"Babylon" on Moscow screens Contrary to the classic Chekhovian formula, there is no gun hanging on the wall in Alejandro González Iñárritu's film Babel. By a coincidence of numerous circumstances (the true background of which will become clear a little later), it ends up in the hands of two Moroccan goatherd boys, who immediately decide to test it for firing range.

Minsk believes that Russia's increase in energy prices for Belarus will slow down the process of creating a single currency of the union state. “The latest actions of our partners have led to the fact that the issue of the timing of the introduction of a single currency has been postponed indefinitely,” said the head of the Belarusian National Bank, Pyotr Prokopovich, yesterday. However, Minsk does not abandon the idea of ​​a single currency.

Fidel Castro never loses his sense of humor Yesterday marked six months since 80-year-old Cuban leader Fidel Castro handed over control of the country to his younger brother, 75-year-old Defense Minister Raul Castro. The topic of the commandant’s health became a state secret, giving rise to a stream of rumors about an unsuccessful surgical operation, the leader’s fatal illness and his imminent, or even already occurring, death.

Vladimir Potanin and Mikhail Prokhorov divide assets Interros co-owners Vladimir Potanin and Mikhail Prokhorov are breaking up and dividing the business. By the end of this year, the partners intend to restructure it.

Blackout could hurt Sochi's Olympic chances For almost a day, a significant part of the Black Sea coast of Russia - from Tuapse to Adler - remained without electricity due to bad weather conditions. This blackout on the eve of the visit of the evaluation commission of the International Olympic Committee may negatively affect the prospects of Sochi to host the 2014 Winter Olympics. For Sochi, power outages due to extreme weather conditions are a common situation.

Another rocket launch from a platform near the equator was unsuccessful The Ukrainian-Russian launch vehicle Zenit-3SL, which launched on Wednesday night from the sea launch site in the equatorial zone of Sea Launch, in the first second after liftoff, as experts say, “went off” and then fell into Pacific Ocean. None of the specialists were injured - before the launch, the crew leaves the Odyssey launch platform and moves to the ship several kilometers from the launch site.

The police prevented the massacre of a soldier UK police have uncovered a major terrorist plot in Birmingham. According to unofficial information, the conspirators intended to kidnap a British Muslim soldier in his twenties who had come home from Iraq on leave.

Belgorod barely defeated Tirol and reached the Champions League playoffs Belgorod “Lokomotiv-Belogorye” only qualified for the playoffs in the last round of the group stage of the Champions League. Yesterday, Gennady Shipulin's team beat the Austrian club Hipo Tirol (Innsbruck) on their site - 3:2 (25:12, 21:25, 22:25, 25:13, 19:17).

"A Just Russia" decided to acquire a youth organization The A Just Russia party intends to create its own youth organization in the near future.

Income tax brought more to the treasury than mineral extraction tax The country survived last year not so much due to favorable foreign economic conditions and mineral extraction tax deductions, but rather due to the active growth of the Russian economy. According to the Federal Tax Service, published on Wednesday on the official website of the department, revenues from all taxes and fees last year increased compared to the previous year. The income tax collection increased the most.

The Federal Tax Service will force slot machines to play along with customers more often Hitting a jackpot may soon become a very real prospect for those who want to spend money in a gambling hall. Slot machines installed in casinos and gambling halls will be checked by tax authorities for the average winning percentage. True, the introduction of such control measures can lead to unexpected consequences for the inspectors themselves - the involvement of new participants in gambling.

Munich prosecutors want to arrest CIA agents Prosecutors in Munich yesterday issued arrest warrants for 13 alleged CIA employees. They are accused of kidnapping a German of Lebanese origin, Khalid al-Misri, in January 2004 on suspicion of terrorist activities and sending him to a secret prisoner of war prison in Afghanistan, where he was subjected to violence and abuse. Four months later he was released. Officially, American authorities did not respond to requests from the German side.

Large Symphony Orchestra in Search of Lost Romanticism Vladimir Fedoseev and the BSO opened a new cycle of four concerts - with four symphonies and four instrumental concerts by Brahms in the program, with an epigraph from Francoise Sagan (“Do you love Brahms?”) and a timid hope for at least some correction of humanity stated in the preface : Fedoseev invited the public to “allow themselves to put on glasses with pink lenses, softening the harsh harshness of life, or darkened glasses - saving

The exhibition “Create your own museum” is open at the Gary Tatintsian gallery For Gary Tatintsyan, who opened his gallery in Moscow two years ago, an exhibition of works from his own collection became a way of agitation and propaganda.

US digitizes air passengers Last night in the European Parliament a discussion began on the principles of further cooperation with the United States in the fight against terrorism. According to the European Commission, their goal is to “maintain existing restrictions” regarding the use of confidential information about air passengers. The scandal is related to the activities of US intelligence services.