CERES News Digest - Week11, Vol.3; Nov.11-15

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Country News DigestVol.3, Issue #11

11/11/13-11/15/13

Editor: Eugene Imas

Contributors:-Risa Chubinsky-Glyn Cozart-Joseph Gates-Tomas Hyde-Katharine Quinn-Judge

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Country News DigestAfter Wednesdays meetingwith President Aliyev,urkish Foreign Minister

Azerbaijan

Georgia

RussiaDavutoglu called for Swiss mediation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He also said urkey was ready tonormalize relations with Armenia, provided it withdrewfrom Karabakh. Azerbaijan has stated that it will toleratethe opening of the urkey-Armenia border, if Armeniareturns five provinces that neighbor Karabakh.

On Tursday the lastshipment of downblendedweapons-grade uraniumleft St. Petersburg in accordance with an exchangeprogram between Russia and the US. Te program,known as Megatons to Megawatts, was created in 1993and saw the downblending of 500 metric tons of highly-enriched uranium for US nuclear power plant fuel.

Armenia

Moldova

Belarus

Ukraine

urkey

Ukraine stopped all gaspurchases from Gazpromon November 9 as a resultof increased tensions between Russia and Ukraine.Ukraine has been decreasing its Russian gas intake, butGazprom CEO Alexei Miller said that Kiev owed $882million for gas purchased in August, leading some toanticipate a new gas war. Ukrainian officials believe thisis an effort to keep Ukraine from signing a free trade dealwith the EU November 28.

On November 12, PrimeMinister Myasnikovich saidthat Belarus will createprivatization targets for ministry and regional authoritiesto earn at least $1.5 billion from privatization in 2014. Hesaid that the privatization system should be re-configuredto stabilize Belaruss economy. Tis year, state industriesonly achieved 50% of their assigned privatization targets.He also advocated removing restrictions on foreigncurrency loans to small businesses.

Russian Deputy PrimeMinister Dmitry Rogozinwarned uesday thatMoldovas Association Agreement talks with the EU coulddeepen the isolation of ransnistria and unfreeze theconflict over the breakaway region. Moldovan authoritiescountered by citing recent steps taken to reduce tensionswith ransnistria, including OSCE-led confidence-building talks, and a measure passed last week to easetravel restrictions for ransnistria residents.

Around 8,000 workersfor the Georgian RailwayCompany went on strike

on Tursday, calling for overtime pay and better bonuses.Workers from around the country are participating inthe strike, however trains are still running according toschedule. Strike initiators are currently in negotiationswith the Office of the Public Defender and representativesof the non-governmental sector.

On Wednesday Armeniasopposition HeritageParty submitted a vote

in parliament for a bill on recognition of indepdencefor Nagorno-Karabakh. Concerned that independencerecognition would undermine Armenia-Azerbaijan peacenegotiations within the OSCE Minsk framework, allbut 11 of 131 MPs refused to vote. Nagorno-Karabakhremains unrecognized as independent by any country.

Prime Minister Erdoganscall last week to ban coeduniversity dorms has

provoked student protests in Istanbul. Erdogan has saidthat the ban is a response to concerns from parents, andhas stated that urkey is a conservative-democraticcountry. Opponents to the ban are accusing Erdogan oferoding personal freedoms and imposing Islamist culturalnorms on the officially secular country.

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Articles:Vesti Finance Moldova.org

Articles:Belta RIA Novosti

Articles:RIA Moscow imes

Articles:New York imes Reuters

Articles:Azernews rend.az

Articles:odays Zaman 1news.az

Articles:Public Radio Armenia RFE/RL

Articles:euronews Global Post

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Country News DigestOfficials from Kyrgyzstanaddressed the UNsCommittee Against

Kyrgyzstan

Kazakhstan

orture this week in Geneva, responding to concernsabout the alleged widespread mistreatment of prisoners inKyrgyzstan. Officials downplayed most of the concerns,stressing recent successes in prosecuting law enforcementofficers responsible for prisoner abuse, and stating thatLGB prisoners received equal protection.

Te U.N. Office onDrugs and Crime,together with the Afghan

Mongolia

IranTe International AtomicEnergy Agencys mostrecent quartlery reportshows a significant decrease in Irans nuclear programexpansion. Te report notes that no new major parts inIrans heavy water reactor or its enrichment plant in Natanzhave been added in the past three months. However, Iranis still enriching uranium to fissile concentration of 20%.Uranium enrichment is widely considered to be Iransmost controversial nuclear activity.

Tis week the IMF releaseddouble-digit growthestimates for urkmenistanfor 2013 and 2014, with predicted GDP increases of10.1% and 10.7% respectively. Despite these seeminglyimpressive figures, the IMF implored urkmenistan toundertake widespread economic reforms, emphasizingthe countrys vulnerability to fluctuations in world energyprices.

Disputes with theMongolian governmenthave temporarily preventedurquoise Hill Resources, the company building the Oyuolgoi Mining Project, from securing the internationalfunding required to begin phase two of the minesdevelopment. In response, urquoise Hill Resourceshas issued a rights offering that may allow its majorityshareholder, Rio into, to increase its stake in the company.

Oil industry representativesannounced Monday thatproduction at Kazakhstans

Kashagan oil field would be suspended until 2014, dueto a gas leak discovered in October. Kashagan openedin September 2013 after years of delays, having beendiscovered in 2000. Run by a multinational consortium,the giant offshore field is predicted to increaseKazakhstans annual oil output from 82 million tons in2012 to 110 million by 2018.

On November 10 and 11 aseries of three earthquakeshit the Rudaki district,

approximately 26 miles southeast of ajikistans capitalcity, Dushanbe. Te earthquakes, which registeredmagnitudes of 5.0, 5.0 and 4.0 respectively, destroyed 104houses and damaged 256 more. No deaths were reported.

Amid reports of kilometer-long lines for gasthroughout the country,

national holding company Uzbekneftprodukt releaseda statement Sunday blaming gas shortages on panickeddrivers stocking up. Analysts, however, say the shortageis due to declining fuel production and aging Soviet-erainfrastructure. Local industry sources confirm that thecountrys refineries regularly operate below capacity.

ajikistan

Uzbekistan

Afghanistan

urkmenistan

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Articles:Yahoo News Te Age

Articles:Reuters 4-raders

Articles:Te Guardian Reuters

Articles: Wall Street JournalArticles:Kloop.kg Vecherniy Bishkek

Articles:engri News Reuters

Articles:RIA Novosti RFE/RL

Articles:RFE/RL Uznews

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counternarcotics ministry released the results of a surveythis week, indicating that opium cultivation in Afghanistanhit record levels this year. Western and Afghan forceshave taken a cautious approach to poppy eradication,concerned that destruction of local residents source ofincome would drive them towards the aliban.

Russia oday

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Country News DigestApotheka Pharmacy isopening the countrysfirst internet pharmacy.

Estonia

Lithuania

Czech RepublicCustomers with prescriptions will be able to order medicinesto their door and consult with pharmacists online. Medicinesare anticipated to take three days to ship. Te pharmacy willsell both prescriptions and over-the-counter medication, as

well as veterinary medicines and beauty and health products.

On Tursday Canadaannounced an end to visarequirements for Czechcitizens, who can now travel visa-free in Canada for up tosix months. Te previous visa policy, which was establishedin 2009, aimed to reduce the number of asylum cases fromRoma populations. Te policy was seen as a complicationin ratifying a free trade deal between Canada and the EU.

Latvia

Romania

Hungary

Poland

Te first round of regionalelections for the eightself-governing regions ofSlovakia was held on November 10. Prime Minister Ficoannounced that his Smer party was the victor. Smer wonthree spots in the first round, and anticipates winning fourof the remaining elections in the second round, whichare due to be held November 23. A turnout of only21% prompted Fico to suggest a return to the previousadministrative model of four self-governing regions.

A baby in Hungary wasdelivered this week to abrain-dead mother. Temother died at age 31, after a stroke in her fifteenth weekof pregnancy. Doctors kept the mother on life supportfor another three months, and then delivered the baby byCesarean section this week. Te baby is healthy and doingwell, and doctors will now donate the mothers organs.

After 14 years in limbo,a proposal from CanadasGabriel Resources tomine in Rosia Montana has been unanimously rejectedby a parliamentary commission. Tis plan sparkedcountrywide protests against the mine, causing authoritiesto reassess the plan. Parliament found that it did notmeet requirements for mineral resource exploitation inRomania.

Lithuanias SpecialInvestigation Service (SIS)has been criticized for the

detention of several journalists linked to intelligence leaks.Lithuanian prime minister Algirdas Butkevicius calledthe SISs actions over-strict and not proportionateto the situation. However, the head of SIS, SauliusUrbanavicius, claims the services actions have thus farbeen adequate.

According to official datareleased this week, Latvianeconomic growth sped up

in the third quarter of 2013, thanks to increases in themanufacturing, retail trade, and construction sectors.Te economic data bodes well for Latvia, as the Balticcountry awaits entry to the Eurozone in January 2014.

Ultra-nationalist Polishrioters threw flares, bottles,and stones at the Russian

embassy in Warsaw on Monday, setting the guard stationon fire. Te riots took place on Polish Independence Day,reflecting growing anti-Russian sentiment. Although thePolish government publicly apologized for the attack,Russian rioters retaliated by throwing smoke bombs andfirecrackers at the Polish embassy in Moscow.

Slovakia

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Articles:Star Euro News

Articles:Washington Post ime

Articles:Sofia Globe Slovak Spectator

Articles:Te Globe and Mail Wall Street JournalArticles:Baltic imes Baltic Course

Articles:Lithuanian ribune Wall Street Journal

Articles:Global Post Baltic imes

Articles:CNN Yahoo!

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Country News DigestOngoing protests againstBulgarias governmentescalated when students

Bulgaria

Albania

Croatiachained and padlocked the doors of Sofia Universityon November 10. In a sign of solidarity with protestors,students at at least 18 other universities across the countryhave blockaded auditoriums. Te anti-poverty and anti-corruption protests are believed to have the support of60% ofthe population.

A thunderstorm with gale-force winds ripped throughCroatias Adriatic coast onMonday, killing one man and injuring 22 more people.Named Cyclone eodor, the storm winds reached 136mph, blowing rooftops off of houses and uprooting wholetrees in Zagreb.

Serbia

Macedonia

Serbia and Montenegrohave agreed to set up afunctional airspace block(FAB), signing a memorandum of understanding onNovember 12. Te FAB is a significant preconditionfor integration with EU aviation structures, and for theimplementation of the Single European Sky regulation.Te two countries already share a single provider foraviation services, Serbia and Montenegro Air rafficServices.

With votes finally countedfrom the November 3elections, Kosovos electoral

commission announced Friday that Citizens InitiativeSrpska, a Serbia-backed party, had secured mayoral winsin three northern municipalities. Te elections were thefirst Kosovo-wide vote to include the Serb-dominatednorth, and met with calls for a boycott by Serb hardliners.A repeat vote will be held Sunday in Mitrovica, where thepolls were marred by violence.

Te Slovenian parliamenthas passed Prime MinisterAlenka Bratuseks 2014budget proposal, to which she had attached a confidencevote. Te budget includes fiscal austerity measures aimedat raising taxes and cutting expenses as Slovenia attemptsto avoid an EU bailout.

Protests were heldthroughout Albania thisweek to oppose tentative

NATO plans to import Syrian chemical weapons fordestruction in local facilities. According to a SeptemberUN resolution, Assads weapons must be destroyedby June 2014. Albania is a potential disposal locationbecause it successfully destroyed its own chemicalstockpile in 2004. Protestors say the plan contradicts arecent law banning waste imports.

Te Serbian governmentannounced this week thatconstruction on the South

Stream gas pipeline will begin on November 24. Te dealfor the pipeline was signed last year between Serbia andGazprom. Te pipeline will transport gas from Russiathrough Serbia and out into Western Europe, notablybypassing Ukraine. Te deal will ensure that Serbia hasa steady gas stream and significant power as a regionalenergy supplier.

Tirty-four tons ofcucumbers were returnedto Macedonia from Croatia

after the Croatian Food Agency detected excessive levelsof chemicals and pesticides in the vegetables. Althoughthe cucumbers were screened before they left Skopje, theywere determined unfit for consumption once they arrivedin Croatia. Te Macedonian Food Agency is exploringthe matter further.

Articles:Voice of America EU Business

Montenegro

Kosovo

Slovenia

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Articles:in Serbia Balkan Insight

Articles:B92 inSerbia

Articles:USA oday BloombergArticles:Russia oday Reuters

Articles:Al Jazeera America Balkan Insight

Articles:RFE/RL Global Post

Articles:Balkans.com Focus

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Country News Digest

Bosnia &Herzegovina

Mevlid Jasarevic, a Bosnianman sentenced to 18 yearsin prison for terrorismafter shooting at the US Embassy in Sarajevo in 2011,is currently being re-tried, and is appealing for a reducedsentence. Jasarevic wounded several police officers in theattack, which he recently referred to as a stupid act. Tecourt is scheduled to come to a decision on the case on

November 20.

Box 571031, ICC 111, Washington, DC 20057-1031

Email: [email protected] Tel.: (202) 687-6080 Fax: (202) 687-5829

Te Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies is a U.S.Department of Education itle VI-funded National Resource Center (NRC)

that strives to increase understanding and appreciation of the cultures andchallenges of the region stretching from Central Europe to the Pacific and

from the Baltic to the Mediterranean, Black and Caspian Seas

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Articles:ABC News Reuters

2013 by Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies; School of Foreign Service; Georgetown University* CERES is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites.