Vladimir Churov is trying to make the presidential elections more legitimate in the eyes of the West The opinion of the West about the presidential elections on March 2 is still not indifferent to the Russian authorities. Despite last week's statements , Moscow would like to see international observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) at the elections.

Sergey Chernov presented the Golden Baskets and will lead the basketball federation until 2013 Two in a row of large events were held by the Russian Basketball Federation.

In the second ten days of February, First Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Yuri Zubakov will come to Moldova for negotiations on the Transnistrian settlement. And at the end of February, as Vremya Novostey learned, the republic is expecting the special representative of the OSCE Chairmanship on Transnistrian settlement issues, former Finnish Ambassador to Russia Heikki Talvitie. Meanwhile, mutually exclusive theses on this issue were published in Chisinau and Tiraspol.

A package of social bills, according to which from February 1 the salaries of public sector employees and monetary allowances for military personnel will be increased, will be adopted by the State Duma on February 15. This was announced by the First Deputy of the Lower House Committee on Budget and Taxes Vitaly Shuba. The documents will be discussed and adopted by the State Duma in the first reading on February 8, and in the second and third readings on February 15, the deputy noted.

A huge scandal erupted yesterday around Microsoft's announcement of its intention to acquire Yahoo! Inc. The stated transaction amount is $44.6 billion, at $31 per share... According to Google, in this way Microsoft wants to establish no less than illegal control over the Internet.

A book has appeared, collecting reflections on television over the past three years Television today is our everything; broadcast brings home not only news, but also all interpretative versions of events, all faces, all public institutions, which are the only way they become reality for the majority of Russians. Even the conversations of close people are sprinkled with quotes from TV much more abundantly than with references to personal experience.

Russia is looking for new sources of placing financial reserves Instability in global financial markets and the depreciation of the dollar against other major currencies are forcing the Russian government to consider the possibility of adjusting the structure of the allocation of the country's financial reserves .

Are Russian officials getting carried away with the holidays? Tomorrow, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni will arrive in Moscow for a one-day visit . It was planned in advance that during the visit an agreement “On the waiver of visa formalities for mutual trips of citizens of Russia and Israel” would be signed. Working delegations of the foreign ministries of the two countries agreed on its text in Moscow at the end of 2007.

Another loser found in American elections With the approach of today, “Super Tuesday,” when the primary elections for US presidential candidates from the Democratic and Republican parties will be held in more than 20 states, the list of those dropping out of the race has been lengthening. The former mayor of New York, 63-year-old Republican Rudy Giuliani , and 54-year-old Democratic Senator John Edwards left the race.

The government begins to fight against the illegal use of Olympic symbols Today in Sochi a meeting of the Presidential Council for the development of physical education and sports, preparation and holding of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games will take place. The day before, the presidium of the council met, defining strict standards for both Olympic builders and the Russian team. And also for the first time raised the problem of the illegal use of Olympic symbols .

RUSAL will build an energy and metallurgical complex together with CPI The United Company RUSAL, which has recently established its position as the world's largest producer of aluminum and alumina, intends to expand its geography . This time - in the direction of China. In this country, RUSAL, together with one of the largest Chinese electric power companies, China Power Investment Corporation (CPI), plans to build an energy and metallurgical complex.

The Moscow City Hall promises to replenish the consumer basket of state employees In September 2008, the minimum wage in Moscow will exceed the subsistence level for the first time in many years. City officials and deputies have long complained that they are sometimes embarrassed to look their Western colleagues in the eye - in a metropolis of European level, which Moscow is considered to be in its mayor's office, the minimum wage by the same Western standards is below the poverty level.

Serbs voted for Kosovo, Europe and Russia The results of the second round of presidential elections in Serbia left more questions than answers. They broke the scenario prepared in the European Union and the Serbian region of Kosovo in the event of the expected victory of the radical Tomislav Nikolic. Kosovo Albanians were planning to declare independence within days of the election results being announced.

Microsoft raised Russian shares The domestic stock market continued to grow, and the RTS index grew by 2.22% yesterday to 2012.76 points, and by 5.5% over the last two sessions. The MICEX index added 2.27%, rising to 1677.78 points. The reason for the upward movement was news about mergers in Western markets. However, analysts warn that it is too early to talk about sustainable growth: the American market, which declined yesterday, may pull the Russian market with it.

Atlantic cyclones are in full swing in the European North. In St. Petersburg, even in the western wind with gusts of up to 20 m/s, the first one this year occurred and the 306th in a row from the moment of the city the flood-the water level in the Neva rose 198 cm above the orderly.