The United States will recommend to the Iraqi government to slow down the withdrawal of American troops only in the event of a “significant deterioration” of the situation in the country. This was announced on Monday by US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. Earlier on the same day, the commander of the American troops in Iraq, General Reimond Oderno, said that the schedule for the withdrawal of troops could be revised if Iraq will plunge into political chaos after the March 7th on March 7th.

In Rostov-on-Don, on the day of the defender of the Fatherland, the Communist Party activists held a rally in defense of the rights of military personnel. According to Radio Liberty correspondent Grigory Bochkarev, the action took place at the monument to the heroes of the Great Patriotic War.

Is the Russian hockey team capable of winning the Olympic tournament in Vancouver? The discussion on this topic will continue on the morning air of Radio Liberty on Wednesday, February 24, from 8 to 10 hours (Moscow time). You can take part in the conversation by calling 8-800-200-22-12 (a call from Russia is free). Attention: Skype users can express their opinion by leaving a message for the subscriber Radio.svoboda .

Immigrant from Afghanistan, accused of preparing a terrorist attack in New York in September last year, gave a confession. Speaking at a hearing in the US court, 25-year-old Najibullah Zazi said that he had provided material support to a group of extremists who planned an attack on the New York subway. Zazi also said that he was trained in the al-Qaeda camp in Pakistan, located in the mountainous region of Vaziristan on the border with Afghanistan.

In Moscow, the strongest snowfall in recent years has ended, which lasted more than four days. Over 15 thousand units of special equipment are now involved in the cleaning of snow, ”the city administration said. According to ITAR-TASS, on Monday evening, on some streets of Moscow, the height of the snowdrifts was almost one and a half meters.

Alexander Kynev Russian President Dmitry Medvedev submitted to the Legislative Assembly of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug the candidacy of Dmitry Kobylkin to give him the powers of the regional governor. Earlier, the United Russia party offered the president four candidates for the post of head of the region, including the current governor Yuri Neelov.

Irina Lagunina: At the Berlin Film Festival that ended last Saturday, the world premiere of the German documentary of the director Ilona Tsik “Fritz Bauer was held in the Panorama program. Death in parts. " I remind you that our correspondent in Berlin Yuri Veksler has already talked about the creation of this picture in one of the programs about modern German anti -fascism at the end of last year. But the impressions of the finished work.

"Without freedom in Ireland, there will never be peace" (Graffiti 1986) In Northern Ireland, on Monday evening, another terrorist attack occurred. The third car was blown up by the third car this year by the court of the trial in Newi. Earlier, the targets of terrorists became police sites in three North Irish counties.

The final summing up of the day of the past, the prospects of the day of the coming, discussing hot topics with guests of the morning broadcast.

Two people died as a result of a powerful hurricane, which fell on Monday evening in Tbilisi. According to Radio Liberty, Georgy Kobaladze, one person died when a tree torn with the root fell on his car. The second was also crushed by a tree in the Digomi area. In total, the wind pulled about 400 perennial trees out of the ground. At the same time, the hurricane tore the roofs from the houses.

In Kazan today, a rally was held against raising prices for housing and communal services. According to Radio Liberty, Oleg Pavlov, about 100 people gathered for the action. The main requirement was to reduce the rates of housing and communal services, which rose a lot in Tatarstan after the New Year. Among the slogans, one could see the requirement to reduce the share of housing and communal services to 10% of the total family income, as well as “European tariffs-European pensions” and others.

The newly elected President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych is expected to make the first foreign visit to Brussels. This newspaper Kommersant-Ukraine was reported by sources in the structures of the European Union. According to them, the trip is scheduled for March 1. The preliminary program of the visit is also agreed, in particular, meetings with the EU leadership. Officially, Yanukovych’s trip will be announced after the inauguration, which will be held on February 25.

Other articles and programs here: Heroes of Yves Tolstoy Tolstoii@rferl.org