| The acting president of Chechnya was the victim of an attempt to poison him and in a serious condition in hospital, a week ahead of elections in the turbulent region, officials said on Sunday. Anatoly Popov was appointed prime minister of Chechnya earlier this year to serve under the head of the region’s pro-Moscow local administration, Akhmad Kadyrov. "The diagnosis is poisoning by a substance of unknown origin," the Chechen government’s press service said of Popov, who is not running in the election. "He is currently in one of Chechnya’s hospitals and will soon be taken to Moscow. He is in serious condition." |