Testifying before the Majlis yesterday, Kazakh National Security Committee (NSC) chief Alnur Musaev outlined NSC's priorities for the period up to the year 2000. These are: --Checking the growth of "religious extremism," under which Musaev listed both Islamic fundamentalism and Christian sects. --Countering the activities... MORE

Turkmen President Saparmurat Niazov yesterday signed two contracts, amounting to US$150 million, with the French construction giant Bouygues. The contracts envisage the construction of both a Supreme Court palace and a main building for the Defense Ministry in Ashgabat. During the last few years, Bouygues... MORE

Moscow intensified its criticism of NATO policy toward Kosovo on June 19 as a top Russian general warned that NATO military actions in Kosovo without a UN mandate could create a new cold war in Europe. Colonel General Leonid Ivashov, head of the Russian Defense... MORE

A briefing session conducted by military experts at the Russian General Staff headquarters on June 16 reportedly persuaded a number of the lawmakers present that ratification of the START II treaty is in Russia's best interest. At least one participant, though, remained uncertain after the... MORE

At least a dozen Russian soldiers and one fireman are reported dead following a fire at a Russian ammunition depot that broke out last week in the Sverdlovsk region of central Russia. The fire was reportedly ignited when lightning struck one arms storage facility on... MORE

On June 19, the State Duma voted overwhelmingly to set up a parliamentary commission to examine charges brought against President Boris Yeltsin by the 215 parliamentarians who earlier signed an appeal for his impeachment. Only Vladimir Zhirinovsky, unpredictable as ever, voted against. (RTR, June 19)... MORE

In an interview with Izvestia, Aleksandr Yakovlev claims that the Soviet secret police sponsored the extreme nationalist movement, Pamyat [Memory], which burst on the political scene when it held a public demonstration in Moscow in 1987. (Izvestia, June 17) As a close associate of Mikhail... MORE

The Verkhny Lars checkpoint in North Ossetia, on the Russian border with Georgia, was fired on for several hours on June 18. Four trucks were burned out. Five drivers--residents of Georgia--were wounded. The criminals succeeded in getting away, hiding in a mountainous wooded area close... MORE

According to the newspaper Moskovsky komsomolets, Moscow has decided to send an additional contingent of internal troops to Dagestan to maintain order during the elections for Dagestan's State Council, which will take place on June 26. (Moskovsky komsomolets, June 19) In the newspaper's opinion, this... MORE

NATO Secretary General Javier Solana visited Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia from June 16 through 19, stopping for six hours in each country. Solana reaffirmed that NATO is open for the accession of all countries that seek and that meet the criteria for membership. For their... MORE