JULY 12 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Kazakh authorities said a group of 16 prisoners died in an explosion as they tried to break out of a jail on July 10 in the town of Balkhash in central Kazakhstan, media reported. In June 2010, 21 prisoners escaped from a maximum security prison in western Kazakhstan. Most were recaptured.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 48, published on July 12 2011)
JULY 8 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – An arms depot exploded in a town near Ashgabat killing dozens of people, Turkmen human rights groups quoted eye witnesses as saying. The government at first said fireworks had triggered the explosions in the town of Abadan and that casualties were light. Later it admitted that an arms dump had exploded.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 48, published on July 12 2011)
JULY 11 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Police in west Kazakhstan killed nine gunmen alleged to have shot dead two policemen on June 30, local media said. Four police also died in the operation. The authorities denied media reports the gunmen were linked to militant Islam. In May, a suicide bomber with links to radical Islam attacked security forces in the nearby city of Aktobe.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 48, published on July 12 2011)
JULY 8 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Police in Georgia arrested four high profile photo-journalists, including President Mikheil Saakashvili’s personal photographer, and charged them with spying for Russia. The photographers deny the accusations. One of the group said he is being punished for selling photos of a violent anti-government protest in May.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 48, published on July 12 2011)
JULY 2 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia’s parliament banned small rallies from blocking roads and railways and forbid demonstrations from coming within 20m of a government building. Parliament said the restrictions were needed after two people died in a protest in May. The opposition said the rules were an attack on free speech.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 47, published on July 6 2011)
JULY 6 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia formalised a deal with Armenia to extend a lease on perhaps its most important military base in the South Caucasus until 2044, Russian media reported. Thousands of Russian soldiers, aircraft and missiles will remain in the base at Gyumri, about 100km north of Yerevan. In the deal, Russia will supply military equipment to Armenia.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 47, published on July 6 2011)
JULY 1 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Gunmen shot dead two policemen in a village near the town of Aktobe in western Kazakhstan before fleeing, local media reported. The attack triggered a massive security operation which is still ongoing. In May, a suicide bomber attacked security forces in Aktobe. Analysts are worried about the rise of radical Islam in western Kazakhstan.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 47, published on July 6 2011)
JULY 5 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – A gun battle between Iranian and Azerbaijani forces on July 3 killed an Azerbaijani soldier and injured several more, Iranian media quoted a foreign ministry spokesperson as saying. The spokesperson said Azerbaijani forces had strayed into Iran. She said the gunfight would not strain Iran-Azerbaijan relations.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 47, published on July 6 2011)
JUNE 24 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Despite promising signs before the summit in Kazan, central Russia, the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan failed to agree on a peace deal over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. A 1994 ceasefire has maintained a shaky peace over Nagorno- Karabakh although soldiers from both sides die in shootouts every month.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 46, published on June 28 2011)
JUNE 23 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Police in Georgia accused former defence minister Irakli Okruashvili of plotting a coup in May, media reported. Mr Okrushavili had been a close ally of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili but he fled the country in 2007 shortly after setting up an opposition party. He now lives in France.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 46, published on June 28 2011)