North Korean leader Kim Jong-il attended a concert yesterday celebrating the 57th anniversary of the Korean War as the two main adversaries from that conflict conducted war drills off his country’s eastern coast.

The State Merited Chorus performed numbers such as “Our General is the Best” and “My Song in the Trench,” state-run Korean Central News Agency reported today. The audience gave “enthusiastic cheers” to Kim, the Supreme Commander of the Korean People’s Army, who “heartily congratulated them on the victory” in the Fatherland Liberation War.

As Kim took part in celebrations to mark the cease-fire that ended open hostility on the Korean peninsula, U.S. and South Korean forces were putting on a display of military might that included anti-submarine maneuvers intended as a deterrent to the North.

The four-day drills, which end today, are being held after a South Korean-led investigation team in May blamed North Korea for torpedoing the South’s warship Cheonan, killing 46 sailors.

The three-year Korean War ended in a cease-fire after China’s entry pushed back the U.S. and United Nations forces. South Korea remains technically at war with the North, with the two sides separated by one of the world’s most-fortified borders.

“The government funds which was use to spent on unprofitable mining enterprises support will be going to modernization of those mines, which can be successfully privatized in the near future,” a government official explained.

Last year the Cabinet of Ministers did not shut down any of unprofitable mines, on the contrary government has allocated 4 billion grivnas to cover their expenses and obliged state-run power plants to buy coal exclusively from the state-owned mines. Furthermore, in 2009, the parliament approved tax privileges for any unprofitable mining enterprises.

“It is more expedient to spend funds directed to unprofitable mines for perspective enterprises development and modernization,” a cabinet official explained to daily Kommersant-Ukraine.

According to the official, the government will concentrate on the development of 63 state-run mines in 2010. Currently, there are 126 mines and management companies under the Ministry of Coal Industry control now.

According to the law, state-run NJSC Naftogaz in order to give an equal access to gas pipelines for each market participant, will be divided to three different enterprises by type of activity: marketing, extracting and transportation.

“Naftogaz needs financial aid. So the EU says: Give us transparency and we’ll give you aid,” Tom Mayne, an analyst at UK-based anti-corruption NGO Global Witness, said to euobserver.com

While the Ukrainians have fulfilled the European Union’s demands, the EU funds for country’s Gas Transit System modernization still remain in doubt due to the necessity of another condition; the adjusting of domestic gas tariffs on a level with world prices.

The current domestic price of natural gas paid by households and a utility company does not cover gas import costs.

“The document has been accepted in order to establish transparent rules in the market and to make them clear for our European partners”, Naftogaz of Ukraine official explains to local media.

According to the law, Ukrgazdobycha, Ukrtransgaz and Gas of Ukraine will become independent companies. They now exist as affiliated enterprises of NJSC Naftogaz.

The new law gives market participants possibility to freely choose suppliers, take part in delivery tenders and auctions.

“During the pre-crisis years real estate markets were overheated due to very trite reason like greediness”, UMA chairman of board Igor Yushko said to Kommersant-Ukraine daily.

The Association also registers the volume of problem debts enlargement from 0.7 percentage point to 5.8 percent amounting to 7.22 billion grivnas.

Bankers suppose that the noticeable worsening of debts is related not only to customers incomes diminishing, but also to excessive “dolarization” (US dollars debts take up 77 percent of the portfolio), and the fall in real estate prices. Last year real estate in Kiev has become cheaper by 10.7 percent in average.

The head of the Ukraine BNP Paribas representative office Dominic Menu remarked that it is possible to avoid this difficult situation if the Central Bank limited foreign currency crediting.

“It had to be limited even in 2007″, he confided, “This is absolutely wrong when banks receive overseas funding for 2 to 5 years while credits were been given for 30 years”.

Escalating quantity of the market members and decreasing the average of grivna credits interest rates form 26 to 24.5 percent were not able to prevent the market decline. Bank conditions are still unaffordable for the majority of potential customers. So, the Association estimates further declining of mortgage volume.

“We have to hold prices for at list half a year to ensure customers that real estate will not continue to fall in price”, said Yushko.

“The growth renewal might be possible if banks will allows to work with long term credits in grivnas, which is hard to expect in the near future”, Troyka Dialog senior analyst Evgeny Grebenuk said.

“Central bank have to switch on a printing press and fill the economy with grivnas”, Minister of Economy adviser Sergey Yaremenko said.

“When inflation rate will drop lower than 10 percent, we’ll start to talk about mortgage market renewal”, Forum Bank official Kshishtov Kuzhbik concluded.

“According to our business plan, capital accumulation should be completed within 9 months” – said Geybatov, who added that US$1 million is needed to provide the bureau with the required software.

The International Finance Corporation estimates that the first independent credit bureau may appear in Azerbaijan 2 years after the related bill has been accepted.

The present Central Credits Register, which is controlled by the country’s central bank, offers credit information which is more individuals-orientated than firms. Credit information is very general, only dividing debtors into positive and negative.

Moreover, Azerbaijan might also accept a law on credit stories, a government official said to the local media.

Both laws are due to help financial institutions make faster and more accurate credit decisions, thereby increasing the availability and affordability of the financial services provided to the country’s individual consumers, and also micro, small, and medium enterprises.

Azerbaijan joined the IFC in 1995. As of December 2008, the IFC committed nearly US$289 million via its own fund, while gathering nearly US$104 million through syndications. IFC’s investments in Azerbaijan were mainly in oil and gas, financial, general manufacturing, and agribusiness sectors.

The shares of construction company with total value of US$1.37 billion were issued on January 6, 2010. US$3.2 billion is required for the project achievement.

Construction on the Rogun Dam began back in 1976, and continued in starts and stops for the past 30 years. In 2004, the Tajik government formed a partnership with Russia’s Rusal to complete the project. Despite Rusal’s US$2 billion commitment to the project, Tajikistan authorities had canceled their contract in 2007.

Both sides disagreed on multiple regional considerations, notably the appropriate height of the dam. Russia had argued that the dam should be shorter than originally planned, due to seismic activity in the region, but Tajikistan insisted that the dam should reach a height of 1.099 feet (335 meters). Since the cancellation of the contract, Tajikistan had struggling to find investors to complete financing for the US$3.2 billion project.

At the beginning of December 2009, the government ordered that every family in the country would be required to pay US$690 to finance the completion of Rogun dam, while the average Tajik salary is only US$60 per month.

Earlier, the experts indicated the voluntary-compulsory nature of stocks promotion. The mass media reported the unofficial competition between the regional authorities on higher sales of the Rogun stocks. Some sources reported that even the students were forced to buy stocks in order pass the exams.

The purchase of the Rogun hydropower plant shares by the population became the reason of undermined food security in Tajikistan, monitoring report of UN World Food Program for Tajikistan, based on data, supplied by Rapid evaluation and coordination group under the Emergency Control Ministry said late April.

The deterioration of the food security in Tajikistan has been observed in the last three months and, in the opinion of authors of report, one of the reasons of such situation, especially in the rural area, is the purchase of the Rogun hydroelectric power plant stocks by the population. The report also indicates that over one third of Tajikistan’s population is affected by the downturn of the food security.

Tajikistan has some of the greatest hydroelectric power potential, largely untapped. The country has tapped only three percent of its hydroelectric capacity, which is estimated to be 527 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) annually.

Tajikistan currently generates approximately 16.5 billion kWh of electricity per year. Most of that is generated by the huge Nurek Dam, which was constructed from 1961-1980. It contains nine generating units each with a capacity of 300MW for a total capacity of 2.700MW. The reservoir behind the dam covers a surface area of 98 square kilometers.

This is the third try to pass the law on Casino through Ikh Khural. Two other drafts were rejected by the previous Parliament.

“Neighboring regions of neighboring countries don’t have any casinos or gambling centers, which allows such businesses to flourish in Mongolia,” deputies said to Business Mongolia. Law initiators believe that it will contribute to the Mongolian economy and revenue.

According to the draft document, one percent of casino income will be collected into the “Good Will” Foundation, a social welfare fund. The casino is going to be open only for foreigners and the government of Mongolia will own certain part of its asset.

The government of the country had signed a contract four years ago that will put a U.S. real-estate company, Winwheel Bullion, in charge of building a casino complex with hotels, shopping malls, banks and a modern airport to bring visitors across the vast distances needed to reach it. Neither the company nor the Mongolian side have provided any information about financial arrangements for the zone.

The government first awarded a contract to develop Zamyn Uud to a British Virgin Islands-registered company called Western Paradise, promising tax breaks and other incentives, but that deal fell through.

Zamyn-Uud FTZ is 900 hectares in size and located three kilometers east of the main town and three kilometers north of Erenhot city (usually shortened into Eriyen, Ereen or Erlian), Inner Mongolia, China.

A tiny town and railway depot, Zamyn Uud is about 350 miles northwest of Beijing, has a population of 10.000 inhabitants and is very much dependent upon the commercial activity generated by the neighboring Chinese city Erenhot.

The major employer in Zamyn-Uud is the Government of Mongolia, which employs approximately 700 people to manage and operate the Mongolian Railway. In this location, the railway is very important as it handles goods and products being transported from Russia to China (around 10 million tons per year), facilitates direct cross-border trade with China, and has a container loading and unloading facility (twenty wagons a day) to overcome the difference in rail gauge of the Mongolian and Chinese railway systems. Handling capacity of the transshipment facility is 60-80 wagons a day.

The city of Erenhot is experiencing fast economic growth. Its current population is estimated at almost two -hundred thousand residents while the per capita GDP of the city was at 14,000 Yuan in 2009.

Between Mongolia and China there presently is only one international port of entry operating on a permanent basis and nine bilateral ports of entry operating on a seasonal basis. Most prominent among these is the “Zamiin-Uud – Erenhot,” international port.Nine others, including “Bulgan” port in the province of Khobdo, “Gashuunsukhait” port in the province of South Gobi, and “Shiveekhuren,” also in South Gobi, are very crowded during the short season in which they operate.

According to the state’s statistic data 508.821 of Mongolian citizens traveled through the various ports of entry to Russia and China in 2000, but the majority – 266.221 passing through Zamyn Uud –Erenhot.

Last week Minister of Gas and Oil Sauat Mynbaev confirmed government plan to reconsider contracts with foreign mining companies with the exception of the Kashagar deposit which is being developed by joint efforts of Italy’s Eni, Royal Dutch Shell, U.S. Conoco Phillips, Exxon Mobil, Japanese Inpex and Kazakhstan’s Kazmunaigaz (KMG). KMG is the state-owned oil and gas company responsible for operating state oil and gas interests and pipelines.

The fifth largest in the world in terms of reserves, the Kashagar deposit lies off the northern shore of the Caspian Sea near the city of Atyrau. It’s being explored according to conditions of a special contract known as North Caspian Sea Production Sharing Agreement (PSA). Experts estimate that the field will start production in 2014. According to EIA data, initial production is projected at 450,000 bbl/d with peak production of 1.5 million bbl/d projected for the end of the next decade.

Another project to which the preferential taxation rule extends is Tengiz deposit which produced 377,000 bbl/d of crude oil and 38,000 bbl/d of condensate in 2008, and is the world’s deepest operating giant field at 12,000 feet deep.

The field has been developed since 1993 by the Tengizchevroil (TCO) joint venture, a 40-year US$20 billion agreement between Chevron (50 percent), ExxonMobil (25 percent), Kazmunaigas (20 percent) and LUKArco (5 percent), signed with the Kazakh government in 1993. Capacity is increasing and production is expected to peak at between 750,000 bbl/d and 1 million bbl/d by 2012. The Tengiz field is located along the northeast shore of the Caspian Sea and is the largest source of oil production in the country. Recoverable crude oil reserves have been estimated at 6-9 billion barrels by consortium member Chevron.

The minister Sauat Mynbaev refused to make comments on the situation connected with Tengiz, while noting that a negotiation on Karachaganak is in progress.

According to several reports, Kazakhstan’s economic crimes and corruption agency is now probing “illegal earnings” of 104 billion tenge ($708 million) at Karachaganak, saying that the end of the March the venture profited in 2008 from oil output that wasn’t approved by the state. In response, representatives of the consortium asserted that the venture is confident its business practices comply with Kazakhstani law.

Kazakhstan is cracking down on the Karachaganak Petroleum Operating BV venture while seeking to enter the country’s only major oil development without state participation. The government wants a stake to boost profit from the project, Kairgeldy Kabyldin, the head of state-run energy producer Kazmunaigaz National Co., said earlier to Bloomberg.

The field is operated by Karachaganak Petroleum (KPO) consortium under a production sharing agreement (PSA) which includes Agip and BG (who each own 32.5 percent), Chevron (20 percent), and Lukoil (15 percent). The PSA was signed in 1997 to develop the field for 40 years.

The Karachaganak deposit which lies close to the Russian Border produced 233,000 bbl/d of condensate in 2008 and is one of the world’s largest oil and gas condensate reserves. According to KPO data, the field holds reserves of around 8-9 billion barrels of oil and gas condensate and 47 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Kazakhstan’s law on subsoil and subsoil use governs the transfer of subsoil use rights and was amended in 2005 to give the state the basis to exercise pre-emption rights on any oil assets put up for sale in the country. The law was amended again in 2007 to allow the state to force retrospective changes to any existing oil contracts or even break the contracts if they are deemed a threat to the country’s security. Joint ventures are the most common type of investment; the government announced in early 2008 that no more PSAs will be awarded.

Answering journalists’ questions about the situation in Kyrgyzstan, a spokesman of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry underlined: “We’re faced with a serious international problem. Our President, Alexander Lukashenko is working on directions for a resolution. There is no doubt that this problem can be solved only within the framework of international law.”

Ensuring the Belarusian Embassy’s safety in the Kyrgyz Republic is under control, Andrei Savinykh said at a press briefing in Minsk. According to the spokesman, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry is working with local authorities in Bishkek, and “they are providing us all possible assistance.”

“The main problem, as you know, is uncontrolled destructive elements involved in riots and looting. It is important to note that this is a systemic threat is not only for us but for the Kyrgyz society in general. In this regard, we also implement a range of measures aimed to ensure security of the embassy staff and their families,” said Andrei Savinykh.

Earlier this week Kyrgyz bloggers launched a flash mob called “Let’s bombard the Belarusian president web-site with messages,” which was supported by many Internet users who expressed outrage towards Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s refusal to recognize his resignation from office saying that the interim had not kept their side of the promise to protect his family from harassment.

After his arrival in Belarus, the president of Kyrgyzstan declared his non-resignation as the head of state. In turn, Alexander Lukashenko noted that Kurmanbek Bakiyev can be dismissed from his post only be holding election in the Kyrgyzstan and the leader of the country should participate in it.

According to the opposition politician, there should be a “fair trial” in Kyrgyzstan against Kurmanbek Bakiyev. “If he’s a criminal, then we have no right to conceal such people in our country, it blows upon its prestige,” said activist leader “For Freedom” (Za Svabodu) movement, Alexander Milinkevich. “Firstly, I think that there should be an investigation on the case of the dead and injured during the Kyrgyz events. If Bakiyev is proved by trial, he should be in Kyrgyzstan, not hiding in Belarus,” he said.

Interior Minister Moldomusa Kongantiyev and First Deputy Prime Minister Akylbek Zhaparov were severely beaten by protesters in the town of Talas, where the unrest began on Tuesday, the Ferghana.ru news service reported. The Kyrgyz Interior Ministry denied reports that Kongantiyev had died of his injuries.

The protesters set fire to the prosecutor’s office and looted state television headquarters. Kyrgyz state television and state-controlled Channel Five have suspended broadcasting, reports Interfax.

The local White House has been taken over by opposition forces and Roza Otunbaeva has taken charge of the interim government. She informed journalists that Prime-Minister Daniyar Usenov “signed the resignation statement and personally submitted it to me. The opposition forces took over the power”, as quoted by RIAN. The resignation of  the Prime-Minister automatically means the resignation of the Cabinet Council.

The imprisoned opposition leaders Ismail Isakov, Erkin Bulekbaev, Saparbek Argynov and Uran Ryskulov were released although there were no legal sanctions or amnesty granted. The opposition leaders and various marginal men (who also refer to themselves as opposition members) gave live interviews on state television channel.

Meanwhile unknown people devastated the Kyrgyz national arts museum, named after Gapar Aitiev. The collection included precious paintings of Russian and Soviet artists like Vrubel, Levitan, Falk and other famous impressionists.

Their has been no word from Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev till now. He has not addressed the nation since the events started and there are only unconfirmed rumours that he might be in the south gathering support there. Interfax informed that on the night of April 7 Bakiev’s house was looted and burned with people grabbing personal belongings, bed-clothes, dishes, rugs and whatever they could lay their hands on. Not a single fire-engine arrived at the scene. The location of the president’s teammates and relatives has not been yet reported. According to unofficial sources, the President’s son Maxim Bakiev was on his way to the United States to attend  investment forum on April 8 in Washington DC. The event was pre-planned and turned out to be perfect timing for him.

The Russian Federation had hinted that it no longer supported the Bakiev regime. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called the unrest “a purely internal matter” and accused Kyrgyzstan’s president of “stepping on the same rake” as his predecessor, Askar Akayev. Both Bakiyev and Akayev incited public anger over alleged widespread corruption and nepotism in their administrations.

Askar Akayev, who now lives in Moscow, urged Bakiyev to step down. “The best outcome for the people of Kyrgyzstan would be the resignation of Bakiyev,” Akayev said on Ekho Moskvy radio.

“The single reason for these protests is Bakiyev and his politics”, said former independent RF Duma Deputy Vladimir Ryzhkov to Moscow Times. He said the Kyrgyz government was a classic dictatorship — “oppressive, corrupt and clannish — there are very good grounds to overthrow it. Russia has a huge influence over economically weak Kyrgyzstan. If it sends a mission with an energetic leader, it can act as a peacemaker,”. By not responding, Moscow risks losing the support of the Kyrgyz, “a people who are traditionally very friendly toward us,” he said.

The U.S. State Department is clueless as to how to manage the situation and said on Wednesday that the United States believes the Kyrgyz government is still in power despite claims that opposition had seized control. “We continue to think the government remains in power,” said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley, while adding – “We have no indication that the government has ceased to function …the situation is difficult, but not to the extent that there are claims that the government has fallen, we don’t have that information”.

Kyrgyzstan achieved independence with the collapse of Soviet Union in 1991. Though still an impoverished Central Asian nation, it’s seen as a strategic asset in both Moscow and Washington. Immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, U.S. set up a military base in Kyrgyzstan to support the war in Afghanistan. But in February 2009, at the same press conference that announced the gift of $2.1 billion in Russian aid to the Kyrgyz, President Bakiyev also announced the closure of the U.S. air base. He later backtracked, offering United States continued use of the base, but at three times the original rent.

Last month alone, more than 50,000 U.S. and coalition troops passed through Manas en route to Afghanistan according to U.S. military officials. The U.S. agreement allowing American use of the base in Kyrgyzstan, a mountainous is set to expire soon.

According to statistics, Kyrgyzstan’s population is now 5.4 million. The country’s gross domestic product in 2008 was $4 billion while main exports are cotton, tobacco, gold, mercury, uranium and natural gas.