By empty (12/27/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Kazakh Interior Ministry official Boris Kolesnichenko said at a press conference in Astana on December 27 that of 11,078 migrants who have applied for legal work status in Kazakhstan in the past month, all but five have been accepted. According to Kolesnichenko, who works in the Interior Ministry\'s Migration Police Directorate, a total of some 155,000 illegal migrants have been granted legal status this year. Most of the migrants are from Uzbekistan, though they also hail from the other three Central Asian countries and Russia as well.

By empty (12/25/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Kazakh Economy and Budget Planning Minister Aslan Musin announced on December 25 that the Kazakh economy continued to expand in 2006, with GDP surpassing $76 billion and reaching $5,100 per capita. Musin, speaking at a press conference in Astana after a meeting with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev, also pointed out significant increases in the construction and service industries, while saying that unemployment has declined. The Kazakh government has specifically identified the goals of raising per capita GDP to $6,543 by the end of 2009 and to achieve an average double-digit growth rate to sustain longer-term development.

By empty (12/21/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Russia\'s Itera Oil and Gas Company imposed on December 21 new reductions of gas supplies to several regions of Georgia. The gas cutoff affects six regions of eastern Georgia, including Marneuli, Khashuri, Telavi, Zestaponi, Sighaghi, and Dedoplistsqaro. Itera officials defended the cutoff as a response to a total of 750,000 laris ($430,000) in arrears for earlier gas shipments to the six regions, but promised that \"the gas supply will be resumed only after the debts have been paid.