]> Washington ProFile - International News & Information Agency - Issue ESD_15 http://www.washprofile.org/en/taxonomy/term/570/0 en Belarus Raises Wholesale Natural Gas Prices http://www.washprofile.org/en/node/4697 Starting 1 March, natural gas sold to companies and individual proprietors in Belarus was raised by 3.96 percent to 137,010 Belarusian rubles ($63.70) per 1,000 cubic meters... Domestic Policy and Politics ESD_15 Eurasia Security Digest Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:58:52 -0500 Kazakhstan Mulling Investment in Tajik Power Plant http://www.washprofile.org/en/node/4695 Kazakh Ambassador to Tajikistan Yerlan Abildaev said on 10 March that his country would like to participate in the construction of Tajikistan&rsquo;s Sangtuda-1 hydroelectric power plant, which Russia is currently tasked with building, <em>iran.ru </em>reported the same day... Economics, Business and Finance ESD_15 Eurasia Security Digest Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:57:49 -0500 Georgia to Pay off Energy Debt to Azerbaijan in Cash http://www.washprofile.org/en/node/4696 Tbilisi is prepared to meet its financial obligations to Azerbaijan for electricity received in the January-February period partly in cash, at a rate of $0.028 per kilowatt hour... Economics, Business and Finance ESD_15 Eurasia Security Digest Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:58:09 -0500 MP Warns Colleagues about Contract Murders http://www.washprofile.org/en/node/4694 Speaking to the Zhogorku Kenesh, the Kyrgyz parliament, Deputy Melis Eshimkanov said that a &ldquo;list&rdquo; containing the names of several prominent politicians and businesspeople targeted for contract killings exists in Kyrgyzstan... ESD_15 Eurasia Security Digest Law and Criminal Justice Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:57:29 -0500 Poll: Transdniestrians Deeply Troubled By Ukrainian Response to Border Crisis http://www.washprofile.org/en/node/4693 According to a public opinion poll published on 13 March in Tiraspol, the overwhelming majority -- or 67.8 percent -- of residents in Transdniestria are disappointed in Ukraine&rsquo;s observance of new customs regulations on the border with the self-proclaimed republic... International Relations ESD_15 Eurasia Security Digest Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:56:54 -0500 MP: Russia’s Economic Interests Should Remain Priority in WTO Talks http://www.washprofile.org/en/node/4691 Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the Duma Committee on International Affairs, told journalists on 9 March that Russia mustn&rsquo;t sacrifice its economic interests merely to secure quicker accession to the World Trade Organization... Economics, Business and Finance ESD_15 Eurasia Security Digest Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:50:33 -0500 Roughly 20 Percent of Tajik Cotton Fields Lie Fallow http://www.washprofile.org/en/node/4690 More than 80 percent of Tajikistan&rsquo;s cotton growing regions have been cultivated, <em>agronews.ru</em> reported on 11 March, citing the Tajik Agriculture Ministry... Environment and Agriculture ESD_15 Eurasia Security Digest Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:50:12 -0500 Ukraine to Spend Third of Weapons Budget on Tanks http://www.washprofile.org/en/node/4688 The Ukrainian government issued new budgetary spending guidelines in 2006 authorizing monthly outlays for the purchase of T-84-120 &ldquo;Oplot&rdquo; tanks to reach 30 percent of the Defense Ministry&rsquo;s total weapons budget... Military and Security ESD_15 Eurasia Security Digest Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:49:49 -0500 Turkmen President Gives Go-Ahead for Gas Production Technology Upgrade http://www.washprofile.org/en/node/4689 Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov signed off on an investment project for the state gas firm Turkmengaz to rebuild a gas-collecting system at the Odzhak-Nayyp group of gas condensate fields and a gas-compressor station at the Nayyp field at a total cost of $72 million... ESD_15 Eurasia Security Digest Health, Energy, Science and Technology Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:49:05 -0500 SCO Holds Anti-Terrorist Training Exercises in Uzbekistan http://www.washprofile.org/en/node/4687 The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) held a four-day anti-terrorist training session in Uzbekistan... ESD_15 Eurasia Security Digest Terrorism Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:48:44 -0500 Belarus: Over Seven Million Registered to Vote in Presidential Elections http://www.washprofile.org/en/node/4686 Central Electoral Commission Chairwoman Lidia Yermoshina told a press conference on 9 March that 7.02 million Belarusians were on the election rolls and thus eligible to vote in the 19 March presidential elections... ESD_15 Eurasia Security Digest Democracy and Human Rights Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:48:22 -0500 Azerbaijan: More Than One Million Fowl Culled http://www.washprofile.org/en/node/4685 In areas infected with bird flu, more than a million chickens and other poultry have been culled in an effort to stave off further spread of the deadly H5N1 strain... Environment and Agriculture ESD_15 Eurasia Security Digest Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:47:58 -0500 Azerbaijan: Lawmakers to Amend Legislation Regulating Political Parties http://www.washprofile.org/en/node/4684 Azerbaijan&rsquo;s parliament, the Milli Mejlis, will debate and amend parts of the Law on Political Parties at its spring session... ESD_15 Eurasia Security Digest Democracy and Human Rights Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:47:35 -0500 Ankara, Baku Strengthen Joint Emergency Prevention Efforts http://www.washprofile.org/en/node/4682 Azerbaijani Emergency Minister Kamaladdin Heydarov and his Turkish counterpart Mehmet Ali Shahin paved the way for the conclusion of an agreement coordinating the two countries&rsquo; emergency services... International Relations ESD_15 Eurasia Security Digest Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:46:39 -0500 Russian Aluminum to Build Processing Facility in Azerbaijan http://www.washprofile.org/en/node/4683 Russian aluminum giant Russky Alyuminii has begun due-diligence on a project to construct a 300,000-ton capacity aluminum processing plant in Azerbaijan... Economics, Business and Finance ESD_15 Eurasia Security Digest Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:47:09 -0500