News

Elena Skidan, Minister of Labour and Social Development of the Rostov Region, said that according to the regional law on addressable social help the miners-pensioners who are holding their hunger strike in the city of Zverevo can receive social benefits.

The report of the Human Rights Watch (HRW) on events in South Ossetia does not differ from earlier estimates of western experts and is based on groundless theses, runs the comment of the Department of Information and Press of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of the Russian Federation, published on Monday, January 26, in the website of the Ministry.

Last year, the President's administration and the Government of Dagestan received about 10,000 applications from residents of the Republic; the majority of them were on housing issues and municipal services.

On February 1, at 3:00 p.m., near the monument to Griboedov ("Chistye Prudy" Metro Station) and in Paris in the square at the Bobourg Centre rallies will be held in memory of Stanislav Markelov and Anastasiya Baburova.

The three suspects of preparing an attempt on President of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov have failed to admit their guilt.

In 2008, 42 persons were kidnapped in Chechnya, of them 13 disappeared without any traces. These are the updated monitoring results of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", reported today by Dmitri Grushkin, a member of the Centre's Board, to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The Krasnodar Regional Department of "Rosprirodnadzor" (Russian Agency for Nature Supervision) has found the "Glavpromstroy" Company guilty of felling trees in the territory of the State Reserve "Bolshoi Utrish" near the city of Anapa and imposed administrative penalties for the total sum exceeding 2 million roubles. The Company refuses to agree with this decision.

Brothers Ruslan and Murad Uzhakhov, shot dead on January 24 in the centre of Nazran, were not militants and did not open any response fire; this can be evidenced by eyewitnesses. This was reported to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by Magomed Khazbiev, head of the Organizing Committee of the Ingush Nationwide Rally, and Maksharip Aushev, a member of the Committee.

Last weekend, two local residents were detained by employees of law enforcement bodies of the Chechen Republic as suspects of complicity in illegal armed formations.

Valery Dyakonov, a deputy of the municipal duma of the city of Zverevo, Rostov Region, has stated his readiness to join the miners-pensioners who are holding their hunger strike.

The authorities of Azerbaijan hold open repressions against the members of the "Movement for Republic and Karabakh" and other oppositional organizations, who advocate against amending the Constitution. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports that this was the leitmotif of today's extraordinary session of the "Movement for Republic and Karabakh".

The Union of Armenian Public Organizations of Samtskhe-Dzhavakhk and Kvemo Kartli has expressed its support of the two Armenian activists - Grigor Minasyan and Sarkis Akopdzhanyan, - arrested in Georgia, and its readiness to provide advocates for defending the interests of the detainees.

Georgia has resumed the natural gas transit from Russia to South Ossetia which was stopped on the day of starting combat actions on August 8, 2008.

In the course of a special operation conducted in Nazran, Ingushetia, two suspected members of illegal armed units have been killed.

Solemn mourning events to mark the 90 years' anniversary of repressions against Cossacks have been held today in the capital of Karachai-Cherkesia.

An operation of rescuing people from snowdrifts has been carried out in Dagestan. 45 persons have been rescued.

Serzh Sargsian, president of Armenia, has pardoned 16 prisoners convicted for taking part in mass riots in Erevan on March 1, 2008.

Yunus-bek Evkurov, president of Ingushetia, has announced that a youth parliament is to be formed soon in Ingushetia.

Members of the Chechen parliament intend to request from the federal center that the monetary compensation to the republic's residents who are victims of political repressions should be considerably increased.

The world economic crisis has affected the labor market in Azerbaijan and resulted in the dismissal of more than 2 thousand people. This has been announced by Fizuli Alekperov, Azeri minister of labor and social protection.