By empty (8/4/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

A court in Tajikistan\'s northern Sughd province on August 4 sentenced Yori Yoqubov, a stateless individual and resident of Uzbekistan, to a 15-year prison term for espionage on behalf of Uzbekistan. A source in Tajikistan\'s Security Ministry said that Yoqubov, an assistant epidemiologist in Uzbekistan\'s Sirdaryo province, was recruited by Uzbekistan\'s National Security Service to spy in Tajikistan\'s Sughd region, where his parents and relatives reside in the town of Istaravshon. Yoqubov was detained in Istaravshon in May after \"he had obtained economic and political information constituting a state secret there and handed it over to officers of the Uzbek National Security Service,\" the source said.

By empty (8/1/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Russia will unconditionally honor its obligations and pay compensation to Kazakhstan for the environmental damage caused by the crashed Dnepr launch vehicle, Igor Panarin, spokesman for the Russian space agency Roscosmos, told Interfax-AVN on Tuesday. \"I officially announce that Russia is prepared to make compensation payments for the environmental damage caused, as required by international agreements. We hope that this regrettable incident will not influence Russian-Kazakh cooperation in space exploration,\" Panarin said in remarks about the aftermath of the Dnepr rocket\'s crash 150 kilometers from the Baikonur launch pad seconds after launch on July 26.

By empty (8/1/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

No health disorders have been uncovered in residents of Kazakhstan\'s Kyzylorda region in the wake of the crash of a Dnepr launch vehicle, said Kazakh Education and Science Deputy Minister Azamat Abdymomunov, who chairs a governmental commission set up to deal with the aftermath of the crash. \"A medical examination of residents in the villages of Zhanakala and Kuandariya revealed no heath disorders as of July 31, 2006. This information was provided by the Health Ministry in a fax message by 7 p.