This week the Russian flag will be raised again in Turin. On March 10, the Paralympic Games begin, which are traditionally held after the “big” Olympics. The President of the Russian Paralympic Committee, Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation Vladimir LUKIN spoke about the preparation of our team for these competitions in an interview with Vremya Novostey correspondent Andrei VDOVINA.

Three skiers won the cup start The ordinary stage of the World Cup, which took place last weekend in the Norwegian town of Kvitfjell, will forever go down in the history of not only alpine skiing, but also the entire world sport. The results of the women's super-G competition turned out to be unique: three participants showed the same time, down to hundredths of a second, and all of them were recognized as winners.

The US-Japan alliance is falling apart The world's largest automobile manufacturer General Motors Corp. decided to abandon its participation in the Japanese corporation Suzuki Motor Corp. As the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported yesterday, the American corporation will sell a 20 percent stake in the Japanese concern. The approximate value of the transaction is estimated at $2.33 billion. Nothing is known about potential buyers yet.

Last year's worst films get their due The Razzie Awards, celebrating “the most inglorious moments of the cinematic year” (its name comes from the English word raspberry, “raspberry”, which is a rough analogue of our “spreading cranberries”), appeared in the Hollywood area a quarter of a century ago - in 1981 in In Los Angeles, at the instigation of John Wilson, the worst films of the year were honored for the first time.

Ukraine closed borders to Transnistria A conflict is brewing between Ukraine and Transnistria over new customs rules. From March 3, Transnistrian goods are allowed into the territory of Ukraine only with customs clearance from Moldova. “Ukraine has moved away from the basic principles of a mediator and guarantor state of the negotiation process, adopting the position of one of the conflicting parties,” the Foreign Ministry of the unrecognized Transnistrian Republic said in a statement.

The pre-election situation in Belarus remains tense. On Friday it became known that a criminal case had been opened against presidential candidate Alexander Kazulin on suspicion of hooliganism. Let us recall that on February 17, the politician intended to hold a press conference at the national press center. He managed to get there only after a small scuffle with the special forces officers who surrounded the building.

Ekaterinburg orphanages are taught how to repeat the successes of famous orphans A guide to surviving without government support will be given to Ekaterinburg orphans as a graduation gift. Recently, in the Middle Urals, work was completed on the preparation of the book “I’ll Do It Myself,” the materials for which were prepared by the orphanage residents themselves.

Chinese authorities promised to help peasants The annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC) began in Beijing yesterday. Premier Wen Jiabao read a two-hour report on the work of the government to three thousand deputies of the Chinese parliament, in which he called for focusing efforts on “building a new socialist village.” The urban-rural divide has become a widening gap between rich and poor in modern China.

Air carriers have their first aircraft The organizers of the DEXTER air taxi project received the first plane last Friday. It is planned to deploy this new service for Russia using six-seat light M-101T aircraft, which are produced by the Nizhny Novgorod Sokol aircraft plant. The plant handed over such a machine to the Avia Management Group (AMG) company, the operator of the DEXTER project, at the Moscow Vnukovo airport.

The Canadian taiga urgently needs an ice age When scientists talk about how the notorious global warming will dramatically change the ecology of the planet, they are usually talking about the difficulties that future generations will face. For example, that the melting of ice will raise the level of the World Ocean and sea waters will flood the coastal lowlands, or that currently quite prosperous territories will turn into arid semi-deserts.

New songs stolen from Guns n'Roses The Guns n'Roses band, which has been in a state close to a coma for the last ten years and fed fans with promises of a new album, will nevertheless return to active activity. According to Universal, the band's record label, Guns n'Roses have been confirmed as headliners at this year's Download festival in England. The festival will take place in Donington Park from 9 to 11 June. It will also feature Metallica, Prodigy, Deftones and Korn.

Hockey. NHL. Regular season.

According to Russian laws, you can head two municipalities at the same time The Law on General Principles of Organization of Local Self-Government officially came into force on January 1, 2006. Since the regions now largely determine the procedure for implementing the law on their territory, some began to prepare for a new “scourge” in advance. For example, in the Moscow region, the regional authorities decided not to rush into creating a new, non-state level of government.

Pumas and armadillos protected the jungle from herbivorous attack Predators are not only valuable fur, but also an important factor in protecting the environment. Ecologist John Terborg from the American Duke University believes that in order to preserve natural vegetation in an ecosystem, it is simply necessary to have a population of carnivorous animals. Without them, it is too difficult for plants to resist the onslaught of herbivorous hordes.

CLUBS Big band of Igor Butman. "Le Club) , 20.30. Anatoly Gerasimov (saxophone) and DJ Yazykov . “Chinese pilot Zhao Da” , 22.00. CONCERTS Festival "Guitar Virtuosos". Dmitry Illarionov (guitar) and Yulia Lanskaya (guitar), accompanied by the New Russia Symphony Orchestra, conductor Evgeny Bushkov , will play Concerto No.