For the first time in a quarter century, Iranian President Mohammad Hatam arrived in Bahrain - as part of a trip to the countries of the Middle East. On Friday, during a visit to Yemen -Mohammad Hatam and President Ali Abdullah Salekh signed an agreement on cooperation in the fight against terrorism and the exchange of intelligence information.

The American command announced the arrest of three more members of the former Iraqi leadership. During the raid of American troops, the head of the local BAAS party, Adil Abdullah Mahdi AT-Duri Austikriti and two former Iraqi generals, whose names are not called the head of the BAAS party, were detained. All three are included in the list of 55 of the most wanted members of the former Iraqi leadership.

In the French city, Doville today is a meeting of the Ministers of Finance "Big Eight". The focus of two -day negotiations is the restoration of Iraq and the current economic recession. The Minister of Finance of the United States John Snow on the eve of the meeting called on the leading industrial powers of the world to create conditions for economic growth and increase the number of jobs.

In Slovakia today a two -day referendum begins on the country's entry into the European Union. Voting will be recognized as part if at least half of voters take part in it. Over ten years of independence, in a referendum in Slovakia, a sufficient number of votes have been presented. If the results of the referendum are canceled, the agreement on joining the European Union may be ratified by parliament.

The office of the head of the Government of the Palestinian Autonomy denies the report that the Cabinet member of the Saab Erekat, who was responsible for peace negotiations with Israel, resigned. The resignation was reported by Western news agencies with reference to informed Palestinian sources. The reports said that the Prime Minister of Autonomy Mahmoud Abbas promised to give an answer to the Erekate statement in a week. Erekat itself refuses to comment on what is happening.

In Yekaterinburg, two military personnel of the motorized rifle regiment are hospitalized with signs of lung tuberculosis. Seven more people are aimed at an additional examination, ”the press service of the rear of the Armed Forces of Russia was promising today. The military claims that since April, when the first tuberculosis was revealed, the spread of the disease was stopped.

In one of the previous programs (or in the previous one?), I said, answering the listener's question, which I do not know what is the meaning of life. And he made an enemy. “Joke to make a joke ,” writes Nikolai Miller from Poland. “ I don’t like your programs. My opinion displays the mood of honest and fair people who are used to living independently, and the authorities are useless to us. Any power is violence over the people.

EU leadership Javier Solan met in Ramallach with Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat and Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas. They discussed the “Road Map” plan aimed at the peaceful settlement of the Middle Eastern crisis. Solan expressed satisfaction with the results of the meeting. On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon abolished the meeting with Solana.

The author of the program Alexander Genis Now, as after September 11, it is not too comfortable in New York. Of course, our city is no exception. Today everyone in the world is hard. It's not only about Iraq. The war begun by terror, how the president of Bush does not get tired of everyone, has been going on for the second year. Worst of all, no one knows where the front line takes place. Living without a rear, we are already getting used to waiting for a blow always and from everywhere.

Victoria Munblit , Tel Aviv: almost on the eve of the beginning of the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in the United States, there was a clear cooling between Washington and Jerusalem. The White House does not hide his dissatisfaction with the latest statements by Ariel Sharon that he does not intend to dismantle the settlement of Beit El and an awl on the western bank of the Jordan.

The host of the St. Petersburg hour of the Liberty Live program Olga Pispanen: our time is the time of discoveries, however, more recently, ufologists were considered mentally ill, and people who saw "flying saucers" advised to go straight to a psychiatric hospital. Now in almost all countries, organizations engaged in the study of UFOs have been created. Today, our guest is the chairman of the Ufological Commission of the Russian Geographical Society Mikhail Gershtein.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and US Secretary of State Colin Powell consider it necessary to remove international sanctions from Iraq as soon as possible. After today's negotiations with Powell in Berlin, Schroeder said that - in the light of developing events - sanctions no longer makes sense.

The UN Security Council is discussing today a draft resolution on Iraq, proposed by the United States, Great Britain and Spain. The document provides, in particular, the cancellation no later than June 3 of sanctions imposed against Baghdad in the early 90s. According to the authors of the project, the UN should play an active role in the management of Iraq and its restoration, but the main powers in this matter will remain in the hands of the United States and its allies.

At least five people were killed as a result of new clashes in the north of Afghanistan. According to reports from the area of the fighting, in the city of Mazari-Sharif and its environs, shootings between the detachments of local Tajiks, led by Odta Mohammad and the formations of ethnic Uzbeks, commanded by General Rashid Dustum, again broke out. Both military leaders enter the current leadership of Afghanistan.

Marina Timasheva , Moscow: Moscow Chekhovsky - the most representative international theater festival of Russia. It takes two months and represents the largest names of all parts of the world. A special line this year was performances from China, including the famous Beijing opera, but their performances were canceled. Atypical pneumonia intervened during the theater holiday. It can be considered a tradition that the festival starts with a street action.