News

A criminal case has been initiated against Armen Sargsyan, former head of the Construction Department of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Armenia on the fact of disclosing the confidential order of Mikael Arutyunyan, former Minister of Defence, about bringing the Armed Forces of Armenia to the state of special alert on the eve of March 1, 2008.

The Yasamal District Prosecutor's Office of Baku has initiated a criminal case based on events on February 13 in the capital of Azerbaijan, when a conflict burst out between the police and a group of believers. The case was opened under Articles 221.3 ("Hooliganism with use of arms or other objects") and 315.2 ("Resistance or violence to power agents") of the Azeri Criminal Code. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports that this was stated in the joint statement of the Central Police Body of Baku and the city's Prosecutor's Office on Monday.

Starting last October till this February, Chechen law enforcers, who fight against excessive tinting of car glasses, revealed 40,000 cars with substandard dark tinting. In the meantime, drivers complain of excessive demands of the STSI (State Traffic Safety Inspectorate) employees.

Khavazh Geroev, an employee of the Security Council of Ingushetia, was heavily wounded in a terror act and hospitalized. His car was blown up by means of a bomb.

As reported by Kaloy Akhilgov, press secretary of President of Ingushetia, on February 11-12, as a result of a special operation aimed to liquidate members of illegal armed formations (IAFs) in the vicinity of Arshty and Datykh villages, Sunzha District of Ingushetia, four local residents were lost and two others received wounds.

National teams of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan take part in the 21st Winter Olympiad in Vancouver, which opened on February 12; and the national team of Russia includes three representatives of the Southern Federal District (SFD).

Today, members of the Georgian organization "Journalists for Freedom of Speech" have handed over a petition to the Embassy of Switzerland in Tbilisi with a request to the government of this country to help Vakhtang Komakhidze, a Georgian journalist to receive political asylum.

In Moscow, on February 12, within the All-Russia Contest of the Union of Journalists of Russia (UJR), a ceremony of rewarding the winners of 2009 was held. The prizes were awarded for best publications, actual picture stories, new television programs, books and journalistic actions. The "Caucasian Knot" became a Laureate of the Prize "For Defence of Interests of Professional Community".

A couple of hours prior to the opening ceremony of Vancouver Olympiad, held on February 12, the Georgian Olympic team suffered a tragic loss: at the morning training session Nodar Kumaritashvili, a sledge racer, crushed himself to death in an accident it was broke to death.

The government of Armenia has approved a bill "On Making Additions in the Law 'On International Treaties'", assuming Armenia's possibility to cancel international treaties prior they come into legal force.

On February 14, Kalmykia will mark the national spring holiday - Tsagan Sar (White Month). Traditionally, celebratory actions and molebens will be held in all the khuruls (monasteries and prayer houses) of the republic.

Residents of Chechnya report that they are demanded to pay tax on their domestic animals. According to their version, officials assert that President of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov has personally ordered to take taxes on domestic cattle and poultry.

In Georgia, over fifty thousand families remain without electricity. On February 12, the cities of Poti and Kutaisi suffered from hurricane, when the wind reached 30 meters per second. Weather forecasters warn that today bad weather will cover the whole country.

The Project entitled "Place Where Generations Meet" (of the Programme "Dialogue Is Rendezvous Place"), executed by the Sholokhov Library - a branch of the Novocherkassk Central Library System - and supported by the Foundation "Memory, Responsibility and Future" (Germany) and the Federal State Institution (FSI) "Fund of Mutual Understanding and Reconciliation" (Moscow), assumes teaching old people in information technologies by volunteers.

Today, the Moscow City Court (MCC) has delayed the consideration of the rehabilitation claim lodged by Ruslan Musaev, one of the acquitted figurants in the case on the attempt on President of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov committed back in May 2007.

Because of strong snowfalls and wire icing, electric power supplies are broken in the Buinaksk, Karabudakhkent and Sergokalin Districts of Dagestan. About nine thousand residents are still without electricity; they promise to restore supplies by February 15.

In the evening on Friday, February 12, the National Assembly of Azerbaijan with 92 votes for and 7 votes against approved the amendments to a number of legislation acts imposing restrictions on collection and dissemination of information.

Today, the consideration of the appeal complaint lodged by young bloggers' Emin Milli and Adnan Gadjizade was again postponed by the Baku Appeal Court.

The Meschanski District Court of the city of Moscow has accepted to consideration a claim from a resident of Makhachkala Shamil Sheikhov about protection of honour, dignity and business reputation and demand to collect compensation in the sum of 100 million roubles in equal halves from Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Chairman of LDPR (Liberal-Democratic Party of Russia) and vice-speaker of the State Duma of Russia, and from the editorial board of the newspaper "LDPR". The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told about it by Mr Sheikhov himself.

The litigation on the case of Tsotne - the son of the first president of Georgia Zviad Gamsakhurdia - will resume at the Tbilisi City Court on February 18 at 1:30 p.m., said his advocate Keti Bekauri.