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In the course of forming Kalmykia's news united government, President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has cut its staff approximately by half, as reported by Buyancha Galzanov, press secretary of the nation's leader.

After the end of the almost ten-year counterterrorist operation (CTO) regime in Chechnya, announced on April 16, 70 days have expired. During this period Chechnya saw a growth of the number of terror acts, murders of power agents and kidnappings. This is confirmed by calculations made from the archive data of the "Caucasian Knot" and open sources.

Starting today, the opposition of Georgia has stopped their picket at the Avlabar residence of President Mikhail Saakashvili, which lasted for about 70 days. According to the information of the press service of the "Movements for United Georgia", the picket was lifted in order to defend oppositionists against arrest and political persecution.

The expert group of the Board of State Support of NGOs of Azerbaijan has prepared a compromise version of amendments to the legislation on NGOs.

The litigation under the claim of the "Rossvyazkomnadzor" (Federal Communications Supervision Agency) Department for Dagestan demanding to stop the "Chernovik" newspaper was suspended today at the Supreme Court of the Republic of Dagestan until the end of an additional linguistic and psychological examination of paper publications.

Today, the Military Panel of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation has decided to cancel the acquittal verdict passed this February to four figurants in the murder case of the journalist of the "Novaya Gazeta" Anna Politkovskaya and sent the case to a new consideration by other judges of the Moscow regional Military Court. The parties in the trial have disagreed with the decision.

In the Rostov Region, miners of the Chikh Mine located in the city of Shakhty have announced a strike with a demand to get their three-month salary debts. Last night a shift staff of miners - over 30 persons - refused to go upstairs from their mine.

Chechen human rights activists believe that Maskhud, son of Supyan Abdullaev, closest associate of Doku Umarov and his probable successor as Amir of Caucasian separatists, who disappeared under unclear circumstances on June 19 in Domodedovo Moscow Airport, could be kidnapped by FSB agents or Ramzan Kadyrov's people.

Workers of special agencies suspect that militant Abdul-Malik Aliev, liquidated on June 24 in a special operation in a Nazran suburb, was the organizer of the attack on President of Ingushetia, committed on June 22, where Evkurov was heavy wounded.

Problems of ethnic Azerbaijanis of Georgia were in the focus of the roundtable, held at the Baku Media Centre to the topic "Place and historical role of Borchaly", the region in the south of Georgia, where Azerbaijanis compactly live.

On June 23, the door of the corrective establishment for criminals "Kentron" (former SIZO (pre-trial facility) of the KGB) opened, and under the amnesty act adopted on June 19 by the National Assembly of Armenia, Gagik Dzhangiryan, activist of the opposition and former deputy general public prosecutor, found himself at large.

At the moment, very few of the PACE's requirements have been fulfilled, and regular monitoring of the progress made by Armenia to this end will be continued. This is stated in the report "Functioning of Democratic Institutes in Armenia" by the commission of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), which was prepared by co-rapporteurs John Prescott and George Colombier. At the same time, the document gives high estimate of the amnesty announced by the Armenian authorities.

On June 22, five residents of the Chechen Republic accused of kidnapping people for ransom and of other grave crimes were sentenced by the Republic's Supreme Court to long terms of imprisonment.

The militants' grouping operating in the territory of Ingushetia and presented as "Mujahads of Vilayat Galgaiche" has stated they had committed murders of Gazgireeva, deputy chair of the Supreme Court of Ingushetia, and former vice-premier Bashir Aushev, as well as the shelling of Osman Vyshegurov, an employee of the tax service. The statement appeared in one of separatists' websites.

Today, the website of the RIA "Dagestan", founded by the Ministry of National Policy, Information and External Relations of Dagestan, suffered from a hacker's attack again: supporters of separatists have placed their appeal to law enforcers on behalf of one of extremist groupings in the main page of the website.

The health condition of Ramzan Evkurov, 35, a President's bodyguard who was wounded in the attempt on June 22 remains extremely grave. Today, he will be prepared for repeated surgery.

President of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov has unexpectedly arrived to Ingushetia, where he met Rashid Gaisanov, temporary head of the republic, as reported by a source in the government of Ingushetia. Mr Kadyrov has offered remuneration to residents of Ingushetia for information about any prepared terror acts and militants' whereabouts.

Nadira Isaeva, editor-in-chief of the weekly "Chernovik" (Blueprint), and journalist Arthur Mamaev will face a new charge.

Today, the court of the city of Novorossisk has rejected the suit lodged by Tamara Karastelyova, director of the Novorossisk Committee on Human Rights (NCHR), challenging the non-normative acts of the city's prosecutor's office, which had found attributes of extremism in criticism of key provisions of the so-called "curfew law". According to Ms Karastelyova, the today's trial "looked like a play": the decision was prepared in advance.

Tamara Karastelyova, director of the Novorossisk Human Rights Committee (NHRC), has complained of a discrediting campaign launched against those who stand for cancelling the law on "curfew" for children in Novorossisk; the campaign is conducted with use of mass media and Internet portals.