Auditors from the Accounts Chamber have uncovered serious budgetary irregularities in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia, where inefficient spending totaled 1.7 billion rubles. This money was allocated to create special economic zones (SEZs), but the expected results were never achieved.

Ten schools in Kabardino-Balkaria are planning to open specialized Investigative Committee classes. According to the republic's Investigative Committee, the program includes a training course, "courage lessons," meetings with "veterans," and "hands-on experience" under the guidance of active investigators.

During Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's visit to Kazakhstan, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called him the "national leader of Armenia," emphasizing the importance and reliability of the partnership between the two countries.

The Angarsk City Court in the Irkutsk Region has sentenced three defendants in the case of torture in Pretrial Detention Center No. 6 in Angarsk, following the suppression of the riot at Penal Colony No. 15 in April 2020. Alexander Aniskov and Vladimir Reshchikov, inmate "activists" acting on orders from prison guards, as well as Dmitry Baroyan, former deputy head of the prison regime and supervision department, were found guilty of sexual assault. Aniskov received 12 years in a maximum-security penal colony, Reshchikov received five years, and Baroyan received six years.

The Nalchik Garrison Military Court sentenced Suleiman Batyrkhanov to one year in a general regime penal colony for leaving his unit without permission during mobilization.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated the need for a change in the political elite after the 2026 parliamentary elections. He believes that those who held leadership positions in the past and kept the country in a state of stagnation should no longer be involved in political life.

While Armenia demonstrates significant investment in artificial intelligence, criticism of its technology policies is being voiced in Azerbaijan.

The Azerbaijani Parliament (Milli Majlis) commented on the planned increase in security spending in the 2026 state budget. Arzu Nagiyev, head of the Defense Committee, attributed this to the need to finance demining and infrastructure development in Karabakh, as well as the formation of police forces and rapid response services there.

Former Azerbaijani political prisoner Saleh Rustamov has been banned from leaving the country. The activist, who had been living abroad after his release, returned to Baku to attend the funeral of a relative.

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan emphasized that normalizing relations with Turkey and achieving peace with Azerbaijan are two independent, yet important, processes for Yerevan. He noted that artificially linking these processes could harm both, while establishing relations with Turkey could create favorable conditions for normalizing relations with Azerbaijan.