YELTSIN DISBANDS SOCIAL POLICY COUNCIL.

In a move thatrecalls the old saying about blaming the messenger, Boris Yeltsinhas abolished a Social Policy Council that often provided socialand economic statistics at odds with official numbers, and hasreplaced it with a new and smaller department of social problemsdirectly subordinate to the president’s press service, UtroRossii (no. 29) reported. The old body had 26 employees; thenew one will have only six.

Russia Seen Becoming a Major Drug Shipment Route.