In Baghdad, 48 people died as a result of the explosion of three mined cars. Over 80 people are injured. Explosions occurred on Wednesday in crowded markets in the Baghdad district of Sadr City, inhabited mainly by Shiites. Last week, 150 people became victims of the two terrorist attacks in Baghdad and the Northern Iraqi Province of Dyal. The authorities are accused of organizing explosions of Sunni extremists.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul said that a possible signing of an agreement between his country and Armenia will have a beneficial effect on Azerbaijan. Gul spoke on Wednesday in Prague. He noted that the restoration of good neighborliness between Turkey and Armenia will serve to stabilize the situation in the entire Caucasian region. Between Armenia and Azerbaijan, tense relations are maintained in connection with a dispute around Nagorno -Karabakh.

Today in the heading "Speaking of freedom" the voice of the Russian artist Mstislav Dobuzhinsky. Air December 18, 1957. In recent years, Mstislav Valerianovich lived in the United States. An employee of the New York Bureau Boris Orshansky recorded an interview with the artist just two days before his death. The voice of Mstislav Dobuzhinsky. Boris Orshansky: The Radio Station correspondent says liberation in the United States of America.

Olga Romanova Curious things are happening in the world, gentlemen. Especially in the crisis and especially in Russia. Incredibly piquant small, incredible events are: the devil, as is known in the little things. For example, in the week the Federal Service of Russia for Financial Monitoring announced that criminal groups are increasingly trying to cash out money in a crisis. The head of the department was the deputy chairman Dmitry Skobelkin.

One of the leaders of the "Tambov criminal group" Gennady Petrov in the hands of Spanish justice The Spanish police announced the detention of three persons suspected of involvement in the money laundering of the so -called "Russian mafia", exposed in Spain last year during a large -scale operation, under the code name "Troika". The detentions were carried out in the south of Spain in the province of Malag by order of the judicial investigator Baltasar Garzon .

"Free conversation on free topics." On May 3, the program "Everyone is free." Visiting Viktor Shenderovich - Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Movement "Solidarity" Denis Bilunov. Send your answers to our website or call on May 3 from 18 to 19 hours on a live broadcast on a multi-channel phone 8-800-22-12. Join our conversation.

The tragedy in Baku the number of victims of shooting at the Azerbaijan Oil Academy in Baku reached 13, the same amount of wounded, - the Ministry of Health of Azerbaijan said. It is reported that fire from a pistol was opened by a 29 -year -old citizen of Georgia - Azerbaijani by nationality, who was not a student of the Academy. He committed suicide. The motives of the shooter are not yet clear - information about his quarrel with students is not confirmed.

In New York, a former field commander of Afghan Mujahideen and ally of Talibov Bashir Nurzai was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was convicted of heroin trade and participation in underground activities. The court found that Nurzai owned large plantations of opium poppy in the Afghan province of Kandahar and oversee the production of heroin in the regions bordering with Pakistan. Already in the 1990s, Nurzai created a dealer network for the sale of heroin in New York.

The international (gold and foreign exchange) reserves of Russia for the period from April 17 to 24 decreased by $ 4.2 billion or by about 1.1% to $ 380.6 billion, the Central Bank said. Thus, since mid -August 2008, when the country's international reserves reached the historical maximum - $ 598 billion, their volume has decreased by about 36.3%. Golden reserves are large than Russia in the world - China and Japan today.

Former Head of the Far Eastern Customs General Ernest Bakhshetsyan In the Primorsky Territory, a loud trial is nearing completion, in the center of which is the figure of the former head of the Far Eastern Customs Administration Ernest Bakhshetsyan. He is accused of smuggling and abuse of authority. At the same time, according to statistics, it was with Bakhshetsyan that smuggling volumes in the Primorsky Territory were reduced several times.

The program is conducted by Mark Krutov. The Radio Liberty correspondent in Vladivostok Marina Loboda takes part. Mark Krutov: In the Primorsky Territory, a loud trial is nearing completion, in the center of which the figure of the former head of the Far Eastern Customs Administration Ernest Bakhshitsyan. He is accused of smuggling and abuse of authority.

In Rostov-on-Don, on Wednesday evening, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Corruption and Crime" Vyacheslav Yaroshenko was attacked. According to the Radio Liberty correspondent Sergey Sleptsov, in serious condition Yaroshenko was taken to the clinic with a skull injury by Yaroshenko. The operation ended at five in the morning. The journalist is in the intensive care unit, he is unconscious. Doctors observing the state of Yaroshenko said that the forecast is uninhabited.

Volzhsky and other Russian car factories stop conveyors until the end of the holidays Half of the Russian automakers stop the conveyors until May 12. For the forced simple workers will receive approximately 2/3 salaries. The independent union of AvtoVAZ tried to protest, but to no avail. AvtoVAZ stops production until May 12. According to the press service of the Volga Automobile Plant, except for the holidays (May 1 and 9) and the weekend, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, were announced by non-working days.

(Alla Golovacheva, Gennady Shelyugin)