Kavkaz

On photo: Raisa Amrieva and the house where her son Rakhim was killed   Ingushetia to be ruled by commanders of the “anti-terrorist” operation instead of being ruled by the President

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on Sunday, ending a long chapter in the bloody breakup of Yugoslavia.

MOSCOW – Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he saw no need to hang his successor’s portrait in his office once he steps down as Russia’s president.

MOSCOW – The near 100 percent support for the Kremlin’s United Russia party in parliamentary elections last year in the North Caucasus were legitimate and vindicated Kremlin policies, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.

MOSCOW – Following are highlights of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s comments in an annual question and answer session on Thursday.

MOSCOW – The prosecutor of Russia’s Volga region of Saratov was killed overnight and police believe his murder could be linked to his anti-corruption drive, Russian media reported on Thursday.

LONDON – Georgian businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili, who feared assassination and faced accusations of plotting a coup in his homeland, has died in Britain and British police are treating his death as suspicious.

BRDO, Slovenia – The European Union sought to convince Russia on Wednesday that the status-quo in Kosovo is unsustainable, the EU’s external relations commissioner said.

MOSCOW – Aspiring NATO member Ukraine is prepared to adopt legislation banning the alliance’s bases from its soil, Russia’s RIA news agency quoted Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko as saying on Wednesday.

MOSCOW – Russia expressed surprise on Tuesday that the United States had scrambled fighter jets at the weekend to intercept strategic Russian bombers, one of which flew over a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Pacific.