News

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.

On August 19, Adygea launched a charitable action "From Heart to Heart". Its aim is to raise money from citizens of Adygea for targeted charitable help to children-invalids.

The bodies of supposed members of the armed underground, who were killed in Grozny on August 8, were not given out to relatives but buried in anonymous tombs without observance of Moslem rites.

Till the end of the sacred month of Ramadan the leadership of the Chechen Republic has reduced the working day. The respective decree was signed by Odes Baisultanov, Chairman of the Government of Chechnya, who is temporarily acting has as President of the republic, while Ramzan Kadyrov is on vacations.

Till the end of August, about one thousand pensioners from Moscow will have their rest in sanatoria and rest homes of Sochi on free-of-charge vouchers paid by the Department of Social Protection of the Government of Moscow. The decision was made in the context of unprecedented heat and smog from fires in the vicinities of the Russian capital.

The unidentified persons, who committed attacks in the territory of Kabardino-Balkaria on militiamen and tourists, were dressed in camouflage and presented themselves as employees of Moscow special agencies. This was reported by the centre of law enforcement bodies of the republic.

The Gagarin Court of Moscow has found the Chechens Magomed Gorchkhanov and Zarema Dataeva guilty of kidnapping Maxim, son of Mikhail Stavskiy, deputy boss of the "Rosneft".