RUSSIAN-CHINESE BORDER DEMARCATION WOES.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on July 25 that it is working diligently to resolve disputes with Beijing over sections of the Russian-Chinese border not settled in a 1991 Soviet-Chinese border treaty. Two islands at the juncture of the Amur and Ussuri Rivers in the Khabarovsk region are the key bone of contention. (Itar-Tass, July 25) Regional leaders in Russia’s Far East have warned Moscow not to cede the islands to China, which claims them, and the issue has become an irritant in broader Russian-Chinese relations.

Belarusan Opposition Demonstrates on Independence Day.