By empty (4/2/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Authorities in Kazakhstan say they are talking with investors about building a gambling and entertainment complex near the commercial capital, Almaty. President Nursultan Nazarbayev said he had long thought of building a sort of Las Vegas on the vast empty steppe outside the city. Officials say a new complex would help to control the growth of casinos and gambling in Almaty itself.

By empty (4/1/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Georgian police have arrested an envoy of the president of the Georgian breakaway region of South Ossetia on suspicion of smuggling cigarettes into Georgia, the Georgian Interior Ministry said. Vazha Khachapuridze, who may face a prison term of up to five years if proved guilty, was arrested near the village of Ergneti after more than 1,500 cigarette packets with Russian excise stamps were found in his car, the ministry told Interfax. He was taken to a police station in the Shida-Kartli district.

By empty (3/31/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

An Azerbaijani servicemen was killed on March 30 when Armenian forces opened fire near the village of Alibeyli in Tovuz district; he was the sixth serviceman to die from enemy fire this month, zerkalo.az reported on March 31 quoting the press service of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry. The Armenian and Azerbaijani defense ministries have each blamed the opposing side for opening fire on March 29 and preventing a routine monitoring by the OSCE of the Line of Contact separating the two sides, RFE/RL\'s Armenian Service reported.