News

In Sochi more than 70 thousand resident and visitors of the city signed the charter "Sochi without smoking", which was adopted at the resort by the authorities' decision in January 2010, said Nina Suslonova, the head of the health department of the city administration, today during a video bridge Sochi - Moscow "Fight against smoking: freedom from tobacco smoke".

According to Levon Abramyan, the corresponding member of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, the film festival "Golden Apricot", which is held annually in Armenia, received international recognition and became one of the most prestigious film festivals.

The Facebook social network carries out questioning: "Do you agree with existence of foreign language schools in Armenia?" Members split up into two camps.

A suicide bombing, committed today at 4:00 p.m. at the road police point in the village of Galashki of Sunzha District of Ingushetia by unidentified person, brought no victims, except for the suicide bomber, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports from the place.

The investigators of Rostov Region have taken from lawyer Yulia Ermakova, who went on a hunger strike, a recognizance not to leave. According to her story, at the same time she passed the test on the "lie detector", which showed that she was telling the truth, rejecting the accusation of obscene expression in the courthouse.

This morning the law enforcement agents of Buinaksk District brought 12 parishioners of a local mosque to the OVD (Interior Division) station, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by Magomed Magomedov, a resident of the village of Upper Kazanischa of Buinaksk District. According to him, it happened after the debate on religious issues in the mosque.

In the city of Shakhty of Rostov Region a founder of a local religious organization Jehovah's Witnesses was fined.

Magomed Gamidov, a resident of the village Zekhida of Tsuntin District of Dagestan, appealed to the human rights activists with the complaint on the villagers and the policemen. According to him, the former villagers forced him to leave the village, and at his new place of residence he is being persecuted by police.

During three weeks in Adygea 26 children and young people from the Circassian Diaspora in Turkey visited the town of Maikop, Shapsug villages, the mountainous part of the republic, Krasnodar, and the all-Russian camp "Orlyonok" (Eaglet) and Circassian villages of Lazarev district on the Black Sea coast.

On July 15 the international human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) will present the report outlining the human rights problems and specific recommendations to the authorities of Abkhazia and the international community to improve the situation in Gali District.

Armed policemen, who went this morning around households in the village Mutsalaul of Khasavyurt District, threw grenades to the house where brothers Ali and Umar named Zainalabidov lived. As a result, the building received considerable damage, the "Caucasian Knot" was told by Rasul Magomedkhanov, a resident of the village.

627 athletes from 61 Russian regions took part in the championship of Russia which passed off in Cheboksary from July, 1 till July, 3, the Ministry of Sports of Chuvash Republic reported. Participants from Northern Caucasus got over ten medals during the events.

The settlement of Jikhaskari, Zugdidi district of Western Georgia, bore strong damages as a result of a heavy rain and flood in the river of Tarchia, highways and bridges were also troubled.

As of July, 9, 767 persons were granted an amnesty in Armenia, Press service of Criminal executive department of the Ministry of Justice reported.

Second All-Caucasian Forum "Mashuk-2011" for youth of Northern Caucasus; meeting of members of the Presidential Council for Development of Civil Society and Human Rights with Dmitry Medvedev in Nalchik; new "spy scandal" and sentence to defendants in resonant case on espionage in Georgia; fighting against "laser hooliganism" in South of Russia, – look these and other events in the review of the week of July 4-10, 2011, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed by Police Colonel Yuri Begidov, head of the Chegem ROVD (District Interior Division) of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR), that 15 persons are checked for involvement in raping a 14-year-old girl from the village of Nartan in Kabardino-Balkaria: suspects' DNA an other analyses are made.

On July 11, in the Tsumadin District of Dagestan, unidentified criminals attacked the Radio and Television Broadcasting Centre (RTBC); they destroyed and burned it down.

Reporters were informed by Dmitry Tasoev, Chairman of the earlier legally liquidated Social-Democratic Party of South Ossetia, that his party will participate in elections at all levels.

In Tbilisi, at the initiative of the Board of the Charter of Journalistic Ethics, journalists held protest actions associated with the "photographers' case" at the buildings of the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) and the US Embassy. The members of the Board demanded from the country's authorities to remove the "secrecy status" from the case and urged the international community to monitor the inquiry.

On Friday, July 15, at 6:00 p.m., the new premises of the International Society "Memorial" in Moscow, located at the intersection of Karetny Ryad Street and Sadovoe Ring, a party will be held in memory of human rights defender Natalia Estemirova. The event will see the film "Who killed Natasha?"