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In the last weeks before the Winter Olympics, Sochi authorities have tightened measure aimed to catch and kill stray dogs and cats, city residents report. However, local animal defenders believe that the money allocated by the administration of Sochi for killing animals should have been used to sterilize them.

The Tbilisi City Court has sentenced three former top managers of Gldani Prison No. 8 to nine years of imprisonment each. Other five defendants were acquitted; one was sentenced to two years in prison; and two others – to six years each.

Maarif Veliev, a Karabakh War invalid, made a self-immolation attempt in the Azerbaijani town of Barda and is now is in hospital, said Etimad Asadov, the head of the public association "Karabakh Veterans". The town authorities refute the information about the self-immolation attempt.

In the opinion of First-Rank Captain Konstantin Sivkov, Doctor of Military Sciences and Vice-President of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems, the statement about no need of NATO's help in securing the Sochi Olympics is logical and reasonable. Sergey Melkov, Doctor of Political Sciences and Co-Chair of the Association of Military Political Scientists of Russia, also believes that Russia is capable to ensure the safety of spectators and athletes.

In Dagestan, the earlier detained correspondent of the French Le Figaro, who came to write an article about Zarema Bagavutdinova, an activist of the Dagestani Regional Public Organization (DRPO) "Pravozaschita" (Advocacy), is back at large.

Policemen of the Karabudakhkent ROVD (District Interior Division) of Dagestan are collecting written obligations from the members of the local Salafi that they undertake to notify the law enforcement authorities about their intention to travel outside the region, said Elena Denisenko, the employee of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" in Dagestan.

Without specifying the reasons, the Mayoralty and the Ministry of Culture of the German city of Kassel cancelled the exhibition "Welcome to Sochi-2014", said Vasily Slonov, the author of the works, a painter from Krasnoyarsk. The opening of the exhibition of satirical posters about the Winter Olympics in Sochi had been scheduled for January 31.

The cruise liner Thomson Spirit has moored at the Imereti Port of Sochi ready to accommodate guests of the Winter Olympics. Floating hotel can house more than 1200 people.

At the session of the Moscow City Court (MCC) that considers the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, an observer of the "Novaya Gazeta", the jurors were shown the pistol that killed her. Besides, the court questioned the journalist's daughter Vera Politkovskaya.

At the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games in Sochi the Russian national team will consist of 78 athletes from 17 regions, Vitaly Mutko, the Russian Minister of Sports, has announced today; in total, the Russia's delegation will include 195 persons.

As reported by the Chechen Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), all the events dedicated to welcoming the Olympic Flame in Grozny, the Chechen capital, passed in a calm atmosphere; no accidents or serious incidents have been recorded.

Russia needs no help from the NATO in ensure security of the Sochi Olympics – it is enough to operate the Security Headquarters, where the participating countries of the Olympic Games will be presented, said the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

On Tuesday, in Magas, the capital of Ingushetia, about ten thousand people welcomed the Olympic Torch Relay in the main street. They came from many villages and towns of the republic.

The "Fund for Fighting Corruption" created by the oppositionist Alexei Navalny has launched a new project "Encyclopaedia of Expenses – Price of Olympiad", which tracks the costs of organizing and hosting the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. Ilya Djus, the official representative of the Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, has treated the research of the Fund as "incorrect".

Human rights violations, increased pressure on the Salafi community and formation of people's militia – these are the unsatisfactory results of Ramazan Abdulatipov, who is heading the Republic of Dagestan exactly for one year. This is a joint opinion of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", the Human Rights Watch (HRW), the International Crisis Group (ICG) and the human rights organization "Mothers of Dagestan".

The authorities of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) had to shorten – because of bad weather – the route of the Olympic Torch Relay in the territory of the republic. Local mountain climbers fear that severe weather conditions may complicate the scheduled lift of the 2014 Games Flame to Mount Elbrus.

The refugees living in Ingushetia intend to hold, on the opening day of the Olympic Games in Sochi – on February 7 – a flash mob, aiming to draw the authorities' attention to their unresolved housing problems, said Zarema Evloeva, one of the organizers of the action.

Grozny residents argue that civil servants, employees of budget-funded organizations and university students of the republic were forcibly recruited to participate in the celebrations on the arrival of the Olympic Torch Relay in Chechnya.

Thomas Bach, the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has stated that during the Winter Olympics in Sochi members of sexual minorities, whether guests or athletes, will face no discrimination. An LGBT activist Nikolai Alekseev is also sure that the Olympics will pass without any scandals of homosexual nature.

Relatives of the residents of the Khasavyurt District, who had been detained after the explosion in front of the GIBDD (traffic police) building in Pyatigorsk, have filed an application to the HRC "Memorial" in Dagestan for assistance in establishing their whereabouts and admission of advocates to them, said Elena Denisenko, the HRC's lawyer in Dagestan.