Volkswagen announced a 2.5% increase in prices for the entire model range from January 1 The German automaker Volkswagen was the first to decide to raise prices for cars sold in Russia by 2.5% starting in the new year. The entire model range of the brand will become more expensive. “Taking into account the average annual inflation rate, Volkswagen is increasing retail prices for all vehicles delivered to customers from January 1, 2010.

Verdict on Kosovo will be non-binding and vague The hearings on the status of Kosovo, which open today at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, are unprecedented for the system of international law. The UN's highest court, created in 1946, has issued 25 verdicts during this time. However, the problem of the status of a territory that declared independence unilaterally has never been considered at this level.

The second international film festival “East & West” has ended. Classic and avant-garde" The victory in Orenburg of the Norwegian “Tommy in Hell” could be called convincing, since the film, which was represented in Orenburg by the most interestingly living today (according to program director Sergei Lavrentiev) of Scandinavian cinematography, won in two central categories at once - “Best Film” and "Best Director".

Barcelona and Real Madrid scored one goal and two penalties Barcelona appropriately celebrated the 110th anniversary of the club's founding. The celebrations were not magnificent: in the classic confrontation with Real Madrid, the Catalans scored only once. But this goal from Zlatan Ibrahimovic will warm the hearts of the Blaugrana at least until April 11, when the return Classico is scheduled in Madrid.

The most popular pirated library is being legalized The Librusek online service, which until recently provided free access to various texts in Russian without worrying about copyrights, is coming out of the shadows. According to the creator of Librusek, Ilya Larin, the library is being “legalized.” Mr. Larin has reached agreements with several publishers, and users will be able to access electronic versions of books for a subscription fee of $10 per month.

The delegation of Uzbekistan was “dissuaded” from going to Moscow for the Congress of Russian Compatriots Today, in the Column Hall of the House of Unions, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' will address the participants of the 3rd World Congress of Russian Compatriots. The Vremya Novostey newspaper in yesterday's issue already outlined in detail the main issues that the congress delegates will have to deal with.

Greek theater from fairy tales to real neo-Nazis In recent years, many national theater festivals have been trying to take on the functions of promoting their country’s theater on the international stage. It seems that the Edinburgh Festival was the first to do this, putting together a special compact program of British performances that the organizers considered the most interesting, and inviting producers and journalists from other countries to this mini-review.

TNK-BP will increase exports at the expense of ESPO Today the government’s decision to zero out the export duty on East Siberian oil comes into force. However, companies already know what this will bring them. TNK-BP, as its vice president for sales, trading and logistics Jonathan Kollek said yesterday, in 2010, with the start of pumping oil from the Verkhnechonskoye field through the ESPO, expects to increase exports of raw materials by 6%, to 38 million tons. According to Mr.

SS accomplice on trial in Germany A half-open mouth on a lifeless, sagging face, closed eyes and a head covered with a gray cap. This is how 89-year-old John Demjanjuk (pictured) appeared before judges in Munich yesterday in a wheelchair. After the war, he led an inconspicuous life overseas, content with the modest earnings of an auto mechanic, which fed his family and children. Now the last living Nazi from the Second World War is on trial in the Bavarian capital.

For the new school year, the Russian Armed Forces will be given their own police force. Today the next academic year begins in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. And the day before, the head of the Main Directorate of Combat Training and Troop Service, Lieutenant General Valery Evnevich, spoke about the results of combat training in the army and navy in the outgoing year. At the same time, he dispelled long-standing doubts regarding the creation of a military police in Russia.

"Faces of History" at the Museum of Fine Arts Starting today, at the State Museum of Fine Arts on Volkhonka you can visit the exhibition “Faces of History in European Art of the 19th Century”.

The leaders of Italy and Belarus agreed on cooperation Yesterday, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi visited Minsk. This was the first visit to Belarus by such a high-ranking representative of a Western state in the last decade. “We perceive the visit of the head of the Italian government as a very eloquent gesture of support for Belarus in the international arena,” President Alexander Lukashenko said at a meeting with the guest.

“At the Game” on Moscow screens A computer shooting championship is taking place in Nizhny Novgorod. In addition to the awards specified in the regulations, the winners receive a demo version of the new domestic game “Antiterror”, which, according to the head of the development company (Mikhail Gorevoy), who does not pay attention to sarcastic remarks from the field (“Let’s hit the bourgeois grinders with our bast shoes!”) is quite worthy compete with Western counterparts.

Capital Dynamo will start the Champions League as the ninth club in the Super League For Russian Volleyball fans, hot days have come after the November lull. The Champions League and the CEV Cup start today, last weekend the matches of the seventh round of the men's super league took place and the second group (semi-final) stage of the women's Givi Akhvlediani Cup of the country ended. Our participants approach the start of the European Cup campaign with different moods.

The young Filipino made a splash at the World Cup The first rounds of the World Chess Cup stage were played in Khanty-Mansiysk. According to established tradition, the tournament is held among 128 participants using the knockout system. Opponents play two-game matches with classic time control for thinking. In case of a draw, a tiebreaker is held, consisting of four games with a 25-minute time control, and in case of a draw, the game continues with a blitz series of two games.