German sailors are preparing to be sent to Lebanon The German Bundestag will decide on Tuesday and Wednesday next week on the use of German armed forces abroad. If parliamentarians in Berlin give their blessing to a German soldier to march outside Germany, both decisions taken this week by Angela Merkel's government will be approved.

Fourteen people were injured as a result of the collapse of spectator seats at a circus in Cherepovets on Wednesday evening. According to the city department of the Civil Defense and Emergency Situations, the incident occurred at the Shapito-Aqua circus, which came on tour from Ivanovo. At about 19.30, immediately after the intermission, when spectators began to take their seats, one of the sectors with wooden benches, on which there were several dozen people, suddenly collapsed.

The majority of Russians believe that ethnic clashes could happen again anywhere Events in the Karelian town of Kondopoga attracted the close attention of most Russians. In their opinion, what happened in Kondopoga could happen anywhere at any time. Moreover, similar or similar clashes have occurred more than once.

Pridnestrovians choose between Russia and Moldova The day after tomorrow, a significant event will take place in the former post-Soviet space - a referendum on independence will be held in the unrecognized republic of Transnistria, the preparation for which has already caused protests in Moldova.

During the time of US President Bill Clinton, American journalists did not have to look for characters for tabloid reports. The bubbly Clinton masterfully bridged the private and the public as his friend Monica's famous blue dress made its way from the Oval Office to the congressional impeachment hearings. Democrats were replaced in power by Republicans, and the figure of the US President left the gossip columns.

Chronicle of sporting events The Russian women's team defeated the Chinese team in the second round of the first group stage of the World Championship in Brazil - 88:66. A few minutes before the big break, the Chinese were in the lead by four to six points, but their opponents went to rest with the score tied. In the third period, head coach Igor Grudin's charges began to sharply move forward.

Futures for Russian oil will be quoted in New York this year This year, the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) is going to launch trading in futures contracts for the Russian oil blend REBCO (Russian export blend crude oil) - as Urals will be called in America. As NYMEX Executive Director James Oliver told Interfax yesterday, trading will be conducted electronically on FOB (free on board) terms with delivery at the port of Primorsk.

No one has ever seen the killers of Andrei Kozlov Andrei Kozlov, seriously wounded on Wednesday evening, died early yesterday morning in the 33rd City Clinical Hospital of Moscow. As soon as he was taken to the intensive care unit around 10 pm on Wednesday, doctors began performing an operation that lasted several hours. However, doctors were unable to save Mr. Kozlov; he died at about 5.30 am. The cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head.

Poland will increase its military presence in Afghanistan tenfold. Minister of National Defense Radoslaw Sikorski, who is in the United States as part of the delegation of Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, said: “There are 100 Polish troops in Afghanistan. In February 2007 their number will exceed 1000 people.

Andrei Kozlov became a victim of banking reform The murder of First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank Andrei Kozlov caused a unanimous reaction. This crime is a turning point in the development of the banking system, a challenge not only to the Central Bank as the regulator of the banking sector, but also to the entire system of government.

The leaders of the European aerospace concern opposed the arrival of Russian structures in their capital The management of the European aerospace holding EADS does not intend to allow Russian shareholders to manage the group. This joint statement was made yesterday in Paris by the co-chairs of the EADS board of directors, Manfred Bischoff and Arnaud Lagardère.

Lokomotiv's victory was the only one for Russian clubs in Europe This European Cup week turned out to be unsuccessful for Russian football. After the defeat of Spartak and a strained draw by CSKA in the Champions League, Rubin lost to Parma in the first round of the UEFA Cup - 0:1. And only Lokomotiv managed to defeat the modest Belgian club Zulte Waregem - 2:1. Beating a team that is currently in fifteenth place in the Belgian championship is no great feat.

CSKA failed to score against Porto, but did not lose Russian CSKA still managed to make a successful start in the Champions League. Valery Gazzaev's team can consider a 0:0 draw on a foreign field with the Portuguese "Porto" a successful start. But it will be more difficult. And, most importantly, if the army team seriously expects to advance from the group, they need to score.

Brussels will measure the performance of pipelines on the borders of Ukraine Yesterday's visit of Prime Minister of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych to Brussels for negotiations with the leadership of the European Union and NATO only partially realized Kyiv's dreams of European and Euro-Atlantic integration, laid down in the compromise between all political forces of the country in the Universal National Unity of Ukraine of August 3.

Government officials and entrepreneurs disagree on economic growth Automotive and aircraft manufacturing, nuclear energy and the food industry, along with oil, gas, and non-ferrous metallurgy, should become priority sectors for economic growth. This was discussed yesterday by the participants of the II Economic Forum “The Phenomenon of the New Economy: Macroeconomic and Tax Factors of Growth”, held in Perm. However, in the new economy there is practically no room for reducing the tax burden.