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What does the release of Umarov really mean? (Handout Photo)

Uzbekistan: Opposition Figure's Release Signal of Warming Uzbek-US Ties?
Uzbekistan's recent release of a leading jailed opposition figure is stoking hopes for warmer relations between Tashkent and the West. But critics of President Islam Karimov's administration caution that the move does not signal Tashkent's intent to change its authoritarian ways.

Mediators Report 'Important Progress' In Karabakh Talks, But Difficulties Remain
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his Armenian counterpart, Serzh Sarkisian, made "important progress" today at four hours of talks in the German city of Munich to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, mediators say.
A EurasiaNet Partner Post from RFE/RL

US Faces Difficult Decisions After Iran Rejects UN Nuclear Plan
BY ANDREW TULLY
Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki has said that Tehran won't export its partially enriched uranium for further enrichment, as proposed by the United Nations.
A EurasiaNet Partner Post from RFE/RL

Georgia: Government Plans Makeover of Get-Tough Financial Police
BY MOLLY CORSO
A proposal to revamp Georgia's aggressive financial police is raising red flags among some Georgian economists, who see the planned restructuring as contradicting the Georgian government's libertarian economic outlook.

Turkmenistan: Washington Finesses Study-Abroad Controversy
BY DEIRDRE TYNAN
Prominent human rights advocates want the United States to consider invoking the Jackson-Vanik amendment against Turkmenistan over Ashgabat's refusal to let hundreds of young scholars leave the country to pursue their studies.



Georgia: Falconers Struggle to Keep a Traditional Sport Alive
A EURASIANET AUDIO SLIDESHOW BY TEMO BARDZIMASHVILI
Almost every day, Ramiz Beridze, a 78-year-old widower, climbs a hill in his native region of Achara, a Georgian province on the Black Sea, to set a net for birds of prey. Falconry is the only thing that he does and the only thing he enjoys. But Berdize's hobby -- a traditional sport across Georgia -- raises questions about Achara's status as one of the world's top sites for seasonal bird migration.

Azerbaijan: Proposal to Cancel 2010 Parliamentary Elections Hits Road Block
BY MINA MIRADOVA
A governing party politician's proposal to postpone Azerbaijan's 2010 parliamentary elections "until the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is resolved" has met with both support and censure from President Ilham Aliyev's Yeni Azerbaijan Party. While senior party officials now dismiss the proposal as "a joke," the idea suggests that some politicians are keen to test the outer limits of the ruling party's 16-year hold on power.

Kyrgyzstan: A Bleak Future Awaits Children with Disabilities
BY HAMID TURSUNOV
Radik Kutluev is now a pale and lean 31-year-old man living in Kyrgyzstan's southern capital of Osh. Before his body failed him, he aimed for a career as an accountant. Muscular dystrophy derailed that dream.

EurasiaNet Series
Controversial race to find Khan's tomb gains international interest. (Photo by Joshua Kucera)

The Search for Genghis Khan: Part Five
PR Plays a Big Role in the Search for Genghis Khan's Grave
BY JOSHUA KUCERA
The Valley of the Khans project, the American-led effort to find the tomb of Genghis Khan, has gone to great lengths to appeal to Mongolian sensibilities. Project leaders have hired Mongolian partners, including two prominent scholars, a "local media and political consultant/liaison" and a public relations agency.

MORE STORIES:

Central Asia Remains a Corruption Problem Area, While the Caucasus Registers Mixed Gains
BY JOSHUA KUCERA
Kazakhstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan all showed significant decreases in corruption over the past year, according to a recently published worldwide survey by a Berlin-based watchdog group. The survey also showed that Armenia's rating declined, and the rest of the Central Asian states remained near the bottom of the rankings.

Georgia: Unions Press for Labor Law Reform
BY PAUL RIMPLE
As Georgia strives to recover from the global economic crisis, the government is struggling to find a balancing point between the protection of workers' rights and the need for employers to boost output. President Mikheil Saakashvili's administration is hearing it from both sides. Labor union leaders claim that the government's overriding interest in attracting foreign investment is encouraging businesses to trample on workers' rights. Employers, meanwhile, are worried that potential changes to the labor code could turn off outside investors.

Azerbaijan: Baku Sees Turkey as Tough Customer on Gas Exports
BY SHAHIN ABBASOV
Amid a diplomatic chill, Azerbaijan and Turkey opened a new round of talks November 16 on an energy export price. Recent agreements on gas supplies to Bulgaria, Iran and Russia suggest that Baku is exploring alternative export routes as a means to pressure Ankara into paying significantly more for Azerbaijani natural gas.

Turkey: Government Launches PR Offensive on Kurdish Question
BY NICHOLAS BIRCH
Turkey's political leaders are taking to the road to explain their plans to end a 25-year Kurdish war to the people. The PR offensive is opening amid rising political tensions and dwindling hopes of a multi-party accord on the initiative.

Pressure Grows In Kyrgyzstan For Return Of Death Penalty
BY FARANGIS NAJIBULLAH
Kyrgyzstan, the first Central Asian country to suspend the death penalty, is now considering bringing it back.
A EurasiaNet Partner Post from RFE/RL

Azerbaijan: Outrage and Disappointment Follow Bloggers' Conviction
BY JESSICA POWLEY HAYDEN
Many international and domestic observers worry that the recent convictions of two youth activist-bloggers in Azerbaijan are sounding the death knell for the democratization process in the South Caucasus country.

  EurasiaNet Special Feature

The Music of China's Nomads
See and hear how Kazakhs and Kyrgyz living in China's western Xinjiang Province are using music to preserve their cultural heritage.

Kazakhstan: Nazarbayev Dodges President-for-Life Question Ahead of Astana's OSCE Chairmanship
BY JOANNA LILLIS
As Kazakhstan gears up to chair the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 2010, Astana is facing criticism over its recent democratization record. Helping to highlight the country's image issue is the question of whether or not President Nursultan Nazarbayev favors a proposal to dispense with elections and become president-for-life.

Yerevan Goes Modern: $35 Million Museum to Promote Contemporary Art in the Caucasus
A EURASIANET PHOTO STORY BY MARIANNA GRIGORYAN AND ANAHIT HAYRAPETYAN
They have built roads and hospitals; schools and factories. And now, with the recent opening of Yerevan’s $35 million Cafesjian Center for the Arts, members of Armenia’s deep-pocketed Diaspora has moved into modern art.

Kazakhstan: Astana Hires DC Lobbyists to Work on Softening Aid Requirements
BY JOSHUA KUCERA
The government of Kazakhstan has hired a Washington lobbying firm to try to change regulations that require countries to make progress on human rights in order to receive US aid. Kazakhstani officials have indicated that they would prefer to not get the money at all, rather than be subjected to the "insulting" standards.

Turkmenistan: Students Slapped with Five-Year Travel Ban
Students prevented from studying at the American University of Central Asia (AUCA) in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and later prohibited from traveling to the American University of Bulgaria, reportedly have been placed on a five-year travel blacklist, an opposition news site is reporting.

Armenia: Turkey Reconciliation Proves a Wait-and-See Process
BY MARIANNA GRIGORYAN
Armenia's stormy debate over reconciliation with Turkey has died down in the last two weeks as Armenian politicians circle their wagons, size up their opponents and wait for the Turkish parliament's own decision on ratification of the October 10 protocols to reestablish diplomatic ties between the two states.

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PARTNER POSTS

US Special Inspector: Afghan Corruption A 'Mix' Of External, Internal Factors
As the United States' special inspector-general for Afghanistan reconstruction (SIGAR), Arnold Fields has the arduous task of preventing the "waste, fraud, and abuse" of US funds appropriated for Afghanistan. In an interview with RFE/RL correspondent Abubakar Siddique, the retired Marine Corps major general weighs in on the rising concerns over corruption in Afghanistan.
A EurasiaNet Partner Post from RFE/RL

Council Of Europe Head 'Very Concerned' About Human Rights In Azerbaijan
Jagland Thorbjorn says the Council of Europe can only have members who comply with its standards.
A EurasiaNet Partner Post from RFE/RL

   
 
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TODAY'S WIRES

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