British sociologists have calculated a “national malingerer’s day” If in Russia, where every Monday is considered a hard day, absenteeism without a good reason is still considered in most companies and enterprises today as a gross violation of labor legislation, then in the UK employers have to take into account the national characteristics of the psychology of employees.

Our team is counting on gold in figure skating, cross-country skiing and biathlon Only three of our national federations - figure skating, biathlon and cross-country skiing - included winning gold medals in their medal plans for the performance in Turin. That is why it is with these sports, which, together with hockey, that provided Russia with all 13 prizes at the previous 2002 Games in Salt Lake City, that we will begin our forecast for the Olympics below.

The last competitions before the Olympics did not add optimism Early yesterday morning the first group of Russian skiers flew to the Olympic Turin. A little later they will be joined by those athletes who started at the last stage of the World Cup before the Olympics in Davos, Switzerland. True, the results shown by our compatriots there did not add optimism to ski racing fans.

Repsol bought 10% of West Siberian Resources The Spanish-Argentinean Repsol unexpectedly became interested in the Russian oil industry. Yesterday it became known that it is ready to invest $90 million in a small company, West Siberian Resources (WSR), which is developing Russian oil and gas fields. In return, Repsol will receive 10% in WSR with the right to double its stake.

Aeroflot will take foreign cars from its subsidiary Aeroflot has developed a new scheme for purchasing foreign aircraft - leasing aircraft from its own subsidiary. As the specialized news agency Avia-Port reported yesterday, this idea is interconnected with the fleet renewal program of Aeroflot-Nord, based in Arkhangelsk. Aeroflot-Nord last year announced its intention to purchase five Boeing-737-500 aircraft to service its regional route network.

In the case of the collapse of Trasvaal Park, the court did not find specific charges The Cheryomushkinsky Court of Moscow yesterday returned the case of the collapse of the Transvaal Park dome in Yasenevo to the city prosecutor’s office “to eliminate significant shortcomings.” Thus, the court agreed with the arguments of the defense of both defendants - chief designer Nodar Kancheli and head of Mosgosexpertiza Anatoly Voronin - that there are indeed shortcomings in the case.

Chelsea turns the lead into an abyss On Sunday, almost the central match of the 25th round took place at London's Stamford Bridge stadium - Chelsea and Liverpool played. Recently, the paths of the “blues” and “reds” have crossed quite often. Moreover, Liverpool succeeds in Champions League matches - the powerful attack of the Londoners was unable to score a single goal in 360 minutes. But in the Premier League, Chelsea invariably prevails.

Russian-Ukrainian gas agreements are becoming overgrown with scandalous details Ukrainian ministers seem to have finally fallen out with each other over the essence of the gas agreements signed with Russia. According to the Kyiv weekly Zerkalo Nedeli, some key ministers did not participate in agreeing on the conditions set out in the agreements between Gazprom, Naftogaz and RosUkrEnergo.

A propaganda campaign has begun in Ukraine In Ukraine, the campaign campaign of parties and blocs participating in the parliamentary elections, which will take place on March 26, officially began yesterday. The right to speak first went to the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (BYuT).

Corporate scandals in recent years involving fraud by top management of corporations around the world are increasingly becoming public knowledge. The losses from the activities of unscrupulous managers are too great - just remember the story of Enron, Worldcom or the recent scandal with the Italian Parmalat. And in Russian practice this happens. At the same time, to resolve their commercial disputes, more and more Russian business structures are turning to the courts of foreign jurisdictions.

It is impossible to refuse Today in Tashkent there will be a meeting between the President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov and the Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Nikolai Bordyuzha. General Bordyuzha is accompanied by representatives of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense.

On the last day of January, the American newspaper Wall Street Journal published an article by the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Nino Burjanadze, devoted to criticism of the new Russian security doctrine (in presenting it, Ms. Speaker relied on an article by Sergei Ivanov, published in the same newspaper on January 11).

The accused in the “Khlebnikov case” complains that he is being kept in a torture chamber The defense of one of the defendants in the case of the murder of American journalist Paul Klebnikov - Moscow notary Fail Sadretdinov - today intends to submit an appeal to the special rapporteur of the UN Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Other Inhuman Treatment. As his lawyers said yesterday, their client has already spent a whole week in a cell with conditions close to a punishment cell.

Akhmed Zakayev is recalled home from Europe The Minister of Culture of the so-called government of Ichkeria (in fact, the Chechen separatist government in exile) Akhmed Zakayev, whose extradition the Russian Prosecutor General's Office unsuccessfully sought over the past three years from the authorities of Denmark, Great Britain and Germany, may be recalled from Europe by his immediate superiors.

The “Golden Calf” is cursed far and wide I don’t remember a single television event that the media booed with such unanimity. Everyone attacked Ulyana Shilkina’s series; This is exactly how Ostap himself was torn to shreds by the Romanian border guards at the end of the novel (Chapter XXXVI). The only difference is that the “damned Siguranza” eventually received tangible benefits.