News

Soldiers Zhirair Matevosyan and Gegam Ovannisyan, both born in 2001, were killed while performing their official duties on mine clearing, the authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh reported.

According to the information of relatives and the videos posted on the Internet, 60 soldiers and about 40 civilians are still being held in Azerbaijani as captives, reports Artak Beglaryan, Ombudsman of Nagorno-Karabakh.

In Adjara, a protest action in front of the Government House escalated into a clash with law enforcers. The police detained at least two activists.

The Georgian victims of the August 2008 war will receive 600,000 euros for medical treatment and rehabilitation, the International Criminal Court (ICC) Foundation in The Hague has announced.

After returning from Syrian refugee camps, three girls have been handed over to relatives in Ingushetia; their grandparents will take care of their upbringing, said Zarema Chakhkieva, the Children's Ombudsperson.

By publicly reprimanding girls for wearing niqabs, the Mufti of Chechnya is provoking a conflict, Leonid Syukiyainen, an Islamic scholar, believes. According to Adats, only senior men in the family have the right to such criticism, said Ruslan Kutaev, the head of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations.

Nikol Pashinyan's chances of retaining power are close to zero, says Armen Vardanyan. His colleague, Stepan Danielyan, has noted that Pashinyan is trying to shift responsibility to the army commanders and authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh. The Prime Minister initially had chances to avoid the war, Naira Airumyan asserts.

The military servicemen, whom they decided to demobilize in Azerbaijan, include parents with many children, guardians of disabled persons and minor relatives.

Armenian authorities have announced a start of payments to Karabakh refugees, but the help programme to the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh, who had lost their homes, has not yet been approved. The people who have lost their homes are forced to live with relatives or rent apartments at their own expense.

The Chechen authorities are preparing for the New Year holiday with a concert, to which they will invite 500 people and allocate more than 4 million roubles. The event will be held with the participation of Ramzan Kadyrov, who shortly before spoke out for modest New Year festivities.

The Russian and Turkish armed forces signed an agreement to open a monitoring centre in Azerbaijan, which would monitor violations of the ceasefire using drones.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) obliged the Russian authorities to pay compensation for moral damage in the amount of 12,500 US dollars to Aminat Makhmudova for failure to comply with a court's decision on transferring custody of children to her. At present, the children stay in Dagestan with the former husband of Aminat Makhmudova.

Some residents of Berdzor, Agavno, and Sus, controlled by Russian peacekeepers, decided to stay home, despite the transfer of the Lachin District to Azerbaijan. People request more information regarding the status of the above settlements.

A TV report about an "educational conversation" between the Mufti of Chechnya and young women wearing niqabs has become another episode of the campaign organized by the authorities, who are seeking from women of the republic to meet the requirements for their appearance.

Within the next three years, the Azerbaijani authorities intend to build a new road between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia instead of the Lachin corridor, as well as to create a transport corridor between the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic and Azerbaijan.

On November 30, four pickets in support of journalist, Abdulmumin Gadjiev, were accompanied by more active support than before, said Idris Yusupov, a picketer.

In the Lachin District, which has today come under Azerbaijan's control, they began setting up commandant posts. The peacemakers have cleared the section the Lachin Corridor connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia of unexploded ordnances.

On December 1, the Lachin District came under the control of Azerbaijani troops, with the exception of a five-kilometre-wide corridor that ensures Nagorno-Karabakh's communication with Armenia. According to Baku, the district suffered a huge damage over the years while it remained outside the control of Azerbaijani authorities.

The Armenian authorities are making insufficient efforts to return the prisoners of war (POWs), Nina Karapetyants believes. Results in POWs exchange can be achieved through a direct dialogue of the parties in conflict, Arthur Sakunts has noted. POWs can be used to solve some issues, for example, territorial ones, Artak Kirakosyan is sure.

The "Grozny" TV Channel has shown a story about the "educational conversation" of the Chechen Mufti and the girls who had worn niqabs. After the talk, the girls took off their dark bandages covering faces.