OC Media

Pashinyan says right of refugees to return ‘a dangerous factor’ for peace The statement came as Azerbaijan dismissed the news it was dismantling the so-called Western Azerbaijan community.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called discussion of the return of Armenian and Azerbaijani refugees to be ‘a dangerous factor’ which ‘damages’ the peace established since the Washington agreements on 8 August.

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Prosecutor General demands former Makhachkala mayor and his relatives return over $26 million in assets Former Makhachkhala Mayor Said Amirov is already serving a life sentence for organising a terrorist attack.

Russia’s Prosecutor General has filed a lawsuit seeking the confiscation of over ₽2.1 billion ($26 million) in property registered to 18 relatives and associates of former Makhachkala mayor Said Amirov.

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Pashinyan meets with Iranian President Pezeshkian in Yerevan The two leaders agreed to increase their bilateral ties to the level of ‘strategic partnership’.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian have met in Yerevan, where the two signed a number of documents and held a joint press conference.

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Zelenskyi says Russia ‘deliberately’ struck Azerbaijan’s SOCAR facility in Ukraine In response to the incident, Azerbaijani MP Rasim Musabeyov said that Baku should begin sending weapons to Ukraine.

Zelenskyi has accused Russia of ‘deliberately’ attacking a petrol depot in Odesa Oblast belonging to Azerbaijan’s state-run SOCAR oil company. Zelenskyi said it appeared to be ‘an attack not only on us but also on our relations and energy security’.

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Pashinyan’s motorcade leader sentenced to 1.5 years in prison after 2022 fatal accident The fatal accident in April 2022 took the life of a young pregnant woman and her unborn child.

Over three years after the fatal car accident that killed Sona Mnatsakanyan and her unborn child, Yerevan City Court sentenced Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s motorcade leader, Aram Navasardyan, to 1.5 years in prison.

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Lelo and For Georgia announce Irakli Kupradze as candidate for Tbilisi mayor Irakli Kupradze, one of Lelo’s leaders, has a background in student activism.

Lelo — Strong Georgia and For Georgia, the only major opposition groups set to contest Georgia’s upcoming municipal elections, have named Lelo’s Secretary General Irakli Kupradze as their joint candidate for Tbilisi mayor.

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Explainer | Who’s in prison and who remains free in Georgia’s opposition? Six major opposition leaders have already been sentenced to months-long sentences. So who remains free?

📌 Explainer | Who’s in prison and who remains free in Georgia’s opposition?

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Khamzat Chimaev dedicates UFC victory to Kadyrov’s 17-year-old son Adam Khamzat Chimaev has become the first UFC middleweight champion from Chechnya.

Chechen mixed MMA fighter Khamzat Chimaev has dedicated his newly won UFC middleweight title to Adam Kadyrov, Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov’s 17-year-old son.

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UFC head Dana White appears uncomfortable as Chechen MMA fighter Khamzat Chimaev shouts 'Allahu Akbar' at a press conference.

Opinion | Georgian Dream’s ghoulish Ukraine ads insult all of Russia’s victims — Georgians included Anyone who thought that steadily deteriorating Georgia–Ukraine relations couldn’t get worse is about to find out that rock bottom has a basement.

🅾️ Opinion | Georgian Dream’s ghoulish Ukraine ads insult all of Russia’s victims — Georgians included

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Russian drones strike Azerbaijani SOCAR station in Ukraine, again This marks the second time the facility has been attacked in August.

A petrol depot belonging to the Azerbaijani state-run oil company SOCAR in Ukraine’s Odesa Oblast was struck by Russian drones during an attack in the area overnight, resulting in a fire and damage to the facility.

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‘They want to believe their sons are heroes’ — the North Caucasus in the shadow of the Ukraine war Although the North Caucasus is distant from the front lines in Ukraine, almost everyone has felt the war’s effects.

‘They want to believe their sons are heroes’ — the North Caucasus in the shadow of the Ukraine war

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Review | Blue Mountains, or Unbelievable Story — a satirical Georgian masterpiece Eldar Shengelaia’s 1983 film, one of the sharpest satirical critiques of Soviet bureaucracy in existence, is a cinematic masterpiece

🎬 OC Reviews: Blue Mountains, or Unbelievable Story is a slow-burning, deadpan comedy that exposes the absurd inertia of the late Soviet system and even foreshadows its collapse.

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Protesters march in Tbilisi in support of Ukraine ahead of the Trump–Putin meeting in Alaska.

A group of Ingush residents have carried out a so-called ‘raid’ in the coastal Daghestani city of Izberbash, intending to find Ingush women whom they believed were leading an ‘immoral’ lifestyle.

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Ingush imam criticises male waiters serving women Ibragim Batyrov described the behaviour of male waiters as ‘shameful’.

Ibragim Batyrov, the imam of the central mosque in the Ingush city of Malgobek, has criticised men working as waiters and serving women during a sermon.

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Georgian authorities launch first FARA probe, targeting prominent NGOs Critics have repeatedly described the ‘Georgian version of FARA’ as a tool of repression.

Georgia’s Anti-Corruption Bureau has launched inspections against six prominent civil society organisations under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), warning that failure to register under the law is a criminal offence.

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Supporters of protester Tedo Abramov celebrated outside Tbilisi City Court after he was acquitted of drug charges. Abramov was arrested during demonstrations, and faced 8–20 years in prison for possession of MDMA, which he insisted was planted on him.

Officials in North Ossetia ordered to use Russian Max messaging app This follows Russian authorities banning calls via WhatsApp and Telegram.

Officials in North Ossetia have been instructed to conduct all official correspondence exclusively through the Russian messaging app Max, which federal authorities are promoting as part of the country's ‘digital sovereignty’ policy.

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Moscow warns Baku over reports Azerbaijan will lift arms embargo for Ukraine On Wednesday, Russian diplomat Aleksei Fadeev stated that ‘Russia's position on sending weapons [to Ukraine] is well known to Azerbaijan’.

Russian Foreign Ministry official Aleksei Fadeev has warned Baku over rumours Azerbaijan might deliver military aid to Ukraine, saying that ‘if Baku will lift the arms embargo for selling to Ukraine it will only worsen the situation’.

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Pashinyan to sit out EAEU summit citing ‘holiday’ This latest absence comes amidst a streak of sessions Pashinyan has not attended at international organisations associated with Russia.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will not be attending an upcoming Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) summit, citing an overlap with his holiday.

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Review | The Eccentrics — a goofy Georgian ode to freedom The Eccentrics is by far Georgian director Eldar Shengelaia’s most absurdist and outright comedic film.

📹 OC REVIEWS: The Eccentrics by Eldar Shengelaia — a goofy Georgian ode to freedom

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Georgian media launch 1-hour blackout over declining press freedom Twenty-one Georgian online media outlets temporarily went offline on Wednesday in a campaign to raise awareness over press freedom in the country.

Twenty-one Georgian online media outlets temporarily went offline on Wednesday as part of a campaign to raise awareness over the state of press freedom in the country.

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Georgia arrests businessperson over high-profile Tbilisi murder of reported mafia member Georgian police have announced new detentions in connection with a murder that took place in central Tbilisi in March. The victim was reportedly a member of the so-called thieves-in-law, a term for th...

Georgian police have announced new detentions in connection with a murder that took place in central Tbilisi in March. The victim was reportedly a member of the so-called thieves-in-law, a term for the network of mafia in the post-Soviet world.

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Explainer | Who’s in prison and who remains free in Georgia’s opposition? Six major opposition leaders have already been sentenced to months-long sentences. So who remains free?

📌 Explainer | Who’s in prison and who remains free in Georgia’s opposition?

oc-media.org/explainer-wh...

New battalion formed in Ingushetia to fight in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine In the Ingush language, Erzi, the name of the new battalion, means ‘eagle’.

A sabotage and reconnaissance battalion named Erzi (in English, Eagle) is being formed in Ingushetia. It will operate as part of the Cossack reconnaissance brigade Terek and will take part in Russian military operations on the territory of Ukraine.

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Armenia seeks to confiscate $1.7 million from ex-president Kocharyan and other former officials The amount was paid to the families of victims killed in a violent crackdown on protests in 2008 when former President Robert Kocharyan was in power.

Armenian authorities are seeking to confiscate ֏670 million ($1.7 million) in compensation paid to the victims of the 2008 post-election protests in Yerevan from former President Robert Kocharyan and other former high-ranking officials.

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US-sanctioned ultra-right pro-Russian leader announces bid for Tbilisi mayor The Conservatives for Georgia, a party founded by the pro-Russia, far-right group Alt Info, has announced that Zurab Makharadze, a leader of the group who is sanctioned by the US, will be its mayoral ...

The Conservatives for Georgia, a party founded by the pro-Russia, far-right group Alt Info, has announced that Zurab Makharadze, a leader of the group who is sanctioned by the US, will be its mayoral candidate.

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What’s the significance of the Trump–Aliyev–Pashinyan meeting? OC Media invited analysts and contributors to share their thoughts on the Armenia–Azerbaijan meeting in Washington.

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Mother of seven in Karachay–Cherkessia sentenced for killing abusive husband The court ruled that the convicted woman had exceeded the necessary limits of self-defence, as she continued to strike her husband after he had already lost consciousness.

A court in Karachay-Cherkessia has sentenced a mother of seven for murdering her abusive husband, who she claimed would regularly beat her and her children.

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