There are several indications that the relatively passive Belarusian population favors fundamental changes in political and economic life. Some activists, such as presidential candidate, Andrei Sannikau, perceive a groundswell of popular sentiment that could sweep away the Lukashenka leadership in the presidential elections to be... MORE

Last Sunday marked the 93rd anniversary of the Bolshevik revolution, which used to be the major official holiday in the Soviet Union and remains a date about which the Russians have mixed feelings, but only 9 percent see it as a catastrophe (www.levada.ru, November 2).... MORE

The National Security Council (NSC) is an apparatus for the top executive to “formulate, coordinate and oversee security and defense policy” in order to “enhance effectiveness by developing strategies, guidance, mobilizing resources and overseeing implementation” [1]. Conceptually, the NSC in Taiwan, as in the United... MORE

Hadramawt, located in eastern Yemen, is the country's largest governorate.  While the Hadramawt is a vast province that encompasses roughly 38,000 square miles, it is thinly populated with less than a million inhabitants. Continued stability in the governorate is critical because of the vital oil... MORE

The al-Qaeda affiliated Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) has released a statement claiming the October 31 hostage-taking at Baghdad’s Sayidat al-Nejat (Our Lady of Salvation) Syriac Catholic Church was carried out in order to free two Egyptian Coptic women they allege are being held prisoner... MORE

Azerbaijan’s upcoming parliamentary elections on November 7 are unlikely to change the distribution of power within the country. As with the previous election to the highest legislative body in 2005, this time pundits are observing a divided opposition, confident ruling party and dozens of independents,... MORE

On October 18, hundreds of people blocked a federal highway near Magas, the capital of Ingushetia. The protestors demanded that the government put an end to abductions in the republic. Dzhamaleil Gagiev’s disappearance from the village of Ali-Yurt in Ingushetia on October 14, and the... MORE

Approximately six months after the ethnic violence in Osh and Jalalabad, southern Kyrgyzstan remains relatively calm. Tensions, however, have now migrated into the local courtrooms, where the alleged criminals are on trial in a highly charge environment. Ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks find themselves on the... MORE

Azerbaijan’s perceived willingness to hold the next parliamentary elections in an open, transparent and democratic atmosphere has attracted an unprecedented level of international attention for this rapidly evolving, young democracy with one of the fastest growing economies in the world.Paradoxically, more than 25,000 observers are... MORE

The European Union is ready for compromises with Ukraine in all matters except democratic freedoms, EU Enlargement Commissioner, Stefan Fuele, has stated (UNIAN, October 25). Such words from an EU official, who is viewed as friendly in Kyiv, confirmed that the condition of democracy after... MORE