The program is maintained by Andrei Shari. Radio Radio Freedom Jan Runov and sports observers Evgeny Rubin and Alexei Kuznetsov take part. Andrei Shary: In Washington, it is announced to create a new organization that will lead the skaters from the control of the International Skating Federation.

The Serbian police discovered the remains of the former president of Serbia Ivan Istanbolic, who disappeared in August 2000. According to the Minister of Internal Affairs Dushan Mikhailovich, the murder of Istanbolic was political. The investigation found that Istanbolic was stolen in Belgrade by the Serbian special services created under the former President of Yugoslavia Slobodan Miloshevich. The remains of Istanbolic were found in the Frushka Gora mountain massif in the north of Serbia.

The UN Security Council reached an agreement on the resumption of the "oil in exchange for food" for Iraq. Today, voting on the project of the relevant resolution should take place. The program "Oil in exchange for food", interrupted on the eve of the beginning of the war in Iraq, provided food for about 60 percent of the Iraqis. Coordinating the implementation of the program after its renewal will be the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Ayia Kuga , Belgrade: throughout Serbia, a police operation to search and arrest criminals continues, and the investigating authorities discovered most of the previously not disclosed murders, including political ones. On Thursday evening, two of the three main leaders of the Zemunsk criminal group Mile Lukovich and Dushan Skatievich were killed.

The Government of Serbia allowed the three former leaders of Yugoslavia to testify in an international court in the Hague in the case of former president Slobodan Milosevich. Zoran Lilich and Borislav Yovich in the past headed the collective Presidium of Yugoslavia. Goran Milinovich was the head of the government of federal Yugoslavia.

Iraqi special services prepared attacks on American objects in two countries. This was announced today by the representative of the US Department of State Richard Bucher. According to him, the attacks were prevented, Iraqi agents were arrested. Which countries are in question, he did not report.

Vladimir Abarinov , Washington: the coalition troops surround Baghdad and prepare for the decisive battle with the elite units of the Iraqi army. US President George Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair said they would not stop the operation until her goals are achieved. US Secretary of Defense Donald Ramsfeld confirmed the reports that the selected forces of Saddam Hussein, the Republican Guard, were building a continuous defense ring around Baghdad.

In Ankara today, repeated hearings in the case of four Kurds, sentenced to long terms for supporting the movement for the independence of Kurdistan, have begun. In the bench of the defendants, the famous human rights activist - Leila Zana - Laureate of the Sakharov Prize "For Freedom of Thought" and three former deputies of the parliament. The European Union criticized the verdict passed in 1994, accusing the Turkish authorities of violating the rights of the Kurdish minority.

Italian doctors found out that the gender of the unborn child is determined by the time of the year when conception occurred. It turned out that among children conceived in the autumn months, boys prevail, and in the spring - girls. Such conclusions are based on a statistical analysis of information accumulated over six years about more than 14 thousand newborns. This message was published in the next issue of Human Reproduction magazine.

In Karelia, the court for the first time in Russia satisfied the citizen’s claim against the company to pay compensation for environmental harm. This was announced today by the representative of the plaintiff - the head of the Ariston Ecological Fund Andrei Kozlovich. The court ordered the Nadvoitsky aluminum plant to pay a resident of the village of Nadvoitsa Dmitry Kuzin 50 thousand rubles - for spoiled health.

The American and British troops today attacked Iraqi positions around the city of En-Sadzhaf in the central part of Iraq. The correspondent of our radio reports that 30 Iraqi tanks were destroyed between the En-Valijaf and Karbeli. According to the Iraq ministry, 26 Iraqi were killed in the Night Battle of En-Sadzhaf, and the allied troops were repelled. US Army representative General Brooks said the American units won the battle.

In Austria, in one of the monasteries, a medieval manuscript was found, which is the oldest version of the Nibelungs saga. Three written versions of the famous German epic dating back to the 12th century were still known. According to experts, the discovered text is more ancient. Unlike already known poetic options for the legend, this text is prosaic. The legend gained worldwide fame thanks to the opera of Richard Wagner "The Ring of the Nibelungs".

The United States intends to use part of the frozen accounts of the Saddam Hussein regime (billion 600 million dollars) for the post -war Iraq recovery. According to the representative of the US Department of Finance, the accounts were blocked 10 years ago - in order to prevent the Iraqi dictator to support international terrorism.

The US Congress called on President George Bush to appoint a day of national prayer for military personnel fighting in Iraq. The House of Representatives made this decision by the overwhelming majority of votes. Previously, the resolution was supported by the Senate. It is still unknown whether George Bush will listen to the call of lawmakers.

Liz Cates: I'm choked with everything. May flower pollen, milk, dust, cats, dogs. Hear the soul. The feeling is as if in my chest there is not enough space for air. Marina Efimova: You hear the asthmatic breathing of allergic Liz Cates. Oh blooming May, allergic time! Once people with watery eyes, constantly sneezing into paper napkins, were an insignificant minority in America. Now this is a third of adults and 40 percent of children. Let's listen to the sufferers.