News

The ruling party in Georgia - the "United National Movement", where President Mikhail Saakashvili is the leader, was left by 150 members who decided to join the opposition. This was stated by Mamuka Katsitadze, one of oppositional leaders on Wednesday, April 29, at the rally held in front of the building of the Parliament.

Today, in the city of Rostov-on-Don, unidentified persons attacked Vyacheslav Yaroshenko, editor-in-chief of the local newspaper "Corruption and Crime". In a grave condition with a skull trauma, the journalist was hospitalized.

A special commission will study the reasons of the incident that happened in Karabudakhkent District of Dagestan, where two persons were wounded in a skirmish that burst out among MIA servicemen.

The pupils of the children's house for mentally retarded children in Nalchik are not able to live independently in individual apartments. This was stated by Albert Tyubeev, Minister of Labour and Social Development of Kabardino-Balkaria, in reply to results of the check of observance of housing rights of children-orphans.

During the bloody massacre in the Azerbaijani State Oil Academy in Baku 13 persons were killed and 13 more wounded. At present, 11 casualties have been identified, as spoken in a joint statement of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) and General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) of Azerbaijan.

The state of health of Argishti Kiviryan is very grave, but his life is out of danger. This was reported to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by Armenika Kiviryan, sister of Argishti, coordinator of the Internet edition "Armenia Today", who was attacked today in the morning.

Half a year ago, on October 31, 2008, Yunus-Bek Evkurov was appointed President of Ingushetia and replaced Murat Zyazikov, who had headed the Republic since March 2002 and was dismissed before term after mass protests and unrests flooded Ingushetia.

On April 28, the Zamoskvoretskiy Court of Moscow returned to the Investigatory Department for Moscow of the RF's ICPO the petition on arrest in absentia of advocate Boris Kuznetsov, accused of disclosing state secrets. Earlier, Mr Kuznetsov had presented the interests of Levon Chakhmakhchyan, ex-senator from Kalmykia, convicted to nine years of imprisonment.

The Kabardino-Balkarian Human Rights Centre (HRC) has sent a letter to the Federal Service of Punishment Enforcement on illegal convoying of prisoner Aslanbek Mutsolgov to Omsk from a corrective colony in Kabardino-Balkaria, while his case on conditional early relief (CER) was under consideration.

The forced migrants from the Chechen Republic, now temporarily living in the so-called "compact residence centres" (CRCs) in the territory of Ingushetia, are offered to go home before May 1. As reported by Aslambek Apaev, expert of the Moscow Helsinki Group for Northern Caucasus and Chairman of the NGO named "Committee in Defence of Forced Migrants' Rights", the people are exposed to pressure.

The police have cleared the case on the fact that in the Kakheti District of Georgia oppositionist Vano Lomidze had burnt down his insured car and accused enemies of the opposition of the arson. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told about it by Emil Adelkhanov, deputy board chair of the Caucasian Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development.

The Legislation Committee of the RF's State Duma is not preparing any bills on new amnesty, including for the participation in the attack on Nalchik in October 2005. No appeals to this end arrived to the State Duma from any public organization, as Alexander Urmanov, press-secretary of the chair of the Committee Pavel Krasheninnikov, informed the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. This information was confirmed with Olga Cheshko, an employee of the State Duma machinery.

Georgian troops and police units are concentrated near the borders of South Ossetia and Abkhazia; they set up field camps, observation posts and deploy heavy armaments, as stated today by a Kremlin source.

The Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of the Russian Federation (RF) asserts, as stated today to journalists by Nikolai Konkin, its secretary, that the opposition has no grounds to protest against the outcomes of the elections of Sochi Mayor.

On April 28, the building of the Administration of President of Karachaevo-Circassia hosted an open meeting with participation of ministers and regional heads, where Vladimir Titarenko, Ombudsman in Karachaevo-Circassia, told about citizens' appeals in 2008 and served his report to the President.

The Federal Tax Service (FTS) for the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania (RNOA) has received an order not to collect taxes from the parents of the children who study free-of-charge at the "Korallovo" Lyceum situated near Moscow. This was reported by Mukharbek Besaev, acting head of the Republic's FTS Department.

The Azerbaijani authorities fail to react to multiple addresses and appeals to restore the 4th year student Pyarviz Azimov at the Lenkoran State University (LSU); in his opinion, he was excluded last week from the University for publishing an article entitled "Corruption Scandal in Lenkoran University". Should his rights not be restored, Azimov is going to start a hunger strike.

In Ingushetia, in the evening on April 27, the house of judo master Isa Tseloev was shelled in Nazran. Nobody suffered.

The Nalchik City Court holds a trial under the claim lodged by law enforcers against the MIA of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) on collection of their salary for overtime work, work on weekends and holidays, and of other mandatory payments stipulated by Russian legislation.

The Public Prosecutor of the city of Nalchik, the capital of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR), has addressed the court with 47 claims in the interests of 51 children, remaining without parental care, on violation of their right, stipulated by the federal legislation, on extraordinary provision of housing facilities.