Georgia: US and EU support for Tbilisi Grows amid Escalating Tension with Russia
BY NINA AKHMETELI
With Georgian-Russian tension over the break-away territory of Abkhazia continuing to rise, the United States and European Union are stepping up diplomatic intervention efforts.

Tajikistan: A Ruling Family Feud Appears to Turn Bloody
As if Tajikistan didn’t have enough problems, now it appears that President Imomali Rahmon’s family is beset by intrigue. In a twist worthy of a television soap opera, Rahmon’s son, Rustam, reportedly shot Hassan Sadullayev -- his uncle, and the president’s brother-in-law -- in connection with a struggle for control of one of the country’s leading banks.

Pakistan: U.S. Urges Islamabad To Fight Terrorists As Fragile Peace Collapses
BY ABUBAKAR SIDDIQUE
After a two month lull in the violence that has plagued Pakistan’s border regions, Islamist militants appear to have resumed the violence when a recent suicide-bomb attack in the northwestern city of Bannu killed five.
A EurasiaNet Partner Post from RFE/RL

Caspian Basin: No Way to Halt Sturgeon Poaching
Momentum is building among Caspian Basin governments for a moratorium on sturgeon fishing, in order to protect the lucrative caviar trade. Informal discussions with fishermen, however, suggest that an official ban would be unlikely to halt the dangerous depletion of sturgeon stocks.