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The criminal process on the attack on law enforcement bodies of Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR), committed on October 13, 2005, is now at the stage of interrogating witnesses. One of them - Kazbek Taashev, an employee of the road sentry service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of the KBR, - said, in answer to an advocate's question on how they differentiated Wahhabites from traditional Moslems, that the difference was in the formers' "shaving off moustaches and wearing beards, shaped unusually for our people."

Today, at a meeting in Pyatigorsk on development of the regions of the newly formed North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD), Russian Premier Vladimir Putin defined priorities for the District and instructed a number of Ministries of the Russian Federation, the President's plenipotentiary in the NCFD Alexander Khloponin and regional authorities.

A website has appeared in the Internet calling to nominate the head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov for the President of Russia at the 2012 election. The President of Chechnya labelled it an ideological diversion.

Armenian authorities hope to receive a USD 120-million credit from Russia for developments in the sphere of diamond processing. This was stated by Tigran Davtyan, local Minister of Finance.

The wife and sister of Rumil Begeev, who ran away from under guards in Derbent, failed to receive the guarantees of law observance from law enforcers in exchange of his surrender. The MIA states the opposite.

A telephone SIM card with an appeal to jihad and photos of Doku Umarov and Shamil Basaev were found and confiscated from imam of the mosque, located in a maximum security colony in North Ossetia.

The "Gazprom" will erect the ski-biathlon complex in Sochi without participation of the Belarus company named "Triple". The respective amendments have been made in the programme of constructing Olympic objects and development of the city of Sochi as a mountain climate resort.

The Supreme Court (SC) of Kalmykia has defined an election system of Mayor of the republic's capital Elista. The city head will be elected by all the townspeople with suffrage, not just by the deputies of the city assembly.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Nagorno-Karabakh tries to find out why the OSCE monitoring mission suspended its work in the Karabakh-Azerbaijan contact line.

As stated by retired Militia General-Major Alexei Volkov, now Chairman of the Commission of the State Duma of the Russian Federation for Legal Support of Counteracting Corruption, the law enforcers, who took part in warfare in Northern Caucasus, became "different people" and spoiled the whole system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Russia. Nevertheless, a reform of the Ministry can bring fruit in 2-5 years, if the staff is reduced and militiamen's salaries are raised.

Chechen drug policemen are conducting a broad-scale preventive operation against the owners of entities, where smoker's mixes (hookah) are used, and trading facilities, where such mixes are sold. It was found out that a number of the mixes used by hookah smokers contain a strong narcotic substance.

In Karachai-Circassia, critical statements of Vladimir Ustinov, President's plenipotentiary in the Southern Federal District (SFD), about the idea of the united Circassian region were differently estimated by activists of public organizations. The "Adyge Khasse" thanked Mr Ustinov for his general focusing the problem, but noted that "someone had misinformed the speaker."

Workers of science in the Rostov Region express varying opinions on the fact of establishment of the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD). These are the results of the poll held by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent among the leading scientists and experts of Rostov-on-Don about the new NCFD approved by the State Duma on January 22.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Development of North Ossetia has taken part in the contest of the Fund in Support of Vulnerable Children. The republic has won four out of seven programmes put to the contest. As reported by Zhanna Gasieva, deputy minister of labour and social development of the republic, this year, North Ossetia will receive more than 30 million roubles on implementation of programmes.

As reported by the Federal Public Health Supervisory Agency ("Roszdravnadzor"), Astrakhan drugstores in 2008-2009 delivered, through the Red Cross, drugs with expired shelf life intended for victims in Tskhinvali. In total, within this humanitarian action, medical products worth 23,400 roubles were shipped to South Ossetia.

The international human rights organization the Human Rights Watch (HRW) states that the situation with observance of human rights in Northern Caucasus, and first of all in Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia, is at critically low level.

Politicians and activists of public organizations of North Ossetia view new opportunities for economic growth, fighting criminality, development of tourism, businesses and institutes of civil society in this republic in foundation of the new North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD) and appointment of Alexander Khloponin to be the plenipotentiary of Russian President in this District.

The procedure of today's fast judicial session was scripted well in advance: the militia cordoned the court building and brought Alexei Dymovskiy to the SIZO (pre-trial custody) even before the judgement. This was reported to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent from the court building in Novorossisk is informed by Vadim Karastelyov, an expert of the Novorossisk Committee of Human Rights and official representative of the former Major of Novorossisk militia Alexei Dymovskiy.

Today, the State Duma of the Russian Federation has adopted two presidential bills, submitted because of creation of the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD) and approval of Alexander Khloponin in the post of vice-premier and President's plenipotentiary in the District.

On January 22-23, in Krasnodar, activists-ecologists plan to hold public actions in defence of the unique natural territory named Utrish, located in the Krasnodar Territory between the cities of Anapa and Novorossisk. These actions will open the international decade of actions in defence of Utrish, which will last from January 22 to January 31.