Chronicle of sporting events The head coach of the Russian youth football team, Boris Stukalov, announced the names of the players who will be called up for the 2009 European Championship qualifying match with the Kazakhstan team.

Russia and other northern countries can and should create their own alliance The sharp escalation of the foreign policy struggle over the division of the Arctic Ocean shelf, rich in hydrocarbon resources, after the recent Russian Arctic expedition forces us to think anew about the system of political coordinates in which the Arctic will exist. According to scientist Yuri MAGARSHAK, the time has come to create another “Big Eight”, uniting countries whose territory covers the Arctic.

Turkish politicians quarrel over presidential candidate Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Turkey 56-year-old Abdullah Gul will apparently become the country's next president, since the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has again nominated him for this post elected by parliament.

The Belgian regulator is against the construction of underground gas storage facilities with Gazprom money Another Gazprom project to strengthen its position in retail gas markets in Europe met with resistance from local officials. Following the British authorities, who this spring blocked the construction of an underground gas storage facility (UGS) at the depleted Saltfleetby field, Belgium did the same.

Entire work brigades and sports teams join United Russia On Monday, the ranks of United Russia were replenished with two labor collectives. At the same time, all members of Vyacheslav Evdokimov’s excavator team from the Chernigovets open-pit mine in Kuzbass experienced an irresistible desire to join the party.

Taiwanese presidential candidate acquitted by court Yesterday, the Taipei City Court dropped charges against Ma Ying-jeou, Taiwan's opposition presidential candidate in the 2008 elections. Last fall, Ma was accused of embezzling $330,000 when he was mayor of Taipei from 1998 to 2006. Ma did not admit his guilt, and his supporters said that the money was spent on bonuses for city hall employees.

Nevsky Express is the first high-speed train, completely designed and manufactured in Russia, capable of reaching speeds of up to 200 km/h. It has been running between Moscow and St. Petersburg since 2001. In August 2007, two identical trains were in service, each capable of carrying 574 passengers. The travel time of the Nevsky Express is 4 hours 30 minutes, it departs at 18:00. 30 min., arrives at 23:00. The cost of a ticket in August is about 2800 rubles.

Iranian President heads to Central Asia Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad went on a trip to Central Asia yesterday. The main goal of the Persian campaign is Bishkek, where the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will be held tomorrow . The Iranian leader, as reported by the Tehran Times, intends to meet with key players in the region - the presidents of Russia, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

The Russian Ombudsman urged “not to go overboard with the fight against terrorism” It is quite possible that in the near future the “main national monument to the victims of Bolshevik terror” and a museum dedicated to the history of Soviet totalitarianism will be installed on one of the Moscow squares.

Tikhon Khrennikov died Composer Tikhon Khrennikov died in Moscow at the age of 95. The mention of his name can evoke in some people a pleasant nostalgia about the great Soviet style, life-affirming art, and the ideal image of the country and people. Others will recall with indignation Khrennikov's notorious forty-three years of rule over the Union of Composers of the USSR, of which he was appointed general secretary by order of Stalin.

The Democratic Party decided to bring Russia into the European Union The Democratic Party of Russia came up with a slogan for its election campaign: “Russia to the European Union.” “Peter the Great cut a window to Europe, and we will open the gates,” DPR leader Andrei Bogdanov told reporters yesterday. On this occasion, the party, whose chances of being in the future Duma are zero, is preparing a whole range of measures.

Tomorrow, the summit of heads of state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) opens in the capital of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek . This international structure, which has observer status at the UN, was established in Shanghai in June 2001 by Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Mongolia, India, Iran and Pakistan have observer status at the SCO. Since 2006, a moratorium has been imposed on further expansion of the organization.

Watch from August 16 on Moscow screens “The Simpsons Movie” (USA, 2007, David Silverman). The most famous cartoon family of all time, which amused the respectable audience for 17 seasons in the super-cult television series, has finally moved to the big screen. The scale of the image has changed, but there is still more than enough wit, accuracy and quality.

The Kaliningrad branch of United Russia and Oleg Gazmanov parted ways amicably After a scandal in the Kaliningrad branch of United Russia with a list for primaries, singer Oleg Gazmanov was excluded from the list of candidates for party voting in the party’s personnel reserve. The Vremya Novostey newspaper previously wrote about the inclusion of the singer on the list against his will.

European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet yesterday called on world markets to “remain cool” despite the ongoing US mortgage crisis. In his opinion, “in some respects, what is happening can be qualified as a normalization of price risk.” For this “normalization,” however, last week the ECB had to spend about $100 billion.