Stories about Central Asia & Caucasus from September, 2007
Kazakhstan: Big politics and human lives
While the usual discussions about political cobwebs and oil business intrigues kept the Kazakhstani bloggers busy, two dramatic incidents stood out: A rocket crash potentially threatening the health of thousands of people and the murder of a Russian blogger made the Kazakhstani blogosphere think about the value of a human life.
World Reaction to the UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights
In every society in which they find themselves, the world's 370 million indigenous peoples are among the most vulnerable and marginalized. After over 22 years of negotiations and consultations, the...
Afghanistan: The Not-So-Obvious Problems
Joshua Foust takes a survey of some of the less "sexy" problems facing Afghanistan.
Uzbekistan: A nation's great loss
On September 7, 2007, a sunny Friday morning, Tashkent and the whole country were struck with sad news. Mark Weil, the legendary artistic director of the famed Ilkhom Theatre was mugged to death. Tolkun reports from the blogosphere.
Afghanistan: Remembering September 11, 2001
Joshua Foust spent September 11, 2007 thinking about what he calls "the original war on terror," in Afghanistan. He collects local opinion and searches for hope amid the chaos.
Kazakhstan: Energy Twists and Media Tricks
Be it the crisis of the country's biggest oil project or the biases of the national media: Both big stories from Kazakhstan this week demonstrate that power is concentrated in very few hands, while social indicators point at huge income inequalities.
Video-blogging from battlefield in Afghanistan
Vaughan Smith, founder of the Frontline Club for journalists in London, is video-blogging from Afghanistan on Frontline's blog. On September 1, 2007 he reported on a battle between British and...
Afghanistan: Culture, Clash
In this week's Afghanistan blog tour, Joshua Foust reports about culturally insensitive footballs, the beautiful city of Herat, suicide bombs in Kabul and a lack of foreign investment.
Kazakhstan: Sham Elections
The fallout from the 18 August 2007 parliamentary elections is still having an impact on local and international bloggers. Apathy, resignation, anger, surprise - there were many emotions for a poll many Kazakhs called a sham election. Adam Kesher collects some voices.
Afghanistan: CNN Youtube debate
Afghanistanica is unhappy that out of the 1,400 questions collected for the presidential CNN-Youtube debate, only two deal with Afghanistan. He asks his readers to help him change this dismal...
Afghanistan: Herat
Safrang is in Herat and writes down four reasons why he loves this Western Afghan city.
Uzbekistan: Arsenal shareholder
Craig Murray is willing to testify in front of the Premier League to block a rich Uzbek investor from buying himself into Arsenal FC. Meanwhile, Jamiyat says that the children...
Uzbekistan: Not much has changed
Jamiyat finds that after sixteen years of independence, things in Uzbekistan are very similar to the final days of the USSR.
Kyrgyzstan: Music
Mirsulzhan takes his readers on a tour of Kyrgyz-language music videos (KYR).
Uzbekistan: Samarkand anniversary
Central Asian Borders writes about the former Silk Road capital Samarkand's 2750th anniversary. Uzbek president Karimov came on a visit, and his entourage made sure that every major street was...
Kazakhstan: Political soap opera
KZBlog has the latest developments in Kazakhstan's political soap opera, including new rumours why president Nazarbayev rushed to change key personnel and the fate of his son-in-law.
Armenia: World Bank corruption update
Onnik Krikorian finds it scandalous that the World Bank's own watchdog “Department of Institutional Integrity” has not yet sent an investigation commission to Armenia following serious allegations of corruption in...
Armenia: School year starts
Observer reports of the new academic year starting in Armenia. There are less children starting school each year, but there are still traffic jams around schools because of proud parents...
It's time for non-Western IMF leadership
Convention Pour Une Nouvelle Guadeloupe criticizes the probable selection of a European (Fr) as the next head of the IMF, writing that it's time for someone from Asia, Latin America,...
Romania: Rompetrol Takeover
Transatlantic Politics posts an interview on “the recent takeover of the Romanian oil company Rompetrol by the Kazakh state company KazMunayGaz.”
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