China’s plans to construct more nuclear power plants in coming years than any other country have to surmount a major obstacle: China lacks sufficient domestic uranium to power them. China’ s cadre of scientists and engineers are busy seeking to develop alternative nuclear fuel cycles... MORE

On July 23, Elnur Aslanov, the head of the Presidential Administration’s Department for Political Analysis and Informational Provision stated: “For the better promotion of history, politics and the culture of Azerbaijan, cultural centers in various countries will be opened in the near future. The president... MORE

Interviewed on the third anniversary of the Russia-Georgia war, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev took credit for the invasion orders and subsequent basing of Russian troops in Abkhazia and South Ossetia (Russia Today TV, Radio Ekho Moskvy, First Caucasus TV Channel [PIK, Tbilisi], August 5; www.kremlin.ru,... MORE

On August 8 – the third anniversary of the beginning of the short-lived armed conflict with Georgia – the Kremlin press service announced that President Dmitry Medvedev had sent to parliament for ratification two agreements on establishing military bases in the breakaway territories of Abkhazia... MORE

Executive Summary:Bashar al-Assad’s Baathist regime, once considered the Middle East region’s most secure, is showing signs of vulnerability in the wake of the Syria uprisings. Al-Assad’s violent crackdown in recent weeks has emboldened his opponents and driven them to demand that he step aside. While... MORE

The Syrian army’s violent campaign against the uprising, despite the onset of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, invited ever escalating criticism from Turkey and the international community. While previously criticized for being ineffective in its approach toward the Baath regime’s operations, Turkey recently emerged... MORE

The continuing economic problems in Belarus combined with the harsh crackdowns on public actions, such as clapping in unison, have led Western analysts to debate current policies on dealing with the regime of Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Opinion remains deeply divided on the best course of action.Senior... MORE

The arrest of opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko on August 5 derails Ukraine’s integration into Europe at the same time as its relations with Russia are poor (video of arrest here: https://www.pravda.com.ua/photo-video/2011/08/5/6454611/).The disunited opposition has rallied to Tymoshenko’s side with Arseniy Yatseniuk’s Front for Change issuing... MORE

As the turmoil affecting Syria persists with no apparent end in sight, fears about the potential impact of the crisis on Syria’s neighbors remain at the fore.  Among all of its neighbors, the complexity that defines Syria’s relationship with Lebanon and the characteristics of Lebanese... MORE

The past six weeks have seen an escalation of hostilities between Mauritanian troops and the forces of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The first signs of this escalation occurred on June 24, when Mauritanian forces raided, with Malian help, an al-Qaeda camp in the... MORE