News

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev has instructed Yuri Chaika, head of the General Prosecutor's Office (GPO), to supervise the investigation into the facts set forth in the video appeal of inspector Ekaterina Rogoza, who stated that investigators of the Kuschevskiy District, Krasnodar Territory, had been forced by their bosses to stop criminal cases.

In Gorodovikovsky district of Kalmykia archaeologists discovered remains of a settlement dating back to 10-11-th centuries AD, i.e. the period of existence of the Polovtsian khanate.

A piquet devoted to the problem of treating unsafe waste products of "Plastcard" public corporation passed off in Krasnoarmeisky district of Volgograd on December, 4. The piquet was organized by Informational Center (IC) "Volgograd-Express" and "Ecology" club with participation of regional unit of "Yabloko" party and representatives of CPRF.

A judge of Kuban district Magistrate's court of Krasnodar discovered violations in the protocols of detention of Suren Gazaryan, one of the leaders of "Ecologic Watch" in Northern Caucasus, and returned the documents to the Department of Interior Affairs of Western district of Krasnodar.

Gabriel Gabrielyan, convicted for participation in the demonstration on March 1, 2008, has been early released today from the penitentiary institution named "Hospital for Convicts".

In Chechnya, the local Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) and the Ministry for Emergencies (MfE) have launched a large-scale prophylactic operation aimed to reduce the risk of fires and other emergencies in the days of the New Year celebrations.

Today, Georgia will start the 11th Tbilisi International Film Festival. In December 6-12, in total about 100 films will be screened, represented by 19 countries, including Poland, Britain, Russia, Germany, Turkey, etc.

On December 4, unidentified criminals stole Levitan's painting named "Burlaki" (Barge Haulers) with estimated value of 100,000 US dollars from the P. Gamzatova Dagestan Museum of Fine Arts in Makhachkala.

Andrei Rudomakha and Suren Gazaryan, activists of the "Ecological Watch for Northern Caucasus", detained by militia in Krasnodar in the course of their protest action on December 5, were sent home, after interference of local human rights defenders, till the sitting of the local magistrate court.

The considered versions of the emergency landing of the Tu-154 of "Dagestani Airlines" in Domodedovo include technical disorder of the craft before takeoff; failure of mechanisms of the aircraft after takeoff; error of the crew; and fuel of poor quality. At the moment, the Investigatory Committee of Russia does not move any of the above as a priority.

In the course of a special operation in the village of Kirovaul, Kizilyurt District of Dagestan, which is conducted within the counterterrorist operation (CTO) regime, announced here on December 5, three law enforcers were wounded.

The earlier reports about a bomb onboard an "Aeroflot" aircraft, which was suspended in the Berlin "Schönefeld" Airport, were not confirmed.

On December 8-10, the Moscow's Central Journalists' House in Nikitskiy Boulevard will host an international conference named "Securing Safe Journalism in Eastern Europe", planning to deal with complexities of media work in Northern Caucasus and the problems faced by media in covering the events in the region.

About 5 percent of Armenia's citizens are disabled. As of November 1 this year, the country had over 180,000 persons with disabilities registered; for them employment is a problem. This was stated by Jemma Bagdasaryan, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs (MoL); NGO activists agree.

Everyday activities in the sphere of defense of human rights and liberties in Ingushetia is an exploit, Liudmila Alekseeva, Chairman of Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG), commented awarding the prize of MHG to Magomed Mutsolgov, leader of Ingush human rights center "MASHR" which was held on December, 5, in the hall of the Museum of Modern History of Russia in Moscow for a reporter of "Caucasian Knot".

A woman got wounded as a result of militiamen's firing at a car the passengers of which refused to show their documents, a source in the Department of Interior Affairs of Makhachkala reported.

Last night in Khasavyurt an unidentified man shot down an operative agent of the Department of tax crimes, a source in the republican law enforcement bodies reported.

Gadjimurad Magomedov, a brother of the President of the Republic of Dagestan, who received injuries in the aircraft incidents in the Moscow "Domodedovo" Airport, died in one of Moscow hospitals.

The next hearing on the murder case of Umar Israilov, a former security guard of Chechen President held, was held on December 3. The court heard the main witnesses of the prosecution - Umar's father - the applicant to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), and his widow.

The Government of Dagestan will pay financial help to the victims of the air crash of the Tu-154 craft of the "Dagestani Airlines", which made an emergency landing at "Domodedovo".