Latest Articles about Domestic/Social

Moscow Relaxes NGO Legislation in the North Caucasus
On July 20 President Dmitry Medvedev signed into law amendments to Russian NGO legislation. The changes make it easier for the NGO's to register with the government, to report on their activities and limit government agencies' ability to perform regular checks on NGO's (www.kremlin.ru, July... MORE

Moscow Market Crackdown Strains Turkish-Russian Trade Relations
As Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin prepares to visit Turkey in early August, new items are being added to his agenda. In addition to energy projects, bilateral trade issues, caused by recent problems encountered by Turkish exporters, will occupy a large part of his itinerary.... MORE

Dagestani President Chooses the Republic’s New Interior Minister
Almost a month and a half after the assassination of Dagestan's Interior Minister Police General Adilgerei Magomedtagirov on June 5, the federal government finally chose his replacement. The new minister is Federal Security Service (FSB) Colonel Ali Magomedov, a close associate of Dagestan's President Mukhu... MORE

Ingush Opposition Leader: Officials and Businessmen Pay Off Islamic Militants
Violence in Ingushetia continues unabated. The wreckage of a blown-up VAZ-2107 automobile with the remains of four unidentified people was discovered ten kilometers outside the city of Karabulak on July 26. A Karabulak police source said the owner of the car was a suspected rebel.... MORE

AKP Prepares a Comprehensive Plan to Address the Kurdish Question
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on his way to Syria revealed that the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government has launched a comprehensive plan to address the Kurdish question. Erdogan said, "We have launched an initiative, whether you call it the Kurdish problem or the... MORE

Bakiyev Wins Presidential Election, Opposition Declares “War”
On July 23 the presidential election marked a new low point in Kyrgyzstan's democratic record. Incumbent president Kurmanbek Bakiyev earned 85 percent of the vote and immediately sought to suppress any opposition protests challenging the election result. Members of the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP)... MORE

Russia-Germany: an Asymmetric “Strategic Partnership”
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and German Chancellor Angela Merkel headed large governmental delegations for bilateral talks on July 16 in Munich. The process, known as Russo-German inter-governmental consultations, involves informal semi-annual summits at which leading business representatives join the cabinet ministers on either side. The... MORE

KMT’s Change of Guard: Ma’s Power Play in Taiwanese Politics
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in Taiwan will elect its next chairman on July 26. On that date, tens of thousands of KMT members will cast their votes for their former party chairman–turned-president, Ma Ying-jeou, who will be the only candidate on the ballot. Ma’s... MORE

The Xinjiang Crisis: A Test for Beijing’s Carrot-and-Stick Strategy
Calm has been superficially restored to the Xinjiang Autonomous Region (XAR), where an outbreak of ethnic violence on July 5 led to the death of more than 197 Han Chinese and Uighurs, according to an official count (Xinhua News Agency, July 18). Chinese Communist Party... MORE

Erdogan Offers Turkish Mediation in Israeli-Syrian Talks
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid a one-day visit to Syria, which involved discussions on Turkey's mediator role between Israel and Syria. Erdogan and the Syrian President Bashar Assad discussed bilateral relations, regional developments and Turkey's peacemaking role in the region. Assad requested Turkey's mediating... MORE