Javier Solana has no intention of leaving diplomacy In Brussels yesterday, Spaniard Javier Solana (pictured), the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union, gave his farewell reception. In a festive, informal atmosphere, he said goodbye to familiar politicians and journalists working in the Belgian capital. The famous diplomat handed over his powers to British Baroness Catherine Ashton on December 1.

Negotiations will take place in Moscow today between the foreign ministers of Russia and the Palestinian National Authority. Before his departure on Friday, 54-year-old minister Riyad MALIKI will meet with other officials, including deputies and the president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Yevgeny Primakov. From Moscow, the Palestinian delegation will travel to Cuba, and then to Spain and France.

Washington may be punished for budget deficit The US risks losing its top credit rating due to its huge budget deficit. However, the White House is trying to assure the public that new infrastructure programs will not lead to an increase in the deficit. Nevertheless, the Americans are clearly not yet ready to begin implementing a strategy for exiting anti-crisis programs.

Dynamo hockey players came to the metro to win over the champion The beginning of the next game week brought many interesting results in the Kontinental Hockey League. Ufa's Salavat Yulaev suffered an unexpected defeat in Yekaterinburg from Avtomobilist (3:4). What is surprising is not even the fact that the millionaire club lost to a team that is not yet in the playoffs, but that the Bashkir club squandered a three-goal advantage.

The State Duma is preparing to change the procedure for forming municipal election commissions and unify regional parliaments The procedure for the formation and activities of municipal election commissions will be changed in the near future. The corresponding amendments to the law “On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights” are already being prepared for the second reading procedure in the State Duma, which is tentatively scheduled for December 11.

Dmitry Medvedev now has his first assistants in modernizing the country Without waiting for clarification from the state on exactly what the modernization course would look like, experts decided to take matters into their own hands. A new public council with the advanced name “Zamodernization.ru” was specially created in order to prepare a comprehensive concept for the country’s development.

The All-Russian Union of Patients' Organizations demands the return of medicine to healthcare Russians suffering from serious chronic diseases are soon going to present a united front against the policies of health officials, who, according to patients, see them only as a budget item, but not as living people. Today, representatives of more than ten different public associations intend to announce the creation of the All-Russian Union of Patients' Organizations.

British botanists have concluded that there are many more insectivorous plants than previously thought. The plant world is more cruel and bloodthirsty than we think, say British scientists from the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and the Natural History Museum in London in the first December issue of the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. Carnivorous plants have captured the imagination of people since ancient times.

Watch from December 10 on Moscow screens “Mad Special Forces” (USA-UK, 2009, Grant Heslow).

Talk about a merger between the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and A Just Russia could cause a quarrel between the systemic opposition Recently, rumors have flared up with renewed vigor about a possible merger of the parties of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and A Just Russia and the creation of some new “left-wing” project of the Kremlin.

“Snowy Monday” may result in personnel changes in the weather service Moscow utility workers, who spent the night from Monday to Tuesday on the streets of the capital, which had to be literally cleared away from the snow that covered them, are demanding some kind of moral compensation - yesterday morning the head of the municipal services complex, first deputy mayor Petr Biryukov addressed the leadership of the Hydrometeorological Bureau of Moscow and the Moscow Region with a call to sort out

The lineups for the volleyball All-Star Game have been announced The All-Russian Volleyball Federation has announced the rosters of the “Stars of Russia” and “Stars of the World” teams, which will play in the first “Star Game” of the Russian women’s championship on December 23 in Omsk.

Leonid Fedun: “We are on the verge of revolutionary changes in the industry that we do not yet understand” LUKOIL will save on its gas projects.

Russia condolences to Iraq Yesterday, the Iraqi capital was subjected to a well-coordinated attack by terrorists who blew up seven car bombs, at least three of which were detonated by suicide bombers near government buildings. At least 127 people were killed and about 450 were injured, some of them in critical condition. Among the irrevocable victims are many old people, women and children.

The crisis threw Russia back to 2007 Russia will return to pre-crisis levels in 2011-2012, believes presidential aide Arkady Dvorkovich. Yesterday he was one of the first high-ranking officials to sum up the results of the outgoing year. “It’s not time to calm down yet. Although the economy is slowly starting to grow, there are still many risks,” Mr. Dvorkovich told reporters at a meeting at the RIA Novosti Business Club.