Ukrainians elected the youngest speaker Yesterday, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, after painful debates , finally found its speaker . It was a member of the parliamentary faction of the presidential bloc “Our Ukraine - People's Self-Defense” (NUNS) Arseniy Yatsenyuk (pictured) , who received absolutely 226 votes out of 450 with the required minimum of just 226. Another ballot in favor of Yatsenyuk caused controversy, because seemed “spoiled” to the vote counting commission.

State and business in search of a model of cooperation Will public-private partnership (PPP) become a real tool that will help economic growth, increase investment, update infrastructure, and implement new projects - the topic of the round table in the editorial office of Vremya Novostei.

Wholesale prices for gas and fees for its transportation have been increased The Federal Tariff Service approved regulated prices for Gazprom gas for 2008 - they increased by a quarter, as well as payment rates for transportation through Gazprom's main pipelines for independent producers - by 19%.

Russia and Ukraine agreed on gas prices for 2008 The Minister of Fuel and Energy of Ukraine, after an almost two-week pause, returned to Moscow yesterday for negotiations with Gazprom on gas prices . And, contrary to expectations, on the very first day the parties agreed on the price of gas on the Russian-Ukrainian border for 2008 - it turned out to be equal to $179.5 per thousand cubic meters.

The President promised to help Russian banks with money The growth rate of the Russian banking system is slowing down. This is evidenced by the data of the “Review of the Russian Banking Sector” published yesterday on the Central Bank website. The increase in assets in October was only 0.26%, which was the lowest value since May 2004, when the “crisis of confidence” erupted in the country.

Vyacheslav Lebedev wants to force the new Duma to take up judicial reform The State Duma of the fifth convocation, already in the first days of its work, in December, may have to begin consideration of a number of the most conceptual bills related to judicial reform . At least, the Chairman of the Supreme Court (SC) Vyacheslav Lebedev, who yesterday at a meeting of the Council of Judges of the Russian Federation made a report to his colleagues, has great hopes for this.

The Investigative Committee at the Prosecutor's Office was reinforced with a security officer from prison Vladimir Putin, as his press service reported yesterday, signed a decree appointing another deputy chairman of the Investigative Committee at the Prosecutor's Office (SKP) of Russia. 49-year-old Colonel Alexander Sorochkin became the second appointed out of 12 deputy heads of the new structure, according to the staffing table.

I liked it. An episode of “From the Heart” (“TV-Center”), dedicated to the Moscow metro and the people who work in it. The STS program “Stories in Detail” is about the amazingly creative person Sergei Kazarnovsky, the innovative director of a Moscow school, which he designed himself. A magnificent Elvis Presley concert from 1968, shown by Kultura. Historical program “History of the Russian State” (“TV-Center”).

A new plan for resolving the Karabakh problem is being discussed in Moscow Cooperation between Russia and Armenia in ensuring security in the Transcaucasus, primarily in resolving the Karabakh problem, is one of the main topics of negotiations during the three-day visit to Moscow of the head of the Armenian Foreign Ministry Vartan Oskanian (pictured) that began yesterday.

Government inflation forecast left for second year Next year, Russian monetary authorities again set themselves the task of keeping inflation within 7.5-8.5% . This forecast was made for 2007, but was overturned by a sharp rise in prices. On the one hand, revising the forecast upward (previously it was planned that inflation in 2008 would be 6-7%) means recognizing that the task of reducing price growth annually by a percentage point and a half has turned out to be impossible.

Georgia has invited NATO to hold multinational air exercises on its territory this year as part of the Partnership for Peace program, the Georgian Ministry of Defense told Vremya Novostey. Seven NATO officers spent four days studying Georgia's ability to host such exercises. NATO experts believe that Georgia's military bases and airfields require additional investment.

The continental qualification for Beijing is reminiscent of Euro 2007 The draw for the final European Olympic qualification tournament took place yesterday in the German city of Halle, where one ticket to Beijing will be played out. Led by Italian specialist Giovanni Caprara, the Russian women's team, the current world champion, is in the same company with teams from Eastern European countries - Croatia, Romania and Serbia.

Yesterday, the visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Afghanistan was canceled at the last minute due to the fact that the airport in the Afghan capital was unable to accommodate the minister’s plane due to poor visibility and unfavorable weather conditions. The plane changed route and proceeded to New Delhi, where Sergei Lavrov joined the delegation accompanying Vladimir Putin during the official visit of the Russian President to India, which begins today.

The commander of long-range aviation told how Russian planes patrol foreign borders This year, Russian strategic aviation resumed air patrol flights in areas remote from Russian borders . The country knows about this. But only the commander of long-range aviation of the Russian Air Force, Major General Pavel Androsov, who is also the commander of the 37th Air Army of the Supreme High Command for Strategic Purposes, knows exactly how these flights take place .

The Vremya Novostey newspaper raised the issue of observers An interview in Vremya Novostey with acting Georgian President Nino Burjanadze led to new mutual reproaches between Moscow and Tbilisi. Let us recall that in an interview on December 3, Ms. Burjanadze said that Georgia would invite “hundreds of observers” to the early presidential elections, which will be held on January 5, but not representatives of Russia. “Russia is not inviting us to the elections either,” said Nino Burjanadze.