In February, up to 5,000 refugees from the tent camps in Ingushetia will be able to return to Grozny. This was announced on Saturday by the mayor of the Chechen capital Oleg Zhidkov. According to him, six temporary accommodation centers for refugees are planned to be opened in Grozny by February 1, in addition to the seven already operating there. "Statements with requests for assistance in returning to Grozny were received from more than eight thousand people," Zhidkov said.

The leader of the Ukrainian People's Rukh Gennadiy Udovenko resigned from the post of chairman of the party. Udovenko himself told journalists about this on Saturday during a break at the 4th congress of the UNR, which opened on Saturday in Kyiv. According to RIA Novosti, Udovenko did not name the reason for his resignation, but said that this issue would be considered at the next party congress in May 2003.

The seven islands of the Riau archipelago, located between the Malacca Peninsula, the islands of Singapore and Sumatra, were under water as a result of the destruction of coral reefs, which served as their natural protection from the elements of the sea, as well as due to the disappearance of mangrove forests, which led to soil erosion under the influence of winds, showers and sea surf, RIA Novosti reports with reference to the Jakarta Post newspaper.

The former hostages of "Nord-Ost" will not yet file new lawsuits with the Tverskoy Intermunicipal Court of Moscow. According to ITAR-TASS, after the court dismissed three lawsuits filed by the victims' relatives, Igor Trunov, the victims' lawyer, decided to refrain from filing new lawsuits.

To date, 11 people have been arrested on suspicion of committing a terrorist act in the city of Kaspiysk on May 9, 2002, and more arrests will be made in the near future. This was announced on Friday in Makhachkala by the director of the Federal Security Service, Nikolai Patrushev. He noted that another 10 people are on the international wanted list.

At least four people were killed and six were injured in a collision between two planes in Colorado (USA), reports AP. Five people were killed - two were aboard one aircraft, three were aboard another. One of the planes crashed into Denver residential buildings and exploded. Six Denver residents were injured and taken to the hospital. One of the wounded is a two-year-old boy. The names of the dead have not yet been released. The details of the crash are being specified.

During a special operation carried out in the 5th pre-trial detention center in Tbilisi, three members of the Georgian special forces were injured with knives. According to RIA "Novosti" on Saturday at 8 o'clock in the morning, employees of the department began checking the detention center in order to identify weapons and items prohibited by the regime. Unrest broke out among the prisoners, and special forces were called to the scene.

The US is counting on the support of "at least twelve countries" in the event of a military operation against Iraq without a new UN Security Council resolution. This was stated by US Secretary of State Colin Powell, who arrived in Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos. Powell declined to name specific countries, noting that all of them would prefer to have a relevant UN resolution, but are ready to side with the United States even without it, reports Reuters.

The seventh prime and backup crews of cosmonauts are ready to fly to the International Space Station and to work in the Russian segment of this station. This conclusion was reached on Thursday by the State Commission, which took the exam for cosmonauts, RIA Novosti was told at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City.

The European Court of Human Rights has not yet accepted for consideration on the merits the complaint of military journalist Grigory Pasko, convicted of espionage. As Anatoly Kovler, a judge of the European Court of Human Rights elected from the Russian Federation, told Interfax, it is only being studied for "admissibility" for consideration.

46 people were found guilty of attempted assassination of Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov. Turkmenbashi himself announced this on the air of national television, BBC News reports. Niyazov did not provide details of the verdicts handed down in closed court sessions.

Two bombs exploded in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, reports Reuters. According to Palestinian sources, an unidentified person threw a bomb at a cafe on the outskirts of the Ain el-Hilweh camp. As a result of the explosion, the cafe building was destroyed, and a car parked nearby was also damaged. After some time, another bomb was thrown into the store building. No one was injured in the attacks.

A storm warning has been issued for the Kuril Islands. The hydrometeorological service of the Sakhalin region reported that a powerful cyclone, accompanied by heavy snowfalls and heavy winds, is moving to the Kuriles from Japan. All special services of the Southern and Northern Kuriles have been put on high alert. Residents of the islands are warned about the approach of the cyclone.

In Penza, three Chechens were detained and transferred to the capital, allegedly participating in the hostage-taking in the recreation center on Dubrovka. According to Interfax, citing a statement by Alexander Gulyakov, head of the internal affairs department of the Penza region, these people were detained jointly with the FSB.

In the regional center of Shali, separatists blew up the car of the head of the regional department of internal affairs. This was reported in the press service of the OGV. As a result of the assassination attempt, the driver of the car died, the head of the regional department was not injured. In addition, according to the headquarters of the United Forces, two suspects were detained in the Vedensky district of Chechnya in connection with the seizure of Budyonnovsk.