Murat Karayilan is the acting commander of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan - PKK) and chairman of the executive council of the Kurdish Democratic Confederation  (Koma Civaken Kurdistan - KCK). Karayilan, whose surname means “black snake,” joined the PKK in 1979, just a... MORE

Few nations in the world are as strategically important but as little known as Djibouti, a small desert nation of half a million people in the heart of the Horn of Africa. A lingering insurgency by the ethnic-Afar Front pour la Restauration de l’Unité et... MORE

The latest move by the insurgency in the North Caucasus was not entirely unexpected. It has finally dawned on the rebel leadership of the Caucasus Emirate that waging a war against everyone is a hopeless proposition. Their perpetual hostility toward Sufi Islam resulted in pushing... MORE

In an extensive interview with the Russian ultra-nationalist newspaper Zavtra published on September 23, the Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov said that he has picked Adam Delimkhanov, the State Duma deputy representing Chechnya, to be his successor. The choice is particularly noteworthy given that Delimkhanov has... MORE

On September 6, the China National Space Administration—the national space agency for the People's Republic of China (PRC)—announced that it has started developing the Long March 6 (Changzheng 6) carrier rockets for its burgeoning space program, which is backed by an industry that has rapidly... MORE

Although China has traditionally avoided basing its troops abroad, the People's Republic of China's (PRC) growing global interests and its military's evolving missions are leading some Chinese analysts to suggest that Beijing may need to reconsider its traditional aversion to establishing overseas military facilities. In... MORE

The Chinese press has announced that 52 types of “new weapon systems” will be on display in 30 vehicle and 12 air formations during the October 1st military parade portion of the 60th anniversary celebration of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PLA... MORE

As Turkey has recently concentrated on the debate over whether the Justice and Development Party's (AKP) Kurdish initiative to end the long running campaign of violence, the two key actors in the conflict, the Turkish military and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) have entered the... MORE

This week Novaya Gazeta published transcripts of telephone conversations between the commander of the airborne troops (Vozdushno Desantnye Voyska or VDV) two star General Vladimir Shamanov, his son Yuri, VDV Colonel Vadim Pankov and others. The Prosecutors Investigative Committee (SKP), investigating General Shamanov's son-in-law Aleksei... MORE

Ingush President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov was among the North Caucasus leaders drumming up investment in their republics at "Sochi-2009" -the eighth international investment forum held in the Black Sea resort over September 17-20. Delegations from 56 regions and 27 foreign countries -a total of 7,700 people-... MORE