Stories about Central Asia & Caucasus from August, 2007
Tajikistan/Afghanistan: Bridging two nations
A US-funded bridge connecting Afghanistan's north with Tajikistan was officially opened last weekend. Both Mohammad Fahim Khairy and Vadim at neweurasia offer their mostly jubilant commentary.
Albania: Selling Arms to Armenia
Albania is selling arms to Armenia – and more links to media coverage of Albania – at Our Man in Tirana.
Japan: Yokozuna gets the boot
Never far from controversy, Mongolian Yokozuna (sumo champion) Asashoryu is again in hot water. He left Japan having submitted a doctor's note claiming he was injured, after which a video image showing the yokozuna playing soccer in Mongolia made it onto some of the major Japanese TV networks, sparking a controversy.
Afghan bloggers irritated by Iranian TV series
The Afghan embassy in Iran has complained about an Iranian television series on Channel 3, Char Khoone, that depicts Afghans characters as villains. Several Afghan and even Iranian bloggers have...
Tajikistan: Beating the US
One of the most discussed topics on Tajik blogs recently was the loss of the US U-17s to the Tajik team in the Under–17 Football World Cup. This and much more in this week's blogosphere roundup.
Central Asia: Amusement parks
You kind of always wanted to visit the ubiquitous amusement parks in Central Asia and the Caucasus, but just never dared to go inside, right? Joshua Kucera takes you on...
Central Asia: Clan-tastic
Christine Quirk looks at how clans shape political behaviour and in how far they make it difficult to enfranchise groups who might have different viewpoints or are far down on...
Armenia: Intra-ethnic relations
Onnik Krikorian notes that the recent fist fights between Armenian basketball teams from around the world show that divisions and animosity exists between different Armenian groups.
Turkmenistan: Prisoner amnesty
Bonnie Boyd notes that by releasing 11 prisoners who were allegedly implicated in a failed plot to kill his predecessor, the new Turkmen president Berdymukhamedov continues to move in the...
Armenia: Bad sports organisation
Nareg on Life in Armenia is unhappy with the way a football game played during 4th Pan-Armenian Games was being organised.
Afghanistan: Western military involved in organised crime?
The editor of a satirical Afghan magazine thinks that Western troops are involved in drug trafficking and the smuggling of Afghan rugs. Is that merely satirical? Sanjar thinks there's a...
Afghanistan: Fear of kidnapping
Õnne Pärl says that although she has usually not been overly cautious while walking through Kabul, she is now alarmed by the frequent kidnappings of foreigners in Afghanistan.
Kyrgyzstan: Naryn
Ivar Dale takes his readers on a trip to Naryn, on which he meets characters that each tell their story of life in Kyrgyzstan's highest, coldest and poorest region.
Kyrgyzstan: Free trade effects
Ben Maritz says that the flood of cheap Chinese imports into Kyrgyzstan is at least partly responsible for the decimation of the Central Asian country's industrial base.
Tajikistan: Infrastructure development
Ian at Beyond the River says that Chinese infrastructure development in Tajikistan is more likely to win the hearts and minds of the local population.
Kyrgyzstan: Alaa-Chu
Tom Toomey tells the story of Chynara, a Kyrgyz teacher who freed her niece out of the hands of bride kidnappers.
Russia: Xenophobia and Violence
There are 48 comments so far to a post on xenophobia and violence in Russia, over at Sean's Russia Blog. One commenter writes: “It seems to me that the Kremlin...
Tajikistan: New legislation
At neweurasia, Madina lists several of the new laws and regulations that were stipulated by the Tajik government recently. Many of them are absurd and remind Madina of an 18th-century...
Central Asia: Which port to choose?
As a landlocked region, Central Asia is reliant on other countries’ maritime infrastructure to integrate with world markets. On Registan.net, Kayumars Turkistani evaluates two potential seaports, Gwadar in Pakistan and...
Kazakhstan: Sham elections
Arthur concludes that Kazakhstan's parliamentary elections which took place this weekend were seriously flawed, both because of irregularities on voting day itself and, equally important, because of skewed media coverage...
Georgia: Special Economic Zones
Social Science in the Caucasus agrees with a columnist that Georgia does not need Free Economic Zones.
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