PKN Orlen is determined to close the deal to purchase the Lithuanian oil concern Mazeikiu Nafta by the end of the year. Yesterday, the Polish company published a financing scheme for the transaction. The Poles signed an agreement to purchase 53.7% of Mazeikiu shares from YUKOS for $1.49 billion back in May of this year. At the same time, they agreed with the Lithuanian government, which owns a total of 40.66%, to buy out 30.66% of the concern’s shares for $851.8 million.

Brazil became the last semi-finalist of the World Cup The second group stage of the Volleyball World Championships in Japan has ended. Two semi-finalists from the eight “E” in Sendai, where our team competed, were decided the day before - Serbia and Montenegro and Poland. Yesterday, in the head-to-head match for first place in the group, the Poles won with a score of 3:0 (25:20, 25:18, 25:20) and remained the only participant in the tournament who did not know defeat.

CLUBS NetSlov. Ethno-electronics. “Chinese pilot Zhao Da” , 23.00. CONCERTS Yo-Yo Ma, the famous American cellist of Chinese origin, winner of fifteen Grammy Awards, together with Englishwoman Catherine Stott (piano) will perform works by Schubert, Piazzolla, Frank and Shostakovich. Great Hall of the Conservatory , 19.30. MOVIE PREMIERES "Pan's Labyrinth" (Mexico - Spain - USA, 2006). Directed by Guillermo del Toro. Starring Ivana Baquero, Doug Jones, Sergi Lopez, Ariadne Gil. Spain, 1944.

“Telephone file” of the head of Deutsche Bank is closed Yesterday, at the Land Court in Düsseldorf, what is commonly called the most spectacular economic trial in German history ended. And it ended, essentially, in nothing. Unless, of course, you consider that one of its six participants, the current head of Deutsche Bank Josef Ackermann, as he had hoped from the very beginning, managed to keep his reputation untarnished.

Chronicle of sporting events The first round of the group stage of the second most important European club tournament for the ULEB Cup ended with defeats for both Russian clubs. Khimki near Moscow lost to Bulgarian Akademik in Sofia - 82:91. In the final quarter the hosts won by 11 points. Kazan UNICS in Thessaloniki failed to cope with local PAOK - 81:84. The best among the winners was Serbian Vlado Scepanovic - 23 points.

The trial of the alleged accomplices of the submariner Pumane has begun Yesterday, the Moscow City Court began considering the merits of the criminal case of a criminal group, which allegedly included former submarine officer Alexander Pumane . The trial, at the insistence of the majority of the accused, takes place with the participation of a jury.

The head of the children's nutrition department at the Research Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Professor Igor KON, believes that cakes with cream are among the products not recommended for school meals. I wouldn’t talk about the obesity epidemic in Russia, but the problem, of course, exists. Therefore, it is now very important to prevent excess weight among children, starting from the first days of life.

Moldova let Russia into the WTO in exchange for wine and meat Moldova is ready to sign a protocol on Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) by the end of this year, the country’s Minister of Economy and Trade Igor Dodon said yesterday. In exchange for a signature that is extremely important for it, Moscow is ready to reopen its markets to Moldovan wine and meat and consider the issue of levying VAT on the principle of the country of destination.

Yegor Gaidar's strange illness provoked a wave of allegations of a conspiracy against the Kremlin Yesterday it became known that last Friday the director of the Institute for the Economy in Transition, Yegor Gaidar, was hospitalized with symptoms of severe poisoning.

The Russian media attach too much importance to the incident with the accreditation of journalists at the CIS summit held on Tuesday, according to official Minsk. Correspondents from the “Kremlin pool” refused to participate in the final press conference, since the Belarusian authorities did not allow three Russian journalists to attend. This event became an important part of press reports about the meeting of the CIS heads of state.

The company is still ready to increase its stake in Power Machines The German concern Siemens is ready “to expand its equity participation in the authorized capital of OJSC Power Machines to a controlling stake, if such a step is approved by Russian authorities,” according to a press release issued yesterday by the Russian representative office of the concern.

The Atlantic continues to supply portions of warm and humid air to the west and center of the European territory of Russia. In the regions of the center and north-west, the average daily temperature is still seven to nine degrees above the climate norm. Even at night in the Moscow region, the thermometers do not drop below 0°C. In conditions of such abnormally warm weather, this year in Moscow the absolute maximum of the last day of autumn (+5.8°C) may be broken.

The government is discussing gas market liberalization Today, at a meeting of the Russian government, state policy in the gas industry will be discussed for the first time in five years. Although the issue on the agenda is formulated as the topic of a school essay on a free topic - “On the provision of electricity and gas to the country’s economy”, it is clear that it will be primarily about the development of the Russian gas market.

Germany is making every effort to overcome Polish resistance and unblock the process of preparing a new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) between the EU and Russia. State Minister of the German Foreign Ministry Gernot ERLER, the third person in the hierarchy of the German Foreign Ministry, spoke to Vremya Novostei about Berlin's policy towards Russia and the CIS countries. -- In the first half of 2007, Germany will take the EU presidency.

But they want to force Europe to lose weight “Only Super Dickmann's is Super Dickmann's!” - Both the young and old at the top of the screen cheerfully fall off for both cheeks oily meringue in chocolate on biscuits, the people of the Negro Kiss called the people. The advertisement is shown in prime time on private German TV channels. Now rest assured: your foolish offspring in the supermarket will put exactly this product in the basket.