ART-Strelka opened another series of exhibitions After the biennale that shook art Moscow, contemporary art returned to its low-budget place. No matter how much we were scared that the center of creative life would move to the Russian capital and not every citizen would be able to withstand this, the world did not turn upside down once again.

AIDS fighters ask for help in terms understandable to the authorities Russia needs a new and fundamentally different program to counter the human immunodeficiency virus, said yesterday the director of the All-Russian Center for the Prevention and Control of AIDS, Vadim Pokrovsky, summing up the results of 2004, which again turned out to be disappointing.

CLUBS Dave Weckl (USA). One of the best fusion drummers, a member of the Chick Corea ensemble, comes to Moscow with his group consisting of: Steve Weingart (piano), Gary Meek (saxophone) and Ric Fierabracci (bass). Weckl works with both jazz and popular musicians. His partners included the Brecker Brothers, George Benson, Diana Ross, Robert Plant, Madonna and others. March 2-5 at Le Club , 20.00.

“There is stagnation in the book market, an oversupply of goods, a drop in sales” - this is the repeatedly expressed opinion of sellers and publishers. “Vremya Novostey” analyzes the state of affairs in the book trade sector, which, despite the general crisis, is actively developing. In the first issue of the “book page” we published ratings of sales of fiction and children’s literature for the past year, provided by two large operators of the book market - the companies “36.6” and “Labyrinth”.

The Accounts Chamber began to report with enviable consistency that it had no major claims against large oil companies. Yesterday, auditor Mikhail Beskhmelnitsyn told Interfax that the completed study of LUKOIL's activities for 2003-2004 did not reveal any serious violations.

The very first match of the season could bring significant income to KDK On the first day of spring, the football season started in Russia. In the first match of the 1/8 finals of the National Cup, Moscow hosted CSKA at the Dynamo Small Sports Arena. The first match of the season was not a success for the "citizens" - Petrakov's team lost with a score of 1:3. Just the day before, the Control and Disciplinary Committee published the price list for the new season.

The ex-president was found guilty again Yesterday, the Lithuanian Court of Appeal made a decision against the country's former president Rolandas Paksas, who was forced to leave office in the spring of 2004 as a result of impeachment. On October 25 last year, the Vilnius District Court acquitted the ex-president of one of the three episodes on the basis of which he was removed from office. This decision has now been revised.

Doctors accused of murder acquitted The Moscow City Court yesterday acquitted four doctors accused of deliberately killing a patient in order to obtain a donor organ. The surgeons of the Moscow Coordination Center for Donation and Reanimatology of the 20th City Hospital, who have shed the label of “killer doctors,” are drinking champagne and celebrating their victory. But the prosecutor's office does not give up and intends to seek annulment of the verdict.

However, Yushchenko chose to remain neutral Yesterday, Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin threw the Ukrainian political establishment into confusion by suddenly landing at Boryspil airport. The initiative for the emergency meeting, to which even journalists did not have time to be invited, came from Mr. Voronin. At least that’s what the press service of Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said yesterday.

The new Housing Code will allow ex-spouses and house management to travel around the world Since yesterday, Russians have been living under the new Housing Code. Providing citizens with housing is no longer the responsibility of the state.

VAT will be reduced to 13% or left unchanged Yesterday, Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov was expected to appear at the annual forum of the all-Russian public organization of small and medium-sized businesses “Support of Russia”. He, alas, did not come, citing being busy. Instead, the Minister of Economic Development and Trade German Gref came to talk to small businesses.

The government is concerned about insurance Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov, speaking yesterday at a conference dedicated to the 170th anniversary of long-term life insurance in Russia, said that the cabinet plans to introduce tax benefits for classic life insurance.

Regional real estate markets are not comparable to Moscow The capital's real estate market remains exceptional even compared to other major industrial centers in the country. Knight Frank specialists came to this conclusion after conducting a study on all real estate sectors in ten Russian cities - Samara, Omsk, Yekaterinburg, Ufa, St. Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Perm, Novosibirsk and Chelyabinsk.

Yuri Luzhkov explained the essence of his claims to the government Sharp criticism of Law 122 on the division of powers between the center and the regions, expressed by Yuri Luzhkov in a letter to the head of state, was rebuffed by the ministers of the economic bloc, but, it seems, was heard by the president.

Lebanese opposition expels president, security forces and Syrians In Lebanon, the “cedar revolution” is rapidly gaining momentum (the Lebanese cedar is the national symbol of the country). The opposition, which forced the pro-Syrian government of Omar Karame to resign with protests on Monday, also demands the resignation of President Emile Lahoud, and at the same time the heads of all security departments.