News

In Chechnya, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan will begin on August 2, a day later than in the entire Muslim world. This decision was adopted by the Republic's Muftiat. Some believers are discontent with that decision.

During excavations of Sarai-Batu, the Golden Horde's capital, situated near the village of Selitrennoye of the Kharabali District of the Astrakhan Region, archaeologists from the cities of Astrakhan and Yoshkar-Ola discovered rare findings belonging to a medieval child.

The European Court of Human Rights for the first time in its practice concerning Northern Caucasus demanded from the Russian Federation to take urgent and concrete measures to secure safety of Tamerlan Suleimanov kidnapped in Grozny this May.

A preparatory session on the case of four oppositional activists made criminally liable for participation in an unauthorized meeting with the demand of democratic reforms on April, 2, in the capital of Azerbaijan is appointed on August, 12, in Sabaiil district court of Baku.

On July, 31, a meeting within “Strategy-31” project in protection of freedom of assembly permitted by a decision of the court passed off near Gorky Park of Rostov-on-Don.

The village of Pervomaisky of the Caucasian Mineral Waters Region welcomes the first Open Caucasian Singer-Rock Festival "We want peace!" The registered list of singers and rock musicians includes not only representatives of the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD), but also guests from many regions of Russia, the CIS countries and far-abroad countries.

Human rights activists, lawyers and relatives of Zubair Zubairaev, a convicted Chechen resident, filed an application to Alexander Reimer, Director of the Russian Federal Correction Service (FSIN), to release Zubair Zubairaev on health grounds.

The sentence against Shakhin Gasanli, the head of the organizational division of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), who had been convicted to two years of imprisonment, will be challenged at the court of appeal. This was reported by Mansum Bairamov, the Gasanli's lawyer.

The highway in the Akhty District of Dagestan, which was blocked by the picketers for more than a day, last night was opened to vehicle traffic. The picketers, who organized the protest action demanding to detain the offender who had killed a man and wounded five other people in a mass brawl, agreed to open the highway for a promise that the head of Dagestan would meet with them.

Yesterday, on July 29, a new record in baking a giant Adzharian khachapuri was set in Batumi.

The resort dwelling settlement of Anaklia has been chosen to be the place for the memorial sacred to the victims of genocide against the Circassian people. This was reported by Papuna Davitaya, Georgian State Minister for Diaspora Affairs. The opening of the memorial is scheduled for 2012.

At a meeting with representatives of the LLC "Sofrakht-Invest" on the investment project "Establishment and Development of the Agricultural Industrial Park "AgroDagItaly", which was held on July 29, the Dagestan leader Magomedsalam Magomedov called the project "one of the most interesting, attractive, and socially significant" and promised his support for the project.

The court in the Krasnodar Territory will consider the case against 17 teenagers accused of organizing riots in a juvenile correctional facility in the city of Belorechensk.

South Ossetia sees itself as an independent international entity; however, it will strive to create a union state with Russia, said its president Eduard Kokoity.

In Ingushetia, Zurab Albogachiev, a resident of the village of Gamurzievo, who had been firstly kidnapped and then released by the unidentified persons, gave testimony to testified investigator Evloev from the Investigatory Committee, who leads the criminal case of kidnapping. According to the human rights activists, the unidentified persons tortured Albogachiev to confess his involvement in the armed underground.

Today, a protest action "I am also a refugee" was held in front of the residence of the Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili in Tbilisi. The protesters demanded to fulfil a pre-election campaign promise of the President that all internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in the Georgian capital, would become residents of Tbilisi.

The number of the frescoes painted by Minas Avetisyan (Minas), the great Armenian painter, will remain in the second largest city of Armenia – Gyumri. In accordance with the decision of the Armenian government, the restoration of two artist's frescoes will begin in the nearest future, stated Tigran Sarkisyan, Prime Minister of Armenia.

A group of former members of the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan held a press conference in the Baku Media Centre and demanded the release from custody of Arif Gadjily, their former colleague, the current head of the central office of the "Musavat" Party, whose case was sent to the court today.

On July 27 Armenia gave a warm welcome to its men national chess team, which with not a single defeat became the world chess champion at the 8th World Team Championship held on July 15-26 in the Chinese city of Ningbo.

For more than 24 hours already more than 300 people continue to block the highway in the Akhty District of Dagestan. The protesters demand to detain the local, who killed one and gave wounds to five persons in a mass brawl.