In the Kaliningrad region, people do not want to take leadership positions in local governments On August 29, in the westernmost region of Russia - the Kaliningrad region - the deadline for submitting applications for the post of one of 14 local heads and 150 deputies of first-level municipalities in three districts - Gvardeysky, Zelenogradsky and Pravdinsky. Elections are due to take place on October 9. But they may not happen.

Court hearings in the case of a house explosion have begun in Arkhangelsk Yesterday, preliminary hearings began in the Arkhangelsk Regional Court in the case of the explosion of a nine-story residential building that occurred on the night of March 16 last year, which killed 58 people.

Captured by American troops on December 14, 2003, ex-Iraqi President Saddam Hussein masters the genre of pretentious letters from the dungeon where the 68-year-old politician languishes awaiting trial. Saddam said he was ready to “sacrifice himself and his family” for the “good of the Arab nation, including our beloved Palestine and the resilient, beloved but unfortunate Iraq.” Yesterday his letter was published by the Jordanian newspapers Al-Dustur and Al-Arab al-Yaum.

Five teenagers were convicted of murder and inciting national hatred in Surgut Yesterday, the court of the city of Surgut, Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug, sentenced five skinheads accused of three murders and inciting hatred. Young people, united by the idea of ​​white supremacy and intolerance towards representatives of Caucasian nationalities, received eight and a half to nine years in prison.

The 1968 invasion was a 'stupid act' The 82-year-old former Minister of Defense of the Polish People's Republic and its last president, Wojciech Jaruzelski, repented to the Czechs and Slovaks. This happened during discussions on Czech television dedicated to the events of 37 years ago - on August 21, 1968, countries participating in the Warsaw Pact Organization (WTO) launched a military invasion of Czechoslovakia.

Maria Sharapova was first, but may lose her lead this week The Women's Tennis Association has published new rankings. In the singles classification, which takes into account the 17 best tournament results over the last 52 weeks, first place for the first time in history is occupied by a representative of our country - Maria Sharapova.

Benedict XVI ended up in Cologne by the will of his predecessor The tradition of holding World Youth Days was introduced in 1984 by Pope John Paul II. Then 300 thousand pilgrims gathered on Palm Sunday (Catholics call it Palm Sunday) in St. Peter's Square in Rome, and the Pope personally led a prayer service in the Colosseum at a simple wooden cross. The next year, 1985, the UN declared the Year of Youth, and from that moment on, World Catholic Youth Day began to be held regularly.

Two days before the publication of the decree “On the establishment of grants from the President of the Russian Federation in the field of theatrical art,” Vladimir Putin discussed it with theater workers. Everyone warmly approved the presidential initiative. Oleg Tabakov tried to blurt out “yes, but...” and talk about the troubles of the provincial theater, but his colleagues did not support the conversation. They give it - take it.

In Moscow they considered it belated President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko yesterday personally intervened in the heated debate that flared up in Kyiv regarding the prospects for his country's participation in the creation of the Common Economic Space.

Russians confuse the effectiveness of governors with their showiness The All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VTsIOM) decided to find out which of the current governors Russians consider the most effective. It turned out that the effectiveness rating of regional leaders directly depends on their popularity and the scale of political activity. Sociologists asked Russians four questions.

Sheikh Hasher al-Maktoum is ready to eclipse Formula 1 Exactly one month remains until the start of the fundamentally new A1 racing series, the organizers of which, not without good reason, hope that it will become a completely worthy competitor to the Formula 1 world championship. Official practice for the first stage of the 2005 A1 Grand Prix will take place on September 23 at the Brand Hutch circuit, 32 kilometers southeast of London.

Football. French Championship. 4th round. Bordeaux - Monaco - 1:0, Metz - Strasbourg - 0:0, Ajaccio - Le Mans - 0:0, Nice - Nantes " - 1:1, Sochaux - Lille - 0:0, Lyon - Nancy - 1:0, Lens - Auxerre - 7:0, " Rennes - Marseille - 3:2, Toulouse - Saint-Etienne - 1:1, Troyes - Paris Saint-Germain - 1:1. The leaders are: PSG, Lyon - ten points each, Lens, Bordeaux - nine points each. The leader of the French championship, Paris Saint-Germain, lost its first points in the championship.

Irenaeus does not want to give in to Theophilus Yesterday in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem the name of the new Patriarch of Jerusalem was announced. He became the 55-year-old Archbishop Theophilus of Tabor. The Holy Synod was convened especially for this purpose. All 14 members of the Synod unanimously voted for the candidacy of Archbishop Theophilos. The Russian Orthodox Church was represented by the head of the Russian Spiritual Mission in the Holy Land, Archimandrite Elisha.

Viktor Khristenko sent a Ukrainian delegation to Gazprom The team formed by Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko to resolve gas issues with Russia yesterday held the first round of negotiations in Moscow. The three-hour conversation with Russian Minister of Industry and Energy Viktor Khristenko ended disappointingly for the Kyiv guests, as expected.

Departments Within five years, a departmental Intranet network will be created in the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs system. The head of the logistics department of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Alexander Kruglov, announced this at a briefing in Moscow.