By empty (2/8/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Twelve servicemen were killed in a blast that destroyed barracks at the base of the Vostok special task battalion in the Chechen village of Kurchaloi, a spokesman for Chechnya\'s Emergency Situations Department told Interfax. The cause of the explosion has not been established yet, but initial reports said a leakage of household gas may have caused the blast. No gas cylinders have been discovered, however.

By empty (2/7/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

South Ossetia is committed to becoming part of Russia, said Eduard Kokoity, president of the self-proclaimed republic. \"We will seek to restore historical justice - union with North Ossetia and accession to Russia,\" Kokoity told a news conference at the Interfax Central Office in Moscow on Tuesday. Commenting on Georgia\'s intention to join NATO, he said that \"this is a right of our neighboring state, but accession will be without South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

By empty (2/6/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

President Bakiev has responded with a public rebuke to a British mining company after a private letter from British Prime Minister Tony Blair urging Kyrgyz authorities to resolve a licensing dispute, \"The Times\" reported on 3 February. Oxus Gold was stripped of its license to develop the Jerooy mine in Kyrgyzstan in 2004. Blair had written privately to Bakiev to urge a resolution of the matter, noting that Oxus raised $60 million for Jerooy and warning that the loss of its license presents \"a real danger of damage to Kyrgyzstan\'s reputation in the international financial markets,\" \"The Independent\" reported.