News

March 13, 2010 11:00

• Snow in Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories was tinted by Sahara sand

  Experts explain the coloured snow that fell on March 9 in the Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories by the presence of dust, sand and clay particles in precipitations brought by the wind from Northern Africa, and state that the deposits are harmless.

March 13, 2010 10:00

• US' DoS criticizes situation with human rights in Armenia

  The political crisis in Armenia that stemmed from essential violations in the course of the 2008 presidential election is not over, and the atmosphere in the country continues to remain tense. This was stated in the report of the United States' Department of State (DoS) published on March 11.

March 13, 2010 08:00

• Landslip threat forces MfE to evacuate residents of Buinaksk suburb

  At night on Saturday, March 13, the Dagestan city of Buinaksk suffered from a powerful landslip. Rescuers evacuated 82 persons, including 26 children, the local Ministry for Emergencies (MfE) reports.

March 12, 2010 23:55

• International human rights organizations call Azerbaijan to release convicted bloggers

  The international human rights organizations "Committee to Protection Journalists", Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have made statements on the refusal of the Baku Appeal Court to cancel the verdict to bloggers Adnan Gadjizade and Emin Milli, convicted to 2 and 2.5 years of imprisonment respectively.

March 12, 2010 23:50

• USA express concern of human rights situation in Northern Caucasus

  On March 11, Hilary Clinton, State Secretary of the USA, presented another regular report on the situation in the sphere of human rights in the world. The document published in the official website of the US Department of State (DoS), dedicates 73 pages to criticism of the situation with human rights in Russia.

March 12, 2010 23:40

• CE reminds Armenia of ECtHR's decision on "A1+" TV Company

  The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CE) has reminded the government of Armenia about the need to enforce the decision of the European Court on Human Rights (ECtHR) on the "A1+" TV Company. According to the verdict, Armenia should give chance to the Company to take part in the tender for broadcasting frequencies and for its return on air.

March 12, 2010 23:20

• Schools teachers in several districts of Chechnya complain of salary delays

  Schools teachers of several districts of the Chechen Republic see no salaries for two months already. The issue was discussed on March 11 in Grozny at a sitting with participation of the head of the Ministry of Education, city and regional departments of education and school directors. The authorities promise to solve the problem in the near future.

March 12, 2010 23:00

• In Dagestan, court refuses to reconsider Natalia Krainova's case

  On March 11, Federal Judge of the Sovietskiy District of Makhachkala Gasankadi Dzhunaidiev rejected the application lodged by Natalia Krainova, a journalist of the local weekly "Novoe Delo" (New Business), who asked to revise the verdict of April 22, 2009, prescribing her to pay, together with her colleague Svetlana Anokhina, 24,000 roubles in equal shares to Zaur Gaziev, a journalist of the newspaper "Free Republic".

March 12, 2010 22:40

• Picket in memory of Aslan Maskhadov held in Moscow

  Today in Moscow, in Chistye Prudy, at the monument to Alexander Griboedov, a picket was held in memory of the leader of Chechen separatists Aslan Maskhadov.

March 12, 2010 22:20

• Train in Dagestan was blown up by pressure-action mine

  In Dagestan, experts have established the type and power of the bomb that was triggered in the evening on March 11 on the railway in Makhachkala. The power of the bomb was 2 kilos of trotyl equivalent.

March 12, 2010 22:00

• In Dagestan, trial on "Chernovik" case postponed till certificates arrive

  Today, another hearing was held in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, on the criminal case initiated against journalists of the local weekly "Chernovik", accused of kindling national, racial and religious enmity.

March 12, 2010 21:00

• Three residents of Dagestan set records for the Guinness Book of World Records

  Today, competitions were held in the Dagestan village of Khadzhalmakhi, where three persons have broken world records in lifting weights attacked to hair, pulling up on a horizontal bar on one hand and keeping a 24-kilo weight by one leg.

March 12, 2010 20:00

• Russian CC not to return juries on terror cases, experts say

  Lawyers do not believe, while waiting for the Constitutional Court (CC) of the Russian Federation to consider the conformity to the Constitution of the amendments made by the State Duma in the end of 2008 in the Russian Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) and concerning the trial by jury for those accused of especially grave crimes, that the right to be tried by jurymen will be returned.

March 12, 2010 19:00

• House of oppositionist Khazbiev searched in Ingushetia

  In the afternoon on March 11, house No. 2 in the Tsoroev Street in Nazran, belonging to the Ingush oppositionist Magomed Khazbiev, was visited by Ibragim Aushev, an inspector of the GOVD (Chief Interior Department), with reinforcement of power agents. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent learnt about it from Mr Khazbiev himself.

March 12, 2010 18:00

• Sochi voters and media editors: freedom of choice impossible without freedom of media

  Editors of mass media, ready to provide room to candidates for the Sochi City Assembly (SCA), and city dwellers gave their comments on the way the election campaign was covered. Both groups noted restriction of the freedom of speech and opinion in the course of campaigning.

March 11, 2010 23:50

• Explosion wounds militiaman in Chechnya

  In the city of Argun, Chechen Republic, Akhyad Musanigov, head of the territorial militia district, was wounded by an explosion. This was reported today by the Republic's Department of the ICPO.

March 11, 2010 23:30

• Trial of Fatima Margieva postponed

  The planned today's session on Fatima Margieva, a teacher of the South-Ossetian State University, accused of firearm and explosive illegal purchase and storage, has been postponed till March 18. The reason is in the problems with the stay in Tskhinvali of Margieva's lawyer, who is from Vladikavkaz (North Ossetia).

March 11, 2010 23:20

• Opening of "Verkhni Lars" is no indication of improved Russian-Georgian relations, Georgia's ambassador to Armenia says

  As stated at a press conference on March 11 by Grigol Tabatadze, ambassador of Georgia to Armenia, by having reopened the border check point "Verkhni Lars", Georgia sacrificed a lot and did it, first of all, to preserve good neighbourhood relations with Armenia.

March 11, 2010 23:10

• In Sochi, militia refuses to investigate attack on building of Jehovah's Witnesses

  Employees of the Tsentralny ROVD of Sochi returned the application lodged by the Sochi community of Jehovah's Witnesses on the fact of an attack on the hall for religious assemblies. They explained their refusal to open a case by the absence of data about material damage.

March 11, 2010 23:00

• Worship cross desecrated in Adygea to be restored

  The Orthodox worship cross installed in the memorial to the Cossacks who perished in the Civil War near Dakhovskaya village in Adygea, which was desecrated on March 5, will be restored. This was stated by the Maikop and Adygea Eparchies of the Russian Orthodox Church. So far, law enforcement bodies try to find out the circumstances of the crime.