Kazakstan - tame NGO's wanted

How to crack down on troublesome NGO's ? - Kazakstan's Parliament is currently debating a new law that would force closer government scrutiny (via licensing and tax inspections) on foreign funded NGO's. If it passes the suspicion is that only uncritical 'patriotic' organisations will be allowed to flourish more from EurasiaNet...

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Turkey - no love lost

Turkey's foreign policy is bent on closer links with the EU and the West - amid all the argument over EU membership, does it really matter what form those closer links take ? Some see the fact that closer links are being forged as the important thing, whatever their form more from Zaman Daily...

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Albania - fair elections a close run thing

Albania's election campaign has seen rival posters being torn down and accusations of candidates being beaten up. It's going to be a close race and rules are already being bent. International observers see an often overlooked feature of elections as being the main obstacle to fairness - the electoral role is out of date more from the IWPR...

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EU - a No to what ?

European politicians are already talking about halting enlargement as a response to the recent No votes in France and the Netherlands. Is this just an excuse though ? - a recent survey says the voters had other concerns. The French were mainly preoccupied with the economy but for the Dutch it was not understanding the Constitution that was key more from the EU Observer...

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US - geek democracy in action

If the US government thinks it can safely bury embarrasing facts about Guantanamo Bay in huge official reports it should think again. The fact checkers are getting organised. Using some collabarative working software - called a Wiki - teams of volunteers are analysing the elephant one chunk at a time and pooling their results online more from Wired...

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Japan - forward to the past

Japan's Prime Minister and South Korea's President may be starting to find a way through the complex issue of two countries shared past and present tensions. History books could be the way forward. It's possible a jointly agreed story about the recent past may be the best hope for removing a source of political, and cultural, conflict more from the Asahi Shimbun.. The model here may be the post war settlement between Germany and it's neighbor's that saw a group of historians from many countries agree a broad common view and produce some of the most acclaimed history text books more from the Voice of America...

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China - the tourist trail to North Korea

The true state of relations between China and North Korea is hard to judge from official announcements. Is the cross-border tourist industry a better measure ? Some observers see the flow of people between the two countries as a key indicator of tension. Why waste time attempting to interpret the propaganda when a boat trip on the Yalu river will tell you what's really going on more from the Asia Times...

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Kyrgyzstan - no asylum

Kyrgyzstan plans to send back some of those who fled the violence in neighboring Uzbekistan. The UN sees this as a violation of the refugee convention. Kyrgyzstan's top prosecutor has been quoted as saying of the 29 men marked for return "These are criminals, they killed people", but the fact that they may face torture or execution at home has caused the UN to appeal more from the BBC...

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Armenia - it's no gold for the Unions

High unemployment in Armenia means employers hold all the cards in disputes about working conditions or the environment - especially since the government seems unwilling to get involved. A recent strike at a gold mine ended in failure for the Unions, who see the European Court of Human Rights as their last hope in the face of political indifference more from the IWPR...

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Greece - all out for pensions

Industrial disputes are deepening in Greece as it trys to square the circle of a social Europe in a competitive world. The first serious attempt to cut back pensions looks likely to cause a General strike. The conservative media are not impressed more from the Kathimerini Daily...

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EU - the double vision thing

The current head of the EU, Jean-Claude Juncker, is pessimistic about resolving the current budget crisis because it may reflect a fundamental division of attitudes to the whole EU project. The British view is typical of the economic camp where competing in world markets is key. The French view of a 'social Europe' puts politics first to protect the CAP and social security more from the EU Observer...

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S.Korea - what did your Father do in the war ?

The current enthusiasm for all history debates in South Korea may be less about the past and more about the future national identity of Korea as a whole. After all, both North and South where victims of the Japanese. The down side of this approach is the scapegoating of those whose families are deemed to be 'collaborators', who must now be named and shamed. Some see the fact that major political figures in the Conservative opposition parties could be implicated using such an approach is no coincidence. more from the Asia Times...

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Uzbekistan - the price of price rises

The recent announcement of increases in the minimum wage and pensions in Uzbekistan has caused despair - because prices always increase faster. The main culprit is state set fuel prices, which race ahead of any increase in wages or pensions. Some think this is the key to recent unrest more from EurasiaNet...

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Russia - the new informality

Russia and Britain now have strong business links and belong to many of the same clubs, like the G8. That doesn't mean they'll share the same outlook on issues like African debt or the situation in the North Caucases. The Russian government would rather channel G8 money to friendly areas of the old CIS and losing debt income is as welcome to Vladimir Putin as the cheeky questions he had to field at a press conference with Tony Blair more from Kommersant...

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Montenegro - power is not cheap as plans are foiled

Montenegro has shelved plans for a new hydroelectric plant in the Tara Gorge over concerns about it's environmental impact. The economic impact could be more worrying though. Half the export earnings of the country come from a gigantic Aluminium works - the kind no longer profitable in Western Europe because of a shortage of cheap electricity more from the IWPR...

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EU - Polish plumbers key to free trade

New member states in the EU are going to struggle to compete in manufacturing - that makes the services directive an issue that won't go away. China's industry is churning out goods like textiles and shoes at prices none of the new member states will be able to match more from the EU Observer... That leaves services - 70% of the EU economy - as a key route to increased wealth still more from the EU Observer...

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Georgia - runaway brides

Educational opportunities for women can be scarce in some traditional societies. Georgia's Azerbaijani minority is a good example - if you're not married by 17 you might be considered a spinster While it's easy to condemn, there's more to the issue than simply a tyrannical male plot. Parents may say of this tradition 'if it was good enough for us...' and pressure to conform can be indirect too more from the IWPR...

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Kosovo - bargaining chips are down

The continuing discovery of mass graves in Kosovo is increasing tensions as final status talks approach. Both sides accuse the other of using the dead and missing as tools in the negotiations. One Serb politician has suggested that the sooner such crimes are 'individualised' the sooner the two communities can stop collectively blaming each other. Scapegoats may not be that useful though more from the IWPR...

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EU - a 'D' for democracy

The reasons for the double No in the recent French and Dutce votes are being mulled over by the EU political elite. Some among them are quick to take the blame. The EU Communications Commissioner is one such. Without more democratic involvement voters will simply reject an EU whose top-down approach does not deliver more from the EU Observer...

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US - Chinese arms

The US, according to Donald Rumsfeld, wonders why China needs all those weapons it keeps buying - as it faces no real military threat. Is this a bit rich coming from the worlds only superpower ? The Chinese may protest but the issue of Taiwan is still the most obvious reason for an arms build up more from the Washington Post...

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US - Chinese arms

The US, according to Donald Rumsfeld, wonders why China needs all those weapons it keeps buying - as it faces no real military threat. Is this a bit rich coming from the worlds only superpower ? The Chinese may protest but the issue of Taiwan is still the most obvious reason for an arms build up more from the Washington Post...

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Japan - keep on working

The percentage of Japanese people over the age of 65 is approaching 20% as every year fewer children are born but healthy older folk go on and on. So, about that pension scheme. Despite increasing contributions from today's young workers, while also cutting their eventual benefits, new measures are still required. The latest move is a desperate plea for more jobs for the elderly more from the BBC...

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China - SCO anyone ?

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation was set up in 2001 to include China, Russia and Central Asian states in a trading and security bloc. Sound familiar ?. The success of the EU in peacefully expanding it's role Eastwards over the past ten years has not gone unnoticed. The advantages of this kind of organisation seem plain in allowing borders to be demilitarised and trade encouraged, but it will not be a clone of the EU - few of it's members have rapidly expanding democratic reforms as a top feature on their agenda. Stability is the key goal here, copying the EU in the sense of peaceful regional integration allowing economies to grow. more from the People's Daily...

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Kyrgyzstan - democracy lite

The acting President of Kyrgystan has been visiting the OSCE ruling council to discuss the planned Presidential election in July. Assistance in maintaining order during a fair contest is top of the agenda. The Chairman's statement emphasises this as a turning point for the country and the region more from the OSCE...

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Turkey - friends voted down

The Turkish government is trying to be optimisic - the French 'No' has no relevance to EU membership. Wishfull thinking ? Many in the media think so, as pro-Turkey politicians suffer defeat at the polls across Europe more from the BBC...

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