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The oppositional "Heritage" Party has cancelled the week of rallies, announced in Liberty Square in Yerevan from May 24 to May 30, said the party spokesman Ovsep Khurshudyan.

The Zamoskvoretskiy District Court of Moscow has dismissed the claim of the International Society "Memorial" that challenged the inspection of the Society by the Moscow Prosecutor's Office.

The strike of the workers of the Zestafoni ferroalloy factory continues for the fourth day, Tamaz Doloberidze, the chairman of the Metalworkers' Union of Georgia, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. According to his story, the strikers are all the 2400 workers of the factory.

Today, the Nariman District Court in Baku has extended the term of arrest of the theologian Talekh Bagirzade until June 30. The defendant and his defence treat this decision as unreasonable and intend to appeal against it at the Court of Appeal.

At a meeting, held in Ingushetia, of Yunus-Bek Evkurov with relatives of Djamalele Mutaliev and Aliskkhan Ozdoev, who were killed yesterday in a special operation in Nazran, the latter asked the head of the republic to get the bodies for burial.

The estimate of the human rights situation in Armenia presented in the annual report of the Amnesty International reflects the today's real picture in the country, said Larissa Alaverdyan, the first Armenian Ombudsperson.

It is supposed that in the course of the special operation conducted in the Karabudakhkent District of Dagestan Magomedkhabib Aigumov was killed.

Today, the Tbilisi Deda Ena Park has hosted a protest against religious fundamentalism under the motto "No to theocracy!"; it was attended by about a thousand people. The participants signed an appeal to the President and Prime Minister of Georgia demanding to punish the perpetrators of the events of May 17.

Today, Ali Taziev, a suspect of committing an attempt on the head of Ingushetia Yunus-Bek Evkurov and organizing terror acts, has asked the court to allow him to use his personal notes.

Nikolai Yarst and Philip Vasilenko, members of the filming crew of the Russian Public Television, have been detained today in Sochi. Agents of the UVD (Interior Department) took away from their car a parcel with some gray-green substance, presumably, narcotic drug.

A Chechen businessman Medet Unlyu, who presented himself as an Honorary Consul of the unrecognized Republic of Ichkeria in Turkey, was shot dead on May 22 inAnkara. The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has denied the presence of Ichkeria's Embassy in the country.

Later this year Azerbaijani Parliament can pass the law "On Occupied Territories", Zakhid Orudj, an MP asserts. The idea of the bill, which regulates, in particular, cooperation of Azerbaijani and Armenian NGOs, was ambiguously perceived by political and public organizations both in Azerbaijan and in Armenia. However, the press service of the Azerbaijani Parliament points out that so far the bill has not been discussed by any of the committees; and consideration thereof is not planned.

The Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation has recognized the historical value of the ancient burials found in Derbent, and found it necessary to save and preserve the burial and memorial complex that dates back to 11th-12th centuries. The relevant opinion has been sent to the government.

The "Rospotrebnadzor" (Russian Federal Agency for Consumer Supervision) has not yet provided the Georgian wine companies, who have successfully passed inspections, with the excise stamps required for trading their alcoholic beverages in Russia. According to Levan Davitashvili, the head of the Georgian National Agency for Vine and Wine (Samtrest), the excise stamps are the only obstacle for wineries to start exports of Georgian wines to Russia.

After the double act of terror that took place on May, 20, near the bailiffs’ office of Makhachkala, 14 persons, a child among them, are still staying in the hospitals of the republic, the Ministry of Public Health of Dagestan reports. Three persons with grave wounding are undergoing treatment in Moscow.

On May, 22, Nils Muižnieks, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, arrived in Azerbaijan. On the first day of his official visit he had a meeting with representatives of civil community.

Leila Yunus, famous Azerbaijani human rights activist and Director of the Institute of Peace and Democracy (IPD), was rewarded with the National Order of the Legion of Honour of France for her struggle for human rights. The ceremony of Yunus’ rewarding with the French Order was held in the Embassy of France in Baku, in the evening of May, 22, the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent reports.

The Kutaisi Regional Court has chosen a two-month pre-trial detention as the freedom restriction measure for Vano Merabishvili, Secretary General of the "United National Movement" and ex-head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA). Zurab Chiaberashvili, the former Minister of Public Health of Georgia and Governor of Kakheti, will be released on bail, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

The explosion at the bus station of Nevinnomyssk was carried out by means of an improvised explosive device (IED), delivered by the leaders of North-Caucasian militants Ali Taziev and Rustam Dzortov, the convicts on the case said today at the trial of Taziev. The actual customer of the explosion was Taziev, Ruslan Kostoev, a convict on the case, said today.

A test batch of mineral water "Borjomi" has passed the customs control, Olga Chitaya, a representative of the company "IDS Borjomi Russia", told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.