Bishkek's Night of Looting
Shops plundered and some set on fire, with some suggesting the looting is partly a deliberate ploy to discredit Kyrgyzstan’s new rulers.
20 Nov 05
Turkmenistan
A Shock to the System for Kyrgyzstan's Neighbours
The revelation that a well-ensconced government could fall so fast is cause for alarm or delight, depending which side you are on in the Central Asian republics.
20 Nov 05
Turkmen Pay Hike of Dubious Value
Although the government appears to have awarded a substantial pay hike, in reality it is taking with one hand while giving with the other.
20 Nov 05
Turkmen Hit by Library Ban
Libraries have joined opera, ballet and circuses as one of the many things Turkmen must do without.
20 Nov 05
Turkmen Patients Pay for Privatisation
Ashgabat’s hospitals are recommending expensive scans and tests for patients in a bid to collect enough money for staff wages.
20 Nov 05
Compulsive Reading in Turkmenistan
Everyone’s reading it, but only because studying the president’s book is compulsory for pre-school kids and surgeons alike.
20 Nov 05
Is Drug Trade on Tajik-Afghan Border Set to Expand?
Some believe Russian troops’ departure from Afghan frontier will boost drug trade, but others say trafficking was rampant anyway.
20 Nov 05
Russian Rights Versus Turkmen Gas
Has Moscow allowed the Turkmen president to strip ethnic Russians of their rights for the price of a gas contract?
20 Nov 05
Uzbeks Find Refuge on Kyrgyz Border
Fleeing Andijan residents say "only death" now awaits them back in Uzbekistan.
20 Nov 05
Kazaks Accuse 16 in Tashkent Bomb Trial
Group stands trial for assisting suicide attacks, but both accusations and evidence remain shrouded in secrecy.
20 Nov 05
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