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Country News Digest Y Y Y Vol.2, Issue #13

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Editor: Eugene Imas Contributors: -Joseph Gates -Matthew OBrien -Bree Swineford -Jillian Tetirick -Grace Tran

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04/22/13-04/26/13

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Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev entertained Latvian president Berzins to discuss bilateral relations, especially in the areas of trade and agriculture. Both presidents praised the nature of their relations.

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Azerbaijan

Country News Digest

Russia

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38 people were left dead after a fire demolished a psychiatric hospital in Moscow on Friday. There are conflicting reports as to the cause of the fire, ranging from a cigarette to a short circuit. Many of the patients who died were reportedly sedated and did not wake up to the fire. The bars on the windows also played a role in the high death toll. BBC

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CNN

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Georgian PM Bidzina Ivanishvili addressed the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for the first time this week. The PM, who is Georgian ethnically but holds French citizenship, raised some eyebrows by beginning his remarks in his adopted countrys language. Ivanishvilis rival President Mikheil Saakashvili criticized his statements.

Georgia

Staff at TVi, Ukraines prominent opposition television station, have gone on strike following a sudden change in ownership. Strikers believe that if the leadership change is allowed to take place they will no longer be able to air criticism of the Yanukovych government.

Ukraine

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Civil.ge

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This week marked the 95th anniversary of the Ottoman-led massacre of 1.5 million Armenians, termed by many as an episode of genocide. US president Barack Obama has drawn criticism from Armenian groups for referring to the incident not as a genocide but simply as one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century.

Armenia

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has announced plans to build a Russian air force base in Belarus by 2015, with the first set of plans set to arrive later this year. Russia will also deliver four battalions of S-300 surface-to-air missiles to Belarus by 2014. Currently Russia has an early warning radar system and a communications hub used for nuclear submarines.

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Reuters

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The Kurdish Rebel Group PKK announced that it would withdraw from Turkey on May 8. The PKK would retreat to bases in Northern Iraq only if the Turkish government extended amnesty to political prisoners, established a new constitution, and dismantled the special force unit used to combat the rebels. Murat Karayilan, the rebel leader, also announced that they would stop withdrawing if there was an attack on the rebels. Articles: ABC NY Times

Turkey

The Constitutional Court of Moldova has ruled that former PM Filat cannot hold his position again. The Court also nullified a presidential decree that would have installed Filat as a caretaker PM as the country tries to form a new government.

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On Wednesday supporters of the opposition El Unu (Peoples Voice) held demonstrations demanding the government nationalize the Kumtor gold mine. They also called for the resignation of the Kyrgyz government and the immediate release of three opposition lawmakers that were arrested in for their role in protests. Reports also surfaced that 1,000 people came to Bishkek for the rally from other regions. Articles: 24.kg RFE/RL

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Afghanistan has been hit by two deadly natural disasters in the past week. In the northern province of Balkh, flash flooding caused the collapse of several buildings, killing 14 people. Meanwhile along Afghanistans border with Pakistan, the regions of Nangarhar and Kunar suffered 10 casualties as a result of a 5.6-magnitude earthquake that struck the area.

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Reuters

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Two Kazakhstani students living in Boston have been arrested for violating their student visa requirements. The pair may have known the Tsarnaev brothers, who were responsible for the bombing of the Boston Marathon last week. No criminal charges have yet been brought against them.

Kazakhstan

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The Boston Globe

Samsung informed its subscribers this week that it will be shutting off Irans access to its mobile app store on May 22 due to tightening sanctions against the country. Samsung is one of the few providers who offer services in the Persian language. Iranians have felt the squeeze of higher prices on imports this week as their government raised the value of the rial versus the dollar.

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Ars Technica

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Last Friday a member of the Tajik opposition party, the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan, was severely beaten outside his home. Presidential elections are scheduled for November, and few observes think the strongman, who has served as head of state for 20 years, will simply step aside. It is not clear who was responsible for the beating.

Tajikistan

At the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Turkmenistans human rights record came under criticism from the many diplomats attending the conference. Diplomats acknowledged the new media freedom law, but questioned how it was to be implemented. They also stated that Turkmenistan needed to improve the situation of women and prisoners in the country. HRW

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Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake met with Uzbek President Islam Karimov on Wednesday. Karimov stated American-Uzbek relations are stable and long-term, and in turn, Blake confirmed US intentions to continue to increase cooperation in a variety of areas. During Blakes visit the Real Union of Journalists of Uzbekistan called on the Assistant Secretary to defend independent Uzbek journalists. Articles: Trend.az UzNews.net

Uzbekistan

In an effort to overcome difficulties with the Mongolian government, investment group Rio Tinto has appointed Bold Bataar, a Mongolian citizen, as the president of its copper group. Rio Tinto oversees Oyu Tolgoi, a massive copper and gold mine located in Mongolia.

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Info Mongolia

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BSA Software Alliance recommended that the International Intellectual Property Alliance place Estonia on its list of noncompliant countries as a special mention. Nonprofits have decried the move as a modern protection racket and stated that piracy is only an issue because licensed software is not up for purchase by legal means.

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Estonia

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The Czech ambassador to the United States released a statement last week clarifying that the Czech Republic and Chechnya are two different entities. After the revelation that the two suspects in the Boston bombing were Chechen, U.S. social media exploded with references to the Czech Republic and the no longer existent Czechoslovakia. Huffington Post

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Ars Technica

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TIME

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Energy security is at the forefront of Lithuanias plans for its EU Presidency, which will start on July 1st of this year. Lithuania is not currently connected to European energy grids, but it hopes to diversify gas supplies away from dependence on Russias Gazprom, and it has also listed completion of the EU internal energy market and eliminating energy islands as priorities.

Lithuania

As Slovakia pursues a larger amount of nuclear power in the country, there has been a lack of public outcry. Neighboring European states have faced backlash from residents over the expanded role of nuclear power but not in Slovakia. In response to an article on the lack of opposition, the Slovak government stated that the country is ill-suited for other alternative energy sources and will need nuclear energy to meet demand.

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EurActive

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Latvian President Andris Berzins is visiting Azerbaijan this week. Both he and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan have released statements praising recent developments in relations between their two countries. The two leaders have stated that cooperation between Latvia and Azerbaijan is especially important in political and economic spheres.

Latvia

The European Commission released statements this week that it is in the process of examining Hungarys recent constitutional changes and is likely to begin legal action against the country in the near-future. Although Hungarian PM Viktor Orban has agreed to compromise on some issues, he appears intransigent in his plan to tax Hungarian citizens directly for any fines imposed by the EU.

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Poland intends to reinstate legal ritual slaughter of animals for consumption by Jewish and Muslim communities after the banning of such methods last December raised an outcry among religious minorities. The Polish government hopes to save several thousand jobs while also maintaining humane standards by requiring animals to be stunned prior to slaughter.

Poland

Romanian and Cypriot authorities have found a solution for the local branches of the Bank of Cyprus (BoC). Romanian authorities announced deposits will be protected by the Guaranteeing Fund for Deposits in Romania. Authorities failed to disclose whether a buyer for the BoC branches was found, saying they needed two more days for technical proceedings before revealing details.

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TheNews.pl

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Capital.gr

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Investigators reenacted the Hezbollah bombing that killed 5 tourists in order to understand the explosives that were used. The investigators stated, The results are more than satisfying. All facts that we had established during the investigation so far were confirmed by this explosion. There has been no suspect named in the investigation.

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Global Post

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As Croatia approaches its official accession to the European Union on July 1, analysts have released reports praising its economic and political progress in the past decade while underlying the challenges it still faces. The Balkan nations aging population, as well as a new trade dispute with Italy over the sale of an indigenous variety of wine, poses significant hurdles to the EUs newest member. Articles: Reuters BBC More than 5,000 protesters took to the streets of Podgorica this weekend calling for parliament to annul the April 7 presidential vote due to electoral irregularities. The opposition has refused to acknowledge defeat in the latest presidential election, claiming that its candidate had garnered the majority of the votes cast.

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Prime Minister Sali Berisha had a historic visit with LGBT activists on Monday, expressing support for gay rights and same-sex marriage. They discussed recently proposed amendments of the penal code, which criminalise harassment and hate speech against the LGBT community through digital technology. In 2009 Berisha became the first Albanian politician to declare himself in favor of samesex marriage.

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Gay Star News

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Serbias President Tomislav Nikolic publicly apologized for the 1995 massacre in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica. Nikolic had previously held strong nationalist views on the issue, once claiming that the events at Srebrenica were not acts of genocide.

Serbia

The EU is set to finish its probe into Kosovos organ trafficking in 2014. Serb Prime Minister Ivica Dacic stated that he was committed to bringing all the criminals to justice. The EU probe has already questioned over 100 witnesses.

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Macedonian President Ivanov visited the Canadian city of Markham on Monday in honor of the Macedonian diaspora located there. While the event was highly covered by the Macedonian news, it was barely noticed in Canada.

Macedonia

As forecasts for the amount of capital Slovenian banks will require reached $1.2 billion, the government delayed releasing a plan on the possible sale of holdings in state-owned enterprises. The plan was originally promised to be released this week, but now government officials say the report should be expected around the second week of May.

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The Serbian Orthodox Bosnia & Church announced it has Herzegovina accepted the resignation of its bishop Vasilije Kacavenda in Bosnia-Herzegovina, after a video surfaced on the internet of a man that looked to be Kacavenda engaged in sexual activity with a young man. Kacavenda denied the allegations against him and threatened to sue those who had smeared and slandered him. Washington Post

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The Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies is a U.S. 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

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Box 571031, ICC 111, Washington, DC 20057-1031 Email: ceres@georgetown.edu Tel.: (202) 687-6080 Fax: (202) 687-5829

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