News

On August 22, as a result of a fire opened on supporters of the CPRF (Communist Party of the Russian Federation) candidate in the Babayurt District of Dagestan one person was lost, two militiamen and two locals were wounded. With a demand to punish all those guilty over 200 persons blocked the "Kavkaz" Highway and de-blocked it only after interference of the First Vice-Premier Rizvan Kurbanov.

On August 10 or 11, on their way from Brest (Belarus) to Moscow, two natives of Northern Caucasus who live in Belgium – Ramzan Makhauri and Islam Borchashvili – disappeared. This was reported by the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial".

Ukrainian seamen from the commercial ship named REF-607 have filed a claim asking to arrest their vessel. They try to get their salary debt from the ship owner in the sum of about 60,000 US dollars.

Today at night unidentified persons shelled a militia post in the Dagestan city of Derbent and wounded two local women, the local law enforcement bodies report.

The sudden hurricane that came on today in the Georgian city of Poti has damaged about 30 dwelling houses and fell trees. A special commission was set up to count up the damage caused to the city.

In the course of an armed clash with a member of an illegal armed formation (IAF) in the Staropromyslovskiy District of Grozny, a senior militia officer was lost and six more were wounded. This was reported by the Headquarters of the United Army Grouping in Northern Caucasus.

On August 20, the Military Court on Grave Crimes passed a verdict to the soldier who was in Armenian captivity. Gasanov was accused of high treason and sentenced to 13 years of imprisonment.

During the informal meeting of the heads of the member-states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Yerevan the parties have agreed to hold the next CSTO summit in December this year in Moscow, where the presidency in the organization will pass over to Belarus.

Leader of militants Magomedali Vagabov, who is regarded by power agencies to be the organizer of the March terror acts in Moscow metro, is dead, as reported by a source from power structures of the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD).

The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources and the MIA of Azerbaijan have conducted a raid aimed to check the handling of wastewater on the coast of the Caspian Sea, which resulted in fines imposed on several enterprises.

The retail price for bread has gone up by 10 tetris (5.5 cents). The producers assert that the reason is in the embargo on wheat exports introduced by Russia. According to Malkhaz Dolidze, director of bakery No. 4, the bread price growth was caused by rise of flour price, the "InterPressNews" reports.

Abubakr Rizvanov, a resident of Makhachkala and director of the media centre "Khuda-Media", and his friend Timur (Suleiman) Kurbanmagomedov have disappeared. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed about it by Karim Magomedov, Rizvanov's brother.

A fresco of the 11th century, depicting, supposedly, Tsar David Agmashenebeli (David the Builder), was found in the cathedral church of the Georgian monastery Alaverdi. This was reported by Nika Vacheishvili, head of the Agency for Protection of Cultural Heritage of Georgia.

The today's changes in the agreement on the presence of the Russian military base in Armenia not only extend the time of its stay, but also expand the responsibility zone of Russian servicemen beyond the borders of the former USSR, said Serzh Sargsyan, President of Armenia.

The Turkish cargo ship named "Dafne", which arrived to Sukhumi Bay under the guise of Sierra Leone, is for almost two months already drifting in the territorial waters of Abkhazia because of malfunctions of the ship and absence of fuel.

Ingushetia has not entered any strict rules at the public level with the start of the sacred Moslem month of Ramadan.

On the eve of the new school year, Vadim Brovtsev, Chairman of the Government of South Ossetia, has inspected restoration works in educational establishments of the republic and construction of municipal housing facilities. By the outcomes of his inspection Mr Brovtsev has ordered to convoke an extraordinary sitting - the construction of some already funded sites has not begun yet.

Russia and Armenia have signed a protocol extending the agreement on the Russian military base in Armenia. The document was signed by defence ministers of Russia and Armenia in the presence of both Presidents - Serzh Sargsyan and Dmitri Medvedev.

As of August 20, 19 victims of the terror act committed in Pyatigorsk are still treated in hospitals of the Stavropol Territory and Moscow.

The United Free Trade Unions of Education and Science and the League of Education of Georgia expect that in September some 20-25,000 teachers will be dismissed. This was stated by Manana Nikolaishvili, President of the League.