Central Asia

Turkmenbashi Cries Fowl

Chickens and cattle are banned from the capital in a bid to turn Ashgabat into "the ideal city".

21 Feb 05

Former interior minister presents himself as an opposition leader, but has a chequered past.

21 Feb 05

Education officials remove "depraved" sex education book from the curriculum.

21 Feb 05

Uzbekistan's government coerces farmers into keeping silkworms - and then forgets to pay them.

21 Feb 05

Discriminatory practices are limiting ethnic Russians higher education prospects.

21 Feb 05

Environmentalists warn that decades-old dumps in nearby Kyrgyzstan could poison the entire Fergana valley and beyond.

21 Feb 05

Competition between Kazak tourist agencies is said to have sparked a war of words between Bishkek and Astana.

21 Feb 05

Desperate young women choose death by self-immolation to rebel against suicide taboo.

21 Feb 05

Uzbek killers are believed to be dumping the bodies of their victims in a major regional waterway.

21 Feb 05

Gesture to former Russian leader seen as effort to boost strategic relationship.

21 Feb 05

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