Li Donghui,the chief of Xinjiang's Public Security Service, told the Chinesenews agency August 30 that "hostile forces at home and abroad"are stirring up trouble in China's western borderlands, an areapopulated by a number of Muslim minorities. Li said that his organizationwould increase its readiness to... MORE

Islamic revolutionaries from the Gulf states,Turkey, Jordan and Pakistan are visiting the former Soviet republicsof Central Asia to recruit students whom they hope will travelillegally to these countries for instruction in Islam, Rossiya(no. 28) reported. The paper charged that these revolutionarieshope to nurture an "Islamic"... MORE

Tajikresistance units have become more active in the last several daysthroughout the country much to the worry of Russian forces there,Russian radio reported August 30. The commander of Russian peacekeepingtroops, Col. Gen. Valentin Bobryshev, said that the Tajik "internalunderground" had concentrated some 2,500 fighters in... MORE

On August 30, the Uzbekparliament approved a military doctrine which reserves to Uzbekistanthe right to attack a country that has attacked an ally of Tashkent,Russian radio reported August 31. Moreover, the document declaresthat it would be most tragic if the ideological confrontationbetween east and west... MORE

Georgianleader Eduard Shevardnadze told a Tbilisi rally August 30 thatlike Russia in Chechnya, Georgia would use force to retain Abkhaziaif peace talks failed to produce a settlement within the termsof the Georgian constitution, Russian radio reported. Meanwhilein Sukhumi, Abkhaz leader Vladislav Ardzinba said that Russiaand... MORE

Kazakhstan's centralelection commission told journalists in Almaty that Kazakh votershad overwhelmingly approved the new constitution which gives extensivepowers to its author, President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Accordingto preliminary returns, 90 percent of the country's 8.8 millionpeople took part in the referendum, and 89 percent of them votedfor... MORE

At the inaugural news conferenceof his presidential party, Moldovan president Mircea Snegur calledfor transforming Moldova into a presidential republic "becausea parliamentary republic talks too much about problems withoutsolving them... and because security matters are now discussedby too many people," Moldovan agencies reported August 30.Snegur also... MORE

Georgia'ssecurity chief Igor Georgadze said that his officers arrested10 suspects in the August 29 attempt against state leader EduardShevardnadze's life and that it had information on additionalsuspects whom it is preparing to arrest, Georgian and Russianmedia reported August 30. But despite expectations by some thatShevardnadze... MORE

To strengthenhis country's shaky banking system, Belarusian president AleksandrLukashenko has signed a decree merging the State Savings Bankand the Belarus Commercial Bank, Minsk radio reported August 30.The new bank will represent a powerful lever to "help peopleand work for the economy rather than fraudulent interests,"Lukashenko... MORE

Ukrainian officials toldRussian television August 29 that they were prepared to sell someof their grain surplus to Russia, which is projected to have theworst harvest in 30 years. Both price and the precise arrangementsfor any such deal remain to be worked out. Snegur Demands Greater... MORE