Visa and MasterCard companies are closer to resolving the conflict with the US Department of Justice, which back in 1998 accused payment systems of violating antitrust laws. If the parties agree, banks will be able to have more choice when issuing credit and debit cards, and their users will not be charged additional fees. The Ministry of Justice initiated a lawsuit against Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. 12 years ago in response to complaints from several American financial institutions.

Rosokhrankultura plans to transfer up to 16 thousand monuments to denominations The Ministry of Economic Development assures that two hundred churches and other “religious objects” (as well as the land plots on which these “religious buildings” are located), which should be transferred from federal ownership to religious organizations by the end of the year, “will fall into the proper hands.” . Deputy Minister of Economic Development Igor Manylov once again recalled this yesterday.

Iraq announced an increase in its oil reserves by 25% The reserves of “black gold” in Iraq are not 115 billion barrels, as expected, but 143 billion. This was announced yesterday by the country’s Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani. According to him, the main contribution to such a significant increase was made by the Zubair and West Qurna fields. Iraq can now claim third place in the world in terms of proven reserves, taking it away from neighboring Iran with its 137 billion barrels.

The jury of the Stanislavsky Prize announced the laureates for the fifteenth time. This time, the prize in the nomination “For Contribution to the Development of the Russian Theater” went to two people at once - choreographer and teacher Vladimir Vasiliev and director Mark Zakharov.

In the Czech Republic they decided to correct the monument to Soviet soldiers-liberators The Russian Embassy in the Czech Republic expressed “bewilderment and concern” in connection with the plans of the authorities of the city of Brno to remove the image of the hammer and sickle from the monument to Soviet soldiers located in this city.

Victor Yushchenko awarded Stepan Bandera the title of Hero of Ukraine The new Russian ambassador, Mikhail Zurabov, is finally due to arrive in Ukraine this morning. He was appointed to this post back in August 2009, but President Dmitry Medvedev decided not to send the ambassador to his destination until there were signs of improving relations between Moscow and Kiev - in fact, until the defeat of President Viktor Yushchenko.

Today marks the opening of the Year of Russia in France and France in Russia, within which several hundred events are planned. The first of these will be a two-day Russian-French student forum in Paris: at the Sorbonne University and the Russian Center for Science and Culture. And high-level events will take place during the visit of President Dmitry Medvedev to France in the first half of 2010. This was reported by the press secretary of the Russian leader Natalya Timakova.

September 1 -- October 1, 2010 “Politicians Through the Eyes of the Media,” a joint project of “Vremya Novostei” and the “Medialogia” company, are ratings of political figures who are most actively discussed in the federal press and on central TV channels.

Meetings of the Government of Kazakhstan can now be watched in real time on the Internet. According to a statement by the press service of the Kazakh Cabinet of Ministers, in order to increase the openness of the government's work, since the end of September, online broadcasts of cabinet meetings can be seen on the website of the Kazakh agency BNews. In addition, the agency regularly hosts numerous online conferences with government officials.

The US women's national team became the world champion in basketball The Women's Basketball World Championship ended in Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic). The US team regained the title of the strongest on the planet, which it lost in 2006 in Brazil. The winners of that World Cup, the Australians, were content with only fifth place, and the silver medalists of the tournament four years ago, the Russians, finished seventh.

Conservatives discuss UK rescue plan Despite rain falling throughout Sunday, spirits were high among Conservative party convention delegates gathered at the Birmingham International Conference Centre. “Of course, I’m glad, because this is the first congress since 1996 at which we represent not the opposition, but the party in power,” 50-year-old Michael Simpson from Sheffield told a Vremya Novostey correspondent, smiling happily.

Bosnian Muslims took a step towards the Serbs The final results of Sunday's general elections could be announced today in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Voters, as before, voted mainly according to national preferences. In the Bosnian Muslim camp, 54-year-old Bakir Izetbegovic (pictured), considered a moderate, caused a sensation by defeating 65-year-old nationalist Haris Silajdzic.

The first event of the Year of the Chinese Language in Russia was the exhibition “Fabric Calligraphy by Irina Zakharova,” which opened in Moscow at the Museion Center for Aesthetic Education of Children and Youth at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts.

At the NATO summit, Russia will be offered to create a joint missile defense system After a protracted period of cool relations in the Russia-NATO relationship, it seems that a thaw is coming. Yesterday, during a Moscow-Brussels video bridge from the RIA Novosti building on Zubovsky Boulevard in the capital, alliance official James Appathurai (pictured) answered questions from journalists.

The Royal Academy honors the work of in vitro fertilization pioneers The Nobel Prize for achievements in physiology or medicine in 2010 was awarded to the “father” of test tube babies. Yesterday at Karolinska University in Stockholm, a representative of the Nobel Committee announced the presentation of the most prestigious scientific award to cell biologist Robert Edwards, a professor at the University of Cambridge. Dr.