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Today, the centre of Makhachkala is again blocked by KamAZ trucks; traffic is absolutely blocked in the vicinity of the central square, which houses the buildings of the President's Administration and the Government of Dagestan, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, FSB and the Supreme Court of the republic.

Residents of Ingushetia Salambek Dzakhkiev and Maksharip Khidriev, accused of blowing up the "Neva-Express" train in 2007, have been acquitted under the article of "terrorism". The court found them guilty of illegal circulation of explosives.

Imam Yaraliev, a candidate to the post of Mayor of Derbent, former public prosecutor of Dagestan and currently the head of the Suleiman-Stalskiy District, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the letter with his signature disseminated by mass media and addressed to President Dmitri Medvedev, asking to support Saigidgusen Magomedov, head of the Department of the Federal Exchequer for Dagestan, to the post of the President of Dagestan was a provocation.

Election of a new Ombudsman should take place soon in Ingushetia, but the date was not appointed. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent learnt about it from Shamsudin Mogushkov, chair of the committee for legislation, law, order and security.

Today in Tskhinvali, hundreds rallied in the Theatre Square, where the government of South Ossetia organized a supporting event of the detainees illegally kept in the territory of Georgia. Detainees' parents, local MPs, members of the Public Chamber of South Ossetia, poets and journalists spoke addressing the world community trying to urge Georgian authorities to stop capturing citizens of South Ossetia.

Today, the press service of the Mayor and Government of Russian capital has reported that the city authorities are ready to sanction a demonstration in memory of lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasia Baburova assassinated a year ago, if the lodge an application according to the law.

Today in Dagestan, the kindergarten of the city of Kaspiisk, where children's mass poisoning happened yesterday, was closed for quarantine. The prosecutor's office has started investigating the circumstances of what happened.

President of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov has stated that "never in his life" will he take responsibility for the whole Caucasus, and he will refuse if offered.

Lekso Bzhaniya, 18, a soldier of the Abkhazian armed forces, left his military unit without permit and addressed for refuge to the government of Georgia. The young man said that he had been forced into the Abkhazian army and expressed his readiness to serve in Georgia.

Today, Ziyavdin Dapaev, a resident of Makhachkala and a follower of Turkish religious scholar Said Nursi, whose writings under the general title "Risale-i-Nur" (Letters of Light) were judicially banned in Russia in 2007, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that he was summoned for interrogation to the FSB Department for Dagestan.

The Armenian National Congress (ANC) would not recognize the outcomes of the additional election to the National Assembly of Armenia held on January 10 and intends to challenge its outcomes.

Soon it will be possible to cross the Georgian-South-Ossetian administrative border only with the ID translated into Russian; however, this measure will touch only the residents of the village of Perevi. This was stated by Boris Chochiev, plenipotentiary of President of South Ossetia for post-conflict settlement.

The United Circassian Information Internet Resource, devoted to the All-Russia Census to be held on October 14-25, 2010. The project is aimed at restoration of the united historical ethnic notion (ethnicon) - a "Circassian" - for all sub-ethnic groups of the Circassian nation.

Today, 24 citizens of Georgia were deported from Poland to Georgia by a special Warsaw-Tbilisi charter flight. Among them, there are also participants of the December incident with the train in Poland, when a group of citizens of the Russian Federation and Georgia, who claimed for refugee status, illegally occupied seats in a train and demanded to bring them to Strasbourg.

Russian human rights defenders, politicians and public figures ask Moscow authorities to set up a memorial sign in the place of the fatal attack on lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasia Baburova.

On January 11, President of Georgia named three candidates for the post of the chairman of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC). He made his choice out of 14 nominees, moved by public and nongovernmental organizations at a meeting with him to Batumi.

Now, 5 districts of Dagestan with population of 215,000 are with no gas supplies after the terror act on the Mozdok-Kazimagomed gas main.

The edition "Sketches on History of Countries of Southern Caucasus" was written by joint efforts of scientists from Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia. The monograph contains data on history of each of the three countries from the most ancient times till 1921.

Today in Vladikavkaz, the capital of North Ossetia, practically all drivers of fixed-route taxis have failed to start working. They express their protest against the authorities' statements that the tariff increase from 8 to 10 roubles per trip was illegal. The drivers addressed the Prosecutor's Office of North Ossetia asking for help in clearing out the situation.

Today in Baku, a commercial agreement was signed between the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and the National Iranian Gas Export Company (NIGEC) on purchase of Azerbaijani natural gas.