By empty (10/16/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

A conference titled \"The Diaspora Is a Russian Intellectual Resource\" organized by the Russian government opened in Moscow on 15 October, with 300 delegates representing Russian emigre communities in 58 countries, ORT reported. According to the Foreign Ministry, there are about 35 million Russian speakers living outside of Russia, including about 27 million living in the former Soviet republics and 8 million living elsewhere. There are about 3 million Russian speakers -- representing four waves of emigration in the 20th century – living in the United States.

By empty (10/16/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

President Geidar Aliev\'s son won a landslide victory in Azerbaijan to succeed his 80-year-old father, according to election officials, as clashes erupted between police and protesters alleging widespread vote fraud in the former Soviet republic. With 91 percent of the ballots counted, Ilham Aliev had 79.5 percent of the vote, the Central Election Commission said.

By empty (10/15/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Hundreds of Afghan government troops are reported to be fighting up to 50 suspected Taleban rebels in central Uruzgan province. The provincial governor, Jan Mohammad, told the BBC the fighting started when Taleban forces came down from mountain hideouts and killed four government troops. Speaking from the area, where he said fighting was continuing, Mr Mohammad said Afghan forces had asked the United States military for back-up, after the suspected Taleban called in reinforcements.