Russia, as Vladimir Putin said yesterday, can still “fully return” to the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), but only if its partners also ratify and begin to implement the treaty. In the meantime, Moscow intends to introduce a moratorium on December 12 on the CFE Treaty, signed 17 years ago during Soviet times. The reason is that the treaty is outdated, and Western countries have never ratified its adapted version, developed back in 1999.

The President of Ukraine proposed closing a dangerous mine Ukraine is counting the victims of the third methane explosion in the past two weeks. Another tragedy occurred on the evening of December 2 at the ominous Zasyadko mine : five miners were killed and 66 were injured. The day before - on December 1 - a similar explosion injured 50 people.

Russian observers believe that election violations were isolated and atypical During the current election campaign, almost 32 thousand Russians used the hotline to report violations they noticed during the campaign and during the voting itself. “9,487 requests were received directly on December 2,” Andrei Przhezdomsky, director of the Russian Foundation for Free Elections and member of the Public Chamber, told reporters yesterday.

Prokhorov agrees to sell Norilsk Nickel to RUSAL for $3 billion cheaper than Potanin The deal between Mikhail Prokhorov's Onexim group for the sale of a blocking stake in Norilsk Nickel to the united company RUSAL, which could take place at the end of December, is estimated at $3 billion less than a similar offer by Mr. Prokhorov to Interros, controlled by him partner Vladimir Potanin.

The Federal Tax Service uses clearing markets of migrants to check Russian traders The start of checks on migrants in the markets did not have the best impact on those for whose benefit, it would seem, measures to regulate retail markets were introduced. It was not so much migrants without Russian citizenship who had curtailed trade in advance who came under additional control, but rather the few Russians who remained in food and clothing markets.

Russia will not abandon protective duties on the export of unprocessed wood Russia appears to be changing some of its economic priorities. In particular, the intention to quickly join the World Trade Organization, repeatedly declared by officials, seems to be no longer so relevant.

Another criminal case was opened against Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak The Investigative Committee of the Prosecutor's Office (SKP) of the Russian Federation opened a new criminal case against Deputy Minister of Finance of Russia Sergei Storchak, who was arrested in mid-November on charges of attempting to steal $43 million from the state budget. The official was suspected, in addition to the previous charge, of abuse of power .

Politicians and political scientists on the results of parliamentary elections Vremya Novostei correspondent Ksenia VERETENNIKOVA asked politicians and political scientists to evaluate the results and consequences of the Duma elections.

Paleontologists report their discoveries in children's books New discoveries by British and American paleontologists may cause a lot of trouble for workers in natural science museums. It is possible that the skeletons of some dinosaurs, often the highlight of the exhibition, will have to be adjusted, and it is certainly worth changing the images of the duck-billed hadrosaur everywhere.

US authorities will freeze mortgage rates The US government continues to try to extinguish the crisis in the mortgage market . A joint plan of local and federal authorities will be presented in the near future to fix interest rates on loans issued. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson spoke about this yesterday. “The number of problems in subprime mortgage lending is likely to increase significantly next year, and we need to be confident that we can cope with this situation,” Mr.

The political crisis in Belgium is deepening following the failure of the Flemish Christian Democrats, the winner of the June 10 elections, to form a government. On Saturday, King Albert II accepted the resignation of Yves Leterme, to whom he himself handed the mandate to form a new cabinet six months ago. The failed prime minister explained his step by disagreements among potential coalition partners. “The country and its people need a strong and energetic government.

And the ambulance is faster First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev spoke yesterday at a plenary meeting of the State Duma with a report on the responsible area of ​​work entrusted to him by the head of state - the implementation of national projects. This is not the first time that one of the main candidates for successor to the president comes to the lower house of parliament to report on national projects. And deputies usually take these meetings more than seriously.

Banks increase interest rates on household deposits The past year has presented many unpleasant surprises to the Russian financial authorities. The global credit crisis forced the Bank of Russia to urgently take measures to increase liquidity in the market, and the autumn surge in food prices provoked a sharp acceleration of inflation in the country. In principle, the Russian government has never in modern history managed to keep price increases within the budget forecast.

United Russia will launch a printing press for doctors Before the deputies from the United Russia party had time to “sign” that they really liked the implementation of the priority national project “Health,” a “small” addition of an educational nature arose in their ranks.

Hamdi Kuran, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), received an unprecedented prison sentence yesterday. The Jerusalem District Court sentenced him to life imprisonment plus an additional 100 years in prison. Kuran was arrested in March 2006 on suspicion of involvement in the murder of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi.