Southern Russia attacked by Hurricane Fion The authorities of almost all regions of southern Russia yesterday began calculating the damage from a powerful hurricane that raged on their territory, as soon as it became clear, since March 4. The consequences of the hurricane turned out to be so large-scale that local rescuers, following the example of their American colleagues, even gave it their own name - “Fion”.

Chisinau and Kyiv claim that Tiraspol carved itself Ukraine and Moldova have headed for the economic isolation of Transnistria. This statement was made yesterday by Ambassador at Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry Valery Kenyaykin. He headed the Russian interdepartmental group, which, on March 7-9, studied the situation in the region after the decision made by Kiev on March 3 not to allow Transnistrian cargo through the Ukrainian border without customs clearance from the Republic of Moldova.

“Eclipse” on the stage of Lenkom Should I play Ken Kesey now? The sixties are far away, even further away are the American sixties. The beatniks, who proposed too simple solutions to complex problems (let's free a person - and quickly, and the quickest way to snatch him out of an oppressive society is with the help of LSD and magic mushrooms) is already ancient history.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's two-day visit to Algeria begins today. It is expected that as a result of negotiations with Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 14 intergovernmental agreements may be signed, including a contract for the supply of combat aircraft, anti-aircraft missile systems and tanks worth $4 billion. There is also the problem of settling Algeria’s debt to Moscow, amounting to about 4.5 billion dollars.

David Blatt officially became the new head coach of the Russian men's basketball team yesterday. Thus, the Israeli became the first foreign coach of the Russian team in the history of basketball. The contract with Blatt will be valid until the end of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and if the Russian team does not qualify for Euro 2007 or the 2008 Olympics, the Russian Basketball Federation has the right to terminate it. Ilya TRISVIATSKY

On March 7, FSB officers in Moscow again detained Ravil Gumarov, one of the so-called “Russian Taliban” who were once captured by US intelligence services in Afghanistan and held at the Guantanamo Bay military base in Cuba. All the “Russian Taliban” were extradited to Russia several years ago, but here they were soon released due to lack of evidence of guilt.

The Arabs could seize the US sea gates The Appropriations Committee of the US House of Representatives voted against the transfer of a number of American ports to the control of a company based in the Emirate of Dubai (UAE). Republicans, who make up the majority on the committee, refused to support the position of their fellow party member and the country's President George W. Bush.

OPEC is not going to reduce production despite falling demand At the session of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) held in Vienna on Wednesday, the cartel ministers decided not to reduce the current quotas for raw material production, maintaining them at the level of 28 million barrels per day. As a result, oil prices on the New York stock exchange fell below $60 per barrel.

Mikhail Fradkov threatened ministers with taking away their portfolios for high inflation After the president criticized the government for its inability to cope with inflation, Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov decided that it was time for ministers to become responsible. “We accepted all the documents. We must carry out what we set out to do. It is necessary that the gap between words and deeds be minimal.

The state is going to catch terrorists with the money of businessmen At the first meeting of the National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC), held on Tuesday, FSB Director Nikolai Patrushev, who headed the new structure, stated the need to find “new methods of combating terrorism” and promised to “involve all available resources of society and the state in anti-terrorism activities.” With state resources, everything is obvious: allocations for anti-terrorism activities are naturally provided for in

The US State Department criticizes Moscow for excessive centralization of power The recently published US State Department report on the human rights situation in the world over the past year turned out to be much harsher for Russia than the previous year. The document, which assesses the situation in this area in approximately 200 countries around the world, devotes more than a hundred pages to Russia.

A collection of works by academician Panchenko has been published Alexander Mikhailovich Panchenko (1937-2002) by the end of his life gained not only the status of an academician, the respect of his colleagues, but also quite wide fame. The television programs that he hosted occupied both ignorant people (but eager for “antiques” and wanting to know “the whole truth” about past affairs!), and a generally literate public, and sophisticated professionals.

An active cyclone is rushing to European territory from the south; its arrival in the center of Russia is expected over the weekend; it will bring increased temperatures and precipitation. And in the northwest, under the influence of the Scandinavian anticyclone, the weather will remain cold, and the influence of the southern cyclone will be small. On March 10, there is light snow in places in the northwestern regions, January cold at night, -12...-15°C, and -5...-10°C during the day.

China accuses US of human rights violations Yesterday, the press office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China published the report "Human Rights in the United States in 2005." The official Chinese news agency Xinhua explained that this document is a response to “baseless accusations against China” by the US State Department. This is the seventh “counter argument” from Beijing, which usually appears the day after the release of a US human rights report.

The “Modern City” Foundation is afraid of “Echelon” On one screen, an endless chain of trucks loaded with huge bales breaks through the bloody dawn, on the opposite screen, cars with the same cargo rush through a snowstorm. In the next room there is a video projection on the floor: right under your feet, the hatch of the plane opens, and down, onto the green sea of ​​forests, fields and vegetable gardens striped by roads, a familiar bale flies, shrinking before your eyes.