Country News Digest Issue #12 11/26/12-11/30/12
Country News Digest
Azerbaijan and Serbia signed a protocol for bilateral cooperation on economic measures on Nov. 27. Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Rasim Ljajic visited Baku this week in order to promote increased trade and cooperation in multiple areas, including agriculture and education.
Azerbaijan
News.az
Articles:
Trend.az
The US and EU have joined the calls for Georgia’s newly-elected government to exercise restraint in prosecuting former officials in the Saakashvili administration. On Monday, EU High Representative Catherine Ashton visited Tbilisi to discuss methods of constructive “cohabitation” with Prime Minister Ivanishvili and President Saakashvili.
Georgia
Reuters
Articles:
RFE/RL
In a joint press conference with Turkmen President B e r d i m u h a m e d o v, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan stated the only acceptable format for Armenia of resolving the NagornoKarabakh conflict is through peaceful negotiations through the OSCE’s Minsk Group. Berdimuhamedov echoed this position.
Armenia
Armenpress
Articles:
News.am
A NATO team visited Turkey this week to assess sites for the installation of patriot missiles to protect Turkey against possible aerial assaults from Syria. Both Germany and the Netherlands posses the advanced PAC-3 patriots. Pending approval by their national parliaments, the missiles will take at least one month to become fully operational.
Turkey
Washington Post
Articles:
Today’s Zaman
On Nov. 26, the US and Russia announced that astronauts Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko have been selected for a yearlong mission on the International Space Station. Their twelve-month stint is part of a study on space’s effects on the human body which could support possible manned flights to the moon and to Mars.
Russia
PC Mag
Articles:
USA Today
Ukraine has run into an embarrassing setback in its attempt to build the regasification terminal on the Black Sea. After the signing of a $1.1 billion gas deal, Spain’s Gas Natural denied any contract, stating that Jordi Sarda Bonvehi was not a representative of the company. The project was supposed to help Ukraine wean of its dependence on Russian gas.
Ukraine
NY Times
Articles:
Reuters
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has confirmed what many international experts have speculated--Russian President Vladimir Putin is recovering from a back injury sustained while practicing judo. According to Lukashenko, the injury resulted from Putin picking up and throwing his opponent and has forced Putin to postpone a hockey game scheduled between the two leaders.
Belarus
Moscow Times
Articles:
Reuters
Negotiations over the Transnistrian conflict resumed in Dublin on the 28-30 of November. The meeting brought together Moldova, Transdniestria, the OSCE, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine with the US and the EU as observes. Jennifer Brush, head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova, hopes the meeting will further negotiations over freedom of movement, education and establishing civil society and human rights groups.
Moldova
All Moldova
Articles:
Panorama.am
Country News Digest
The former Social Development Minister, Ravshan Sabirov, was acquitted last week on charges of accepting and soliciting bribes. His assistant was found guilty and sentenced to six years in prison. Both were accused of soliciting bribes from an international organization seeking accreditation for adoptions.
Kyrgyzstan
Montreal Gazette
Articles:
24 News
ConocoPhillips will sell its 8.4% share in the Kashagan oil field to state-owned Oil & Natural Gas Corp. of India. The deal is estimated to be worth $5 billion. The sale has to be approved by ConocoPhillips’ investment partners, including ExonMobil and Shell. Under CEO Ryan Lance, ConocoPhillips has focused more on U.S. production than overseas ventures that carry more risk.
Kazakhstan
Bloomberg
Articles:
Forbes
The government announced that it will be working with telecommunications companies to block access to Facebook in response to numerous complaints of slander. The move comes after numerous criticisms of the country’s leadership were posted to the site. There are an estimated 41,000 users in Tajikistan. The site was shut down previously in March but reopened a few days later.
Tajikistan
WSJ
Articles:
RIA Novosti
Russia agreed to extradite Ikromzhon Mamazhonov to Uzbekistan where he will stand trial on terrorism charges. Mamazhonov is a suspected founder of the Islamic Jihad Union. The group has been accused of committing acts of terrorism and is opposed to secular rule in Uzbekistan. Mamazhonov was apprehended aboard a Russian train traveling under an alias.
Uzbekistan
Montreal Gazette
Articles:
Interfax
A recent report found that Afghan authorities embezzled over $900 million from Kubal Bank. The banking scandal is one of the biggest the world has ever seen, as the amount stolen is equivalent to 5 percent of Afghanistan’s annual income. Those implicated in the scandal include the brothers of president Karzai and former vice-president Fahim.
Afghanistan
The Guardian
Articles:
Reuters
On Thursday the US ambassador to the IAEA warned that if Iran does not begin to substantially cooperate with the agency by March the issue could be referred to the UN Security Council. A new meeting between the P5+1 powers and Iran is expected in Istanbul in December, but Wood expressed his doubt about the sincerity of Iran. A simple majority of the IAEA board would be needed to refer the issue to the UNSC.
Iran
IBT
Articles:
Reuters
Turkmenistan is seeking partners to finance and build its trans-Afghanistan TAPI pipeline project, estimated to cost over $8 billion. Ashgabat has already signed purchase agreements with India and Pakistan in order to boost confidence in a project expected to encourage regional integration.
Turkmenistan
Nation
Articles:
The National
On Wednesday, Mongolia sold $1.5 billion in debt, which accounted for almost one-fifth of the size of the country’s economy. The money from the bonds will go towards building roads, mining investment, and electricity production.
Mongolia
WSJ
Articles:
Finance Asia
Country News Digest
The European Commission released its second annual macroeconomic report that stated that Estonia’s economy is stable. Unemployment has fallen significantly, from 20% in Q1 of 2010 to 10.4% in Q2 of 2012.
Estonia
Baltic Business News
Articles:
Baltic Times
Lithuanians are tackling the clean up of the old Ignalina Nuclear power plant. There is still nuclear fuel inside one of the three reactors, which is unsettling to those who live around the plant. The decommissioning work in Lithuania has been lengthy and drawn out, and the job was to be completed between 2025 and 2035. EU is paying for the process, and taxpayers are getting hit hard.
Lithuania
Washington Times
Articles:
John O’Groat Journal
On Thursday the Latvian parliament approved amendments to the Law on Financing of Political Organizations and the Law on Election Campaigning. The laws ban political advertisements on television 30 days before local government and European Parliament elections. Election campaign spending will also be halved.
Latvia
The Baltic Course
Articles:
Leta
PGNiG, Poland’s government controlled gas firm, has made statements that reveal its intention to drill 10 to 15 new exploratory wells in 2013. Although Poland views the development of its shale gas potential as a means of reducing its dependency on Russian energy, the amount of gas extractable from Polish territory is unlikely to lower the price of gas significantly.
Poland
Reuters
Articles:
Warsaw Voice
Two video game developers from the Czech Republic have been arrested on charges of espionage in Greece, after they were caught taking photos of a military base. The two were in the process of developing a war video game that is set in Greece. Czech President Klaus appealed to his counterpart in Greece for a fair trial.
Czech Republic
IB Times
Articles:
Radio Prague
Teachers throughout Slovakia have gone on strike this week. Protesting salaries well below that of the average Slovak, teachers rejected government offers of a 5% salary hike and continue to hold out for a 10% salary increase. Slovakia has made moves to reduce its budget deficit in recent months, which has led to frequent complaints by members of the educational community.
Slovakia
Reuters
Articles:
Slovak Spectator
This week, Hungary passed a new electoral law requiring citizens to register at least 15 days before an election. Voters must also reregister every four years. The new law furthermore places a ban on campaign advertisements on private television channels, which have higher viewer ratings than stateowned stations.
Hungary
Associated Free Press
Articles:
The Province
A third actor has joined the political battle being waged before next month’s elections. Wealthy media tycoon Dan Diaconescu has entered the political arena dominated so far by enemies Prime Minister Ponta and President Basescu. Diaconescu made headlines with a promise to provide an investment of 20,000 euros for all new businesses. In an October publicity stunt he offered the government 3 million euros to pay overdue wages, the government declined.
Romania
Reuters UK
Articles:
Reuters
Country News Digest
Austerity measures in Bulgaria are hurting the ruling party’s popularity less than a year before the next elections. Bulgaria, the European Union’s poorest member, has seen its jobless rate increase and living standards decrease partially as the result of broader economic stabilization. The government’s disapproval ratings hit almost 60%.
Bulgaria
Focus
Articles:
Reuters
Albania
On Wednesday, Albania celebrated its 100 years of independence with an 18 ton cake. However, the country’s neighbors, Greece and Macedonia, soured the celebrations by canceling their plans to attend. Macedonian President Gjorgje Ivanov canceled his event after Prime Minister Nicola Gruevski’s car was hit by an egg in Tirana. Washington Post
Articles:
Chicago Tribune
Tensions were high in Belgrade after the UN War Crimes Tribunal acquitted Muslim guerilla leader Ramush Haradinaj, who was accused of committing atrocities against Serbs during the war in the Kosovo. Ultra-nationalist Serbs burnt flags of the EU, US, and Kosovo, and there were calls of severing all ties with Kosovo.
Serbia
Euro News
Articles:
Yahoo
Thousands of ethnic Albanians in Macedonia are enthusiastically celebrating the 100th anniversary of Albania’s independence from the Ottoman Empire. Albanians comprise about a quarter of Macedonia’s population, which is dominated by ethnic Macedonians. The celebrations have led to heightened ethnic tension in the country, as memories of a brief Albanian led insurgency in 2001 remain fresh in the population.
Macedonia
Washington Post
Articles:
Novinite
More than 70,000 workers in schools, universities, and hospitals are on strike against the austerity measures in Croatia. Croatia’s government is struggling to emerge from the renewed recession and is trying to consolidate its public finances.
Croatia
Business Week
Articles:
Reuters
Montenegro is the 45th best country in the world in which do business. Forbes released its annual list that ranks countries based on their friendliness towards business this week. Montenegro’s 45 ranking lags behind only Slovenia in the Balkans, which took 23rd overall out of a total of 141 countries.
Montenegro
Balkan Insight
Articles:
Balkan Business News
Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha decided not to attend the historic opening of a highway linking his country with Kosovo after protests by Kosovo Liberation Army veterans, who demanded the release of one of its imprisoned commanders. The subject of the protest, Famir Limaj, was arrested earlier this month to stand accused in a retrial based on a recent Kosovo Supreme Court ruling, despite a previous acquittal in 2009.
Kosovo
Radio Free Europe
Articles:
Reuters
Representatives of the public sector unions abandoned negotiations with the government over further cuts to the public sector wage bill. Janez Posedi, member of the Pergam trade union association, stated the public sector unions will now begin to organize a strike. In a recent report the IMF has advised Slovenia to restructure and privatise its banks and pass labor and pension reforms to avoid an IMF and EU bailout.
Slovenia
Slovenia Times
Articles:
Trust Law
Country News Digest Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia & marked the 17th Herzegovina anniversary of the Dayton Agreement this month. The Dayton Agreement brought about an end to fighting and shortly afterwards Bosnia Herzegovina was established as a federation of two entities-the Republika Srpska (RS) and the MuslimCroat Federation (FBiH). The day is a non-working holiday in the RS but not in the FBiH. PressTV
Articles:
b92 News
The Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies is a U.S. Department of Education Title VI-funded National Resource Center (NRC) that strives to increase understanding and appreciation of the cultures and challenges of the region stretching from Central Europe to the Pacific and from the Baltic to the Mediterranean, Black and Caspian Seas
Box 571031, ICC 111, Washington, DC 20057-1031 Email: ceres@georgetown.edu
Tel.: (202) 687-6080
Fax: (202) 687-5829