News

The accession of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM), or Muftiate, of Chechnya to the World Islamic League is another trump card in the hands of the Chechen leadership, which is positioning itself as a promoter of Islamic ideas in Russia, observers assert.

Zubair Tukhugov has not become a "superstar", but his performances for the "Akhmat" Club can be beneficial both for him and for the club, sports journalists assert. Although due to the scandal with the UFC, his situation is not the best, the "Akhmat" may benefit from his move.

On October 25, a case on verification of the constitutionality of the law on the Chechen-Ingush border will be considered at the request of MPs and residents of the republic. This was announced by the Constitutional Court of Ingushetia on Thursday.

The leader of Chechnya supported his fellow villager Zubair Tukhugov, who was dismissed from a battle at the UFC tournament after slapping fighter Conor McGregor. Ramzan Kadyrov advised Zubair Tukhugov to beat his offenders more strongly next time and invited him to fight for the "Akhmat" Club.

The resolution of the World Congress of the Ingush People on the border agreement will force the authorities of Ingushetia to listen to the protesters' demands, activists believe. There will be no active response to the Congress resolution, believes political analyst Alexei Malashenko.

In Armenia, the first round of voting in parliament for the election of the Prime Minister is scheduled for October 24. This is reported by the administration of the Armenian National Assembly.

New political and ideological trends in the Russian Muslim community was the topic of Orientalists' discussion at the seminar "Caucasus in the Past and Present" held in Moscow.

The Baku Court of Appeal (BCA) has dismissed a complaint filed by Nemat Panakhly, the chairman of the National Statehood Party of Azerbaijan, about his administrative arrest. The oppositionist associated his prosecution with the criticism of the authorities.

In the centre of Vladikavkaz, more than 50 people gathered to light candles in memory of the people who fell victim to an attack at the Kerch Polytechnic College.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ordered the Armenian authorities to pay Grigor Voskerchyan and Masis Aivazyan 7500 euros in total in compensation for their unjustified arrest in the case on disorders on March 1, 2008.

After the complaint had been filed about torture in a penal colony in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, inspections were carried out in a formal way, and violations of prisoners' rights still take place, said Aslan Cherkesov, a native of Nalchik, sentenced for killing football fan Yegor Sviridov.

Adam Delimkhanov, a member of the State Duma, helped to return Maxim Yakovlev, kidnapped in Abkhazia, to his relatives. This was announced by Ramzan Kadyrov ten days after the report on the release of the businessman.

Over the past 24 hours, units of the Armed Forces of Armenia violated the ceasefire regime for 29 times by using large-calibre machine guns, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence (MoD) has reported.

At military exercises in Abkhazia, anti-aircraft gunners of the Russia's Southern Military District (SMD) repelled air strikes of a conditional enemy on important republic's facilities. The exercises involved more than 60 weapons and equipment units, the SMD has informed.

Nikol Pashinyan has resigned, thereby initiating the procedure of early parliamentary elections, since he is confident in the predictability of outcomes thereof, political analysts believe.

Soslan Gassiev has won two gold medals in the weight category of 90 kg at the World Armwrestling Championships in Turkey. Athletes from South Ossetia have also won three silver medals.

The Baku Court of Appeal (CoA) refused to satisfy the complaint lodged by the blogger Mekhman Guseinov, who asked to release him under CER (conditional early relief). The defence will seek the abolition of this decision at the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan.

Ramzan Kadyrov has expressed threats to the organizers of the rally in Magas, inviting them to hold a rally in the territory they treat as illegally transferred to Chechnya. His harsh statements against Ingush activists may cause another round of tension, observers in Chechnya have noted.

Over 1800 employees of the Omega Group and 200 more of the "Iberia" TV Company lost their jobs due to authorities' revenge for publicizing corruption information. This was stated by Nato Chkheidze, the founder of the above TV Company and a Georgian MP.

Vladimir Putin entrusted Yunus-Bek Evkurov to solve the problem with protests in Magas, believes political analyst Azhdar Kurtov. His colleague Akhmet Yarlykapov believes the events in Magas illustrate the confusion of the authorities.