ceres news digest, issue #11, 11/12/12-11/21/12
DESCRIPTION
CERES News Digest is a news overview of the 33 countries that are covered by the Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies Center at Georgtown University's School of Foreign ServiceTRANSCRIPT
Country News DigestIssue 11
111212-112112
Country News DigestProposals from Azerbaijan were added to the final resolution of NATOrsquos
Azerbaijan
Georgia
RussiaParliamentary Assembly The Caspian Sea - South Caucasus corridor had been excluded from the discussion on troop and equipment withdrawal from Afghanistan until Azerbaijan indicated its desire to include its branch of the supply route in the withdrawal plans
Articles
US President Barack Obama on Tuesday accepted an invitation to visit Russia from Russian President Vladimir Putin at a date to be agreed upon in future During the phone conversation President Putin congratulated President Obama on his re-election and expressed hope that the two countries could continue to cooperate constructively
Armenia
Moldova
Belarus
Ukraine
Turkey
Ukraine is planning on reducing its imports of Russian gas by more than a quarter of its current level Ukraine is trying to lower its dependence on Russia by drawing on its own domestic sources and has signed a contract with Germanyrsquos RWE for alternative gas shipments which could provide about 5 bcm of gas in 2013
Two low-profile opposition figures Andrei Gaidukov and Ilya Bogdanov have been arrested in Belarus and accused of high-treason Both men were members of the fledgling Belarusian Christian Democratic Party but were not among highly influential members according to reports The maximum sentence for a high-treason conviction is 15 years in prison
A resolution calling for the resignation of first deputy speaker of parliament and member of the Democratic Party Vlad Plahotniuc failed to pass a vote in parliament on Thursday Communist Party deputy Grigore Petrenc called for the resolution claim-ing that Plahotniursquos shady business dealings stained the reputation of the Parliament and the Moldovan state
NATO and the European Union expressed concern over political rifts in
Georgia since the countryrsquos parliamentary elections in October During the visit of President Saakashvili and Prime Minister Ivanishvili to Brussels this week European leaders congratulated them on the peaceful transition but warned against politically motivated arrests and pressure on public broadcasting networks
Hrant Bagratyan MP from the opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC)
refused to comment on negotiations between the ANC and the Prosperous Armenia party (PAP) but mentioned former president Levon Ter-Petrosyan as a possible presidential candidate for the 2013 elections Tigran Sargsyan Armenian prime minister and deputy chairman of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia doubts the two parties would be able to nominate a single candidate
The Turkish Parliamentrsquos Coup and Memorandum Investigation Commission
has invited Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to testify about the February 28 1997 postmodern coup and the April 27 2007 ldquoe-memorandumrdquo Turkish media has speculated Erdoğan will be asked about his 2005 meeting with former Chief of General Staff Gen Yaşar Buumlyuumlkanıt at the Dolmabahccedile Palace in İstanbul
Newsaz Trendaz
DampF Watch Irish TimesArticles
ArticlesArmInfo Arka
ArticlesTodayrsquos Zaman HurriyetArticles
Tribuna InfoTag
RIA Novosti UPI
ArticlesFinancial Times Reuters
ArticlesChannel News Asia Washington Post
Articles
Country News DigestThe Kyrgyz government will increase the wages judges receive in an attempt
Kyrgyzstan
Kazakhstan
to reduce judicial corruption Kyrgyz officials hope that the increase will make bribes less appealing The increase follows a report last month that the actual wages of Kyrgyz workers increased by 25 last year The judiciary is consistently criticized on human rights and corruption
Pakistan released thirteen Afghan Taliban prisoners this week and is considering releasing former Taliban second-in-command Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar sparking hopes that Islamabad may be willing to broker peace talks with the militants The Afghan government believes Baradar would be more open to dialogue than many of his comrades
Mongolia
IranIran unveiled new missile and artillery systems Tuesday during its large scale ldquoVelayat 4rdquo military exercises Iranian media claims the new lsquoQaderrsquo missile system can be deployed in 30 minutes and the lsquoSafatrsquo system is undetectable by enemies The military maneuvers came just one week after Iran fired on a US drone over international waters Western experts assert Iran often exaggerates its weapons capabilities
Turkmenistan has cut off gas exports to Iran after the countries failed to come to an agreement on pricing Iran buys almost a third of Turkmenistanrsquos gas exports which it relies on heavily to fuel its northern regions and hopes to increase its imports to 40 billion cubic metersday from the current 15-18 billion cubic metersday
Sarah Armstrong a mining lawyer has been banned from leaving Mongolia She has been repeatedly interrogated for corruption allegations within the company South Gobi Resources
Kazakhstan has been elected to the UN Human Rights Council for the first
time Kazakhstan will serve for the 2013-2015 term The UN Human Rights Council was established in 2006 to replace the Humans Right Commission The Council has forty-seven members eighteen new member states were elected to the new term
A Premier League soccer match in Tajikistan ended early as the referee was
attacked by players and fans alike after a controversial goal Istaravshan FK and Energetik Dushanbe were tied 1-1 when the controversial goal was awarded After disputing with the referee two Energetik players were sent off which set off the brawl
An Uzbek court has reversed an August decision allowing the seizure of
Russian telecommunications company MTSrsquos assets in the country The court also imposed a fine of $600 million on the company that can be paid in installments over the eight months The reversal comes as pressure from Russia on the Karimov family especially daughter Gulnara to release the assets increased in past weeks
ArticlesTrend
ArticlesTengriNews
Articles
ArticlesReuters
ArticlesThe Australian The Advocate
ArticlesEuronews Vestnik Kavkaza
Articles
ArticlesReuters New York TimesUPI
Tajikistan
Uzbekistan
Afghanistan
Washington Post
The Telegraph Reuters
Turkmenistan
ESPN Blog
Trend
Business Insider
Country News DigestEstonian trade unions want to increase minimum wages by 10 to decrease
Estonia
Lithuania
Czech Republicthe disparity between the rich and the poor They are demanding that wages be increased from 290 euros to 320 euros
Prime Minister Necas and the Civic Democrats have begun to moderate their rhetoric in reference to harsh austerity measures that they earlier proposed in order to reduce the budget deficit After sound defeats in regional elections and a close call in a recent confidence vote Necas says that he will revisit the plan to reduce the deficit once growth is higher
Latvia
Romania
Hungary
Poland
Slovakia is preparing to finalize a deal with Spain in which Spain would receive 22 million tons worth of carbon credits in exchange for cash that is intended to reduce Slovakiarsquos budget deficit After the recent recession several governments in the EU have been left with excess carbon credits which they are free to sell to other countries Slovakia is reportedly also eyeing a similar deal with Austria
The head of Hungaryrsquos banking association Mihaly Patai has resigned in protest over new government impositions on the banking sector Prime Minister Viktor Orbanrsquos government recently reneged on its promise to cut its bank tax - the highest in Europe - in half and has doubled other levies on Hungaryrsquos banks
Romaniarsquos GDP is estimated by the National Institute of Statistics to have fallen by 05 in the third quarter of the year Estimates from the European Commission predict that Romania will see its GDP grow this year by 08 and 22 the next Weak agricultural output and Eurozone problems adversely affected Romaniarsquos growth this year
Lithuanian Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius stated his support for the Visaginas
nuclear plant which was rejected in the referendum In an interview he stated ldquoIf we do not build our own nuclear power plant then our money the money of our consumers our residents which we pay for the import of electricity will go for the construction of the nuclear power plant in [Russiarsquos] Kaliningrad Regionrdquo
In the third quarter of 2012 Latvia showed the highest European growth rates
with a 53 percent increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) The Eurozonersquos GDP decreased 06 percent from the second quarter of 2012 At the same time Standard amp Poorrsquos increased Latviarsquos credit rating from BBB-A-3 to BBBA-2 and Latviarsquos transfer and convertibility (TampC) assessment from A- to A
Independence Day celebrations in Warsaw this week devolved into
violence when nationalist protesters began to shoot fireworks at the police police and pelt them with stones The police pacified the situation using tear gas and rubber bullets In all 22 police officers were injured and 176 protesters were detained
ArticlesRIA Novosti Business Week
ArticlesThe Baltic Course The Baltic Times
Washington Post RTTNews
ArticlesFinancial Times Reuters
Bloomberg Argus Media
Reuters Bloomberg
Russia Today
Slovakia
Articles
Business ReviewArticles
Articles
Articles
ArticlesBloomberg Baltic Times
Country News DigestBulgaria signed an agreement with Gazprom on Thursday finalizing the
Bulgaria
Albania
CroatiaSouth Stream pipeline deal Bulgaria was the final country to sign on to the investment agreement Construction is planned to start next month and the first gas deliveries are scheduled for December 2015 The Bulgarian portion of the pipeline is projected to cost $42 billion
Thousands gathered in Zagreb cheered as the convictions of Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac were overturned by a war crimes court in The Hague The two men had been charged of partaking in a criminal conspiracy led by late Croatian President Franjo Tudjman to ldquopermanently and forcibly removerdquo the Serb civilian population from Krajina
Serbia
Macedonia
President Filip Fujanovic has signalled that Milo Djukanovich will return as Prime Minister of Montenegro Djukanovich has held both the posts of President and Prime Minister of Montenegro in the past and since then he has headed the Democratic Party of Socialists which received the most votes in a recent parliamentary election and now faces the challenge of forming a ruling coalition with other parties
A second round of talks took place this week between the Prime Ministers of Kosovo and Serbia Despite vocal protests from opposition groups in both countries many concrete agreements were realized on such issues as freedom of movement recognition of diplomas and trade
Social Democrat and former prime minister Borut Pahor unexpectedly won the first round of voting in the presidential elections on Tuesday with 40 percent of the vote Current president Danilo Turk received 35 percent and the conservative ruling Democratic Partyrsquos candidate Milan Zver received just 24 percent as his popularity declined due to a painful austerity program Pahor and Turk will face a runoff on December 2
World Bank released a statement saying that
Czech Utility CEZ could walk out of Albania in the upcoming months CEZ stated that it has not been able to resolve its dispute with the government over tariffs and extraordinary taxes
Russiarsquos energy minister Alexander Novak stated that Serbia has requested a
loan for $1 billion Serbia wants 300 million by the end of the year and 700 million by 2013
N i k o l a T o d o r o v Macedoniarsquos Minister of Health has made it known
that he is looking to hire certified geniuses as personal advisors Those without an IQ exceeding 140 a college degree and proficiency in two foreign languages will not be considered for the position Authorities in Macedonia are investigating whether the IQ requirement constitutes a discriminatory hiring process
ArticlesBBC Telegraph
ArticlesAssociated Press
ArticlesSE Times Balkan Insight
ArticlesCS Monitor EuractivArticlesWashington Post Radio Free Europe
ArticlesReuters Focus-Fen
ArticlesBNE
ArticlesNovinite BusinessWeek
Montenegro
Kosovo
Slovenia
Radio Free EuropeReuters
Country News Digest
Bosnia amp Herzegovina
Valentin Inzko the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina addressed the Security Council this week and sharply criticized the leaders of the autonomous Serbian republic for undermining the state Mr Inzkorsquos remarks included quotations of leading Bosnian Serbs calling for the dissolution of the state Russia criticized the report and blamed recent tensions on the Bosniaks
Box 571031 ICC 111 Washington DC 20057-1031
Email ceresgeorgetownedu Tel (202) 687-6080 Fax (202) 687-5829
The Center for Eurasian Russian and East European Studies is a US 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
The Province Chicago Tribune Articles
Country News DigestProposals from Azerbaijan were added to the final resolution of NATOrsquos
Azerbaijan
Georgia
RussiaParliamentary Assembly The Caspian Sea - South Caucasus corridor had been excluded from the discussion on troop and equipment withdrawal from Afghanistan until Azerbaijan indicated its desire to include its branch of the supply route in the withdrawal plans
Articles
US President Barack Obama on Tuesday accepted an invitation to visit Russia from Russian President Vladimir Putin at a date to be agreed upon in future During the phone conversation President Putin congratulated President Obama on his re-election and expressed hope that the two countries could continue to cooperate constructively
Armenia
Moldova
Belarus
Ukraine
Turkey
Ukraine is planning on reducing its imports of Russian gas by more than a quarter of its current level Ukraine is trying to lower its dependence on Russia by drawing on its own domestic sources and has signed a contract with Germanyrsquos RWE for alternative gas shipments which could provide about 5 bcm of gas in 2013
Two low-profile opposition figures Andrei Gaidukov and Ilya Bogdanov have been arrested in Belarus and accused of high-treason Both men were members of the fledgling Belarusian Christian Democratic Party but were not among highly influential members according to reports The maximum sentence for a high-treason conviction is 15 years in prison
A resolution calling for the resignation of first deputy speaker of parliament and member of the Democratic Party Vlad Plahotniuc failed to pass a vote in parliament on Thursday Communist Party deputy Grigore Petrenc called for the resolution claim-ing that Plahotniursquos shady business dealings stained the reputation of the Parliament and the Moldovan state
NATO and the European Union expressed concern over political rifts in
Georgia since the countryrsquos parliamentary elections in October During the visit of President Saakashvili and Prime Minister Ivanishvili to Brussels this week European leaders congratulated them on the peaceful transition but warned against politically motivated arrests and pressure on public broadcasting networks
Hrant Bagratyan MP from the opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC)
refused to comment on negotiations between the ANC and the Prosperous Armenia party (PAP) but mentioned former president Levon Ter-Petrosyan as a possible presidential candidate for the 2013 elections Tigran Sargsyan Armenian prime minister and deputy chairman of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia doubts the two parties would be able to nominate a single candidate
The Turkish Parliamentrsquos Coup and Memorandum Investigation Commission
has invited Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to testify about the February 28 1997 postmodern coup and the April 27 2007 ldquoe-memorandumrdquo Turkish media has speculated Erdoğan will be asked about his 2005 meeting with former Chief of General Staff Gen Yaşar Buumlyuumlkanıt at the Dolmabahccedile Palace in İstanbul
Newsaz Trendaz
DampF Watch Irish TimesArticles
ArticlesArmInfo Arka
ArticlesTodayrsquos Zaman HurriyetArticles
Tribuna InfoTag
RIA Novosti UPI
ArticlesFinancial Times Reuters
ArticlesChannel News Asia Washington Post
Articles
Country News DigestThe Kyrgyz government will increase the wages judges receive in an attempt
Kyrgyzstan
Kazakhstan
to reduce judicial corruption Kyrgyz officials hope that the increase will make bribes less appealing The increase follows a report last month that the actual wages of Kyrgyz workers increased by 25 last year The judiciary is consistently criticized on human rights and corruption
Pakistan released thirteen Afghan Taliban prisoners this week and is considering releasing former Taliban second-in-command Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar sparking hopes that Islamabad may be willing to broker peace talks with the militants The Afghan government believes Baradar would be more open to dialogue than many of his comrades
Mongolia
IranIran unveiled new missile and artillery systems Tuesday during its large scale ldquoVelayat 4rdquo military exercises Iranian media claims the new lsquoQaderrsquo missile system can be deployed in 30 minutes and the lsquoSafatrsquo system is undetectable by enemies The military maneuvers came just one week after Iran fired on a US drone over international waters Western experts assert Iran often exaggerates its weapons capabilities
Turkmenistan has cut off gas exports to Iran after the countries failed to come to an agreement on pricing Iran buys almost a third of Turkmenistanrsquos gas exports which it relies on heavily to fuel its northern regions and hopes to increase its imports to 40 billion cubic metersday from the current 15-18 billion cubic metersday
Sarah Armstrong a mining lawyer has been banned from leaving Mongolia She has been repeatedly interrogated for corruption allegations within the company South Gobi Resources
Kazakhstan has been elected to the UN Human Rights Council for the first
time Kazakhstan will serve for the 2013-2015 term The UN Human Rights Council was established in 2006 to replace the Humans Right Commission The Council has forty-seven members eighteen new member states were elected to the new term
A Premier League soccer match in Tajikistan ended early as the referee was
attacked by players and fans alike after a controversial goal Istaravshan FK and Energetik Dushanbe were tied 1-1 when the controversial goal was awarded After disputing with the referee two Energetik players were sent off which set off the brawl
An Uzbek court has reversed an August decision allowing the seizure of
Russian telecommunications company MTSrsquos assets in the country The court also imposed a fine of $600 million on the company that can be paid in installments over the eight months The reversal comes as pressure from Russia on the Karimov family especially daughter Gulnara to release the assets increased in past weeks
ArticlesTrend
ArticlesTengriNews
Articles
ArticlesReuters
ArticlesThe Australian The Advocate
ArticlesEuronews Vestnik Kavkaza
Articles
ArticlesReuters New York TimesUPI
Tajikistan
Uzbekistan
Afghanistan
Washington Post
The Telegraph Reuters
Turkmenistan
ESPN Blog
Trend
Business Insider
Country News DigestEstonian trade unions want to increase minimum wages by 10 to decrease
Estonia
Lithuania
Czech Republicthe disparity between the rich and the poor They are demanding that wages be increased from 290 euros to 320 euros
Prime Minister Necas and the Civic Democrats have begun to moderate their rhetoric in reference to harsh austerity measures that they earlier proposed in order to reduce the budget deficit After sound defeats in regional elections and a close call in a recent confidence vote Necas says that he will revisit the plan to reduce the deficit once growth is higher
Latvia
Romania
Hungary
Poland
Slovakia is preparing to finalize a deal with Spain in which Spain would receive 22 million tons worth of carbon credits in exchange for cash that is intended to reduce Slovakiarsquos budget deficit After the recent recession several governments in the EU have been left with excess carbon credits which they are free to sell to other countries Slovakia is reportedly also eyeing a similar deal with Austria
The head of Hungaryrsquos banking association Mihaly Patai has resigned in protest over new government impositions on the banking sector Prime Minister Viktor Orbanrsquos government recently reneged on its promise to cut its bank tax - the highest in Europe - in half and has doubled other levies on Hungaryrsquos banks
Romaniarsquos GDP is estimated by the National Institute of Statistics to have fallen by 05 in the third quarter of the year Estimates from the European Commission predict that Romania will see its GDP grow this year by 08 and 22 the next Weak agricultural output and Eurozone problems adversely affected Romaniarsquos growth this year
Lithuanian Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius stated his support for the Visaginas
nuclear plant which was rejected in the referendum In an interview he stated ldquoIf we do not build our own nuclear power plant then our money the money of our consumers our residents which we pay for the import of electricity will go for the construction of the nuclear power plant in [Russiarsquos] Kaliningrad Regionrdquo
In the third quarter of 2012 Latvia showed the highest European growth rates
with a 53 percent increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) The Eurozonersquos GDP decreased 06 percent from the second quarter of 2012 At the same time Standard amp Poorrsquos increased Latviarsquos credit rating from BBB-A-3 to BBBA-2 and Latviarsquos transfer and convertibility (TampC) assessment from A- to A
Independence Day celebrations in Warsaw this week devolved into
violence when nationalist protesters began to shoot fireworks at the police police and pelt them with stones The police pacified the situation using tear gas and rubber bullets In all 22 police officers were injured and 176 protesters were detained
ArticlesRIA Novosti Business Week
ArticlesThe Baltic Course The Baltic Times
Washington Post RTTNews
ArticlesFinancial Times Reuters
Bloomberg Argus Media
Reuters Bloomberg
Russia Today
Slovakia
Articles
Business ReviewArticles
Articles
Articles
ArticlesBloomberg Baltic Times
Country News DigestBulgaria signed an agreement with Gazprom on Thursday finalizing the
Bulgaria
Albania
CroatiaSouth Stream pipeline deal Bulgaria was the final country to sign on to the investment agreement Construction is planned to start next month and the first gas deliveries are scheduled for December 2015 The Bulgarian portion of the pipeline is projected to cost $42 billion
Thousands gathered in Zagreb cheered as the convictions of Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac were overturned by a war crimes court in The Hague The two men had been charged of partaking in a criminal conspiracy led by late Croatian President Franjo Tudjman to ldquopermanently and forcibly removerdquo the Serb civilian population from Krajina
Serbia
Macedonia
President Filip Fujanovic has signalled that Milo Djukanovich will return as Prime Minister of Montenegro Djukanovich has held both the posts of President and Prime Minister of Montenegro in the past and since then he has headed the Democratic Party of Socialists which received the most votes in a recent parliamentary election and now faces the challenge of forming a ruling coalition with other parties
A second round of talks took place this week between the Prime Ministers of Kosovo and Serbia Despite vocal protests from opposition groups in both countries many concrete agreements were realized on such issues as freedom of movement recognition of diplomas and trade
Social Democrat and former prime minister Borut Pahor unexpectedly won the first round of voting in the presidential elections on Tuesday with 40 percent of the vote Current president Danilo Turk received 35 percent and the conservative ruling Democratic Partyrsquos candidate Milan Zver received just 24 percent as his popularity declined due to a painful austerity program Pahor and Turk will face a runoff on December 2
World Bank released a statement saying that
Czech Utility CEZ could walk out of Albania in the upcoming months CEZ stated that it has not been able to resolve its dispute with the government over tariffs and extraordinary taxes
Russiarsquos energy minister Alexander Novak stated that Serbia has requested a
loan for $1 billion Serbia wants 300 million by the end of the year and 700 million by 2013
N i k o l a T o d o r o v Macedoniarsquos Minister of Health has made it known
that he is looking to hire certified geniuses as personal advisors Those without an IQ exceeding 140 a college degree and proficiency in two foreign languages will not be considered for the position Authorities in Macedonia are investigating whether the IQ requirement constitutes a discriminatory hiring process
ArticlesBBC Telegraph
ArticlesAssociated Press
ArticlesSE Times Balkan Insight
ArticlesCS Monitor EuractivArticlesWashington Post Radio Free Europe
ArticlesReuters Focus-Fen
ArticlesBNE
ArticlesNovinite BusinessWeek
Montenegro
Kosovo
Slovenia
Radio Free EuropeReuters
Country News Digest
Bosnia amp Herzegovina
Valentin Inzko the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina addressed the Security Council this week and sharply criticized the leaders of the autonomous Serbian republic for undermining the state Mr Inzkorsquos remarks included quotations of leading Bosnian Serbs calling for the dissolution of the state Russia criticized the report and blamed recent tensions on the Bosniaks
Box 571031 ICC 111 Washington DC 20057-1031
Email ceresgeorgetownedu Tel (202) 687-6080 Fax (202) 687-5829
The Center for Eurasian Russian and East European Studies is a US 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
The Province Chicago Tribune Articles
Country News DigestThe Kyrgyz government will increase the wages judges receive in an attempt
Kyrgyzstan
Kazakhstan
to reduce judicial corruption Kyrgyz officials hope that the increase will make bribes less appealing The increase follows a report last month that the actual wages of Kyrgyz workers increased by 25 last year The judiciary is consistently criticized on human rights and corruption
Pakistan released thirteen Afghan Taliban prisoners this week and is considering releasing former Taliban second-in-command Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar sparking hopes that Islamabad may be willing to broker peace talks with the militants The Afghan government believes Baradar would be more open to dialogue than many of his comrades
Mongolia
IranIran unveiled new missile and artillery systems Tuesday during its large scale ldquoVelayat 4rdquo military exercises Iranian media claims the new lsquoQaderrsquo missile system can be deployed in 30 minutes and the lsquoSafatrsquo system is undetectable by enemies The military maneuvers came just one week after Iran fired on a US drone over international waters Western experts assert Iran often exaggerates its weapons capabilities
Turkmenistan has cut off gas exports to Iran after the countries failed to come to an agreement on pricing Iran buys almost a third of Turkmenistanrsquos gas exports which it relies on heavily to fuel its northern regions and hopes to increase its imports to 40 billion cubic metersday from the current 15-18 billion cubic metersday
Sarah Armstrong a mining lawyer has been banned from leaving Mongolia She has been repeatedly interrogated for corruption allegations within the company South Gobi Resources
Kazakhstan has been elected to the UN Human Rights Council for the first
time Kazakhstan will serve for the 2013-2015 term The UN Human Rights Council was established in 2006 to replace the Humans Right Commission The Council has forty-seven members eighteen new member states were elected to the new term
A Premier League soccer match in Tajikistan ended early as the referee was
attacked by players and fans alike after a controversial goal Istaravshan FK and Energetik Dushanbe were tied 1-1 when the controversial goal was awarded After disputing with the referee two Energetik players were sent off which set off the brawl
An Uzbek court has reversed an August decision allowing the seizure of
Russian telecommunications company MTSrsquos assets in the country The court also imposed a fine of $600 million on the company that can be paid in installments over the eight months The reversal comes as pressure from Russia on the Karimov family especially daughter Gulnara to release the assets increased in past weeks
ArticlesTrend
ArticlesTengriNews
Articles
ArticlesReuters
ArticlesThe Australian The Advocate
ArticlesEuronews Vestnik Kavkaza
Articles
ArticlesReuters New York TimesUPI
Tajikistan
Uzbekistan
Afghanistan
Washington Post
The Telegraph Reuters
Turkmenistan
ESPN Blog
Trend
Business Insider
Country News DigestEstonian trade unions want to increase minimum wages by 10 to decrease
Estonia
Lithuania
Czech Republicthe disparity between the rich and the poor They are demanding that wages be increased from 290 euros to 320 euros
Prime Minister Necas and the Civic Democrats have begun to moderate their rhetoric in reference to harsh austerity measures that they earlier proposed in order to reduce the budget deficit After sound defeats in regional elections and a close call in a recent confidence vote Necas says that he will revisit the plan to reduce the deficit once growth is higher
Latvia
Romania
Hungary
Poland
Slovakia is preparing to finalize a deal with Spain in which Spain would receive 22 million tons worth of carbon credits in exchange for cash that is intended to reduce Slovakiarsquos budget deficit After the recent recession several governments in the EU have been left with excess carbon credits which they are free to sell to other countries Slovakia is reportedly also eyeing a similar deal with Austria
The head of Hungaryrsquos banking association Mihaly Patai has resigned in protest over new government impositions on the banking sector Prime Minister Viktor Orbanrsquos government recently reneged on its promise to cut its bank tax - the highest in Europe - in half and has doubled other levies on Hungaryrsquos banks
Romaniarsquos GDP is estimated by the National Institute of Statistics to have fallen by 05 in the third quarter of the year Estimates from the European Commission predict that Romania will see its GDP grow this year by 08 and 22 the next Weak agricultural output and Eurozone problems adversely affected Romaniarsquos growth this year
Lithuanian Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius stated his support for the Visaginas
nuclear plant which was rejected in the referendum In an interview he stated ldquoIf we do not build our own nuclear power plant then our money the money of our consumers our residents which we pay for the import of electricity will go for the construction of the nuclear power plant in [Russiarsquos] Kaliningrad Regionrdquo
In the third quarter of 2012 Latvia showed the highest European growth rates
with a 53 percent increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) The Eurozonersquos GDP decreased 06 percent from the second quarter of 2012 At the same time Standard amp Poorrsquos increased Latviarsquos credit rating from BBB-A-3 to BBBA-2 and Latviarsquos transfer and convertibility (TampC) assessment from A- to A
Independence Day celebrations in Warsaw this week devolved into
violence when nationalist protesters began to shoot fireworks at the police police and pelt them with stones The police pacified the situation using tear gas and rubber bullets In all 22 police officers were injured and 176 protesters were detained
ArticlesRIA Novosti Business Week
ArticlesThe Baltic Course The Baltic Times
Washington Post RTTNews
ArticlesFinancial Times Reuters
Bloomberg Argus Media
Reuters Bloomberg
Russia Today
Slovakia
Articles
Business ReviewArticles
Articles
Articles
ArticlesBloomberg Baltic Times
Country News DigestBulgaria signed an agreement with Gazprom on Thursday finalizing the
Bulgaria
Albania
CroatiaSouth Stream pipeline deal Bulgaria was the final country to sign on to the investment agreement Construction is planned to start next month and the first gas deliveries are scheduled for December 2015 The Bulgarian portion of the pipeline is projected to cost $42 billion
Thousands gathered in Zagreb cheered as the convictions of Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac were overturned by a war crimes court in The Hague The two men had been charged of partaking in a criminal conspiracy led by late Croatian President Franjo Tudjman to ldquopermanently and forcibly removerdquo the Serb civilian population from Krajina
Serbia
Macedonia
President Filip Fujanovic has signalled that Milo Djukanovich will return as Prime Minister of Montenegro Djukanovich has held both the posts of President and Prime Minister of Montenegro in the past and since then he has headed the Democratic Party of Socialists which received the most votes in a recent parliamentary election and now faces the challenge of forming a ruling coalition with other parties
A second round of talks took place this week between the Prime Ministers of Kosovo and Serbia Despite vocal protests from opposition groups in both countries many concrete agreements were realized on such issues as freedom of movement recognition of diplomas and trade
Social Democrat and former prime minister Borut Pahor unexpectedly won the first round of voting in the presidential elections on Tuesday with 40 percent of the vote Current president Danilo Turk received 35 percent and the conservative ruling Democratic Partyrsquos candidate Milan Zver received just 24 percent as his popularity declined due to a painful austerity program Pahor and Turk will face a runoff on December 2
World Bank released a statement saying that
Czech Utility CEZ could walk out of Albania in the upcoming months CEZ stated that it has not been able to resolve its dispute with the government over tariffs and extraordinary taxes
Russiarsquos energy minister Alexander Novak stated that Serbia has requested a
loan for $1 billion Serbia wants 300 million by the end of the year and 700 million by 2013
N i k o l a T o d o r o v Macedoniarsquos Minister of Health has made it known
that he is looking to hire certified geniuses as personal advisors Those without an IQ exceeding 140 a college degree and proficiency in two foreign languages will not be considered for the position Authorities in Macedonia are investigating whether the IQ requirement constitutes a discriminatory hiring process
ArticlesBBC Telegraph
ArticlesAssociated Press
ArticlesSE Times Balkan Insight
ArticlesCS Monitor EuractivArticlesWashington Post Radio Free Europe
ArticlesReuters Focus-Fen
ArticlesBNE
ArticlesNovinite BusinessWeek
Montenegro
Kosovo
Slovenia
Radio Free EuropeReuters
Country News Digest
Bosnia amp Herzegovina
Valentin Inzko the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina addressed the Security Council this week and sharply criticized the leaders of the autonomous Serbian republic for undermining the state Mr Inzkorsquos remarks included quotations of leading Bosnian Serbs calling for the dissolution of the state Russia criticized the report and blamed recent tensions on the Bosniaks
Box 571031 ICC 111 Washington DC 20057-1031
Email ceresgeorgetownedu Tel (202) 687-6080 Fax (202) 687-5829
The Center for Eurasian Russian and East European Studies is a US 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
The Province Chicago Tribune Articles
Country News DigestEstonian trade unions want to increase minimum wages by 10 to decrease
Estonia
Lithuania
Czech Republicthe disparity between the rich and the poor They are demanding that wages be increased from 290 euros to 320 euros
Prime Minister Necas and the Civic Democrats have begun to moderate their rhetoric in reference to harsh austerity measures that they earlier proposed in order to reduce the budget deficit After sound defeats in regional elections and a close call in a recent confidence vote Necas says that he will revisit the plan to reduce the deficit once growth is higher
Latvia
Romania
Hungary
Poland
Slovakia is preparing to finalize a deal with Spain in which Spain would receive 22 million tons worth of carbon credits in exchange for cash that is intended to reduce Slovakiarsquos budget deficit After the recent recession several governments in the EU have been left with excess carbon credits which they are free to sell to other countries Slovakia is reportedly also eyeing a similar deal with Austria
The head of Hungaryrsquos banking association Mihaly Patai has resigned in protest over new government impositions on the banking sector Prime Minister Viktor Orbanrsquos government recently reneged on its promise to cut its bank tax - the highest in Europe - in half and has doubled other levies on Hungaryrsquos banks
Romaniarsquos GDP is estimated by the National Institute of Statistics to have fallen by 05 in the third quarter of the year Estimates from the European Commission predict that Romania will see its GDP grow this year by 08 and 22 the next Weak agricultural output and Eurozone problems adversely affected Romaniarsquos growth this year
Lithuanian Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius stated his support for the Visaginas
nuclear plant which was rejected in the referendum In an interview he stated ldquoIf we do not build our own nuclear power plant then our money the money of our consumers our residents which we pay for the import of electricity will go for the construction of the nuclear power plant in [Russiarsquos] Kaliningrad Regionrdquo
In the third quarter of 2012 Latvia showed the highest European growth rates
with a 53 percent increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) The Eurozonersquos GDP decreased 06 percent from the second quarter of 2012 At the same time Standard amp Poorrsquos increased Latviarsquos credit rating from BBB-A-3 to BBBA-2 and Latviarsquos transfer and convertibility (TampC) assessment from A- to A
Independence Day celebrations in Warsaw this week devolved into
violence when nationalist protesters began to shoot fireworks at the police police and pelt them with stones The police pacified the situation using tear gas and rubber bullets In all 22 police officers were injured and 176 protesters were detained
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Russia Today
Slovakia
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ArticlesBloomberg Baltic Times
Country News DigestBulgaria signed an agreement with Gazprom on Thursday finalizing the
Bulgaria
Albania
CroatiaSouth Stream pipeline deal Bulgaria was the final country to sign on to the investment agreement Construction is planned to start next month and the first gas deliveries are scheduled for December 2015 The Bulgarian portion of the pipeline is projected to cost $42 billion
Thousands gathered in Zagreb cheered as the convictions of Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac were overturned by a war crimes court in The Hague The two men had been charged of partaking in a criminal conspiracy led by late Croatian President Franjo Tudjman to ldquopermanently and forcibly removerdquo the Serb civilian population from Krajina
Serbia
Macedonia
President Filip Fujanovic has signalled that Milo Djukanovich will return as Prime Minister of Montenegro Djukanovich has held both the posts of President and Prime Minister of Montenegro in the past and since then he has headed the Democratic Party of Socialists which received the most votes in a recent parliamentary election and now faces the challenge of forming a ruling coalition with other parties
A second round of talks took place this week between the Prime Ministers of Kosovo and Serbia Despite vocal protests from opposition groups in both countries many concrete agreements were realized on such issues as freedom of movement recognition of diplomas and trade
Social Democrat and former prime minister Borut Pahor unexpectedly won the first round of voting in the presidential elections on Tuesday with 40 percent of the vote Current president Danilo Turk received 35 percent and the conservative ruling Democratic Partyrsquos candidate Milan Zver received just 24 percent as his popularity declined due to a painful austerity program Pahor and Turk will face a runoff on December 2
World Bank released a statement saying that
Czech Utility CEZ could walk out of Albania in the upcoming months CEZ stated that it has not been able to resolve its dispute with the government over tariffs and extraordinary taxes
Russiarsquos energy minister Alexander Novak stated that Serbia has requested a
loan for $1 billion Serbia wants 300 million by the end of the year and 700 million by 2013
N i k o l a T o d o r o v Macedoniarsquos Minister of Health has made it known
that he is looking to hire certified geniuses as personal advisors Those without an IQ exceeding 140 a college degree and proficiency in two foreign languages will not be considered for the position Authorities in Macedonia are investigating whether the IQ requirement constitutes a discriminatory hiring process
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ArticlesNovinite BusinessWeek
Montenegro
Kosovo
Slovenia
Radio Free EuropeReuters
Country News Digest
Bosnia amp Herzegovina
Valentin Inzko the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina addressed the Security Council this week and sharply criticized the leaders of the autonomous Serbian republic for undermining the state Mr Inzkorsquos remarks included quotations of leading Bosnian Serbs calling for the dissolution of the state Russia criticized the report and blamed recent tensions on the Bosniaks
Box 571031 ICC 111 Washington DC 20057-1031
Email ceresgeorgetownedu Tel (202) 687-6080 Fax (202) 687-5829
The Center for Eurasian Russian and East European Studies is a US 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
The Province Chicago Tribune Articles
Country News DigestBulgaria signed an agreement with Gazprom on Thursday finalizing the
Bulgaria
Albania
CroatiaSouth Stream pipeline deal Bulgaria was the final country to sign on to the investment agreement Construction is planned to start next month and the first gas deliveries are scheduled for December 2015 The Bulgarian portion of the pipeline is projected to cost $42 billion
Thousands gathered in Zagreb cheered as the convictions of Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac were overturned by a war crimes court in The Hague The two men had been charged of partaking in a criminal conspiracy led by late Croatian President Franjo Tudjman to ldquopermanently and forcibly removerdquo the Serb civilian population from Krajina
Serbia
Macedonia
President Filip Fujanovic has signalled that Milo Djukanovich will return as Prime Minister of Montenegro Djukanovich has held both the posts of President and Prime Minister of Montenegro in the past and since then he has headed the Democratic Party of Socialists which received the most votes in a recent parliamentary election and now faces the challenge of forming a ruling coalition with other parties
A second round of talks took place this week between the Prime Ministers of Kosovo and Serbia Despite vocal protests from opposition groups in both countries many concrete agreements were realized on such issues as freedom of movement recognition of diplomas and trade
Social Democrat and former prime minister Borut Pahor unexpectedly won the first round of voting in the presidential elections on Tuesday with 40 percent of the vote Current president Danilo Turk received 35 percent and the conservative ruling Democratic Partyrsquos candidate Milan Zver received just 24 percent as his popularity declined due to a painful austerity program Pahor and Turk will face a runoff on December 2
World Bank released a statement saying that
Czech Utility CEZ could walk out of Albania in the upcoming months CEZ stated that it has not been able to resolve its dispute with the government over tariffs and extraordinary taxes
Russiarsquos energy minister Alexander Novak stated that Serbia has requested a
loan for $1 billion Serbia wants 300 million by the end of the year and 700 million by 2013
N i k o l a T o d o r o v Macedoniarsquos Minister of Health has made it known
that he is looking to hire certified geniuses as personal advisors Those without an IQ exceeding 140 a college degree and proficiency in two foreign languages will not be considered for the position Authorities in Macedonia are investigating whether the IQ requirement constitutes a discriminatory hiring process
ArticlesBBC Telegraph
ArticlesAssociated Press
ArticlesSE Times Balkan Insight
ArticlesCS Monitor EuractivArticlesWashington Post Radio Free Europe
ArticlesReuters Focus-Fen
ArticlesBNE
ArticlesNovinite BusinessWeek
Montenegro
Kosovo
Slovenia
Radio Free EuropeReuters
Country News Digest
Bosnia amp Herzegovina
Valentin Inzko the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina addressed the Security Council this week and sharply criticized the leaders of the autonomous Serbian republic for undermining the state Mr Inzkorsquos remarks included quotations of leading Bosnian Serbs calling for the dissolution of the state Russia criticized the report and blamed recent tensions on the Bosniaks
Box 571031 ICC 111 Washington DC 20057-1031
Email ceresgeorgetownedu Tel (202) 687-6080 Fax (202) 687-5829
The Center for Eurasian Russian and East European Studies is a US 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
The Province Chicago Tribune Articles
Country News Digest
Bosnia amp Herzegovina
Valentin Inzko the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina addressed the Security Council this week and sharply criticized the leaders of the autonomous Serbian republic for undermining the state Mr Inzkorsquos remarks included quotations of leading Bosnian Serbs calling for the dissolution of the state Russia criticized the report and blamed recent tensions on the Bosniaks
Box 571031 ICC 111 Washington DC 20057-1031
Email ceresgeorgetownedu Tel (202) 687-6080 Fax (202) 687-5829
The Center for Eurasian Russian and East European Studies is a US 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
The Province Chicago Tribune Articles