Over the past 24 hours, the anomalous distribution of air temperatures has remained in European territory. While in the northwestern regions the air temperature exceeded the norm by six to eight degrees, in the lower reaches of the Volga it fell short of the norm by four to six degrees. On Sunday morning, the air temperature in the east of the central region dropped to -15...-19°C.

The government of Viktor Zubkov intends to increase the depth of timber processing Viktor Zubkov, it seems, will go down in the history of the inhabitants of the White House as the prime forester. No one before him devoted so much time to forestry matters . And, at least, the next Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is also unlikely to be so actively involved in forestry. Mr. Zubkov created a special council for the development of the forestry industry under the government and headed it.

They expect quick results from Vladimir Vuitek and Valery Postnikov At the end of last week, two Super League clubs at the top of the standings found new head coaches. The most interesting thing is that both Vladimir Vuytek in Dynamo and Valery Postnikov in Metallurg Magnitogorsk are temporary figures. The first came before the end of the season, the second until they find another specialist.

Before the New Year, the authorities are trying to make it easier to enter Moscow Moscow authorities are ready to celebrate the New Year almost as City Day. In the last days of 2007, large-scale construction projects were completed at an accelerated pace and facilities that Mayor Yuri Luzhkov mentioned in his promises were opened.

The French and Spanish clashed between Spartak and Zenit in the UEFA Cup For the first time, two Russian clubs can meet each other in the European Cup. Zenit St. Petersburg and Spartak Moscow are in the same part of the UEFA Cup bracket, and their path in the tournament may cross in the 1/8 finals of the tournament. But this is only if at the previous stage the Muscovites manage to beat the French Marseille, and the St. Petersburg team beat the Spanish Villarreal.

Chavez's oil offers are hard to refuse After twelve years of inactivity, an oil refining complex built in the 1980s with Soviet help was launched in the Cuban city of Cienfuegos on Saturday. The enterprise, mothballed in 1995 due to the cessation of Soviet oil supplies, will now receive raw materials from Venezuela. The opening of the refinery was attended by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who was visiting Liberty Island these days.

SKI JUMPING FROM SPRINGBOARD. December 30th. First stage of the Four Hills Tour. Oberstdorf (Germany). The Four Hills Tour is perhaps the most popular sports competition in Europe during the New Year holidays. The winner is determined by the sum of points scored in all four stages.

Before each youth world championship, Russian hockey specialists, especially knowing that they were talking in an “off-the-record” format, could quite sharply go over the national team of any convocation, but at the same time they always concluded that they would have medals in their pocket - the question is which ones. Before the current tournament in the Czech Republic, everyone is united - any medals will be a feat. They simply don’t believe in Sergei Nemchinov, the head coach of this team.

CLUBS Anatoly Gerasimov (saxophone) and DJ Yazykov . “Chinese pilot Zhao Da” , 22.00. The drum ensemble of Mark Pekarsky plays at the Dom cultural center at the opening of the Cultural Landscapes festival, 20.00. CONCERTS The Moscow Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, led by conductor Yuri Simonov , as well as soloists Anastasia Bakastova (soprano) and Yuri Laptev (baritone) perform excerpts from Mozart's operas. Tchaikovsky Concert Hall , 19.00. MOVIE “The irony of fate.

Israel speaks to Hamas in the language of weapons Yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert denied rumors about the imminent conclusion of a long-term truce between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS), which seized power in the Gaza Strip in June . “What is happening now in the Gaza Strip can be called a real war between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and terrorists.

What does the dominance of one company mean in the equipment market for the Russian oil and gas industry? Last week, the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) received an appeal from the autonomous non-profit organization “National Antimonopoly Society” with a request to understand the situation that arose after the acquisition in March of this year by the VBM-group company of two plants - OJSC Uralburmash and OJSC "Volgaburmash".

Uzbekistan offered Gazprom to buy gas at $180 per thousand cubic meters A week before the New Year, Gazprom does not have guarantees for the transit of contracted Turkmen gas through Uzbekistan and has not agreed on the terms of purchase of Uzbek gas. At the end of last week, the chairman of the board of the Russian concern, Alexey Miller, flew to Tashkent, where he held meetings with the President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Rustam Azimov.

The fashion for attaching a Christmas tree to the ceiling came from a mental hospital In the Nizhny Novgorod city psychoneurological hospital No. 1, the New Year tree is traditionally installed on the ceiling. The most common forest beauty is attached with its base to the ceiling, and the top of its head rests on the floor.

Thaksin Shinawatra could lead Thailand again Yesterday in Thailand, the first parliamentary elections after last year's military coup were won by 58-year-old Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Prime Minister of Thailand, billionaire and owner of the British football club Manchester, who fled to London. After processing 86% of the ballots, former Prime Minister Shinawatra's People Power party won 231 of the 480 seats in the House of Representatives of Parliament.

Former British Prime Minister became a Catholic Yesterday it became known about the decision of former British Prime Minister and now UN envoy for the Middle East Tony Blair to convert to Catholicism. Society was prepared for this news in advance. Nevertheless, the event gave impetus to heated debate about the future fate of religion in Foggy Albion. According to the latest statistics, for the first time in the last 500 years, citizens professing Anglicanism are no longer the dominant group.