The deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, where the atmosphere of continuous and bloody terror spread by militants of the irreconcilable opposition, is again returning the country to the time of civil war. This problem is becoming a major constant headache for the West, which maintains a large military expeditionary force there.

The American establishment liked Dmitry Medvedev “Of course, we did not expect that we would find ourselves in Washington so quickly,” a high-ranking Kremlin official noted in a conversation with a Vremya Novostey correspondent, meaning that if it were not for the G20 anti-crisis summit , preparations for Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to It would take the US a long time.

Constitutional amendments proposed by President Dmitry Medvedev are approved by parliamentarians with enviable speed. It is possible that by December 12 - the 15th anniversary of the main law of Russia - it will already be in force in a new edition: with a six-year presidential term, a five-year term of office for the State Duma and an article on government reporting to the lower house of parliament.

The exhibition "From China to Europe. Art of the Islamic World" opened in Kazan The huge exhibition that opened in the Kazan branch of the Hermitage is exceptional not only in the quantity and quality of the exhibits presented, covering the pre- and post-Mongol history of Islam, but also in the composition of the participating museums.

“We have a good opportunity... to rebuild our relations,” said Dmitry Medvedev, speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. The Council is one of the most influential non-governmental institutions in Washington, which brings together former politicians, researchers, and businessmen. “The helping hand of the ruling elite” is what they once called him.

India celebrates the impact of its first probe on the surface of the Moon At the end of last week, India, at the speed of free fall, burst into the club of powers that left their flags on the Earth’s natural satellite. The lander, painted in the colors of the Indian tricolor, landed on the lunar surface on Friday evening.

Ovechkin scores for the fourth game in a row Hockey. NHL. Regular season. Montreal - Philadelphia - 1:2, Islanders - Ottawa - 3:2, New Jersey - Washington - 6:5 (bulls) - Ovechkin "B" (2+1), Vic. Kozlov "B" (1+1) , "Minnesota" - "Columbus" - 3:2 (bullet), "Colorado" - "Edmonton" - 2:3 (bullet), "Vancouver" - - "Toronto" - 4:2, "Rangers" - "Boston" - 3:2 (bullet), "Pittsburgh" - "Buffalo" - 5:2 - Malkin (1+3) , “Phoenix” – “Dallas” – 2:3, “Los Angeles” – “Nashville” – 1:3.

The Georgian issue did not spoil the Russia-EU summit France's presidency of the European Union ends in a month and a half - from January the Czech Republic will become head of the EU for six months - and the next time Paris will lead the EU no earlier than in 13 years. That is why the ambitions of President Nicolas Sarkozy are so obvious, as he seeks to relinquish his presidency of the EU at the peak of the success of his diplomacy.

Priit Pärn's films were shown at the Big Cartoon Festival In Tallinn, the face of Priit Pärn looks out from advertising stands, just as here we see the faces of pop stars. He is a famous cartoon director; in Russia, people in this profession rarely become public, but for small Estonia, a world-class star, even in a marginal area, is a gold reserve; here there are few artists of this level and everyone knows them.

The Duma in the first reading approved the extension of the powers of the president and deputies Last Friday, the State Duma approved in the first reading the constitutional amendments of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to increase the terms of office of the head of state and deputies from four years to six and five, respectively. Only the communists unanimously spoke out against these changes.

NLMK refused to buy an American steel pipe manufacturer Novolipetsk Iron and Steel Works (NLMK), controlled by entrepreneur Vladimir Lisin, terminated the agreement with the American Carlyle to purchase the steel company John Maneely Co (JMC) for $3.5 billion, Reuter reports. NLMK confirmed this information to Vremya Novostei, but declined to comment. “We are disappointed that NLMK has decided to violate its obligations under the merger deal.

FOOTBALL. November 30. Russian Championship. Premier League. 30th round. "Amkar" - "Khimki", "Dynamo" - "Tom", "Spartak" - "Zenit", "Moscow" - "Luch-Energia", "Rubin" - "Lokomotiv", "Shinnik" -- CSKA, "Wings of the Soviets" - "Terek", "Saturn" - "Spartak-Nalchik". According to the requirements of the Russian Championship regulations, all matches of the final round of the Premier League will begin at the same time - 14:00 Moscow time. VOLLEYBALL. November 22. Super League. Men. 9th round .

The concern did not intend to buy a 20% stake in the Spanish Repsol Another surge of “Gazpromophobia” in Europe, which was provoked by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov last week, turned out to be a false alarm. Only Spanish and European politicians began to discuss the danger posed by the possibility of Gazprom joining the shareholders of the Spanish oil and gas company Repsol, and a denial has already followed from Moscow.

The Russian Ministry of Energy reported that a meeting of energy ministers of the Forum of Gas Exporting Countries to adopt the organization's charter could take place on December 23 in Moscow. The final draft of the GECF charter must be agreed upon at a meeting of the high-level commission of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, which is scheduled for November 26.

The laureates of the prestigious art prize were brought together for the first time At Winzavod, in the White Workshop, an exhibition of contemporary French art, Pernod Ricard Art World, opened, demonstrating the creative achievements of the Ricard Foundation award winners. Established in 1999 to support and encourage French contemporary art, the foundation annually awards one representative of young contemporary art.