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Vladimir Tender, accused of beating the leader of Novorossiysk human rights committee, Major Alexei Dymovsky's lawyer Vadim Karastelev, did not admit his guilt during the preliminary inquiry.

A book by Anzor Maskhadov "My Father - Chechen President" was published in Norway in 3000 copies. The author - the son of Aslan Maskhadov, President of the non-recognized Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (ChRI), - told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent about his work.

From now on, the five Deputies of the Russian State Duma and the citizens of France, Germany, Slovakia and Argentina, who took part in observing the May 23 parliamentary elections in Nagorno-Karabakh, are under the entrance ban to Azerbaijan.

The widow of the first Georgian president Zviad Gamsakhurdia, Manana Archvadze-Gamsakhurdia, in connection with a hunger strike of her son Tsotne Gamsakhurdia in prison, demands a meeting with Georgia's minister of corrections and legal assistance but authorities still refrain from contacts.

On May 24, the Spiritual Department of Moslems (SDM) of North Ossetia accepted the resignation of the Mufti of the Republic Ali-Hadji Evteev. This was reported today by the Ministry on Nationalities' Matters of North Ossetia.

Today at night in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, an unidentified explosive device was triggered. This was reported by the local Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA).

The Nevinnomyssk court of Stavropol region has sentenced a local college student Ilya Kartsev, a former member of the Internet project "Big game. Break the system" to one year imprisonment for extremism and xenophobia. He was found guilty under the article "Incitement of national enmity".

Local experts believe that power agencies have no exact data about the number of militants in the Chechen Republic, but note that not the present number of militants in Northern Caucasus matters, but the way the power agents could cope with small groups of militants.

In Abasha region, west Georgia, the rivers Zana and Anasha overflowed their banks due to torrential rains and flooded the village of Sepieti. On 24 May, authorities declared an emergency in Abasha town.

In Elbrussky district of Kabardino-Balkaria, a road traffic safety inspection car was undermined today; while examining a crime scene, four more explosives were detected, two of them exploded, having injured a militia dog handler.

The Supreme Court of Chechnya has upheld the decision of the Zavodskoy District Court of the city of Grozny, which had recognized the article about Chechnya published by the "Terra" Publishing House in the 58th volume of its "Big Encyclopaedia" as extremist. This was announced by Judge Iskenderova, who chaired the session.

Opening of the Centre for Contemporary Art "Tobacco House" was held in Rostov-on-Don on 24 May within the framework of the first South-Russian Biennale of Contemporary Art in the Don capital. Experts admit that such a large-scale display of contemporary artworks takes place for the first time here. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has attended the Center opening ceremony.

On May 24, first participants of the 12th all-Russian exhibition of breeder sheep to be solemnly opened on May 28 arrived in Elista, the capital of Kalmykia. Delegations from Dagestan, Karachai-Circassia, Rostov Region and Tatarstan have already brought their best animals to the destination.

The Assembly of Tbilisi Armenians is concerned with the "fact of ignoring the interests of the 86-thousand-strong Armenian community in Georgia" at local government elections to be held on May 30.

On May 21, in Chechnya, Isa and Belal Ozdiev - members of the family of well-known Chechen businessmen - Ozdiev brothers were detained. The Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" reports with reference to eyewitnesses of the incident that the brothers were beaten at detention.

As stated by Kanat Saudabaev, head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan and the current OSCE Chairman, the May 23 parliamentary elections held in Nagorno-Karabakh did not promote any conflict settlement in the region.

Today, 54 passengers have departed on the first spring-summer charter flight from Tbilisi to Moscow performed by Airzena, Georgian Airways.

As stated today in Sukhumi at a press conference by local President Sergey Bagapsh, Abkhazia, like other countries of the Black Sea region, would develop sea oil fields.

Karabakh central electoral commission (CEC) has published the results of the parliamentary election held on 23 May. They show that Free Fatherland party received the 41 percent of the votes (29252 voters).

Manana Archvadze-Gamsakhurdia, the widow of Georgia`s late president Zviad Gamsakhurdia, announced intention to commit a suicide for attracting the public attention to her son Tsotne Gamsakhurdia who was sentenced to 9,5 years prison on charges of attempted murder, illegal possession and carrying of firearms.