News Digest
RUSSIAN COMPANY BUYS KYRGYZ CELL OPERATOR FROM KAZAKH INVESTORS
By empty (12/12/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Russia\'s MobileTelesystems (MTS), the country\'s largest cellular operator, announced on 12 December that it has acquired a 51 percent stake in Kyrgyz cellular operator Bitel from Kazakhstan\'s Alliance Capital for $150 million. MTS also acquired an option to buy out the rest of Bitel by the end of 2006. Alliance, which reports have linked to the family of former Kyrgyz President Askar Akaev, has been embroiled in a conflict with Russia\'s Alfa Group since Alliance acquired Bitel this spring.USA ALLOCATES 15 MLN FOR DEVELOPMENT OF DEMOCRACY IN AZERBAIJAN
By empty (12/11/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)
United States Development Agency has allocated 15 million dollars for the program on development of democracy in Azerbaijan. Ambassador of this country to Azerbaijan Rino Harnish said this program is meant for 5 years and would be directed to numerous projects in development of democracy in the frame of the said program, as well as strengthening of civil society institutions. Besides, the United States Government has started another $11 million project to continue the projects for development of communities.TWO SUICIDE BELTS FOUND IN CHECHNYA
By empty (12/11/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)
A cache containing two explosive belts packed with four kilograms of plastique and two kilograms of TNT has been discovered outside the village of Urdyukhoi in Chechnya\'s Shatoi district. Three mines, electric detonators and other items of ammunition were confiscated from the cache as well, a source in the republic\'s Interior Ministry told Interfax. A plastic bag containing a Borz assault rifle, seven blocks of TNT, five grenades and five detonators has been found near the village of Roshni-Chu in Chechnya\'s Urus-Martan district.POLICE KILLED IN TALEBAN ASSAULT
By empty (12/10/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Seven police officers and five Taleban fighters have been killed during an assault on government offices in southern Afghanistan. Police said militants armed with machine guns and rockets attacked district offices in Helmand province. Helmand has seen a major escalation in violence this year.Visit also
Staff Publications
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, U.S. Policy in Central Asia through Central Asian Eyes, May 2023.
Analysis Svante E. Cornell, "Promise and Peril in the Caucasus," AFPC Insights, March 30, 2023.
Oped S. Frederick Starr, Putin's War In Ukraine and the Crimean War), 19fourtyfive, January 2, 2023
Oped S. Frederick Starr, Russia Needs Its Own Charles de Gaulle, Foreign Policy, July 21, 2022.
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, Rethinking Greater Central Asia: American and Western Stakes in the Region and How to Advance Them, June 2022
Oped Svante E. Cornell & Albert Barro, With referendum, Kazakh President pushes for reforms, Euractiv, June 3, 2022.
Oped Svante E. Cornell Russia's Southern Neighbors Take a Stand, The Hill, May 6, 2022.
Silk Road Paper Johan Engvall, Between Bandits and Bureaucrats: 30 Years of Parliamentary Development in Kyrgyzstan, January 2022.
Oped Svante E. Cornell, No, The War in Ukraine is not about NATO, The Hill, March 9, 2022.
Analysis Svante E. Cornell, Kazakhstan’s Crisis Calls for a Central Asia Policy Reboot, The National Interest, January 34, 2022.
Book S. Frederick Starr and Svante E. Cornell, Strong and Unique: Three Decades of U.S.-Kazakhstan Partnership, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, December 2021.
Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell, S. Frederick Starr & Albert Barro, Political and Economic Reforms in Kazakhstan Under President Tokayev, November 2021.