| Yesterday, the Kyrgyz parliament, by a majority of 31 votes, decided to amend the Election Code. The new version of the law does not prohibit former Kyrgyz diplomats who have worked abroad for the past five years from participating in the upcoming parliamentary elections on February 27. Now the document must be signed by the country's President Askar Akayev. If he does this before January 23, when the registration deadline for parliamentary candidates expires, then Kyrgyz opposition leaders such as former Foreign Minister Roza Otunbayeva and several former ambassadors will have the opportunity to run. Mr. Akayev has so far accused them of being unwilling to comply with the law as they held rallies demanding a revision of the Election Code. Now he will not have such arguments, and the president himself will have to prove his commitment to the law by approving the decision of parliament. If this does not happen, the head of state will bear full responsibility for further developments in Kyrgyzstan, opposition leaders say. Meanwhile, as VN learned, Mr. Akaev is going to visit Moscow on January 24 in connection with the celebration of the 250th anniversary of Moscow State University. He hopes for a meeting with Vladimir Putin and for his support in opposing the “Orange Revolution” in Kyrgyzstan. However, according to VN, the Kremlin has not yet confirmed the possibility of this meeting; Viktor Yushchenko will be received there on that day. Arkady DUBNOV
Yesterday, a minibus explosion in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR) killed eight passengers, four died later in hospital, and two more seriously injured are under medical supervision. According to the Chinese news agency Xinhua, it is impossible to find out the exact number of passengers on small buses owned by private individuals. The explosion occurred on the highway between the cities of Karamay and Usu. Police have closed the section of the highway where the explosion occurred and are investigating the cause of the tragedy. The possibility of a terrorist attack cannot be ruled out. Since the 1990s, Chinese authorities have repeatedly blamed the organization of such explosions on Uighur separatists seeking the exit of the XUAR from the PRC and the formation of an independent Islamic state of East Turkestan. Alexey SLOBODIN
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