Briefs

Nurgaliev to Dagestan Law-Enforcement: Work “Preemptively”

In a meeting held in Makhachkala on April 9 devoted to the work plans of Dagestan’s internal affairs bodies for this year, Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliev told the leadership of Dagestan’s Interior Ministry that it needs to work preemptively to counteract threats. “I would like to know what changes have taken place in the crime situation in the republic and what measures are being taken to act in a preemptive manner, react to the existing threats both from terrorist and extremist organizations, as well as against general crimes,” Itar-Tass quoted Nurgaliyev as saying.

Chechnya Could Face TB Epidemic

Chechen Health Minister Shakhid Akhmadov warned that tuberculosis in the republic could reach epidemic levels, RIA Novosti reported on April 5. “The rate of tuberculosis infection and illness in Chechnya is two times higher than that of Russia in general,” he said. “And if the rate of infection of that disease maintains its current levels, it may take on the character of an epidemic.” Akhmadov said that more than 20,000 people in hospitals and other facilities are registered as being infected with tuberculosis, with more than a quarter of those having the “active form” of the disease and 65-70 percent of the republic’s children infected. He said that actual rates are much higher because in 90 percent of the cases the disease comes to light only during a visit to the doctor.