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On January 8 in Baku, at the sitting of the Civil Movement for Democracy "Public Chamber" (CMDPC), its Coordination Board (CB) was re-elected; and the tasks of this oppositional formation for 2012 were discussed, namely: a demand to release 16 convicts after the last year's spring protest actions, and to raise the issue of resignation of President Ilham Aliev.

As a result of 15 suicide bombings committed in 2011 in the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD) and Moscow, 64 persons were killed, and at least 224 others were wounded. These are the results of calculations made by the "Caucasian Knot" based on the information of its own correspondents and other open sources.

According to recent data, five members of illegal armed formations (IAFs) were liquidated in a special operation undertaken in the Vedeno District of Chechnya, said a source from the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Russia.

Karen Arutyunyan, a resident of Nagorno-Karabakh and a member of the religious community of Jehovah's Witnesses, was sentenced to 2.5 years' imprisonment for refusing to take his regular military service on the pretext of his religious beliefs.

On January 7, Christmas marches "Alilo" were held in the cities of Tbilisi and Batumi. In the Georgian capital the event was blessed by Catholicos-Patriarch Elias II. He met a festive procession and handed sweets and gifts over to the participants.

In the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic (NAR), relatives of the arrested oppositional activist Zeinal Bagirzade have refuted the words of the authorities that no violence had been applied to him. Local human rights defenders complain that they were not allowed to meet Bagirzade.

As reported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Moscow, the Kuzminki Inter-District Court of the Russian capital has arrested a 29-year resident of the capital of Dagestan, who opened pistol fire at his opponents during a brawl at night on January 6.

Today, Mekhman Aliev and Oktai Gyulyalyev, activists of the "Kura" office, were detained in the Sabirabad District of Azerbaijan. The police have prohibited them to hold a seminar for local residents, who suffered from the devastating flood in the spring of 2010 of the Kura and Araz Rivers.

Today, ecologists have registered a fact of contamination of the Sochi River with mazut (fuel oil). An investigation into the incident has been launched.

Abkhazia is ready to help the members of the Abkhazian Diaspora in Syria, who wish to return to their homeland. Now, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Abkhazia is planning to send a mission to Syria, composed of members of the repatriation committee.

Seven persons have fallen victim to a shooting in Nalchik. Two policemen and Alim Chechenov, who attacked them, were killed; three other employees of the road-and-post service (known as DPS) were wounded, as well as one civilian, the MIA of Kabardino-Balkaria reports.

According to preliminary data, violations of fire safety in using furnace heating have caused a large fire and subsequent deaths of four children in a private house near Krasnodar.

The Women's I Muslim Club "Iman" was opened in the Chechen capital for "spiritual and moral education of Chechen women."

At night on January 7, Orthodox believers have celebrated one of the major religious holidays – the Christmas. Many regions of the Southern and North-Caucasian Federal Districts (SFD and NCFD) and in the regions of Transcaucasia held Christmas services.

Yesterday, on January 5, the world champion in freestyle wrestling Alan Lokhov, who had been sentenced to five days in jail for organizing a march against arrests of the staff of the North-Ossetian office of Alla Djioeva, a former candidate for presidency of South Ossetia, was released from the Vladikavkaz temporary detention facility (known as IVS) of the North-Ossetia Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA).

In Afghanistan, Shalva Pailodze, a Georgian soldier, was lost at the attack of the Taliban.

Today in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, an explosion happened in Gagarin Street, which wounded a 12-year-old boy.

The brothers Yunus and Yusuf Yandiev and Azamat Khamchiev, detained on September 28, 2011, in the course of the counterterrorist operation (CTO) in the Malgobek District of Ingushetia, have been released from custody under recognizance not to leave.

Today, the Orthodox believers mark the Christmas Eve, the eve of one of the main church holidays – the Christmas. The Christmas Eve is celebrated by believers of four Local Churches of the world – Russian, Georgian, Jerusalem and Serbian ones.

On January 5, in the Sunzha District of Chechnya, the police detained a young man, who had abducted a girl with the aim to marry her, the local MIA reports.