News

In the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD), the unemployment rate is four times higher than the national average. This was reported by Sergey Stepashin, Chairman of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation.

Andrei Kuprikov, Chairman of the Volgograd regional branch of the "Pravoe Delo" (Right Cause) claimed that he treated the concluded agreement "For Fair Elections" as invalid.

The Ministry of Justice of Dagestan has violated the Law on state procurement at the open auction held in electronic form to purchase a car for the needs of the institution. This was reported by the Dagestani Office of the FAS (Federal Antimonopoly Service).

Residents of the village of Dolakovo in Ingushetia claim that Ruslan Evkurov, the cousin of the republic's leader, charged each applicant for 15,000 roubles for legal support in preparation of documents for grants allocated from the federal budget for development of small and medium businesses and disappeared with money. The deceived people state that they are going to seek justice on their own; the Ingush Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) claims that the Economic Crimes Control Division is investigating into the case.

The meeting of the PACE's Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, appointed for November 16 in Paris, which was to consider the issue of political prisoners in Azerbaijan, has been cancelled. This was reported by Einullah Fatullaev, former political prisoner invited to the meeting, now the head of the NGO "For Human Rights".

Yerevan hosted the 2nd two-day international conference on Talysh studies dated to the 15th anniversary of the international magazine "Iran and Caucasus". The organizers of the conference emphasize that the event has no political orientation and represents a purely academic initiative; however, they claimed violation of rights of Talysh people living in Azerbaijan. At the same time, no representatives of Azerbaijan attended the conference.

Madina Nalieva, a resident of Chechnya, was sentenced to 3.5 years of imprisonment for selling two of her newborn babies. This was reported today by the Russian General Prosecutor's Office.

The People's Assembly of Karachay-Cherkessia formed a republican Committee for restoration of rights of rehabilitated victims of political repression. It will deal with publishing a Book of Memory and construction of a memorial complex in honour of the lost people.

This year sappers in Armenia have defused about 21 hectares of local territories, including mined areas in Siunik district. However, the neighbourhood of 60 settlements of the country still remains mined.

First Vice-premier Victor Zubkov criticized local officials in Volgograd for being slow in solving the "people's problems" and gave them two weeks to improve the situation.

Business lady Silvia Ambartsumyan in Armenia accused Governor of Siunik district Suren Khachatryan of beating her up in "Armenia Marriott Hotel".

The police in the capital of Azerbaijan suppressed an action of protest of youth oppositional activists demanding release of political prisoners, in particular, those arrested in connection with the meeting of April, 2, and ensuring freedom of assembly. The action was timed to a visit of European Union Special Representative for Foreign Policy Catherine Ashton to Baku.

Khadjimurat Akkaev, an athlete from Kabardino-Balkaria, won the World Championship in Weightlifting, held in Paris on November 5-13.

Shamil Gasankhanov, a native of Dagestan, acting in the weight category of 74 kg, won a gold medal at World Championship in Combat Sambo, held on November 11-13 in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital.

Election of South-Ossetian President will, according to preliminary data, need the second round, as none of the 11 candidates won more than half of electors' votes; celebration of Kurban Bayram (Eid al-Fitr), one of the major Muslim holidays; snowfalls hit South of Russia and Transcaucasia and provoke various accidents and other emergencies; defence motion demanding to review the case of former military Arakcheev, convicted for murdering residents of Chechnya, - look these and other events in the Caucasus in the review of the week of November 6-13, 2011, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

Commenting on the presentation of the project of a new city for refugees from Azerbaijan, held in Yerevan, Saro Saryan, Chairman of the NGO of the Nagorno-Karabakh refugees, called it a politically ill-considered step. According to him, refugees will unlikely agree to move once again.

Spartak Gogniev, a football player from the "Krasnodar" FC, who was injured during a match between the youth teams of the "Terek" and the "Krasnodar" FCs in the city of Grozny, declared no more claims against the Chechen club.

One of the persons killed in the city of Kaspiisk was identified as Magomed Djamaev, who led the grouping of Caspian militants. This was reported by the National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC). According to the NAC, Islam Rashidov, the second deceased, was an active member of the grouping.

Today, at the trial on case against three defendants accused of terrorism two witnesses - Nikolai Fedorenko, Assistant Officer on duty of the Lenin OVD (Interior Division) of Rostov-on-Don, and Alexei Bocharov, the operating investigator of the Lenin OVD of Rostov-on-Don. Before court session, relatives and lawyers of the defendants asserted their innocence.

On November 13, in the course of the referendum, 83.99 per cent of citizens voted to declare the Russian language the second official language in South Ossetia. 16.01 per cent voted against the idea.