News

On December 27, Serzh Sargsyan, current President of Armenia, filed an application to participate in the presidential election. This was reported by the press service of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of the Republic.

In Sochi, in the residential neighbourhood of "Zavokzalny", water in the water pipelines has acquired an unpleasant smell, and it is impossible to drink it. This was reported by local residents.

In Syria, 7000 natives of Dagestan appeared to be in the centre of war events, and more than 200 of them have expressed their desire to return to the republic and to obtain Russian citizenship. This was reported today by Mukhammad Nur Nidal, a representative of Syrian immigrants, at the press conference held at the edition office of the newspaper "Chernovik" (Draft) in Makhachkala.

Today, about 30 residents of the burned building located in No. 40 in Chebrikov Street 40 in Sochi held a protest action in front of the "Primorskaya" Hotel. Fire victims refused to leave the building and move to another hotel, and they also demanded to restore the burned building.

Dagestani law enforcement agents unlawfully detained Murad Shuaibov and later took him away to Kabardino-Balkaria. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by Baiat Shuaibova, the mother of the detainee.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has vetoed a part of the Law "On Amnesty". The ruling coalition "Georgian Dream" has claimed that they have sufficient resources to overcome the veto.

North Ossetia held a ceremony of farewell to Ibragim Dudarov, Deputy Mufti of the Republic, the imam of the mosque of Vladikavkaz, who was killed on December 26. According to the calculations of the "Caucasian Knot", during 2012, in Northern Caucasus, at least ten religious leaders were killed eight in Dagestan, one in the Stavropol Territory, and one in North Ossetia.

Suren Gazaryan from Krasnodar, an activist of the "Ecological Watch for Northern Caucasus", who fears of persecution by the authorities of the Russian Federation, has appealed to Estonia with a request for political asylum.

The opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC) decided not to support any candidate involved in running for the presidency. This was reported by the statement of the ANC which was disseminated today.

The protest action against the dismissal of Khazret Blyagoz, Rector of the Maikop State Technological University (MSTU), was attended by 300 teachers and 100 students. The protest action was held today at the building of the MSTU.

Today, Arman Melikyan, ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nagorno-Karabakh, made a statement about his intention to run for the position of President of Armenia.

Starting from January 2013, families living in Tbilisi can expect to receive vouchers for payment for utilities. This was reported by the Mayoralty of the Georgian capital.

Yunus-Bek Evkurov, the leader of Ingushetia, does not rule out the possibility that Dokku Umarov is in the mountainous regions of the republic.

As a result of the earthquake, which occurred in the Black Sea near the coasts of Georgia, dozens of buildings were damaged in the city of Kobuleti.

The today's list of pardoned persons in Azerbaijan includes 13 political prisoners, including two earlier recognized by the Amnesty International as "prisoners of conscience" – a human rights activist Vidadi Iskenderov and a member of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA) Shakhin Gasanli.

Today, the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Armenia has received three applications for participation in the presidential election on February 18, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

Today, the order of the Minister of Education and Sciences of the Russian Federation Dmitry Livanov has dismissed Hazrat Blyagoz, the Rector of the Maikop State Technological University (MSTU). Teachers and students of the university are planning to hold a protest action against his dismissal.

The criminal case against 16 Jehovah's Witnesses in Taganrog (Rostov Region), accused of extremism, was not fully investigated; the inquiry has been extended, says the answer of the Russian General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) to the appeal of Russian human rights activists, which was received today by the editorial board of the "Caucasian Knot".

The Stavropol Territorial Court in Pyatigorsk has ended the debates of the parties of the prosecution and the defence in the case of the residents of the Neftekumsk District, accused of plotting terror acts. The prosecutors have asked for the punishment for the defendants in the form of 22, 24 and 25 years in prison.

In the village of Liman, Astrakhan Region, five persons were hurt by a collapse of a two-storey residential house; three of them were hospitalized.