Syrian Foreign Minister Faruk Ash Shara arrived on Thursday in Beirut for negotiations with the Lebanese President Emil Lakhud - on the eve of the visit of US Secretary of State Colin Powell to Syria and Lebanon. Ash Shara said that he intends to transfer to Lakhud the message of President Syria Bashar al-Assad and discuss the upcoming negotiations with Powell with the Lebanese leadership.

In Afghanistan, the sila of the International Anti -Terrorism Coalition will continue to search for the surviving Taliban and militants of al -Qaeda, ”said the representative of the American military Roger King. Despite yesterday’s statement by the head of the Pentagon Donald Ramsfeld that large -scale military operations in Afghanistan have been completed, the country - according to King - remains the war zone.

India Prime Minister Atal Bikhari Vajpai said today that in the near future, he would restore diplomatic relations and air communication with Pakistan. The other day, the first one and a half, the telephone conversation of the Prime Minister of Pakistan, the world of Zafarulla Khan Jamali with the head of the Indian government, took place.

In Baghdad, a meeting of the leaders of the leading parties in Iraq, which discussed the prospects of creating a new government of the country, ended. As the assistant leader of the Iraqi National Congress Ahmad Chalabi said, Iraqi politicians reached an agreement with the US representatives on the conference for the election of a transitional national government.

Foreign Ministers of the European Union called for Israel and Palestinians to begin implementation of the Peace Medical Plan, developed by the United States, the UN, the EU and Russia. At the meeting on the Greek Island, the EU ministers will also discuss the post -war situation in Iraq and the problems of relations between the EU and the USA, which were complicated during the Iraq crisis.

Foreign Ministers of the European Union holds a meeting on the Greek Island of Rhodes. The main topics are the post -war situation in Iraq and the Israeli -Palestinian conflict. The problems of relations between the EU and the USA, which have become somewhat stretched during the Iraq crisis, will be affected. France, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg recently proposed to create - separately from NATO - the United European Military Command.

Another associate of Saddam Hussein was arrested in Iraq. According to the American Central Command, Misbas Hader Hadi, a former member of the Supreme Council of the Iraq revolutionary command and one of the leaders of the BAAS party, was detained yesterday in Baghdad. Hadi was listed at number 41 in the list of 55 wanted members of the Iraqi leadership. The Central Command’s report also says about the arrest of the former minister of trade Iraq Muhammad Mahdi al-Salikh.

The number of victims of atypical pneumonia in the world exceeded 410 people, about 6 thousand are infected, ”the World Health Organization said today. In China, 11 more patients died, 8 in Hong Kong. In Beijing, about a hundred people were hospitalized. On the outskirts of the Chinese capital, a new hospital is urgently deployed, in which 156 patients with atypical pneumonia are placed. Military doctors are mobilized to work in the hospital.

Vladimir Morozov , New York: A new law was adopted in the state of Virginia against Spam, as advertising information sent by hundreds of millions of people without their permission and often against their will. Of all the laws that are currently existing in the United States, this is the most stringent. The law of Virginia provides for imprisonment for a period of one to five years and the confiscation of income received from the newsletter of Spam.

Marina Efimova: American, even on the day when he does not receive any letters, receives a thick pack of envelopes in the mail. In half of these envelopes, advertising, and in half the requests for donations - to children's hospitals, for medical research, on endangered animals, for Indian reservations. We, for lack of funds for charity, immediately throw all this into garbage. But not all. I secretly send 5 dollars from my husband to war veterans.

The situation in the Middle East after the end of the war in Iraq is the focus of the visit to Syria to US Secretary of State Colin Powell. On Saturday, he meets with the Syrian resident Bashar Assad. As expected, Powell will call Damascus to revise foreign policy. Washington claims that the Syrian leadership helps to hide the assistants of Saddam Hussein and provides support to the Palestinian extremist groups based in Lebanon.

Hundreds of thousands of people took part in the May Day demonstrations in different countries of the world on Thursday. In general, the shares were peacefully, but reports on several outbreaks of violence were received. In the Swiss city of Zurich, about a hundred manifestants in masks were thrown by police stones and bottles. In response, law enforcement officers shot with rubber bullets.

In Iraq, three more associates of Saddam Hussein were arrested. According to the American Central Command today, the ex-director of the Iraqi Department of Iraq ABD Al Tavab Mullah Huveisha (number 16 in the so-called 55-and-so-called vice-presidents of Taha Mukhil Al Dean Maruf (number 42) were detained (number 42).

In Beijing, the epidemic of atypical pneumonia reached the peak - the Chinese Ministry of Health said. However, according to doctors, it will not be possible to stop the spread of the disease in the near future. Over the past two weeks in the Chinese capital, on average, up to one hundred new cases of illness have been registered daily. 82 people died, more than one and a half thousand are infected.

Ukraine once again headed the list of countries that violate copyright in the field of musical and film products. In the annual report of the Commercial Chamber of the United States, Kyiv is accused of inability to stop the pirate production of CDs, video cars and the DVD. In this regard, the United States upheld the sanctions with a volume of $ 75 million, imposed on Ukraine last year. Ukraine is characterized as the most malicious offender from 50 countries mentioned in the list.