonid Kuchma, urgently arrived in Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin. They met, one might say, on the field - at the Vnukovo-2 government airport before President Putin's flight to India. Although immediately after the second round we agreed to meet in St. Petersburg.

There is intrigue in the Palestinian elections The leader of the radical organization Tanzim, the youth wing of Fatah, 44-year-old Marwan Barghouti is registered as a candidate for the post of head of the Palestinian Authority (elections will take place on January 9, 2005). Since Barghouti, convicted in April 2002 of terrorism, is serving five life sentences in an Israeli prison, his older brother completed all the necessary formalities. Fadwa, the prisoner's wife, helped him in this.

On December 5, in five regions of Russia, people will elect governors for the last time On Sunday, governors will be elected in five Russian regions - Astrakhan, Volgograd, Ulyanovsk, Kurgan regions and Kamchatka. Starting from 2005, governors will be chosen by the president, and then candidates will be submitted to local parliaments for approval.

Latvia will help Georgia and Ukraine join the European Union Yesterday in Latvia, the Seimas approved a new cabinet of ministers under the leadership of Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis, head of the People's Party faction and one of the initiators of the resignation of the previous government at the end of October (the reason was problems with budget approval).

Kazan Ak Bars lost the second match in a row “Dynamo”, “Ak Bars” and the current champion “Avangard” are still solving different tournament problems: the “blue and white” are trying to strengthen their leadership in the regular season, hockey players from the capital of Tatarstan are trying to close the gap in points with them, Omsk is frantically fighting for a place in cherished eight.

The well-known Kyrgyz oppositionist Tursunbek Akunov, whose disappearance shook the entire country, unexpectedly appeared on Wednesday evening at Bishkek City Hospital No. 4 and asked for help. He complained of a severe headache. According to him, for two weeks armed men kept him in the basement, tried to poison him with gas and demanded that he give up political activities.

Russia will make India a partner in space navigation Russian President Vladimir Putin begins a three-day visit to India today. He will begin the program with a meeting with Foreign Minister Natwar Singh. Then he will meet with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, President Abdul Kalam, leader of the Indian National Congress party Sonia Gandhi, and the ministers of defense and oil industry.

FIRST DECEMBER 6, MONDAY 6.00 Good morning 9.00, 12.00, 15.00, 18.00, 3.00 News 9.20 "LIAR, LIAR." Comedy 11.00 Joke after joke 12.10 “WOMEN IN LOVE”. Series 13.10 “BEETHOVEN’S FOURTH”. Comedy 15.20 Guess the melody (S) 15.50 The Last Hero (S) 17.00 Five evenings 18.20 Boom or bust 19.00 “CLONE”. Series 20.00 Wait for me 21.00 Time 21.30 “CHILDREN OF ARBAT”. Series 22.40 “Novels of Matilda Kshesinskaya.” Doc.

Bill Gates figured out where to invest Microsoft funds Microsoft has decided how to manage the money that will remain with the company after paying a record dividend in the history of corporate America - $75 billion over four years. Yesterday, after announcing the payment of $32.6 billion - part of the promised dividends - the corporation's chief financial officer, John Connors, said that Microsoft plans to invest about 70% of its available funds in so-called risky assets.

The NET Festival opened with a performance by Joseph Nudge In one lampshade, as expected, a light bulb is screwed in, and from the other there is a knife hanging from a string. A man sits on a chair and raises his legs so that he is not overwhelmed by the madness that is flooding his room along with the continuously pouring rain (in the soundtrack there is either a monotonous noise or a thunderstorm rumbles somewhere).