Moscow United Russia members remembered morality on the eve of the elections On the eve of the election race, even members of the United Russia faction in the Moscow City Duma who usually agree with each other find reasons for disputes. At least yesterday, at the first meeting of the City Duma after the summer holidays, legislators arranged a debate among themselves on an issue that seemed to not foretell heated discussions - the prevention of HIV infection.

United Russia was wrongly suspected of wanting to provide additional benefits to retired deputies The United Russia faction finally refused to support the proposal of its deputy Anatoly Ivanov to give former parliamentarians and members of their families a lifelong right to rest and treatment. This would mean, in terms of benefits, equating the status of retired deputies and senators to ministers.

In the northwestern region the weather is gradually deteriorating. On September 3, with the approach of the atmospheric front, short-term rains will occur in places, a thunderstorm is possible, in the afternoon +21...+26оС. And already on September 4, with the approach of the Atlantic cyclone, the weather will completely deteriorate: heavy rains, thunderstorms will begin, the wind will increase to 15 m/s, and during the day the temperature will drop to +17...+22°C.

The Belarusian authorities intend to look for alternative opportunities for the supply and transit of energy resources, so as not to depend only on Moscow in these matters. President Alexander Lukashenko stated this yesterday: “We cannot depend on only one place, for example, on Russia, for the consumption of energy resources. Moreover, there were problems in this regard... For now, it is profitable for us to receive hydrocarbons from the Russian Federation.

The famous film festival on Lido Island opened for the 66th time For the first time in history, one of the most important film shows on the planet opened with a film that also participated in the main competition.

Dinara Safina almost lost to US Open debutant The list of Russian participants in the US Open tennis championship has noticeably decreased over the past two days. Surprisingly, world number one Dinara Safina could also join the list of losers at the last Grand Slam tournament of the season. Her match with Olivia Rogowska from Australia lasted almost two and a half hours, and until the last minute both tennis players kept the fans in suspense.

The inhabitants of the southern seas did not live to see the opening of the Sochi aquarium On the eve of the VIII Sochi Economic Forum, which opens on September 17, an incident occurred at the resort that casts doubt on the claims of regional authorities that the Krasnodar Territory is a zone most favorable for investors.

Afghan authorities are not ready for the second round of elections Today, the Afghan Central Election Commission is due to announce the preliminary results of the August 20 elections. The latest data shows a confident lead for 52-year-old Hamid Karzai: with 60.4% of the ballots counted, he has 47.27% of the vote. In second place is Tajik Abdullah Abdullah (32.57%), in third is former member of parliament Hazara Ramazan Bashardust (11.55%).

The Federal Migration Service promises migrant workers to process documents comfortably The Federal Migration Service (FMS) pompously presented a new “window” into the country for potential guest workers. This is exactly what the Center for servicing Russian and foreign citizens in the field of labor migration is intended to become, which was demonstrated yesterday to journalists and representatives of the party in power by the leaders of the FMS.

VEB will help the state save money on Olympic venues and preparations for the APEC summit Vnesheconombank is going to create a specialized structure together with one of the world's leading engineering companies for more efficient implementation of large infrastructure and construction projects. This became known yesterday during a meeting of the bank's supervisory board chaired by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Belgians are willing to pay more for an Opel The investment company RHJ has made a new offer to purchase an asset of the American automaker General Motors - German Opel. Now the Belgians intend to pay 300 million euros for Opel shares, 25 million euros more than before.

Naftogaz was on the verge of default Yesterday Naftogaz of Ukraine published its long-awaited financial statements according to international standards for 2008 for investors and creditors. It says that the company has begun negotiations on the restructuring of debt to foreign banks in the amount of about $1.6 billion. “The group aims to increase payment terms and improve other significant conditions of the debts taken,” the document notes.

The Kaliningrad prosecutor's office is trying to return the main regional unfinished building to state ownership The House of Soviets is a landmark, if not iconic, building for Kaliningrad. For the party functionaries of the Soviet era who initiated its construction, it was apparently supposed to serve as the personification of the solidity and eternity of Soviet power on what was once German territory.

Gazprom did not agree to reduce the height of its tower in St. Petersburg On September 4, the Krasnogvardeysky District Court of St. Petersburg will consider the claim of a number of public organizations of the city about the illegality of holding regular hearings on the construction of the Okhta Center - a 400-meter tower, which will become the new main office of Gazprom.

Scientists have identified the winners and losers in the evolutionary race Scientists' original research helped determine who won and who lost during evolution. According to biologists from the University of California at Los Angeles, mammals and many species of birds and fish can be considered winners in the evolutionary race. The crocodiles lost - alligators and especially tuatara, distant relatives of snakes.