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As reported today by Dmitri Kozak, Russian Vice-Premier, during his working trip to Sochi, the 2014 Winter Olympiad will cost 185 billion roubles, of which the budget will allot 80 billion, and the rest will come, as they plan, from private investors.

Despite the advisory opinion of the UN International Court in The Hague of July 22 on legitimacy of Kosovo's independence, Azerbaijan is still recognizing the territorial integrity of Serbia.

The main outcome of the youth forum "Kavkaz-2020", held in Nalchik, the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria, was accumulation of the "bank of projects" for developments of Northern Caucasus. About 20 such projects were presented by the participants of the forum.

As compared with last year, in 2010 the number of cases of physical violence over journalists in Armenia has more than halved, Ahsot Melikyan, head of the "Committee in Defence of Freedom of Speech", told journalists.

In the near future, the figurants in the murder case of lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasia Baburova - Nikita Tikhonov and Evgenia Khasis - will start studying the materials of the case.

In Shamilkala village, Untsukul District of Dagestan, unidentified persons kidnapped Vladimir Redkin, Chief Engineer of the Company "Sulak Hydropower Cascade".

Bersnako Nalgiev, a resident of Ingushetia, has addressed human rights activists with a request to help in defending the rights of his son Alaudin, 19, who was detained on July 14 in Malgobek as a suspect of helping militants. As he said, his son was beaten at detention.

On July 22, a minibus fell down into the Argun River from a mountain road. Out of 10 persons inside, 7, including 2 children, were lost.

A self-made explosion device was triggered today in the railway section Inchkhe-Kayakent in Dagestan. As a result of the explosion an employee of the extradepartmental security service was wounded.

Today in Tbilisi, near the Avlabar President's residence, refugees from Abkhazia held a rally, demanding from the head of the state to provide them with decent housing conditions; this was said in a special statement delivered to the presidential administration by the participants of the protest action.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has concluded that Russia had broken a number of articles of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), namely, the right to life, prohibition of torture and the right to freedom and personal immunity in relation to three residents of Chechnya in 2002 and 2003.

The 12-year-long education system in Georgia is not quite reasonable, as pupils of senior classes often miss lessons; therefore, their training in these classes should be voluntary. This was stated today by President Mikhail Saakashvili at his meeting today with top officials of the Ministry of Education.

The head of Kalmykia Kirsan Ilyumzhinov will apply to Dmitri Medvedev not to consider his candidature at appointing a new head of the republic. His application will be satisfied by the Kremlin upon expiry of his term in October 2010.

Today in the Gal District of Abkhazia, as a result of explosion of a land mine planted by unidentified persons, six employees of the Bagryab district police of the Gal District received different gravity wounds.

Practically every month Circassian young nationals of Karachai-Circassia are inviting residents in different villages and districts to show them how Adygs' ancestors danced their national dances.

Under the decision of the Vilnius Regional Court, Egle Kusaite, suspected of terrorism, will stay behind bars till September 26. The court is afraid that once at large the woman may disappear from justice.

In Bulungu village, Chegem District of Kabardino-Balkaria, a mudslide destroyed about 20 houses; two of them are not subject to restoration. Four heads of cattle were lost.

The embassy of Azerbaijan in France has sent a protest letter to the German-French TV channel named ARTE because of broadcasting of the film "Haut Karabagh: Gomchassar", telling about the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Law enforcement bodies believe that one of militants' leaders - Kazbek Tashuev - may stand behind the explosions at the Baksan Hydraulic Power Plant (HPP) in Kabardino-Balkaria triggered on July 21. This was stated by a source from power agencies of the NCFD (North-Caucasian Federal District. According to his version, members of his grouping were recognized by the workers of the HPP.

Residents of Dzhaparidze village, Dedoplistskaroi District of Georgia, ask the authority to ensure protection of the village against wolves, which get into the yards of private households.