By empty (5/26/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

The sentence handed down to Nurpasha Kulayev, the only surviving member of an illegal armed group that seized School No 1 in Beslan, corresponds to the gravity of his crimes, Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov said. \"A criminal who raises a hand on children does not deserve sympathy, no matter the motives behind his acts,\" Kadyrov told Interfax on Friday commenting on the sentence handed down by the North Ossetian Supreme Court to Kulayev. \"All Chechens closely followed the investigation and expected that those guilty would be punished,\" he said.

By empty (5/26/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Oil pumped from Kazakhstan has reached China through a 962-kilometer pipeline linking the two countries, China\'s \"People\'s Daily\" reported on May 25. The event marks the first direct pipeline import of oil to China. Yin Juntai, deputy general manager of China Petroleum Exploration and Development Company, commented that the pipeline, which was completed in November, \"has provided a direct link between Kazakhstan\'s rich oil resources and China\'s robust oil consumer market.

By empty (5/24/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Four interior troops were killed and three others wounded when militants attacked an interior troops post in Chechnya\'s Vedeno district, a source in the Interior Troops headquarters in the North Caucasus told Interfax on Wednesday. The servicemen were attacked outside the village of Ishil-Khatoi overnight. \"Four servicemen were killed and three others, among them a senior officer, suffered wounds in the attack,\" the source said.