Central Asia

Tajikistan: Fall of Praetorian Guardsman

Capital remains tense after arrest of powerful figure who fell out of favour with the authorities.

21 Feb 05

United States broadcaster’s decision to end Uzbek radio broadcasts could not have come at a worse time.

21 Feb 05

Unloved police force has become a prime target for Islamic militants.

21 Feb 05

Large-scale military exercise in the Kyrgyz mountains sparks calls for preventive as well as reactive responses to insurgent threat.

21 Feb 05

Concerns voiced at new plan to make learner drivers sit exam on president’s writings.

21 Feb 05

As bureaucratic obstacles grow on the Kazak-Uzbek border, local smugglers do their best to circumvent the rules.

21 Feb 05

Chinese plan to build a tourist complex on the shores of Lake Issykul awakens old fears of Kyrgyzstan’s big neighbour.

21 Feb 05

Farmers accused local authorities of heavy-handed tactics to make them switch to growing cotton.

21 Feb 05

The Uzbek government appears genuinely perplexed by the exact composition of the Islamic militant forces behind a recent wave of violence.

21 Feb 05

Traders accuse Astana of trying to divert them to a Kazak market.

21 Feb 05

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