In Baku on Saturday there were clashes between the police and supporters of the opposition, who tried to hold an unauthorized rally on Fizuli Square in the city center. One and a half thousand participants in the protest rally demanded the resignation of the president and the government of Azerbaijan. According to the Reuters agency, 20 demonstrators were injured, 35 people were arrested. The authorities reported that 15 police officers were injured in clashes.

The program is maintained by Andrei Shari. Andrei Babitsky, Russian human rights activist, an employee of the Moscow branch of the Memorial Society, Andrei Mironov, representative of the Chechen leader Aslan Mashadov Ahmed Zakaev, participate in Paris.

The authorities of Pakistan detained dozens of activists of the largest opposition bloc in Lachore - in order to prevent the demonstration with the demand for the resignation of the President of the country of Musharraf. He was going to carry out the manifestation today - on the occasion of the Independence Day of Pakistan - the union for restoration of democracy. The opposition leaders said they would go out for a demonstration despite the ban.

Israel warned that the events of the next two days would show whether Yasir Arafat could go to Beirut for the summit of the leaders of the Arab states. The representative of the Israeli government, Arya Merkel, said today that the ban on freedom of movement of the head of the Palestinian autonomy will be lifted if the Palestinians take measures to implement a peaceful plan, developed at one time by the director of the US CIA George Tenet. The Bayrut summit will begin on Wednesday.

Georgian Minister of Defense David Tevzadze said that Georgia was not preparing for the war in Abkhazia. According to Interfax, Tevzadze emphasized that negotiations in the decision of the Abkhaz problem should be continued. He also said that in the near future the army units of Georgia in the Kodor Gorge of Abkhazia will be replaced by border guards. On Saturday near Tbilisi, the exercises of the special forces of the Ministry of Defense of Georgia were held.

Vladimir Abarinov , Washington: Currently, the number of people in the world living in less than one dollar day is one billion two hundred million people. The world community intends to halve this figure by 2015. This is the essence of the global plan for the fight against poverty, adopted at the conference ended on Friday. The delegations of prosperous countries came to Mexico with a proposal to increase financial assistance by $ 50 billion a year.

Doctors recommend 76-year-old Margaret Thatcher to refrain from public performances. The Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1979 to 1990 Margaret Thatcher in recent months has suffered several micrust. The first British woman, which became the prime minister, is known for her firm conservative beliefs, for which she is often called the "Iron Lady".

In the city of Lugansk in Ukraine, the headquarters of the Russian Block electoral association is defeated. Early in the morning, unknown, breaking the door, penetrated the headquarters, and stole computers and other office equipment with election materials and databases. March 31 in Ukraine - parliamentary elections.

The oldest man in the world, Japanese Yukiti Tyuganzi is 113 years old today. According to information agencies, Tyuganzi is quite healthy, but he sees poorly and therefore practically does not leave home. According to statistics, Japan has the highest life expectancy. The oldest woman in the world lives here - 114 -year -old Kamato Hongo.

By the end of 2005, the internal troops of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs will be reduced by more than 37 thousand people. As the Commander -in -Chief of the Internal Troops Vyacheslav Tikhomirov stated today, the reduction is carried out according to the plan approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Tikhomirov did not specify what the total number of internal troops will be after reform.

30 Russian troops, including 3 officers, were found guilty of crimes against civilians of Chechnya. According to the chief military prosecutor of Russia Mikhail Kislitsyn, the entire prosecutor’s office was accepted for the production of 129 criminal cases of this kind. Among them are 9 cases of abduction of people.

In Moscow, two young people who cruelly beat a citizen of Afghanistan were detained. According to the police, the incident occurred on Friday evening in the subway. The battered foreigner is hospitalized with severe injuries. Law enforcement agencies find out whether the detainees are associated with youth extremist groups.

Elena Rykovtseva: Last Sunday, the Russian president visited the Ukrainian Odessa. Not one visited, but with a group of journalists. Therefore, from Monday, the newspaper began to share their impressions of the visit. It seems that the most journalists were impressed by the preparation of the hero city for an epoch-making event.

President of Pakistan Perevez Musharraf warned India’s power against any rash actions against his country. Speaking on Saturday on National Television, Musharraf said that Pakistan has sufficient military power to confront any aggression. The tension between Pakistan and India has increased from the moment the terrorists attack the Indian Parliament building in Delhi in December last year. India accused the Pakistani special services of involvement in the attack.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said that he had not yet decided whether the head of the Palestinian autonomy, Yasir Arafat, would go to Beirut for the summit of the leaders of the Arab states. Sharon also said that he would like to take part in the Beirut meeting in order to state Israel's position on peaceful settlement in the Middle East. At the summit on March 27 and 28, a peace plan proposed by Saudi Arabia will be discussed.