| 2008-12-30 19:14 First round of voting for the Oscars begins |
|
|
Voting members will decide which actors will be nominated ahead of an official announcement.
Bristol Palin gave birth on Saturday to a healthy 7 lb., 7 oz., baby boy in Palmer, Alaska. 
Russia has devalued the rouble for the third time this week.
The Disney Channel is headed for Russian television.
Vladimir Putin to save Russia from financial "collapse" · 2008-11-20 18:05
Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin addressed a congress of the pro-Kremlin United Russia party on Thursday outlining a number of proposals to tackle the financial crisis in Russia.
Putin told the party that the Russian government would allocate over 50 billion rubles (about $2 billion) to support and protect the defense sector from bankruptcy.
Russia will also issue loans to China and India for purchases of Russian equipment, the prime minister added, RIA Novosti informs.
The Russian premier also proposed cuts in profit tax to help companies weather the financial turmoil. Russia’s current profit tax stands at 24%, of which 6.5% is paid to the federal budget and 17.5% to regional budgets.
Putin also unveiled measures to help the unemployed and proposed raising the level of monthly unemployment benefit by 1,500 rubles ($55) from the current figure of 3,400 rubles ($124), Putin said.
He also assured Russian depositors that the government would guarantee 98.5% of all their savings held in Russian banks.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed bank deposit insurance legislation earlier this fall, increasing the sum guaranteed to depositors to 700,000 rubles ($26,800) from 200,000 rubles.
• Russian frigate defends foreign vessel
• Russian and Venezuelan ships in Caribbean
|
|
|