11.   The bombing by Russian warplanes, which has killed civilians in addition to hitting strategic targets, triggered concern in the West and from reformist deputies in Moscow.

12.   The author of the parliamentary text, reformist deputy Vladimir Chimeris told AFP that deputies could turn to the constitutional court to get the decree revoked.

13.   The delegation, led by reformist opposition deputy Yuri Chekochikhin, is near the village of Gerzel in southeastern Chechnya to meet rebel commander Aslan Maskhadov.

14.   The confrontation took a further turn Wednesday, after reformist deputies were accused of widescale corruption as they targetted key conservative figures of the regime.

15.   The new proposed law, which the reformist deputies say is anti-constitutional, would ban individual large-scale farmers and members of collective farms from buying or selling their plots.