51.  Security was beefed up at the Nurek hydroelectric power station and a Russian anti-aircraft defence unit stationed in the area.

52.  Sergei Yushenkov, president of the Russian parliamentary defence committee, arrived in Grozny on Thursday at the head of the mediation team.

53.  Syrian and Russian defence officials held talks Tuesday on ways to bolster links between the armies of the two countries, the official Syrian agency SANA reported.

54.  The ideas are expected to be put to Russian defence minister at talks with his American counterpart William Perry in Geneva on Sunday.