Unified exam postponed until 2009 The Russian government made concessions to the rector corps. Yesterday, at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers, it was decided to postpone the date of universal introduction of the unified state exam, from 2008 to 2009. It is expected that during this additional year it will be possible to improve the control tests, the quality of which is being complained about by higher education leaders.

Olympic champion in the long jump and bronze medalist of the Athens Games in the triple jump, Russian Tatyana Lebedeva won a gold medal at the European Championships in Gothenburg in a fierce struggle. The European title was absent from the collection of the famous Volgograd woman.

On June 23, 1985, an Air India Boeing 747 exploded over the Atlantic, flying from Montreal to Bombay with stops in London and Delhi. All 329 people on board the plane were killed. Sikh extremists were blamed for the attack, but a trial in Canada ended in the acquittal of the suspects due to lack of evidence. On December 21, 1988, a Pan American Boeing 747-121 crashed near the Scottish town of Lockerbie after a bomb exploded on board. 270 people died, including 11 Lockerbie residents.

German Gref told everything about the Russian venture company, except its origin The mystery regarding which company will be transformed into the Russian Venture Company (RVC, a joint-stock company with 100 percent state participation) has not yet been revealed. At yesterday's government meeting, the author of the idea, Minister of Economic Development and Trade German Gref, only made a reservation that the parent company had undergone a serious audit.

In exactly three weeks the grand opening of the White Olympics will take place in Turin. Now not only the athletes have entered the decisive phase of preparation for the Winter Games, but also the organizers, who were suddenly faced with the need to resolve specific issues. The Olympic torch relay, passing through European cities, was attacked by anti-globalists. In Venice, demonstrators threw eggs at the bus accompanying the torchbearers.

Tokyo police announced yesterday that they had sent a request to the prosecutor's office to investigate the involvement in industrial espionage of former employees of the Nikon Corporation and the Russian trade mission in Japan. Their names are not given, but their ages are indicated - 47 and 35 years old. The Russian has already left the Land of the Rising Sun.

Alcohol market participants are ready to sue the FSB The crisis in the alcohol market, which the government has not yet been able to resolve, despite the presence of a circle of culprits formally defined at the end of July in an official letter from the White House, including five departments (Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, Ministry of Agriculture, Federal Customs Service, FSB), seems likely to move into the judicial stage .

In Ingushetia, an attempt was made on the prosecutor of the Nazran region A wave of terrorist attacks and assassination attempts on the heads of security forces hit the North Caucasus.

Gazprom monopolizes exports The entry into force of the law “On Gas Export,” which was signed by the Russian President immediately after the end of the G8 summit in St. Petersburg, caused the expected commotion at the border. As Vremya Novostei learned, the Federal Customs Service sent notices to companies exporting liquefied hydrocarbon gases (LPG) that, due to a change in legislation, this activity is subject to licensing.

In Russia, just like in England and the USA, safety standards have been tightened A large-scale terrorist attack, foiled yesterday at London's Heathrow Airport, slightly disrupted the schedule of Russian airlines flying to the UK. At the same time, British Airways flights to Moscow were canceled yesterday. The Russian Ministry of Transport recommended that all airports in the country carefully inspect the luggage and hand luggage of passengers.

Precious metals quotes do not react to any events Yesterday there was concern on world commodity markets caused by the situation at British Heathrow Airport, but the price of gold, as in recent days, remained stable. The evening fix in London was set at $644.75 per ounce, which is $4.25 less than on August 9. In the first days of August, the price fluctuated around $637 per ounce, and in early July - $622 per ounce.

The Ministry of Finance will help active regions The Ministry of Finance has determined the criteria on the basis of which next year the regions will receive financial assistance from the federal center. As Deputy Finance Minister Anton Siluanov explained yesterday, transfers will reward those who energetically collect taxes and smartly reduce accounts payable. The volume of interbudgetary transfers to the regions next year will amount to almost 600 billion rubles.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz agreed to the US administration's proposal to delay the start of a large-scale offensive by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in southern Lebanon. According to Washington, the active advance of the Israelis deep into Lebanese territory will disrupt the efforts of the UN Security Council to adopt a compromise version of the Middle East resolution.

Russian Evgenia Isakova sensationally won the 400 m hurdles. This gold medal was the first award in the collection of the 28-year-old Russian athlete. After the final race, Vremya Novostey correspondent Olga ERMOLINA spoke with Evgenia ISAKOVA. — Evgenia, what were you aiming for at this championship? - I felt that I could run out of 54 seconds, it was within my power. I hoped that I would have a chance to win. But I didn’t fully believe it.

A new way to control convicts will appear in Russia Convicts will now be monitored using special electronic bracelets. This was stated yesterday by the director of the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) Yuri Kalinin. According to him, the experiment will begin in September in the Moscow and Ryazan regions, as well as in the Perm Territory.