Stories about Central Asia & Caucasus from May, 2009
Afghanistan: Aid Money Used Badly
Colla reviews the first report by the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, which noted that the military command overseeing $15bn in US military aid cannot be sure the money is being managed effectively.
Mongolia: Wiretapping to be discussed
Bilguun informs the readers that the Mongolian Parliament is to discuss possible changes to the Communications law, which includes legalizing wiretapping of mobile communication for law enforcement purposes.
Uzbekistan: New Attacks and Bombings
Noah Tucker reports that one or two offices of police/special services departments in Khanabad, Eastern Uzbekistan, were attacked by a group of armed men.
Kazakhstan: Special Report by BNE
Elina Galperin reviews the special report on Kazakhstan, which is especially interesting right now as the country is closely tied to world markets and is therefore struggling.
Azerbaijan: Toyland
Fighting windmills? Take a pill introduces its readers to “toy,” the local word for wedding, and comments on the role marriage plays in society in Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan: Republic Day
Sheki, Azerbaijan marks the anniversary of the first republic declared in Azerbaijan by looking back at the significance of the event, and also looking forwards.
Armenia: Yerevan sails into election week
Responding to a tweet sent out an hour earlier, Global Voices Online's Caucasus editor photographs and comments on the appearance of what might be the latest obstacle placed in the way of the Armenian opposition ahead of this weekend's municipal election — a replica of a 13th century ship.
Armenia: Nationalist Revisionism, Deception
Unzipped comments on the the appearance of election campaign posters for the Armenian Revolutionary Federation — Dashnaktsutyun (ARF-D) ahead of this weekend's municipal vote in Yerevan. The blog notes that the party appears to be pushing its position on relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey to voters and even uses photographs...
Azerbaijan: Pork in a Christian village
27 Months in Azerbaijan pays a visit to the Christian village of Nic in Azerbaijan to partake in eating the best pork available in the largely Moslem country. Meanwhile, Post-Soviet Euphoria or Sins against Democracy? notes that the prohibition on eating pork exists in both the Bible and the Koran.
Azerbaijan: Smiling dos and don'ts
Once again comparing life in the UK with that of her native country, Scary Azeri in Suburbs looks at the cultural dos and don'ts of women smiling in Azerbaijan.
Armenia: Belated election blogging
Unzipped says that the incumbent Mayor of Yerevan, Gagik Beglarian [AM], has started blogging ahead of next week's municipal election in the Armenian capital. However, the blog wonders why the blog has appeared only a week before the potentially controversial vote, but also says that with comments so far heaping...
Armenia: Eurovision Bribes
Adding to the existing controversy surrounding this year's Eurovision international song contest, In Mutatione Fortitudo says that Russian bloggers have been receiving emails from an Armenian offering payment for publishing an article accusing Azerbaijan of bribing various competition juries.
Armenia: Jethro Tull in Yerevan
A day before their concert in Yerevan, Armenia, Global Voices Online's Caucasus editor interviews Ian Anderson from the legendary British folk-rock band, Jethro Tull.
Kyrgyzstan: “KyrNet” In Numbers
Elena tells about the research of Internet in Kyrgyzstan and posts some interesting data from the report.
Kazakhstan: Languages and Perspectives
Thousand-pa reflects on the situation around state, Russian and English languages in Kazakhstan – how affordable it is to study them, and knowledge of which of them is economically more beneficial.
Tajikistan: Incidents at Tajik-Uzbek border
Incidents at Tajik-Uzbek border remain very dangerous for people, Musafirbek says reporting on another border accident with a gunned civilian.
Afghanistan: Taliban's War Statistics
Colla says the Taliban has issued detailed statistics for its operations in Afghanistan during the month of April, and finds that the figures they produce make interesting reading.
Kazakhstan: Astana Cycling Team Is in Trouble
KZBLog reports that the cycling Team Astana, funded primarily by the Kazakhstan's state-owned companies, has financial problems, and it may be suspended if it fails to meet financial obligations.
Kazakhstan: Tortures Continued
KZBlog writes about the visit of Manfred Nowak, the UN Human Rights Council’s Special Rapporteur on Torture, to Kazakhstan, during which he noted that prison conditions have improved, yet urged officials to stop beatings, asphyxiation and other “techniques” used to get confessions from suspects.
Afghanistan: Attacks Highlight Need for New Strategy
Joshua Foust reports on a coordinated suicide attack on government buildings in Afghanistan that took between 10 and 20 lives.
Afghanistan: Ammunition Trouble for Afghanistan
Joshua Foust reports that a U.S. Army contractor was giving the Afghan National Security Forces obsolete and faulty ammunition, and now there are yet more ammunition troubles for the Afghan forces.
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