Nation

President opens renovated orthodox church
President Heydar Aliyev, leaders of religious communities in Azerbaijan, and Russian Ambassador Nikolay Ryabov took part on Monday in the opening ceremony of the  cathedral church  of Jen-Mironosets, which has been recently repaired. A message by Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexi II was read out at the ceremony. The message expresses gratitude to the Azerbaijani government for its attention to the church.
Congratulating orthodox believers on the opening of their church, Heydar Aliyev said the state pays special importance to freedom of religion in Azerbaijan that is home to a variety of beliefs.
At the ceremony, bishop of Baku and the Caspian region Alexander was awarded the Sohrat (Honour) order of Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, Aydin Qurbanov, vice-president of All-Russia Azerbaijanis Congress, received an order of the Russian Orthodox Church for his contributions to  repairing  Jen-Mironosets in accordance with a decree issued by Alexi II.

Foreign Ministry expects nothing from OSCE co-chairs' visit
Trouble-shooters for the OSCE Minsk Group are to visit the region anew late April - early May. Following the announcement, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Vilayat Quliyev told AssA-Irada that he expects nothing new from the visit. "Prior to holding exchanges of opinion on new proposals, it would be difficult to say to what extent they are new and acceptable to Azerbaijan," the minister said. Meanwhile, the local press reports that co-chairs of the Minsk Group are to come with new proposals on adjustment of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Upper Qarabag.

Iraqi ambassador rules out influx of refugees
Iraqi Ambassador to Azerbaijan Dr. Qalib Abd-Huseyn has refuted rumours on the influx of refugees into Azerbaijan as a result of US-led military strike on his country. The ambassador believes that refugees, fleeing from mass bombardments on their land, take, as expected, refuge in what has once been created by the United States and now called the "zone of security" in the northern part of Iraq.
Hoping that official Baku will not yield to the US call to close of the Iraqi embassy, the ambassador stressed diplomatic relations between Iraq and Azerbaijan had not been established under dictates of any nation.
Speaking to AssA-Irada, Ambassador Abd Hussein recalled of thousands of Azeris ready for defending the Iraqi people since the threat of war was loomed, and thanked the people of Azerbaijan for moral support.
No embassy closure
"Thus far, official Baku has not applied to the Iraqi embassy in Azerbaijan to stop its operation."
In his interview to AssA-Irada, Ambassador Hussein said that for five days of the war the embassy had proceeded to function on regular regime, including relations with local authorities.
He added that only a few nations had evicted Iraqi diplomats in reply to President George W. Bush's appeal.
Religious accusation
The Iraqi ambassador accused the US of a dirty tricks campaign, saying that having realized it can not defeat Iraq by force Washington has resorted to breeding religious strife and for this purpose, encourages Sunnite-Shiite confrontation.
He claims the Iraqi army has destroyed six US jets and two helicopters, one British jet, and 27 tanks of the coalition forces.
The 25 coalition soldiers had been killed, while 29 missiles were hit in the air. He pointed out to that oil wells had caught fire as a result of sustained bombardment of Baghdad, Basra, Najaf, Mosul and Karkuk.

Saudi Arabia regrets war on Iraq
The Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister, Prince Said Al-Faysal made a statement on the current situation in Iraq. The Saudi embassy in Azerbaijan has informed AssA-Irada that the statement expresses great concern and regret over the launch of strikes on Iraq. The statement stresses that Saudi Arabia will not join the war against Iraq by any means.
Prince Said Al-Faysal voices hope that the action on Iraq will be stopped soon, peace initiatives and efforts being deployed will not damage Iraq's sovereignty, domestic stability, regional co-operation, and will not lead to the occupation of the country.

Pakistan wants end to strike
"Official Islamabad supports the territorial integrity of Iraq and calls on other nations to respect Iraqi sovereignty". At a news conference on Saturday Pakistani Ambassador to Azerbaijan Faiz Mohammed Khoso said that his country supported a swift end to activity in Iraq and resolution through UN Security Council efforts. He stressed that Pakistan would be the first nation to provide humanitarian aid to Iraq after the war was over. The ambassador added that Pakistan canceled celebrations of the National Independence day on 23 March at its diplomatic legations abroad due to the strike on Iraq.

French humanitarian aid
Foreign Minister Vilayat Quliyev received the French Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Shantal Puare, on 22 March. They exchanged views on the ongoing developments in Iraq and expressed hope that the actions would end as soon as possible.
Shantal Puare stressed the necessity for joint efforts of the UN member states to reach peace, saying that France is supportive to render humanitarian aid to Iraq.

OSCE workshop on money laundering      
The OSCE Baku office has informed AssA-Irada that the workshop aims to promote adoption of comprehensive legislation in combination with creation of effective structures for financial analysis, criminal investigation, prosecution as well as procedures consistent with principles of good governance and rule of law.
"In recent years worldwide efforts to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism have assumed heightened importance. These are global problems that not only threaten security, but also compromise the stability, transparency, and efficiency of financial systems, thus undermining economic prosperity", said Robin Seaword Deputy Head of the OSCE Office in Baku. "An international co-operation is essential in resisting these problems and this workshop is the first step in this regards."
By facilitating this workshop, the OSCE Office in Baku, in co-ordination with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime Global Programme Against Money Laundering and the Office of the Co-coordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, intends to raise awareness on money laundering and financing terrorism, to familiarize participants with legal and administrative tools to combat these problems and to identify needs for further legislative and institutional development relevant to combating money laundering and financing terrorism.

Terri Davis postpones visit
The rapporteur on Upper Qarabag of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) monitoring committee, Terri Davis, was to visit Baku on 23 March to 26. The Council of Europe Baku office informed AssA-Irada that the visit had been postponed due to intensified discussions in the England parliament over the Iraqi crisis. The date of the visit will be decided after the PACE spring session due in April.

Workshop on nuclear test prohibition
A three-day regional workshop on international co-operation with Central Asian and Caucasian nations within the organisation of the treaty on comprehensive prohibition of nuclear tests started at Grand Hotel Europe on Tuesday. Participating the event are the delegations from 14 countries, including Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kirgizistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, the Ukraine, Moldova and Russia. Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov co-chaired the workshop joined by an official from the organisation, Wolfang Hoffman.

Int’l pluralism conference for Baku
The 18th conference of the International Pluralism Centres' Network (IPCN) is to be held in Baku on April 4 to 6. The press office of the Inam pluralism centre told AssA-Irada that at the conference, coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the IPCN, there would be  reports on 10-years of activity by the IPCN, state of democracy in the network-covered regions over the past decade, work underway and future plans. More than 50 representatives from the United States and about 20 nations in Europe and Asia are expected to attend the event organised by the US Institute of Democracy in Eastern Europe (IDEE) and the Inam pluralism centre.

National conference on iodine deficiency
A national conference on iodine deficiency diseases started at the Health Ministry on Monday. Opening the event Health Minister Ali Insanov said lack of iodine leads to serious illness, adding that a national program on fighting against iodine deficiency and its prophylactics had been adopted in Azerbaijan. The project was prepared jointly with UNICEF and included in the poverty reduction program.  It is implemented using a $850,000 grant allocated by the Japan Fund. Speaking to the event, MP Hadi Racabli said this problem was in the care of the state and Milli Maclis (parliament) had passed the law on preventing iodine deficiency diseases. The population's demand for iodized salt is 40,000 tons per year, of which only 10 per cent is produced in the country. The conference is to complete its work on Tuesday.