Regional Armenia and Azerbaijan exchanged unidentified DNA profiles of those found in Nagorno-Karabakh. No matches were found on either side. Russia has failed to respond to a second request from Armenia’s Investigative Committee for assistance in investigating the murder of Aishat Baimuradova, a native of Chechnya, the media outlet Vot Tak claimed , quoting the answer to their request . Investigators identified asphyxiation as the final cause of death of the woman, who was killed in Yerevan in October last year. Armenia The ruling Civil Contract party won most local elections held in 21 communities on Sunday. The opposition only contested 14 communities but won only in one, Stepanavan. After being dismissed by the Armenian Apostolic Church, two pastors took their cases of dismissal to court. However, the court later dismissed both cases after deciding that it was not within the jurisdiction of a civil court. The detention of former President Robert Kocharyan and his son, Sedrak Kocharyan, has been extended by two more months. They have been charged with corruption. Turkey has completed the tender process for the restoration of the historic Ani Bridge on the border with Armenia. Azerbaijan Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s chief adviser, Oktay Saral, has reportedly been dismissed from his position. While it was officially reported that he resigned, hen asked whether his departure was related to Azerbaijan, Saral apparently replied that it appeared to be the case, journalist Talat Atilla wrote on X . Georgia Yesterday, an opposition-organised protest called ‘Georgia Without Ivanishvili’ took place in Tbilisi, marching from Tbilisi State University to Rustaveli Square. The protest marked the beginning of a campaign that will continue until 28 November, the second anniversary of the Georgian Dream government’s announcement that Georgia would suspend its EU accession process until 2028. Poti-based journalist and founder of the social enterprise Limena, Eliso Janashia, says the investigation into an attack against her in December 2024 has been ‘turned against her’. The investigation has been split into two separate cases, and she is now being summoned for questioning. According to Janashia, investigators are using actions she took in self-defence against her. Former Deputy Economy Minister Romeo Mikautadze has reached a plea deal, reducing his 10-year prison sentence to three years, plus two years suspended. He was also fined ₾1 million ($390,000) and has his assets confiscated by the state. Before the deal, he testified against former State Security Service chief Grigol Liluashvili, who is currently serving a 13 year-sentence in prison. Two 14-year-old boys have been charged with preparing an attack on a school in Tbilisi. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, they planned to enter the school and attack people with weapons. One has been remanded in custody. Another prisoner, Gela Isashvili, says prison staff physically abused him after he expressed solidarity with prisoner Giorgi Davitadze, who has alleged prison guards raped him. Georgia’s Special Penitentiary Service denies the allegations, saying no abuse took place. South Ossetia South Ossetian Foreign Minister Akhsar Dzhioev held consultations with Syrian diplomats in Moscow . At a meeting with Syria’s Chargé d’Affaires in Russia, Abdulrazzaq Ismail, the sides discussed bilateral relations and opportunities to expand contacts. The North Caucasus More than 100 residents of Kabarda–Balkaria, including relatives of people detained on suspicion of involvement in extremism and terrorism, have sent an appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prosecutor General Yury Chaika, and Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Aleksandr Bortnikov. They are alleging the widespread fabrication of criminal cases related to extremism and terrorism in the republic and claiming that suspects are threatened with new criminal cases against their relatives if they refuse to make confessions. Chechen Head Raman Kadyrov called Chechens living abroad traitors . He said they tarnished their people’s reputation and had no way back to Chechnya. In his view, those who had left had ‘cut themselves off from their roots’ and were ‘absolutely unwanted here’, as there was ‘no place on Chechen soil for those who betrayed the memory of our heroes’. A special commission reported that it had helped reunite 3,168 divorced couples in Chechnya over the course of its work, from 4 July 2017 to the end of September 2026 . A total of around 6,000 divorced couples were identified during this period. In North Ossetia, food service establishments have been banned from operating between midnight and 07:00, while law enforcement officers have been advised to increase patrols in crowded public places . The decision came after a fight in which Chechen MMA fighter Ibragim (Nikarkho) Islamov was seriously injured after getting shot at with a pistol in Vladikavkaz. Circassian activists in Germany demanded the right to return to their historical homeland in the North Caucasus. They marched through the streets of Berlin carrying Circassian flags before heading to the Russian Embassy in what is believed to be the first political demonstration of this kind. A court sentenced a woman from Kabarda–Balkaria to a three-year suspended sentence and a fine of ₽20,000 ($250) for repeatedly abusing her teenage daughter . She regularly beat the girl, including with various objects, and grabbed her by the throat. For ease of reading, we choose not to use qualifiers such as ‘de facto’, ‘unrecognised’, or ‘partially recognised’ when discussing institutions or political positions within Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia. This does not imply a position on their status.