Central Asia

Does China Need Turkmen Gas?

Scandal Threatens to Topple Government

Kazakstan's Land Grab

Kazakstan Seeks Role as Inter-Faith Centre

Limited Refuge in Kazakstan

Arrest of leading human rights activist highlights vulnerable position

Tajik Farmers Face Mounting Debt

A never-ending cycle of financial problems means many cotton farmers can never make a profit.

Afghanistan-Turkmenistan: Blurred Borderlines

Tough regulations and confusion over where the border runs make life hard for Afghans living along the frontier with Turkmenistan.

Ukrainian Pipeline Unlikely Choice for Kazakstan

Siberian River Project Revived

Turkmenistan: Pressed into Service

Recruiters will take anyone, no matter how unfit, to fill the ranks of an army whose main job is to provide a free labour force.