Army recruiters in Turkmenistan will take anyone, no matter how unfit, to fill the ranks of an army whose main job is to provide a free labour force. IWPR has learned that the military is even calling up people with disabilities in its desperate attempt t
Female civil society campaigners work with clerics from different faiths to promote dialogue and unity.
Hopes that business and cultural links would be boosted have been dashed by lack of interest from both Turkmen and Iranian governments.
Sunnis targeted by al-Qaeda groups in western Iraq have formed their own militia.
Well-connected students exploit programme designed to get former peshmerga into higher education.
Islamists say journalist who allegedly impugned Islam deserves to die.
Women are expected to look after the house and go out to work - and at the same time comply with social traditions that restrict their freedom.
Yerevan seeks to build better relations with Brussels, while not offending Moscow.
Doctors estimate that there are more than 2,000 drug-addicted children in the western city of Herat alone.
Getting out of Turkmenistan is becoming more difficult as the security agencies widen their net and bar more people from leaving the country.
