As the Eurasia Daily Monitor went to press, Russian media were reporting that a group of terrorists, including several female suicide bombers, had taken more than 400 people hostage, among them 200 children, in a school in the North Ossetian city of Beslan.

A bombing near the Rizhskaya metro station in northeastern Moscow on August 31 may have been the work of a female suicide bomber who was the sister of a Chechen woman suspected of having blown up one of the two airliners brought down on August... MORE

On the last day of summer, French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder visited Russian President Vladimir Putin at his vacation residence, Bocharov Ruchei, near Sochi. Their discussions were broad and inconclusive, ranging from the Middle East and Iraq, to Russian oil, Iran's... MORE

The Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun is reporting that Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is interested in visiting the disputed Southern Kuril Islands; the "Northern Territories" in Japanese parlance. Koizumi hopes to at least make a helicopter or boat tour of the islands as soon as... MORE

Joint UK-Kazakh military exercises held in Kazakhstan, August 18-25, may herald closer cooperation between the two countries and open future exercises to greater regional participation. This diplomatic success, in the context of the war on terror, promotes British interests in the region and facilitates joint... MORE

Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov, speaking during an unscheduled press conference in Tashkent on August 26, revealed key aspects of Uzbekistan's position on responding to terrorism within its borders and illustrated how the Uzbek leader perceives international support for his attempts to counter the terrorist threat... MORE

"An Uzbek is my near-brother" runs a common Kazakh saying, which has lost its original implications since the July bombings in Tashkent. The ever-worsening relations between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are anything but brotherly. Although Uzbek and Kazakh security forces declared their readiness to carry out... MORE

In mid-August, the Bush administration unveiled plans for the global redeployment of U.S. troops. According to the Pentagon blueprint, around 100,000 U.S. servicemen will be moved from Western Europe and Asia back to North America, while some units will be sent to new forward positions... MORE

On August 25, Saakashvili fired the Chief of Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces, Givi Iukuridze, and replaced him with his Western-educated deputy, Maj. Vakhtang Kapanadze. Saakashvili explained the move as consistent with the desire to build "a new structure, which will meet NATO standards."... MORE

On August 21 and 27, Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin announced that his government would no longer negotiate with Trans-Dniester's de facto rulers, and he criticized the "mediators" [Russia, Ukraine, OSCE] for condoning Tiraspol's repressive actions. The assault on the last few remaining Latin-script schools in... MORE