German Gref will divide the state border between the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade and the FSB Customs will be separated from business structures - in full accordance with the instructions of the president, expressed in a harsh form last Monday. This decision was made by the government yesterday at its regular meeting. The “divorce” process will be handled by the Minister of Economic Development and Trade German Gref.

Government approves expenses for witness protection The state intends to spend nearly a billion rubles on witness protection in the next three years. Yesterday it became known that Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov approved the state program “Ensuring the safety of victims, witnesses and other participants in criminal proceedings for 2006-2008” worth 948.72 million rubles. These funds will be used to protect and relocate witnesses, replace their documents, change their appearance, etc.

Gas supplies to Ukraine halved As Vremya Novostey learned, the exclusive seller of imported gas to Ukraine, RosUkrEnergo, has reduced gas supplies to this country by 50% since April 10. The reason for the restriction was total non-payments on the part of Naftogaz of Ukraine. Now only the joint venture of RUE and Naftogaz, Ukrgazenergo, receives Central Asian gas. Gazprom and Naftogaz could not be reached for comment on what happened yesterday.

The Irkutsk region is preparing to grow into an autonomous okrug On Sunday, April 16, a referendum on the merger of regions will be held in the Irkutsk region and the Ust-Orda Buryat Autonomous Okrug (UBAO). For the plebiscite to be considered valid, at least 50% of those who came to the polling stations must answer affirmatively. And the turnout itself must be at least half of the list of voters. The issue of unification with UOBAO is fatal for Irkutsk governors.

Prose version of La Traviata at the Golden Mask The big question is where would the consumptive lady with camellias live if she lived in our time? St. Petersburg director Yuri Alexandrov believes that on the side of the highway, where characters in miniskirts and fishnet tights gather at night. We have to listen to this opinion. Firstly, because Alexandrov occupies quite a serious position in Russian opera directing.

The same prime minister will remain in Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, who retained the post of President of Belarus, began yesterday to form a new government team. The former one was dismissed on April 8, the day of the inauguration of the head of state, as required by the country's constitution. The outcome of the question of the head of the cabinet did not bring any surprises. Alexander Lukashenko proposed retaining the post of prime minister for 52-year-old Sergei Sidorsky.

Igor Linshits Bank awaits liquidation Neftyanoy Bank has almost completely curtailed its activities, and soon its shareholders will officially decide on liquidation. News agencies reported this yesterday, citing sources in the bank. The voluntary liquidation of Neftyanoy will be the logical outcome of the scandal surrounding the bank’s owner, Igor Linshits, who was accused of illegal banking transactions and put on the wanted list.

Tulitsa buys European champions The leaders of the women's volleyball club "Tulitsa", which was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs of the Russian championship, are thinking about the next season. According to Polish media reports, Tulica has already entered into an agreement with two 2005 European champions, Małgorzata Hlinka and Joanna Mirek.

The noise of Iranian centrifuges drowned out the voice of the head of the IAEA Reports from Iran about the stunning successes of the national nuclear industry have forced the world community to think about reciprocal steps. Simply waiting for the next meeting of the UN Security Council, which will take place in about two weeks, means allowing Tehran to finally seize the initiative. Diplomats from the great powers decided to meet in Russia, which the West believes still has leverage over Iran.

School exam schedule published The Ministry of Education and Science has set dates for the unified state exam for graduates of 2006. As Viktor Bolotov, head of the Federal Service for Supervision of Education and Science, announced at a press conference yesterday, school exams will be held from May 19 to June 13.

The United States does not trust the ability of the Russian authorities to protect intellectual property Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization is facing ever new obstacles. The United States, dissatisfied with the way copyright is protected in Russia, is again threatening to block our country's entry into the international trade club.

Yesterday the Georgian parliament ratified an agreement with Russia on the withdrawal of military bases during 2008. At the origins of this agreement, which is called historic in Georgia, was Salome ZURABISHVILI, who scandalously resigned as Foreign Minister in October last year due to a conflict with President Mikheil Saakashvili’s entourage. Today she is the leader of the opposition party “Georgia’s Way” and one of the country’s highest-rated politicians.

And freed the Turkmen prisoner of conscience Turkmen authorities released 64-year-old Gurbandurdy Durdykuliev from a psychiatric clinic, recognized by Amnesty International (AI) as a prisoner of conscience. According to AI, this happened two days ago in response to an appeal from 54 US senators and congressmen sent on April 4 to Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov. Mr. Durdykuliev is little known outside his country.

The “Orange” coalition legalized relations Ukraine will be governed by the “orange” majority in the Rada. Yesterday, the presidential bloc “Our Ukraine”, the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (BYuT) and the Socialist Party signed a protocol on the procedure for forming a coalition of democratic forces. Two more parties that were included in the Rada - the Party of Regions and the Communist Party - will remain in opposition.

Instead of refusing to participate, Kuznetsova defeated her opponent At the BTA first category women's tournament with a prize fund of $1.34 million in Charleston (USA), three Russian tennis players reached the 1/8 finals. If Dinara Safina had to upset her compatriot Vera Zvonareva a day earlier in the second round, then Nadezhda Petrova and Svetlana Kuznetsova, who had higher seeding numbers, knocked out their foreign rivals from the fight.