In the center of Baghdad on Saturday, a massive demonstration of protest against the occupation of Iraq is taking place. Tens of thousands of Iraqis gathered in Al-Fardus Square, where two years ago, a huge bronze statue of Saddam Hussein was dropped from the pedestal two years ago under the enthusiastic exclamations of the crowd, who has been governing the country for more than 20 years.

A large fire in the center of Novorossiysk in a shopping center was completely eliminated at 15:25 Moscow time on Saturday. This was announced by Oleg Arkhipov, a representative of the Main Directorate of the Russian Emergencies Ministry for the Krasnodar Territory. "A fire in a shopping center on Sidyakin Street, which began on Saturday night at 1:50 Moscow time, quickly spread to an area of ​​600 sq.m. he was awarded a third group of difficulty.

On Saturday, it was officially announced the creation of the first Moscow initiative subgroup on the holding of a referendum, which initiates the Communist Party, as well as other left -wing opposition leaders. They made this decision at a meeting held in Moscow. The initiative subgroup consisting of 140 citizens at this meeting also approved 17 issues proposed for submitting to a referendum. They make up three blocks - social, economic and political.

Almost summer dry weather will delight the inhabitants of the metropolitan region only until Sunday. This was reported to ITAR-TASS in Roshydromet. "On Saturday, in Moscow and the region it will be warm - the daily temperature will come close to the 20 -degree mark, which is 7-9 degrees exceeding the climatic norm," weather forecasters noted. But from Sunday, the Atlantic cyclone will bring some cooling to Muscovites and residents of the region - 2-3 degrees and short -term rains.

Anti -tank performances on Saturday were swept by Beijing. The first rally took place in the morning in the north-west of the city, near the computer market, where electronic goods of leading Japanese manufacturers are sold. According to estimates, more than a thousand people were present at this rally. The rally lasted about an hour and a half.

Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko accused the owners of Ukrainian oil refineries of cartel conspiracy and stated that the government would tightly control the level of profitability of their work, withdrawing super-profits and fining violators. “Today, most oil products are produced in Ukrainian plants, the owners of which are Russian citizens, plus there are several factories.

As a result of Muslim clashes, 24 people were hospitalized in Derbent, including four police officers. The clashes occurred in the central mosque of Derbent - Abul -Bavab, or Juma (Friday Mosque) - the oldest in Russia. In this mosque, Shiites and Sunnis pray.

The leadership of the NK Yukos completes the development of a restructuring plan, which includes a “fairly radical” reduction in part of the staff in the central office in Moscow, where 1250 people work, the head of the company Stephen Tidi said The Wall Street Journal . He did not specify the number of jobs that will be reduced, noting that the details will be declared in May.

The head of the Georgian Foreign Ministry Salome Zurabishvili said today that in the Georgian-Russian negotiations "there is no noticeable advance forward," ITAR-TASS reports.

The Governor of the Novgorod Region Mikhail Prousak considers it incorrect to the appointment of governors by legislative assemblies of the subjects. "This system should be preserved no more than for the transition period in the process of conducting administrative -territorial reform, and then it is necessary to return to the system of electing heads of subjects," Prusak told Interfax.

Russian tennis player Igor Andreev, having reached the main match of the tournament in Spanish Valencia, will present to the lion's share of the prize fund, which is 340 thousand euros. In the semifinal match, Andreev in two sets managed to replay the representative of Spain Ivan Navarro-Pastor, who made his way into the main competitions through qualifications.

The Federal Court of Virginia sentenced the detainee for the "rescue" of Jeremy Jaines to 9 years in prison. As the investigation established, the company organized by the convict, using 16 high-speed Internet lines, daily sent about 10 million advertising letters. The judge, who considered this case, considered it a sufficient basis for such a strict sentence. Meanwhile, the defense of Jaines with the verdict of the court does not agree and has already announced the intention to appeal.

The authorities of Belarus should declassify materials that relate to the disappearance of journalist Dmitry Zavadsky. This requirement was made by the international organization "Reporters without borders", reports "Echo of Moscow" . For five years now, the relatives of the television operator are waiting for the investigators to explain something to them. The investigation should be comprehensive, transparent and independent.

Veterans insist on holding the reporting and election conference of the Russian Hockey Federation (FHR) after the World Cup, which will be held in Austria from April 30 to May 15. An open letter, with the requirements to postpone the date of the report and election conference, is addressed to the current President of the Federal-Relationary Institution Alexander STROBRIN and the head of the Federal Agency for Physical Culture and Sports Vyacheslav Fetisov.

The Radical Palestinian group "Islamic Jihad" announced today about the cessation of a truce with Israel. According to the representative of the Abdalla group, such a decision was made in response to today's murder by Israeli military personnel of two Palestinian teenagers, ITAR-TASS reports. "We take off all the data of the Palestinian authorities by the obligations after the Israelis shed the blood of our young brothers," he emphasized.