KYRGYZSTAN:

President Askar Akaev dismissed the entire cabinet and promised to name a new government before the new year. The president claimed the dismissals were not related to the anticorruption measures which cost three deputy ministers and several lesser officials their jobs two weeks ago. No, these firings were for incompetence, evidenced by rising inflation, a growing trade deficit, a depreciating currency and a poor harvest. Perhaps President Akaev has noticed how well Russia has performed since President Yeltsin fired then Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin last March.