By empty (10/4/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Tbilisi may block the process of Russia\'s accession to the World Trade Organization if it does not lift economic sanctions against Georgia, president of the National Bank of Georgia Roman Gotsiridze told reporters on Wednesday. \"The economic sanctions against Georgia, imposed by Russia, are unjustified and inadequate,\" Gotsiridze said. He called upon the Russian authorities to lift the sanctions.

By empty (10/4/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Tens of thousands of people have been driven from their homes by fighting in southern Afghanistan in recent months, the UN refugee agency has said. Between 80,000 and 90,000 people had been displaced by the conflict in the provinces of Helmand, Kandahar and Uruzgan, the UNHCR said. The figure brings the total displaced in the area to about 200,000, it said.

By empty (10/3/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

A weeklong strike at Mittal Steel NV’s coal mines in Kazakhstan has led to a 30 percent decline in daily steel output at the company’s giant Temirtau mill, a senior executive from the plant said Tuesday.“The plant is totally dependent on coal supplied by our mines,” Victor Sherba, director of technical innovation and customer relations, told Dow Jones Newswires. Sherba said the decrease had not affected customers because it was offset by production increases in other countries where Mittal operates, such as Poland and Romania.