Several rebels wearing masks broke into the mufti's house in Elistanzhi on Saturday evening. They took the mufti to the yard and shot him.

According to the words of Vyacheslav Tikhomirov, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Interior Troops, Baranov's appointment is a "constructive element of a new management vertical for structures that take part in the anti-terrorist operation in Chechnya".

Activists of the Social and Ecological Union of the West Caucasus and the Atshi Movement have carried out an independent investigation to check whether these public consultations on the ammoniac terminal project are really being held.

The police of the capital arrested about 30 activists of the DPA, several people got injuries.

According to the words of the republican election commission chairman, the election commission decided to verify the complaint of representatives of the presidential contender Vladimir Semyonov that his observer had not been allowed to visit one of the polling stations.

According to the Azerbaijan Foreign Minister's words, "The worsening of the situation at the armed forces contiguity line is connected with the tension in Armenia and occupied territories."

"The stronger our armed forces are, the more chances we have for the settlement of the Georgian-Abkhazian and Georgian-Osetian conflicts," said Eduard Shevardnadze.

On August 24-29 senior school students of the RUHS Orthodox gymnasium, leaders of the Alania (Osetin) Tskhinvali Eparchy and some mass media representatives took a history enlightenment and pilgrimage trip though the sacred places of West Ancient Alania (Osetia).

According to some information, during this special operation the servicemen arrested and took away 6 people.

A training for young lawyers took place in Stepanakert on August 30-31. It was organized by Stepanakert's Press Club and the Artsakh Human Rights Association.

Despite the nationalities of presidential contenders in the second round of the elections in the Republic of Karachaevo-Cherkessia did not suggest any conflicts (a Karachai Mustafa Batdyev, a half-Russian and a half-Karachai Vladimir Semyonov), still some national overtones could be heard at some appearances during the last pre-election days.

The servicemen were guarding a railway near the village of Sernovodsk in the Achkhoy-Martan region.

Esiyev Artur was detained by officers of the Russian power structures of the Urus-Martan region on February 14, 2002.

100 children from poor families of the Kirovsky region in the Republic of North Osetia - Alania received presents for a new school year.

This action gives a free way to hold the second round of the election appointed on August 31.

"We expect international human rights organizations to come out immediately on all available levels in favor of defense of rights and liberties of the Chechen refugees living on the Czech territory ", reads the appeal.

A new Criminal Code of Armenia came into force on August 1, 2003. The clauses 135, 136 and 318 of this law provide criminal liability for slander and insult of a state official and a judge.

Protest rallies were held yesterday in Zugdidi (western Georgia), Tbilisi, and Gori. The protesters demanded from authorities to pay off arrears of social payments.

As the republican Interior Ministry reported yesterday, several unidentified criminals fired at Dalilov from sub-machine guns in the village of Prigorodnoye on Thursday.

Forced migrants from the Chechen Republic ask to help them reinstate 325 people in the lists of refugees. They were struck off the registration in the Federal Migration Service without any ground.