10/20/14 10/24/14

For the past week, Sweden has been searching for a possible
Russian submarine located unexpectedly in the Stockholm
Archipelago. A man-made device was spotted in Swedish
waters last Friday, and over the weekend Stockholm
intercepted what it believed to be encrypted communication
with Kaliningrad. However, on Friday, the Swedish
government announced that it was calling off the search,
saying that the vessel has left Swedish waters.
Guardian Time
The Turkish Foreign Minister announced that Turkey will
begin to let Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga forces cross from its
territory to defend the Syrian border town of Kobani. The
announcement marked a shift from Turkeys former
position of refusing to aid militarily in the fight against
ISIS-controlled areas. Kurds say that the sudden policy
change could tip the battle against ISIS in their favor.
Meanwhile, the United States has stepped up air strikes
against ISIS forces.
New York Times The Guardian
On Sunday, October 26, Ukraine will hold parliamentary
elections. President Poroshenkos bloc is currently leading
in polls, with an anticipated 20.5% of the vote, while the
Radicals Party has seen an increase in support, with 8.6%,
up from 6% six months ago. Pro-Russian rebels in the
southeastern parts of Ukraine have vowed to block the
elections, while simultaneously declaring the end of a shaky
ceasefire that was signed in early September.
Al Jazeera Reuters
Ex-Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili was sentenced to
three years in prison on Monday in connection with the
murder of Sandro Girgvliani in 2006. The Tbilisi City Court
found Merabishvili guilty of falsifying evidence in the case
while he was Interior Minister. This is Merabishvilis third
sentence in the last year. He claims all of the cases are
politically motivated.
EurasiaNet RFE/RL
On Wednesday, the European Bank of Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD) announced that it would provide 100
million euro to support small and mid-size businesses in
Armenia. The goal is to establish a stable and sustainable
private sector in Armenia, especially in the finance sector.
Over the last 20 years, the EBRD has supported 130
programs in Armenia, spending 75 million euro in 2013
alone.
ArmRadio Shanghai Daily
Russia announced on Wednesday that it would begin
banning all meat imports from Moldova beginning on
October 27. The Russian food safety organization
Rosselkhoznadzor claims that Moldovan meat comes from
unidentified sources and is unsafe by veterinary-sanitary
measures. Russian bans on Moldovan food stuffs have
increased significantly since the summer, when Moldova
signed an Association Agreement with the E.U.
Moscow Times Pravda
Beltele Radio Company Belta
The EU has announced its support for an amnesty
announced by President Aliyev last week that led to the
release of 84 prisoners. A statement by EU Foreign Policy
Chief Catherine Ashton and Commissioner tefan Fle
called the pardon a positive first step in reversing the trend
of recent months. However, rights groups suggest that
many activists and journalists still remain unjustly behind
bars.

RFE/RL AzerNews
Belarus is considering launching a joint plant with Russia to
assemble agricultural equipment in Siberia. However,
before the project can begin, Belarus needs well-developed
logistics and subsidy assistance systems. The initiative was
discussed during Belarus Days in Siberia, a four-day event
comprised of an exhibition of Belarusian products and
numerous discussions on areas of bilateral cooperation,
especially relating to the fields of science and technology.


Thousands of protesters gathered in front of the local judiciary
office in Isfahan on Wednesday to protest several acid attacks
against women in the city. Some believe the women were
targeted because they were not properly veiled. The attacks
coincide with the proposal and passage of a controversial law
designed to protect those who attempt to correct the un-
Islamic behavior of fellow citizens.

New York Times RFE/RL
On Thursday, parliamentary upper house members from
Tajikistan and Russia signed a cooperation agreement and
discussed the possibility of Tajikistan joining the Eurasian
Economic Union. Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the
Federation Council of Russia, said she hopes that Tajikistan
will join the Eurasian Union, and Tajikistans upper house
speaker, Mahmadsaid Ubaydulloyev, emphasized
Tajikistans aspiration for closer integration.
Vestnik Kavkaza ITAR-TASS
On Tuesday, Turkmen President Gurbanguly
Berdymuhamedov signed a decree announcing pardons for
prisoners to commemorate the 23rd anniversary of
Turkmenistans independence, which is celebrated on
October 27. According to a statement, the amnesty was
designed in accordance with the principles of mercy and
humanity to further strengthen the unity and cohesion of the
Turkmen society and every family.
Trend AKI Press
Mining giant Rio Tinto has increased pressure on the
Mongolian government to solve the political impasse over
the Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine, holding $4.2 billion
in financing needed for mines development. Rios copper
CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques said that the negotiations are
at a point where the government must decide if they want
to proceed.

The Australian Sydney Morning Herald
On Monday, Uzbekistans national telecommunications
company Uztelecom restricted access to Skype, WhatsApp,
Viber, Telegram and the popular Russian email and social
media site Mail.ru, limiting the programs to text chats.
Since October 10, the video chat capability on many private
communications programs became impossible to use after
several seconds due to suspected Uztelecom interference.

On Thursday, a Bishkek district court issued a life sentence
in absentia for Maksim Bakiev, the son of Kyrgyzstans
ousted president, Kurmanbek Bakiev. Maksim Bakiev was
found guilty of stealing around $37 million during his
tenure as the director of the Central Agency for
Development and Investment. The court has also sentenced
Maksim Bakievs accomplices, Mikhail Nadel and Yevgeny
Gurevich, to 25 years in prison in absentia.

RFE/RL ITAR-TASS
RIA Novosti Ozodan
Reports this week have shown that the Taliban have made a
resurgence in parts of northern Afghanistan, particularly in
the province of Kunduz. Nearly all of two of the seven
districts in Kunduz are currently under Taliban control, which
are some of the highest rates since 2009. President Ghani has
acknowledged the crisis, but increased casualties in the
Afghan security forces have left international forces with
questions about the governments ability to reclaim the
territories.
Yahoo! New York Times
Kazakhstan will offer tourists caviar baths as one of the
leisure activities that will be available at the new Kendeli
resort on the eastern shores of the Caspian Sea. Luxuries
like the caviar spas have been devised to draw people to the
otherwise remote spot. The resort expects over half a million
tourists by 2020. The talk of caviar baths and Caspian
tourism is part of a larger government-led initiative to attract
tourists to Kazakhstan.

Eurasia.Net Reuters
of-cease-fire-deal?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=world
On October 17, Poland arrested two men on suspicion of
spying for Russia. One suspect is a lieutenant colonel
working for the Polish Ministry of Defense and the other is a
Warsaw-based lawyer. Marek Biernacki, a member of the
Polish parliament's intelligence committee, stated that the
two had worked for the GRU, Russia's military intelligence
agency. Courts have ordered that the two suspects be held in
court custody for three months pending trial.
Romania Insider

News & Observer
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and Slovak
Economic Minister Pavol Pavlis met on the sidelines of the
National Oil and Gas Forum in Russia this week. The two
ministers discussed possible cooperation in the oil sphere. The
Russian Energy Minister announced on Wednesday that an
intergovernmental agreement on oil sales and transit is
expected to be signed in November.
RIA Novosti ITAR-TASS
Viorel Hrebenciuc, a senior member of Romanias governing
Social Democratic Party (PSD), resigned from Parliament on
Tuesday. Hrebenciucs resignation comes after the National
Anticorruption Directorate asked the Deputies Chamber to
waive his immunity and allow him to be prosecuted in a
corruption case related to illegal forest restitutions.
Romanian PM Victor Ponta praised Hrebenciucs decision to
resign and went on to suspend three other PSD members who
are under investigation for corruption.
The Republic RFI
EER WSJ
Latvia was one of 15 new countries elected to the UN
Human Rights Council on Tuesday. This is the first time
Latvia has been elected to the council, which is comprised
of 47 members. Election to the council is considered to be a
testament to the countrys achievements in the protection of
international and domestic human rights. Latvias three year
term will begin on January 1, 2015.

United Nations Baltic Course
BBC Reuters
IB Times
NY Times Reuters
Reuters
Czech Republic will be offering compensation to Roma
women who were forcibly sterilized between 1971 and 1989
under the communist regime. Until now, the Czech
government has apologized for the sterilizations; however, it
had not taken any measures to compensate those who
suffered from the discrimination. After being criticized by
UNHCR, the government decided to create legislation,
which will be unveiled by the end of the year.

In an interview this week, Lithuanian President Dalia
Grybauskaite discussed Lithuanias plans to open a liquefied
natural gas (LNG) terminal on October 27 in Klaipeda. The
terminal will allow Lithuania to import up to 4 billion cubic
meters (bcm) of gas per year from sources like Norways
Statoil. This quantity is higher than the 2.7 bcm it imports
from Russia, meaning that the terminal will provide
Lithuania with significant energy independence from Russian
energy sources.


The Estonian government has decided to start an e-residency
program using state digital services. Individuals can now open
a bank account or start a business without having to reside in
the country. However, e-citizens will not be able to obtain
citizenship in the traditional sense as they wont be able to
apply for passport or vote. Estonia expects to register around
10 million e-residents by 2025.


The United States government has denied visas to six
unnamed Hungarian public officials suspected of corruption,
which has led to a diplomatic scuffle and further increased
the growing antagonism between the two countries. The
American act was prompted by the Budapests decision to
investigate American companies in Hungary. American
diplomats based in Budapest have warned that if the
tensions continue to increase, it could become impossible to
work together as allies.


On Monday, the European Banking Authority warned
Bulgarias authorities that they are violating European law by
blocking depositors access to their savings at Bulgarias
Corpbank. This warning comes after the European banking
watchdog opened an investigation last month into the actions
of Corpbanks temporary management in the wake of a bank
run in June. The EBA asked the Bulgarian National Bank to
either remove any obstacles preventing depositors from
accessing their money or begin making payouts from the
deposit-insurance fund.
Wall Street Journal
New York Times
On Wednesday, the International Olympic Committee
granted provisional recognition to Kosovo, noting that
Kosovo has met all of the requirements for recognition as
outlined in the Olympic Charter. This decision will allow
Kosovo to send an independent team to compete in the 2016
Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The IOC will discuss full
recognition of Kosovo at its assembly in December.
Serbias Olympic Committee has condemned the decision
and launched an official complaint, arguing that Kosovo
should not be recognized because it is not an UN member.

Reuters ABC News
On Monday, the Serbian parliamentary committee on Human
and Minority Rights unanimously adopted the 2013 National
Mechanism for Torture Prevention report. Deputy
Ombudsman Milos Jankovic said that while systematic
torture does not exist in Serbia as such, individual cases of
abuse do indicate a disturbing trend in the Serbian prison
system. Parliament proposed various measures of prison
reform and convicts rights in accordance with the report.

InSerbia B92
On Sunday, Croatian anti-corruption authorities arrested
several leaders within the Zagreb city administration,
including Zagreb mayor Milan Bandic, on allegations of
corruption and abuse of power. Investigators said they were
looking into corruption related to a municipal holding entity,
Zagrebacki Holding, which runs many of Zagrebs public
services. Croatia launched a comprehensive anti-corruption
drive in 2010 to aid its EU membership bid.

Reuters Deutsche Welle
On Wednesday, Albanias Prime Minister Edi Rama said
that his nation and Serbia must focus on major issues of
cooperation instead of fixating on past hostility. Rama was
scheduled to visit Serbia on Wednesday for the first state
visit by an Albanian leader to Serbia in almost 70 years.
Yet, the trip was postponed until November 10 after last
weeks flare-up of violence between Serbian fans and the
Albanian soccer team.

On Monday, government officials and business leaders from
Slovenia and Belarus held a conference in Ljubljana to
explore ways to deepen economic cooperation between the
two countries. A bilateral government commission
described the conference as a good opportunity to boost
ties and trade. Elena Kupchina, Deputy Minister of Foreign
Affairs for Belarus, emphasized that the Eurasian Economic
Union provides an opportunity for Slovenia to break into a
market of over 170 million people.

NewEurope Belarusian News
Deutsche Welle
ABC
Independent.mk
Balkan Insight
ABC Shanghai Daily
Nine businessmen and former officials in the Ministry of
Defense were arrested on Tuesday in connection with a $2.8
million embezzlement scheme. The accused are suspected
of laundering money from maintenance deals for six
helicopters, all of which were serviced in Ukraine from
2004-2009. The Macedonian Ministry of Defense issued a
statement this week saying it fully supports the
investigation.
Montenegro, Albania and Kosovo are preparing to sign a
deal that will define the meeting point of the three borders.
The agreement will put an end to a dispute between
Montenegro and Kosovo over border lines that has been
unresolved since 2011. Over the past few years, residents of
border villages have been demanding border demarcation.
Montenegro shares a 49-mile border with Kosovo.





On Wednesday, Bosnians in Visegrad commemorated the
victims of a massacre committed on October 22, 1992 by the
Serbian paramilitary group Avengers. Relatives of the
victims laid a foundation stone to honor the deceased. Chief
Imam of the Islamic Council of Priboy Enes Svraka said in a
speech that all Bosnians stood in solidarity with the victims
families. The ICC sentenced the leader of the Avengers
unit, Milan Lukic, to life in prison for the Visegrad massacre.
Sarajevo Times World Bulletin