By empty (2/3/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Chechnya\'s Russian-backed government Thursday dismissed a rebel cease-fire declaration, saying it was a publicity stunt that could not be trusted. But analysts said the offer from rebel leaders Aslan Maskhadov and Shamil Basayev suggested they were responding to an increasingly strong desire in faraway Moscow to end a war that has started to infect much of the North Caucasus. \"The Chechen government is open to any attempt to bring peace to our people,\" a spokesman quoted pro-Moscow Chechen President Alu Alkhanov as saying.

By empty (2/3/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)

High carbon monoxide levels in the apartment visited by the late Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania were caused because of the absence of a ventilation system, said Tbilgaz city gas company emergency service chief Nugzar Mkheidze. \"Technicians have checked the heating system in the apartment where Zurab Zhvania and Raul Yusupov died. They said the gas system and the stove were alright, but the apartment did not have a ventilation system.

By empty (2/2/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)

The Turkmen parliament has approved a decree declaring 2005 the year of President Saparmurat Niyazov\'s book, Rukhnama. The previous two years had been proclaimed years of Niyazov\'s father and mother, Atamurat and Gurbansoltan-edzhe. In 1998, Niyazov suggested creating a program for the spiritual development of Turkmenistan.