By empty (11/5/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Anti-government demonstrators in Georgia are gathering for a second day of protests after Sunday\'s general election. Main opposition leader Mikhail Saakashvili has told President Eduard Shevardnadze that he must resign by midday on Wednesday or concede victory. Large number of police and security forces were being deployed in the capital, Tbilisi, as protesters gathered ahead of the deadline.

By empty (11/4/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Caspian states backed an initiative on Tuesday to protect their shared sea from overfishing and oil pollution which is gradually destroying the world\'s main habitat for caviar sturgeon. Environmental groups say wildlife in the Caspian Sea is gradually dying out -- sturgeon stocks have fallen by 90 percent since the late 1970s. Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan signed the framework agreement, put forward by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), to tackle the problem.

By empty (11/4/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

The World Bank Group\'s oil director said on Tuesday a major Caspian Sea oil project warranted its support and had passed the environmental and social criteria. The International Financial Corp, the World Bank\'s private sector arm, on Tuesday approved up to $310 million in loans for the project, which includes investment in a pipeline that stretched from Azerbaijan\'s capital Baku, through Tbilisi, Georgia and on to Turkey\'s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. \"It is fair to say that these kinds of projects entail some risks but we feel the risks have been mitigated or addressed,\" Rashad Kaldany, director of the group\'s oil, gas, mining and chemical department told Reuters.