The administration of the Vedensky District in Chechnya has announced a contest for photographs and short videos featuring local mountain scenery. A prize of 100,000 rubles is offered for the best entry, while the runners-up in second and third place will receive 70,000 and 50,000 rubles, respectively.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said Yerevan does not rule out taking its dispute with Russia over the management of the South Caucasus Railway to an international court if the issue cannot be resolved through negotiations. At the same time, he stressed that the Armenian authorities hope to settle the matter through talks.

Circassian youth from Syria and Turkey have held their first international gathering in Damascus since the change of power in the country, bringing together young members of the diaspora to strengthen cultural ties, foster dialogue, and discuss future cooperation.

Georgian authorities have denied international protection to 17 Ukrainian citizens who have spent nearly a year in the basement of the Dariali border crossing point (Upper Lars) on the Georgia–Russia border. Once the decisions take legal effect, they could be deported at any moment.

Abkhazia is facing a sharp deterioration in its fuel supply, with long queues forming at major petrol stations in Sukhumi and other towns. Some filling stations have introduced a limit of 20 litres of petrol per vehicle. The de facto authorities acknowledge supply disruptions but insist they are temporary.

It is the authorities of Ingushetia—not local residents—who bear responsibility for the ongoing sewage pollution of the Sunzha River. This conclusion was reached by the Prosecutor’s Office, which, for the first time, detailed the history of the long-standing dispute.

Armenia’s government will resign on August 2, the day the newly elected parliament holds its first sitting, in accordance with the country’s constitution. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Thursday’s cabinet meeting had been the last for the government in its current composition.

The so-called Supreme Court of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) has sentenced Georgian citizen Kakhaber Amiranashvili to 13 years and six months in prison *in absentia*. Russian media reported the news, citing the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation.

The Investigative Committee and the Prosecutor's Office of Karachay-Cherkessia have launched parallel inquiries into the circumstances surrounding the death of a climber from Vladimir in the Daut Gorge. The man fell near the MIFI Peak; investigators are currently establishing the details of the incident.