Russians will take food and cooks with them In Kashira, near Moscow, where a bridge brigade is stationed, fully staffed by contract soldiers, preparations are being completed for sending a Russian battalion to Lebanon. The press service of the rear services of the Armed Forces of the Ministry of Defense told Vremya Novostey that a separate bridge battalion of up to 400 people will be transferred to Lebanon to participate in restoration work.

70 years ago, the most successful cartridge factory in Russia was created One of the most failed branches of the Russian military-industrial complex is the cartridge industry. Only related ammunition fell below: in all hot spots they fired Soviet shells taken from warehouses, without thinking about reproduction. Today, out of six cartridge factories, four are still lying “on their sides”. And only two - Tula and Klimovsky Specialized (KSPZ) - rose.

The new united left party begins to score points The inclusion of the Russian Party of Pensioners in the new alliance of “actual leftists” with the participation of the Party of Life and “Motherland” raised the rating of this alliance, so far tentatively called the “Union of Trust.” The core of the new party's electorate may be pensioners, voters over 60 years of age.

Investigators are looking for clues to the explosion in Krasnogorsk in sewer wells In Krasnogorsk, near Moscow, emergency work continued all day yesterday at the site of a powerful explosion, which on the morning of September 16 completely destroyed the building of sewerage and pumping station (SPS) No. 1. As a result of the emergency, three people were killed and seven more were injured. Three of them remained in hospital in serious condition yesterday.

In Sunday's parliamentary elections in Sweden, in which more than 80% of voters participated, according to preliminary data, the opposition center-right alliance led by 41-year-old Fredrik Reinfeldt won. It united the conservative Moderate Coalition Party, the liberal People's Party, the Center Party and the Christian Democratic Party.

Oil prices have been falling all week The past week was marked by a fall in oil prices. Last Friday, quotes dropped to their lowest level in five months - Brent cost $62.24 per barrel in London. Since mid-summer, when the price of oil set a historical record amid the conflict over the Iranian nuclear program, the price of raw materials has fallen by almost 20%.

The day after tomorrow, Iran's Vice President and curator of its nuclear program, Gholam Reza Aghazadeh, will arrive in Moscow from the session of the IAEA General Conference in Vienna. One of his interlocutors will be the head of Rosatom, Sergei Kiriyenko. Today, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will speak at the UN General Assembly in New York. And yesterday Ahmadinejad visited Caracas, where he met with the same Chavez.

Today Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in New York to participate in the 61st session of the UN General Assembly. His speech in the forum discussion is expected on September 21 in the afternoon. Taking into account the number of speakers, speakers are given up to 15 minutes. The minister's New York program schedules bilateral and multilateral meetings for September 19-25.

Today, the head of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), Mahmoud Abbas, is meeting with US President George W. Bush on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York; negotiations are also planned with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. The main topic is the creation of a new Palestinian government of national unity. The United States and Israel say they will not deal with it unless it recognizes Israel and previous Palestinian-Israeli agreements.

The opposition failed to disrupt the reform at the IMF Shareholders of the International Monetary Fund supported the beginning of reform of this organization, as a result of which the shares of each country in the capital of the IMF will be completely changed. The reform plan proposed by the head of the fund, Spaniard Rodrigo de Rato, received 90.6% of the votes, with the required 85%. This was announced yesterday at the annual meeting of shareholders of the IMF and the World Bank in Singapore.

United Russia leaders demonstratively handed over only flashing lights to the traffic police The bill, which has been gathering dust in the office of the State Duma for three years now, with a proposal to deprive deputies of special privileges when moving along the capital’s streets, seems to have met its finest hour.

The Vuelta ended with the triumph of Astana and its leader Vinokurov The last multi-day race in the Grand Tour series this season was won by Kazakh cyclist Alexander Vinokurov, who became the winner of the Vuelta. For the second year in a row, on the roads of Spain, first place in the general classification is taken by a Russian-speaking racer. Let us remind you that last season, after the doping disqualification of the owner of the track, Roberto Heras, the main prize went to our Denis Menshov.

Should Russia annex Transnistria? De jure, the unrecognized Transnistrian Moldavian Republic, which is part of Moldova, voted in a referendum for the accession of Russia. The Vremya Novostei newspaper decided to ask Russian politicians whether Russia should now annex Transnistria.

The head of the Progressive Socialist Party of Lebanon, member of parliament and secular leader of the Druze (a special religious community in Islam), 57-year-old Walid JUMBLAT, has recently hardly left the family estate of Mukhtar, an hour's drive south of Beirut. This is not just an estate, but a picturesque ancient fortress in the mountains. You can get inside only after a strict security check, which necessarily confiscates mobile phones while you are there.

Scania refused to merge with the German MAN The Swedish truck manufacturer Scania refused to voluntarily merge with the German concern MAN, and therefore it actually began a hostile takeover procedure. The Swedish group's board of directors on Sunday considered MAN's proposal, which involved paying 9.6 billion euros in cash and shares of the combined company for 100% of Scania shares.