The main rivals of the Russians continue to churn out records Four more world records were rewritten yesterday at the Olympic Aquatic Center. The author of the first was Kirsty Coventry from Zimbabwe, who swam the 100-meter backstroke in 58.77 seconds in the semi-finals. Japanese Kosuke Kitajima with a result of 58.91 seconds. became the Olympic champion in the 100 m breaststroke, simultaneously improving the world achievement of American Brendan Hansen two years ago by almost 0.20 seconds.

Military traditions are returning to St. Petersburg “Napra-a-avo! Compliance with the state flag of the Russian Federation and the flag of St. Petersburg!” Last Saturday, for the first time in 82 years, these words were heard within the walls of the Peter and Paul Fortress. There, at the Naryshkin Bastion, a guard changing ceremony took place, which from now on will become a tradition.

Our girls are not yet ready to confront Brazil The defeat of the Russian women's team ended its next match in the group stage of the Olympic volleyball tournament. The Brazilians were the offenders of Giovanni Caprara's team - 0:3 (14:25, 14:25, 16:25). The score is certainly depressing. The Russian national team has never lost so badly with its main squad in its history.

What conclusions should Russia draw? Russia, in my opinion, made at least eight serious political mistakes in South Ossetia. First, Moscow should have long ago clearly stated how far it is willing to go to protect the interests of its citizens in the disputed territories of the Caucasus.

Silver winner Marina Shainova was almost late for the decisive approach The fourth silver medal for the Russian team at the Olympics was given to weightlifter Marina Shainova, who climbed to the second step of the podium following the results of the competition in the weight category up to 58 kg. True, there was, in principle, no talk of competing for gold. The advantage of the winner of this type of weightlifting program, Chinese Chen Yanqin, over our athlete was 17 kg - this is quite a lot.

CLUBS "Aquarium". The new concert season at the Orange club will open with a performance by the Aquarium group. “Aquarium” is not just a legend, but rather a cultural heritage of our music, and Boris Grebenshchikov is deservedly considered the guru of Russian rock. "Orange" , 20.00. Jazz Hall: Phil Perry (vocals), Ashley Slater (vocals, trombone) and BigLounge (all UK).

Oil and gas supplies through Georgia have become highly risky Military actions in South Ossetia seem to have already led to problems in the transit of Russian gas through Georgia to Armenia. As the press service of Armrosgazprom, which purchases fuel in Russia, says, “since August 7, the Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation, without warning, reduced the volume of natural gas supplies to Armenia by 30%.

Yesterday, the removal of North Korea from the US list of countries sponsoring terrorism, scheduled for August 11, did not take place. US President George W. Bush promised to expel her from there on June 26. This is how Washington intended to respond to Pyongyang's provision of detailed documentation about its nuclear programs. But now the Americans want to make sure on the spot that these programs are curtailed.

The dollar rose in price by 70 kopecks The beginning of the week did not bring calm to domestic financial markets. The ruble fell significantly yesterday against the dollar and euro. The official dollar exchange rate increased by 2.9% - from 23.87 to 24.57 rubles, the euro exchange rate - by 1.3%, from 36.3 to 36.78 rubles.

The sanitary and epidemiological situation in refugee camps is under control Refugees from South Ossetia, taken yesterday and the day before yesterday from the combat zone, are settled in temporary accommodation centers on the territory of North Ossetia and have access to all basic necessities and medicines.

Athens triumphant Alexey Tishchenko began his campaign for the second “gold” On Monday, the Russian boxing team suffered its first loss. And what kind! The 2007 world champion and 2006 European champion Albert Selimov (weight category 57 kg) dropped out of the fight for Olympic awards. In the opening match, he lost with a score of 7:14 to the Ukrainian Vasily Lomachenko, the same one whom he beat in the World Cup final last fall. Yesterday started on a positive note for our boxers.

The CIS finally noticed the war in South Ossetia From today's visit to Moscow by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, progress is expected in the diplomatic settlement of the conflict in South Ossetia. His country currently holds the presidency of the European Union and carries weight for the mediation mission.

Chronicle of sporting events Football. French Championship. 1st round. "Auxerre" - "Nantes" - 2:1, "Bordeaux" - "Caen" - 2:1, "Le Havre" - "Nice" - 1:0, "Le Mans" - " Lorien - 0:1, Monaco - PSG - 1:0, Nancy - Lille - 0:0, Rennes - Marseille - 4:4, Sochaux "- "Grenoble" - 1:2, "Valenciennes" - "Saint-Etienne" - 1:0, "Lyon" - "Toulouse" - 3:0. Lyon, which won the French championship seven times in a row, topped the standings from the very first round, despite all its losses.

The government increases funding for culture and is not afraid of the financial consequences of the war with Georgia Yesterday the last meeting of the commission on budget plans took place before the federal budget for 2009-2011 was submitted to the government.

It is 60 years since Valentin Zorin - now a political commentator for the Voice of Russia - began his activities in the radio and television system. Valentin Sergeevich Zorin - Doctor of Historical Sciences, professor, Americanist. He is known as a political commentator, radio and television presenter, author of books published in many countries around the world, and creator of dozens of television films.