Gazprom is selecting the keys to the Italian market through negotiations with competitors The head of Gazprom, Alexey Miller, made a short visit to Italy. On Friday, he held talks with the heads of the country's three largest energy companies - Eni, Enel and Edison. The Russian monopolist is looking for an opportunity to enter the most attractive retail gas and electricity market in Europe.

Evgeny Giner and Alexey Fedorychev quarreled at an alcohol company The second round of the Russian Football Championship is almost over - all that remains is today for Krylya Sovetov to play against Rubin. But it’s not the events on the football fields that are now worrying club leaders: a scandal is breaking out in Russian football, which over time could become, if not one of the largest in the history of the Russian Football Premier League, then certainly one of the most protracted.

Bayer Corporation became the buyer of the Schering concern The story of the hostile takeover of the Berlin pharmaceutical concern Schering by its direct competitor, Darmstadt-based Merck, received an unexpected ending at the end of last week. The chemical and pharmaceutical corporation Bayer from Leverkusen intervened, declaring its readiness to pay 16.3 billion euros for 100% of Schering's assets. Merck offered 14.6 billion euros, considering this a good amount.

The European territory of Russia will be under the heel of an anticyclone, the center of which is located in the north of the Caspian Sea. However, a powerful cyclonic whirlwind is approaching from the Atlantic, which will gradually displace its rival. With southwestern winds prevailing in the front part of the cyclone, long-awaited warmth will come to the middle zone and northwest. The warm atmospheric front of the cyclone will pass through the northwestern region, center and Middle Volga.

Iranians have time before the summit in St. Petersburg A new scandal has erupted around the Iranian nuclear issue. This time, the countries mediating in its solution are quarreling. The British newspaper The Times posted on its website a letter that allegedly came from the British Foreign Office and became known due to an “information leak.” The author of the document is John Sawyers, Director General of Political Affairs at the British Foreign Office.

All of Scotland was banned from smoking yesterday Last weekend brought radical changes to the lives of Scots. From six in the morning on the weekend (for some reason it was decided to start a new life in Scotland on the weekend), a ban on smoking in so-called enclosed spaces is introduced here. These are not only educational institutions and offices, not only democratic pubs, but also private clubs.

In Russia, a strange, although quite logical for the vector of the country’s development, is gradually taking shape, a symbiosis of the Soviet and Western system of managing big-time sports. On the one hand, specialized federations for sports have private sponsors, just like in the Western world. On the other hand, the leadership of these public organizations is increasingly being taken over by people who have certain political connections and are embedded in the system of state power.

Recently, a truce declared by the Basque separatist group ETA (Basque Homeland and Freedom) came into force in Spain. Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said that if the promise of peace turns out to be genuine, the government will begin negotiations with the group in the coming months. In the past, ETA has repeatedly declared a truce, but each time it has violated it.

For the last time, Kaliningrad residents were allowed to import cars from abroad on preferential terms In the westernmost Russian region, an auction has been announced to trade quotas for the import of cars from abroad. The auction will take place for the last time in mid-April. Residents of the Kaliningrad region will no longer be able to import cars into the region on preferential terms. For many Kaliningrad residents, the automobile business has long become a familiar activity.

The poker of striker Alves de Assis Silva, or simply JO, allowed CSKA to defeat Yaroslavl Shinnik. The Brazilian forward not only helped his team take first place in the Russian Championship after two rounds, but also single-handedly led the scorers' race. After the game with Yaroslavl, Jo received a lot of attention from the press.

The Pentagon revealed who deceived Saddam Russia has rejected claims by the US Department of Defense that Moscow allegedly provided former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein with information about US invasion plans. But US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday that she would definitely raise the issue with the Russian leadership. The US Joint Forces Command released a report entitled Project Iraq Prospects.

In the unrecognized republic of Abkhazia, the first large-scale exercises this year with the participation of four thousand military personnel and reservists have completed. The maneuvers were carried out in the Gulripsha region, outside the area of ​​responsibility of the CIS Collective Peacekeeping Forces.

AvtoVAZ shares rose sharply on good news AvtoVAZ shares rose sharply last Friday: on the RTS, preferred securities rose by 9.7%, ordinary securities by 10.8%. During the session, both of them rose in price by 14%; they even had to stop trading for an hour.

Stephane Lambiel became two-time world champion The World Figure Skating Championships have ended in Calgary, Canada. The current world champion, Swiss Stephane Lambiel, defended his title, becoming its two-time winner. In the women's tournament, 16-year-old American debutante Kimmy Meissner won a sensational victory. In the dance couples competition, for the first time in the history of figure skating, the Bulgarian duet Albena Denkova - Maxim Staviysky deservedly won gold.

Today, the Palestinian Legislative Council must approve the government of the Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS) led by Ismail Hanniyeh. The outcome of the vote is predetermined: Hamas has 74 of the 132 seats in parliament.