CHECHEN SECTION OF HIGHWAY COMPLETED.

On September 22, the authorities in Chechnya announced completion of the Chechen portion of the highway linking Chechnya with Georgia (NTV, September 22). The local media call the highway “the road of life” because it connects Chechnya to the outside world. In the opinion of the Chechen government, the road is strategically very important: It will enable Chechnya to bypass Moscow’s blockade of the republic. The Georgian portion of the road is not, however, yet completed. It will be difficult to build because it passes through mountainous terrain.

LATVIA’S SPEAKER BREAKS INTERNATIONAL QUARANTINE OF BELARUSAN REGIME.