By empty (7/4/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

The pro-presidential parties Otan and Asar joined forces on July 4 when participants in Otan\'s extraordinary ninth congress voted in favor of the merger. Darigha Nazarbaeva, head of the Asar Party and daughter of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaeva, floated the idea on June 19 of a merger to unite all pro-presidential parties. Nazarbaev, who heads Otan but has delegated leadership of the party to Bakytzhan Zhumagulov for the duration of his presidency, told Otan members at the congress that the new party must preserve discipline and avoid a division into \"Otan members\" and \"Asar members.

By empty (7/4/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

North Drilling Company (NDC) and a Chinese contractor will jointly be running the drilling business in the Caspian Sea upon the delivery of Iran-Alborz Platform by SADRA Company, Esfandiar Jahangiri noted here Friday. “The Chinese are provided with an operation base in Neka, Mazandaran Province, which was given to us two years ago,” NDC’s engineering and operation manager stated, stipulating that everything is still pending upon the delivery of the platform, now facing a two-year delay. The Chinese firm, selected in a call for tender, is to assist the NDC with drilling operation in deep waters of the sea, he said in conclusion.

By empty (7/3/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Kremlin adviser Modest Kolerov told Interfax on July 1 that more than 1 million Russians, most of them \"professionals\" currently living in unspecified countries that are undergoing \"a socioeconomic crisis,\" plan to take advantage of the repatriation program announced by President Putin on June 26. That program guarantees benefits and support for persons who agree to settle in border regions in the Far East. Returnees will also be permitted to settle in regions where the population is declining rapidly, or where major investment programs are under way.