CENTRAZBAT MILITARY EXERCISES TO TAKE PLACE IN U.S. THIS YEAR. Local news agencies as reporting that Central Asian Battallion (CENTRAZBAT) comprising military units of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, will hold its manuvers in Louisiana, USA on May 19�20 this year. Usually the CENTRAZBAT exercises took place in Central Asia (in 1998 and 1997). Kyrgyz Defense Ministry reportedly announced today that the next exrecises would be held in the USA, and Russian, Gerogian, Turkish, as well as Ukrainian military units would partcipate in them.
TAMSAN MOVEMENT STAGED A SMALL PICKET DEMANDING THE RIGHTS OF THE KAZAKH REPATRIANTS TO BE DEFENDED. Almaty, a small group of TAMSAN movement�s activists staged a �humble� picket in front of the Almaty Oblast�s administrative building yesterday, February 03. The main demand expressed by the picket organizers was to defend the rights of the Kazakh repatriants. In recent years hundred thousands of ethnic Kazakhs from Mongolia, Afghanistan, Iran and China have repatriated to Kazakhstan. The returned Kazakhs are facing a lot of problems reportedly. Such issues as housing, jobs and financial support are not being solved. One more demand made by the repatriants yesterday was to change the governmenmt�s decision to join Kazakh State Commission on Migration and the Kazakh Labour and Social Defense Ministry.
U.S. AMBASSADOR TO KAZAKHSTAN MEETING WITH KAZAKH OFFICIALS IN ASTANA. RFE/RL correspondents report from Astana that Richard Henry Jones � The U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan is in the capital today, meeting with the Kazakh officials. Earlier today he has met with Marat Ospanov � Chairman of the Kazakh Parliament]s Lower House � Mazhlis. The main issue discussed was the further developments of the U.S.�Kazakh ties and continuation of the democartic reforms in Kazakhstan. Yestertday, Ambassador Jones held his first press conference in Almaty, where the same issues were discussed.
GROUP OF THE KAZAKH HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS RETURNED FROM U.S., HELD PRESS CONFERENCE. Almaty, a group of the Kazakh human rights activists, members of some opposition parties and movements and independent journalists returned from the United States recently, held press conference in Almaty�s National Press Club yesterday. The human rights activists told journalists about the results of their visit to Washington D.C. and the U.S.�s concerns on the political and economic situation within Kazakhstan.
LIBERAL MOVEMENT OF KAZAKHSTAN HELD ITS SESSION TODAY. Almaty, Liberal Movement of Kazakhstan officially decided to merge with OTAN party at its session held today, February 04, in the former capital. OTAN Party is known as a pro�Nazarbayev political organization, established just recently after the presidential election, which had been held on January 10. The leaders of the OTAN party are supporters of Nursultan Nazarbayev, including some former top officials of Kazakhstan.
(RFE/RL)
by Nathalie Hobeica
BRASILIA, Feb 2 (AFP)
The head of Brazil�s central bank, who took the job only last month, stepped down Tuesday, shaking up financial markets and an already fragile economic situation.
Francisco Lopes resigned just hours before meeting with senior International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials on a 41.5 billion dollar aid package.
Lopes had replaced Gustavo Franco, who himself stepped down on January 13 on the day that the currency, the real, was devalued. It was later allowed to float.
Lopes will be replaced by economist Arminio Fraga Neto, a former government official who once worked with influential financier George Soros.
Lopes tendered his resignation to the president several days ago, citing the instability caused by the new exchange regime.
�The reorganization of the bank�s management does not represent a change in the policy of letting the currency float, nor in the general organization of the government�s economic policy, which will be maintained with determination,� the bank said in a statement.
In a press conference early Tuesday, Finance Minister Pedro Malan also said that Fraga had completely disassociated himself from Soros, who has been critical of Brazil�s IMF-inspired economic policies.
Malan said that Fraga � who he called �one of Brazil�s best economists� � �agreed totally� with he floating exchange rate policy and �with the general direction of the government�s economic policy.�
Malan declined to say if Fraga would be at the IMF meeting but added: �While awaiting confirmation by Congress, Fraga was named a special advisor to the minister and, as such, will do what I ask him to.�
The central bank indicated that some directors would also be replaced.
The shift meant a several hours delay in a meeting between Finance Malan and Stanley Fischer, the IMF�s deputy managing director. It is now set for the capital on Tuesday afternoon.
Fischer arrived Monday and was briefed by Teresa Ter-Minassian, the IMF�s deputy director for South America, who met with Malan over the weekend.
Brazil is hoping to use the meeting to renegotiate economic targets included in an agreement signed with the IMF in November and speed up a disbursement of nine billion dollars, the second in the 41.5 billion dollar package.
Since a devaluation on January 13 and a decision two days later to let the currency float, expectations are that growth will slow, inflation will rise and the debt will become harder to pay.
The central bank�s international affairs director, Demosthenes Madureira de Pinho Neto, will serve as interim president until Fraga takes over.
The Senate must approve Fraga�s nomination, which has already been submitted to President Fernando Henrique Cardoso.
The news came soon after the Brazilian currency strengthened in early trading in Sao Paulo, then slid.
The US dollar was selling at 1.76 reals and being bought at 1.74 reals, 10.3 percent higher than late Monday, the central bank said. But the real plunged moments after the announcement to 1.83-1.85 to the dollar.
The central bank shift shook up the leading index of the Sao Paulo stock exchange on Tuesday. The Bovespa was down 3.99 percent at midday.
To stem capital flight, the central bank on Monday once again raised its interbank interest rates to 39 percent. Brazil�s other leading interest rate, the Basic Assistance Rate, is at 41 percent.
Foreign currency reserves have fallen by 39 billion dollars since September to 36.116 billion dollars Sunday night, according to the central bank.
by Gretchen Cook
WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (AFP)
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat�s presence at a US prayer breakfast with President Bill Clinton has sparked a boycott by Israel�s UN ambassador and an outcry by religious groups against the �terrorist.�
�He has blood on his hands and he is an unrepentant terrorist,� said Reverend Louis Sheldon, chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition.
The conservative Christian Coalition, and three other US Jewish Groups are also protesting Arafat�s invitation to the annual event set for Thursday.
�We could think of no reason why a man with American blood on his hands should be invited to sit as a guest of members of Congress,� said Shoshana Bryen, director of the Jewish Institute for National Security.
The Zionist Organization of America and the National Jewish Coalition have also denounced Arafat�s invitation.
The breakfast is organized by rotating members of Congress and this year the task fell to Republican Representative Steve Largent, who is closely tied to the conservative Christian groups.
�It�s sad that these groups and individuals decided to use the prayer breakfast as a reason for protest,� said Largent�s spokesman Brad Keena. �The idea of the prayer breakfast, after all, is to bring people together for reconciliation and healing.�
He added, however, that Largent was concerned about complaints that the breakfast has become a political forum, saying, �That is something we have been trying to discourage.�
Some 3,500 politicians, religious leaders, and diplomats will be attending the event at a Washington hotel, including the heads of state of Albania, Benin, Macedonia.
Leah Rabin, the widow of slain Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, will also attend, and Keena said he expected her to talk with Arafat during the event.
But Israel�s UN Ambassador Dori Gold told AFP Tuesday he would not be attending this year to protest Arafat�s inclusion on the guest list.
�This is a very important ecumenical event but I believe it has become too politicized and therefore my attendance would be inappropriate,� he said from his office in New York.
He complained that Arafat�s �chief purpose� for the visit was to make his case with Clinton and that it was a highly inappropriate venue for doing so.
�There are obviously points of tremendous contention now between Israel and the Palestinians,� Gold said. �We don�t think now is the time to take a prayer breakfast and make it into a political event.�
Gold specifically pointed to charges Arafat released Islamic militants involved in terrorist attacks on US citizens in violation of the Wye River peace accords.
The State Department said it could not confirm that the released prisoners were involved in attacks on Americans but said Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will discuss the issue Arafat during his visit here.
And Tuesday, Israel accused the Palestinians with failing to meet a key deadline for the implementation of the agreement.
White House spokesman P.J. Crowley confirmed earlier that Clinton would meet Arafat on the sidelines of the breakfast briefly and will press him to honor his commitments under the Wye accord.
�The president will have the opportunity to continue to encourage the chairman to implement his responsibilities under Wye,� he said.
Sheldon said his Traditional Values Coalition made up of more than 40,000 evangelical churches was urging lawmakers to join their boycott, but said so far he had no commitments.
�As this breakfast is held in the shadow of the Holocaust Memorial, we need to keep the promise that �never again� will decent people stand silently by while terrorists murder the innocent,� Sheldon said in a letter to the members.
He insisted Arafat has not renounced terrorism and argued that no one should break bread with him until he does.
�You don�t go to this breakfast any more than you go into the confessional booth rebellious and strident,� Sheldon said.
ALMATY, Jan31
(THE GLOBE)
January 1
11 EU member states and 290-mln population got a New Year present � single currency euro. Initial euro rate was fixed at $1.17. This year euro was introduced as non-cash unit, and on January 1, 2002 real notes will be introduced into circulation.
January 2
Angola. A UN airplane was brought down. The cargo airplane C-130 carrying 8 passengers and the crew was shot down above the second largest city Guambo. The pilot tried to achieve the base but he failed and the plane fell down in the territory occupied by UNITA.
January 6
Detroit, US vehicle capital, meets participants of annual North American auto-show. About 60 companies manufacturing cars and spare parts were registered for participation. They brought 15 newest models ready for serial production and 29 conceptual ones.
January 7
US Senate opened hearing on the impeachment to President Bill Clinton. The hearing is a logic continuation of the decision on impeachment to Bill Clinton made by the House of Representative in the US Congress.
January 10
Kazakstan passed through the first alternative presidential elections. The four candidates were registered: Nursultan Nazarbayev, Serikbolsyn Abdildin, Gani Kasymov and Engels Gabbasov. Nursultan Nazarbayev won.
January 11
Nigeria, for the first time for the past 15 years of military order, held free regional elections in 35 out of 36 states. The voters elected regional parliamentarians and state governors.
Intel Company declared manufacture of new model processors Celeron and pentium II Xeon. In particular, since the first days of the new year Intel has started selling Celeron processors 366 and 400 MHz and Pentium II Xeon 450 MHz and secondary level cash-memory 512 Kb, 1 Mb and 2Mb.
January 12
Washington office Grinberg & Quinlen, a well known consulting company specialized in election campaigns, was robbed. A confedential information was stolen. The event drew attention in Israel, as Grinberg & Quinlen is a consultant to the leader of Israeli opposition Ehuda Baraka (Working Party) that is considered a principal competitor to the incumbent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the up-coming March parliamentary elections.
January 13
Brazil faced economic crisis. The national Brazil currency � real � devaluated by 10%. The chaos burst out in practically every large world currency exchange, especially in Latin America. Within one day $1.2 bln were removed from Brazil. On the 15th of January the anxiety in the exchanges got a little quiet and the Government introduced a floating rate of real.
January 15
BIMST-EU is a new sub-regional economic organization established in South Asia. It consists of Bangladesh, India, Myanmar (Burma), Sri Lanka and Thailand. The goal of the union is economic co-operation, development of business and trade in the region.
January 17
Boris Yeltsin, Russian President, was urgently delivered to the Central Hospital after being struck down by an acute stomach ulcer. Such an event has escalated political situation in Russia.
January 20
Tony Blair, Great Britain Prime Minister, took the bravest step of the pat to constitution renovation. He started radical reformation of the old House of Lords. Referring to revoking of the privileges and in the interest of democracy he intends to banish the peers and replace them with elected representatives.
January 22
In Romania there started negotiations between the government delegation leaded by the Prime Minister Radu Vasile and the leaders of the 20 thousand miners on strike. The situation was critical and reminded of the Albania events, where a revolt was nearly a civil war. Upon the results of the negotiations the Romanian Government engaged not to close over 100 bad mines and raise salary by one third.
The pope Joann Pavel II started his 5-day overseas trip, which shall inclde Mexico and the US.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) gave an official respond to the corrupt accusation. At the meeting held in Lausanne (Switzerland) the steering committee made a decision to suspend membership of the six members accused of bribery: Jan Clod Gang (Congo), Zein Al-Abdin Ahmed Adel Gadir (Sudan), Lamin Kate (Mali), Charles Mukoru (Kenia), Augustin Arroyo (Ecuador) and Serhio Santander (Chile). In six months they will be removed from the IOC.
January 25
Columbia. Over a thousand people were lost and several thousands were wounded in a serious earthquake. Shock strength was 6 points by Richter scale. Armenia city was mostly destroyed.
Official Baku asks for NATO or US troops in Azerbaijan. �To ensure Azeri security, the US, NATO or Turkey should allocate their military bases here�, claimed the top advisor to President Geidar Aliyev.
January 26
Iraqi Trade Minister Muhammad Mehdi Saleh rejected US proposal on removal a ban on oil export within the UN humanitarian program �Oil for Food�. �Iraq shall only agree to complete removal of embargo�, Minister claimed.
January 27
Parliamentary Assembly of the European Council unanimously supported Georgia�s joining the organization.
January 28
29-th annual World Economic Forum opened in Davos (Switzerland). The goal of the forum is to draft up a common strategy to meet the economic crisis.
Ford, American automobile giant, declared purchase of the Swedish Concern Volvo subsidiary � Volvo Personbilar AB that produces passenger cars. This event is considered the most significant after last year merge of German �Daimler � Benz� and American �Chrysler�. The deal is evaluated for $6.45 bln.
January 29
Russia informed NASA that the next module of the international space station Alpha should be ready for launch by late September 1999 instead of July as was planned before. Russia is to construct and finance 30% of the project (about $10 bln), US � 50% ($36 bln), Japan, Canada, Brazil and 11 member-states of the European Space Agency � 20%.
Turkish President Suleyman Demirel disproved the information saying Azerbaijan asked for allocation of Turkish troops and NATO base in its territory. �No official request was lodged�, he said.
Translation � INSEL K.N.
by Benjamin Yeh
TAIPEI, Feb 4 (AFP)
Taiwan�s stock market kept up a relentless downward spiral Thursday amid fears of spreading corporate troubles as a debt-ridden lawmaker-businessman left for the United States to seek financial help.
Share prices plunged 4.0 percent as investors dumped shares in panic selling sparked by reports that Liu Ping-wei had left for Los Angeles after issuing bounced checks worth millions of dollars.
The Taiwan Stock Exchange weighted price index dived 228.97 points to 5,514.89. Decliners overwhelmed advancers 442 to 24, with 27 stocks unchanged.
It was the fourth consecutive decline on the shaky bourse, which has lost 8.2 percent this week on top of a 3.9-percent drop in the previous week, on concerns over the island�s economic outlook and corporate well-being.
Liu, a lawmaker from the ruling Kuomintang whose family owns the Hai Shan group with interests in more than 20 firms, reportedly issued checks worth 126 million Taiwan dollars (3.9 million US) which bounced this week.
He has admitted financal troubles � with liabilities estimated at between one billion and two billion Taiwan dollars � after suffering investment losses and spending massively in his election campaign late last year.
Jenny Chen of Grand Cathay Securities Corp. said investor confidence was shaky amid reports of financial troubles at an increasing number of companies, followed by Liu�s financial woes.
�Sentiment has become even more bearish after Liu Ping-wei left Taiwan,� said Cooper Liao, manager of Jih Sun Securities.
Liu and his family quietly arrived in Los Angeles Thursday.
The Chinese-language China Times said Liu was seeking help from his father Liu Shun-tien, who manages the financial operations of the Liu family and who has already flown to Los Angeles.
�I will try get some help from several friends to avoid further speculation about me,� the lawmaker said in remarks reported by local televisions, pledging to return to Taiwan after shortly.
Washington, 2 Feb
(RFE/RL)
The U.S. State Department is asking for more money to help the states of the former Soviet Union and less for Central and Eastern Europe next year in a budget that seeks to promote democracy, freedom and peace around the globe.
President Bill Clinton submitted his request to the U.S. Congress on Monday for the funds to operate the federal government in the financial year that begins October 1. The State Department�s proposed share of the budget is $21.31 billion, about $1.5 billion more than the current fiscal year.
It is up to the U.S. Congress to approve a final spending document. Political battles between the executive and legislative branches of the federal government over the budget are a traditional part of the governing process in the United States.
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told reporters her department�s budget focuses on security, democracy, human rights and the easing of regional tensions.
Albright said: �Since the Cold War�s end, there has been a tendency to shortchange our international programs, and there is grave danger in this. For we live at a time when � perhaps more than ever before in history � America is counted on to help resolve conflicts, cope with emergencies, overcome obstacles on the road to security, prosperity, and freedom. We can�t respond ourselves to every flood, famine, or fight; we must insist that others do their share.�
Albright added: �But do not doubt that the forces of evil, ambition, and desperation that have roiled our globe in the past are still in evidence today. If we are but penny-wise and yield to the temptation of complacency, we will invite the dangers, both overt and latent, in the world to grow and spread. But if we�re far-sighted enough to move along the path set out by the president�s budget, we will give momentum to the positive forces of democracy and openness, hope and respect for human dignity. These are forces that have been embattled throughout the current century, but which we would like to see define the next. It is with this stark choice in mind that I will be making the case for the president�s budget to Congress and the American people in the weeks and months ahead.�
Some details of the State Department�s proposals for assistance to the former Soviet States were also released. The U.S. wants $1.032 billion for economic assistance programs for all of the former Soviet Republics. That�s about $200 million more than what will be spent in the current year. The State Department wants the extra money to help tighten security over former Soviet nuclear weapons.
The State Department�s foreign aid budget calls for spending $393 million on the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, including the Baltic nations. That is about $100 million less than the current budget. The U.S. is gradually phasing out many economic assistance programs as more Central and East European states speed their transitions to democratic, free-market states.
Under the proposal, the Russian Federation would receive $295 million and Ukraine would be allocated $219 million.
Assistance for the other now independent states of the former Soviet Union includes: Armenia $71.5 million; Azerbaijan (strictly for humanitarian purposes) $33.5 million; Belarus $10.5 million; Georgia $83.5 million; Kazakhstan $53.5 million; Kyrgyzstan $34.5 million; Moldova $73.5 million; Tajikistan $12 million; Turkmenistan $12 million; Uzbekistan $37.5 million.
There would be an additional $95 million allocated for what the State Department called regional assistance for the former Soviet states.
The largest single assistance to support democracy in Eastern and Central Europe would go to Bosnia with $175 million for reconstruction. This amount is $20 million less than last year�s funding level and it is justified, the department said, given the progress in economic reconstruction already achieved. The embattled Kosovo province of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia would get $55 million to help refugees.