41.   Fierce fighting raged in Grozny on Wednesday after a bold rebel attack on the Russian-held capital of their separatist republic.

42.   Five days into the hostage crisis, Russian authorities appeared determined that the gunmen not be allowed to escape back to their separatist republic.

43.   Grachev said his visit to the separatist republic changed his ideas about settling the conflict.

44.   Hundreds of people rallied Friday in the Chechen capital to protest the war and demand that Russian troops withdraw from the separatist republic.

45.   His job at the Security Council is to devise some way of rebuilding the war-shattered separatist republic.

46.   In a protest issued to the Estonian ambassador Juri Kahnu, Russia pointed out that an Estonian parliament resolution called on the Tallinn government to recognize the separatist republic.

47.   In the Chechen capital Grozny, two convoys of Russian armored vehicles and troop transport trucks were seen over the weekend heading for the east of the separatist republic.

48.   International human rights groups have continuously accused Russian troops of torture, summary executions and other abuses during sweeps for suspected rebels throughout the separatist republic.

49.   It is seen as a first step toward ending the war, which has left tens of thousands dead since Russian troops entered the separatist republic in December.

50.   It was unclear who owned the ammonia or how near the spill was to Yermolovsakya, a village in the separatist republic in southern Russia.