News

The issues of mutual cooperation and possible investments in Ingushetia were discussed at the meeting in Magas, Ingushetia, by the head of the republic Yunus-Bek Evkurov and Mr Ernesto Jose Verdu Rico (Spain), the owner of the company "BLUE LAND STONE SLU".

Residents of the village of Arazina, Julfa District of the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic (NAR) of Azerbaijan, have declared death of their relative Turadzh Zeinalov at the regional Ministry of National Security (MNS).

Hasan Arsakhanov, native of Chechnya who was searched for by law enforcement bodies of North Osetia, was considered missing since August, 9, his relatives reported.

A pressure group “Hospital for the children!” collected 318 signatures as of August, 28, under a communal letter to President of the USA Barack Obama with an appeal to take the only children’s hospital in the republic under his jurisdiction.

Over one hundred residents of Sochi took part in a meeting against violations during impoundment of property connected with Olympic resettlement.

The flood which happened in Chechnya on August, 27, because of a strong rise of water level in the rivers caused by pelting rains inflicted serious damage upon the town of Grozny and the settlement of Shaami-Yurt, Achkhoi-Martan district, where 20 private housing estates were waterlogged.

Over 2000 participants of the tenth jubilee International Investment Forum “Sochi-2011” which will start on September, 15, have confirmed their readiness to come.

Today, the Geichai District Court of Azerbaijan has sentenced human rights defender Vidadi Iskenderov, the head of the NGO "Promoting Defence of Democracy", to 3 years of imprisonment.

Alexander Ankvab became the third president of Abkhazia. He won the presidential election in the republic by gathering 54.86% of votes, as reported by Batal Tabagua, Chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Abkhazia.

On Friday, August 26, activists of the Islamic Party of Azerbaijan (IPA) and a group of its believers-supporters staged a protest action outside the mosque "Bibi-Eibat" in the south-eastern outskirt of Baku on the occasion of the "Goodes Day" (Jerusalem), which is marked this year on August 26.

Some of these days, two weeks after demolition on August 11 of the one-floor building, which housed offices of the Institute of Peace and Democracy (IPD) and two other NGOs, a letter arrived to the E-mail address of the owner of the building, human rights activist Leila Yunus, from the Baku Mayoralty with a proposal to sell the building.

The Fifth International Arts Symposium "Alanika-2011" that opened on August 25 in Vladikavkaz has attracted masters of paintings, graphic arts, installation, and photo and video arts from Italy, Great Britain, France, Croatia, Poland, Ukraine, Israel and Azerbaijan. The republic is also visited by their colleagues from Moscow, Kaliningrad, Yekaterinburg and Makhachkala.

Yerevan shops have set up sugar prices by about 20% higher. Exporters attributed this rise to the growth of world sugar prices.

In response to the decision of the Armenian opposition to suspend the talks, the ruling coalition has issued a statement accusing the oppositional Armenian National Congress (ANC) of disrupting the negotiation process and distorting facts.

In Georgia, due to cold weather, some of mountain resorts, in particular, the resort of Bakuriani had to end their summer season.

In Dagestan, the heads of municipal education departments are encouraged to introduce in schools positions of ombudspersons in charge of defending the rights of participants of the education process. This is stated in the letter signed by Natella Musaleva, Deputy Minister of Education of the Republic of Dagestan.

Observers from IS-EMO and “Research Foundation for problems of democracy in the countries of CIS” consider that voting on the day of election of President of Abkhazia was organized at a high level and the process was going on without technical failures.

The Basmanny Court of Moscow has sanctioned the arrest of former militia officer Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, a suspected (by the investigation) organizer of the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, an observer of the "Novaya Gazeta".

The Armenian Ministry of Justice has presented amendments to the Law "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations", which assumes, inter alia, criminal liability for forced involvement of people in non-traditional religious organizations, groups and sects, and introduces the term "soul fishing" (proselytizing).

On August 25, at the trial, where the attack on the Baksan Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) is considered, witnesses were questioned, including employees of the plant and operative agents.