Delegates to the congress of the Union of Journalists of Russia disrupted the speech of State Duma Deputy Speaker Sergei Zheleznyak. reported this Interfax . After the politician’s first words, applause began to sound in the hall, because of which he was unable to finish the statement he had begun. Zheleznyak tried to continue his speech, but the delegates again interrupted him with applause and noise.

Uzbekistan has decided to create a trade union of mardikers (day laborers), Uznews reports. The founding meeting of the trade union took place in Tashkent back in November last year. It was attended by human rights activists, as well as about a dozen day laborers. A certain Nuriddin Jumaniyazov, a former employee of an aircraft plant and a member of the opposition party Erk, banned in Uzbekistan, was elected chairman of the trade union.

In Saratov, construction has begun on the Tau Gallery shopping and entertainment center, which will become the largest in the city. This is stated in a statement by Cushman & Wakefield, which is acting as the exclusive consultant for the project. The complex with a total area of ​​190 thousand square meters (rentable - 80 thousand square meters) will be located at the intersection of 50 Let Oktyabrya Avenue and Dubovikov Street.

All air defense radars in Ecuador have failed. According to El Universo, all four Ecuadorian radars were manufactured by the Chinese company CETC. The reason for the radar failure is not specified. In the absence of operational radar stations, the Ecuadorian Air Force patrols the country's airspace with Brazilian-made A-29 Super Tucano combat training aircraft. According to Flightglobal MiliCAS, the Ecuadorian Air Force has 17 such aircraft in service.

Icelandic developers have released the ÍslendingaApp program for Android devices, which will allow Icelanders to avoid incest. The application is available in the Google Play app store. To use the program, lovers just need to launch it and touch their smartphones. After this, the application will calculate the degree of relationship and recommend entering into a relationship, or, conversely, try to dissuade you from doing so.

Several dozen people were injured as a result of shooting by a criminal at participants in an immigrant demonstration in Greece, the Greek website Tovima reports , citing local TV. According to TV reports, 22 victims were taken to the hospital, doctors assess the condition of four of them as critical. The incident occurred at the 41st kilometer of the Patras-Pyrgos national highway during a demonstration organized by migrants engaged in agricultural work, mainly strawberry picking.

During the construction of the Eastern Siberia - Pacific Ocean oil pipeline, the state company Transneft was able to save 87.1 billion rubles, or 11 percent of the project cost. reports this RIA Novosti with reference to Transneft materials. According to the state-owned company, in general, the first stage of the project cost 380.6 billion rubles, the second - 275.5 billion rubles. It took another 49.7 billion to expand the first line, and 12 billion to extend it to the border with China.

The average cost per square meter on the market for the purchase and sale of retail premises within the Garden Ring for the year (from March 2012 to March 2013) increased by 22 percent. In the peripheral areas of Moscow, prices decreased by 17 percent. This is stated in a study by the consulting company RRG. As experts note, as of early April, retail space in the center of the capital was sold at an average price of $16,254 per square meter, and outside it - for $4,838 per square meter.

CSKA Moscow lost with a large score to the Spanish club Caja Laboral in the third match of the quarterfinal series of the Euroleague basketball. According to the official website of the tournament, the meeting, which took place on the evening of April 17 in Vitoria, Spain, ended with a score of 93:72 (15:14, 28:10, 27:15, 23:33) in favor of the hosts. The most productive player of the meeting was Kakha defender Thomas Ertel, who scored 21 points.

The NBA regular season has ended. Based on its results, all pairs of the first round of the playoffs were determined. The winner of the regular season was the Miami Heat club, which in 82 games won 66 victories and suffered 16 defeats. The official website of the NBA reports this.

Japanese clothing manufacturer Uniqlo has signed a multi-year sponsorship deal with the Museum of Modern Art in New York. reported this on April 18 The Associated Press . Thanks to the support of Uniqlo, visiting the museum every Friday from 16 to 20 hours will be free. The joint campaign will begin on May 3. AP notes that Uniqlo has a store on the same street where the museum is located. In total, the clothing brand is represented in 13 countries outside of Japan.

The recession has not yet arrived in Russia. Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov stated this at the Russia-2013 forum. The event will be broadcast on the forum’s official website . Shuvalov expressed his opinion about the Russian economy a day after businessman and politician Mikhail Prokhorov announced a recession in Russia . He noted that Russia continues to lose competitiveness, and many sectors of the economy were not ready for the country’s accession to the WTO.

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have discovered that the much-cited findings of economists Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff about lower GDP growth in countries with high levels of debt are based on incorrect assumptions and errors in mathematical calculations. An article criticizing economists was published in the journal of the PERI research institute, and a brief retelling of it is given by Business Insider.

The US Senate on April 17 rejected a number of bills aimed at strengthening gun control. Liberals, led by President Barack Obama, created a real scandal about this and have already promised to achieve restrictions on the right of citizens to own pistols and rifles with excessive lethal force.

Will Smith has been offered the lead role in the crime comedy Focus, reports Variety. Negotiations between the actor and the filmmakers are close to completion. If an agreement is reached, Smith will play an experienced swindler who shares his accumulated knowledge with a novice swindler. Over time, a romantic relationship is established between the characters. Focus is co-written and directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa.