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Today, in Abinsk, an ecological rally of residents of the district was held against the sale of land plots in the mountainous part of the district for extraction of marlstone – the raw material for cement production. The action brought together about 300 people, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

Within one day, 51 out of 64 drivers of Novocherkassk ambulances applied for resignation because of low wages and unacceptable working conditions. They submitted their applications on August 16, and the immediate trigger was the closure of one of the garages.

In Sochi, a special committee has selected three priority projects out of 13 initiatives aimed to promote ecological routes. The new environmentally-friendly pathways are ready to receive tourists, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

As reported by locals, on August 16, before the collective Friday prayer, Imams of some Chechen mosques called their parishioners to take an active part in the local parliamentary elections.

The Mayoralty of Baku has sanctioned the rally appointed for August 18 by the oppositional National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF) in support of the presidential candidate, the screenwriter Rustam Ibragimbekov.

The Armenian Ministry of Diaspora has invited philanthropists to help in building the district "New Aleppo" intended for the Armenian refugees from Syria who live today in Armenia. The Ministry adds that any contribution from any donator will be welcomed.

The institutions of general education of Chechnya have completed their preparations for the new school year, the Ministry of Education and Sciences of Chechnya has reported. Parents of pupils are afraid that the initiative of introduction of the mandatory school uniform for pupils will not be successful.

Visually impaired voters will be able to take part in the parliamentary elections in Chechnya by using special ballots in Braille produced by the Central Election Commission (CEC), the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told at the CEC.

The consideration of the motion of the suffered party in the case of beating of military doctors in the parking lot of "Harsnaqar" Restaurant in Yerevan has been postponed until the final court decision. Earlier, the victims asked the court to recognize the clothes they wore on the day of the fight as substantial evidence.

Today, Mikhail Abramyan, Secretary of the Krasnodar Regional Branch of the Party "Communists of Russia", was discharged from Hospital No. 2 of Krasnodar. The court session on his case will take place on August 21.

Today, the Baku Court of Appeal (CoA) has upheld the decision of the administrative arrest for 15 days of the head of the youth organization of the "Musavat" Party Tural Abbasly.

An action demanding to release four activists of the oppositional Armenian National Congress (ANC), convicted for hooliganism and disobeying the police, was held today in Yerevan.

Today, Vladimir (Lado) Papava was elected to the post of the Rector of the Tbilisi State University (TSU) named after Djavakhishvili. The voting took place against the students' protest demanding to provide freedom to the university.

The law enforcement authorities of Dagestan are not engaged in the search of Sakhrab Abakargadjiev, a resident of Makhachkala, who was kidnapped by masked men on May 20, his relatives assert. The spokesman of the local Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) claims that the search of Sakhrab is underway.

On August 2, Sabina Abakarova, suspected of illegal possession of arms, was beaten at the SIZO (pre-trial prison) No. 1 of Makhachkala. The Department of the Federal Penitentiary Service (known as FSIN) denies the fact of beating and reports that a verbal altercation occurred between Sabina Abakarova and a SIZO staff member.

On August 15, Grozny hosted a picket, participants of which demanded to solve promptly the murder of three natives of the republics of Northern Caucasus that was committed on August 9 in Moscow and also to stop the "anti-Caucasus hysteria" in the Russian media.

The Baku Court of Appeal (CoA) has upheld the verdict of the District Court to sentence Khadidja Ismailova, a journalist of the Azerbaijani Branch of the "Radio Liberty", to administrative penalty in the form of 220 hours of community service. Anar Gasymov, the journalist's advocate, called the Court's decision unlawful and stated that the relevant complaint will be filed to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

The materials of the case against human rights activists of the Gelendzhik Human Rights Centre (HRC) contain a lot of doubtful points, and the sentence is unreasonably tough. This was stated by Vadim Karastelev, an expert of the Moscow Helsinki Group. The investigation into the case can face provocations.

In Yerevan, relatives of soldier Akop Indjigulyan, who was captured in Azerbaijan on August 8, met Dragana Rankovic, Emissary of the Armenian Office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The Emissary has assured them that the Red Cross takes steps to arrange a meeting with Akop Indjigulyan. However, by the evening of August 15, the meeting did not take place.

The destruction of a part of the archive of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Georgia, containing video and audio records accumulated as a result of illegal secret surveillance and tapping of citizens' private life has been delayed again but will happen soon.