The chances of starting a dialogue between the United States and North Korea on the issue of its nuclear program have recently improved, ”said US Secretary of State Colin Powell. According to him, however, now there is no specific date of the beginning of such consultations. The other day, Pyongyang actually refused to negotiate only Washington. The United States believe that China, South Korea and Japan should also participate in the negotiations.

The Control and Disciplinary Committee of the European Football Union (UEFA) decided that the qualifying match of the European Championship of 2004 between the national teams of Georgia and Russia will be held on April 30 in Tbilisi in empty stands. This ended the trial of incidents during the game of Georgia - Switzerland, when extraneous objects, including a knife, flew on the field from the stands. In the Greek city of Lutraki, the European heavy athletics championship began.

The leader of the Palestine Liberation Front Group Abbas was detained on Monday in Iraq with special units of the US Armed Forces, American officials reported yesterday in Washington. Abbas was captured in the suburbs of the Iraqi capital and is in custody in Baghdad. In 1985, Abbas was the organizer of the capture of Akille Lauro in the Mediterranean Sea. Four armed persons took passengers hostage and the crew of the vessel, demanding the release of 50 Palestinian prisoners to Israel.

George Bush: Syria should know that we expect complete cooperation from her. And that we urge them not to allow members of the Baas party, the Saddam family or a fugitive general to look for and find a shelter in this country. We expect that they will do everything possible to prevent the hiding of those who should appear before justice. And if they are already in this country, then we expect that the Syrian authorities will give them an interested side.

The terrorist operations in Bosnia and Croatia during the war in the Balkans were financed by Slobodan Milosevich, at that time by the President of Yugoslavia, the witness in the Gaga Tribunal said in the Gaga Tribunal in the case of Milosevich. The witness is the former secretary Zhelko Roznatovich, known for the nickname Arkan. Arkan commanded during the war a paramilitary unit "Tigers", which conducted the so -called "special operations" in Bosnia and Croatia.

A re -complaint about the conviction issued by journalist Grigory Pasko at the end of 2000 was filed to the Presidium of the Supreme Court of Russia. Journalist’s lawyer Henry Reznik said that he was asking for the decision to cancel the lack of corpus delicti. Pasko, who wrote on environmental topics, was found guilty of espionage and sentenced to 4 years of conclusion. In January of this year, he was ahead of schedule and announced his intention to seek recognition of his innocence.

In Athens, where the summit of the leaders of the European Union opened, fierce clashes between the police and demonstrators who protested against the war in Iraq took place. The center of the capital of Greece is numb. 20 thousand policemen are brought to the streets. The main question of the agenda of the two -day summit is the expansion of the European Union.

The prosecutor's office of Tatarstan opened a criminal case against Alexander Talov, General Director of the Kazan Scientific and Production Enterprise, MI Helicopters. He is accused of illegal business. The prosecutor's office claims that Talov, without a special permission, entered into a contract and modernization of about 20 Mi-17 helicopters, which are in service with the Turkish gendarmerie.

French President Jacques Shirak told US President George Bush that his country was ready to play a "pragmatic" role in the post -war Iraq. Shirak called Bush to express his joy about the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime and the satisfaction of topics. that the war was short. According to Shirak, France is ready to help the United States in the creation of the Iraqi administration, in the restoration of the country and the development of its oil resources.

Vladimir Abarinov , Washington: Units of the US Marine Corps continue to control the city of Tikrite and objects close to it. Intelligence suggests that there are still many former high-ranking functionaries of the regime in the city, including, possibly, Saddam Hussein himself. The American military, first of all, installed their checkpoints on all roads leading from the city and carefully search government buildings and private houses of members of the former Iraqi leadership.

US President George Bush again proposed to sharply reduce taxes so that the country's economy could get out of the crisis. Speaking yesterday in the White House, Bush called on Congress to reduce the tax burden for Americans by $ 550 billion. According to him, this will make it possible by the end of next year to create almost one and a half million new jobs. Three months ago, the US president proposed reducing taxes even more - by $ 726 billion, but Congress did not support him.

The leaders of the Persian Gulf countries - the US allies in the region - reject Washington’s accusations against Syria that it is developing chemical weapons and covering the leaders of the Iraq regime. The statement was adopted last night at a meeting in the capital of Saudi Arabia - Riyadh. The meeting participants called on the United States and the UK to dialogue with Damascus.

The Federal Tax Police Service opened a criminal case against the Spartak football club on the fact of non-return from abroad and tax failure from funds received by the team in the 98th year in the Italian Roma Dmitry Alenichev. Says our correspondent Nikita Vaulin.

The UN Human Rights Commission condemned North Korea for systematic human rights violations. The resolution speaks of torture and public executions, about the harsh restrictions on freedom of speech and religion. The document was supported by 28 countries, 10 voted against. South Korea abstained from voting, since, in her opinion, the resolution can enhance the tension in relations with the DPRK.

Host Christina Gorelik "All men are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and must act towards each other in a spirit of brotherhood." Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The new law on Russian citizenship came into force on July 1 last year. However, documents for obtaining a residence permit have not been accepted from people since then.