Stories about Central Asia & Caucasus from December, 2008
Kazakhstan: Nuclear Cooperation with India
Joshua Foust reports that Kazakhstan will supply uranium for India’s nuclear power plants. The deal, which involves export of so-called “yellow cake” uranium to India, will be discussed during Kazakh...
Afghanistan: Taliban Has Two Groupings, a Leaked Document Says
Azar Balkhi posts a document, allegedly leaked out from the Afghanistani secret services; it reads that Mullah Mohammad Omar leads one gruop of the Taliban that is secretly allied with...
Armenia: LGBT News
Unzipped: Gay Armenia is pleased to inform its readers that following the recent UN statement in support of LGBT rights, World Focus has quoted the blog in its report on...
Kazakhstan: National Search Engine Debated by the Bloggers
On December 11, 2008, Kazakhstani blogger Nurlan wrote in his blog, dedicated to IT development issues, about a possibility that so-called KazNet (a Kazakhstani segment of the world wide web)...
Georgia: Driving Lesson
Ben Sweeney's Weblog recounts the best driving lesson yet in Georgia and at the same time encounters an apparently magnetic mountain.
Russia: Ethnicity, Labor Migration, Human Rights
A roundup on ethnicity, labor migration and human rights in Russia: IZO cites death statistics for Tajik labor migrants in Moscow. Moscow Through Brown Eyes writes about an attack on...
Armenia: Opposition Trial
Unzipped comments on news that seven prominent opposition member including one former foreign minister and three MPs are due to go on trial in Yerevan later this week charged with...
Kazakhstan: Protesters stormed the municipality
Michael Hancock reports on the story that Kazakhstani angry home-owners, protesting the planned demolition of their neighborhood, stormed the Almaty municipal building after the mayor refused to meet with them.
Afghanistan: Female Voice Banned From Radio
Azar Balkhi reports that the authorities of Ghazni province in Afghanistan has put a ban on female voice on Radio and other entertainment shows for the “religious reasons”.
Afghanistan: Blogger Wins International Journalism Award
Nasim Fekrat tells his readers about the Award for the freedom of expression by ISF (Information Safety and Freedom), which he was given lately in Siena, Italy.
Azerbaijan: Destruction of Ancient Cemetery Commemorated
Three years after a cemetery dating back to the 9th Century was deliberately destroyed in the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhichevan, bloggers recall an ancient culture annihilated and condemn the world for closing its eyes to what many consider to be an official attempt to rewrite history.
Armenia: Musical Prime Minister
Unzipped posts a summary in English of an informal meeting between some local bloggers and the new prime minister of Armenia. The blog notes that the posts by Alkhimik and...
Armenia: Anti-Corruption Day
Armenia: Higher Education & Sciences comments on how Tuesday's Anti-Corruption Day was marked in the country. However, the blog concludes that given the amount of corruption in the education system,...
Afghanistan: Chafing Under Talibanization
All is not smooth sailing in Afghanistan, and Azar Balkhi explains why: The Taliban insurgency is historically a predominantly Pashtun movement, still have very little influence among other Afghanistan minority...
Mongolia: Local singer's John Lennon tribute
Bilguun shares a tribute to John Lennon, a cover of Imagine by Naran, a Mongolian singer with powerful voice.
Kazakhstan: Krishnas Save Kazakhstan Farm
Gumir reports that the Kazakhstan government withdrew its claim for demolition of the only Temple of the Krishna Society in Kazakhstan after 1,5 years of standoff.
Uzbekistan: Bulgarian president hunts in Uzbekistan
Akmal reports that after reports about Bulgarian president Georgi Purvanov's hunting for protected animals during his official visit to Uzbekistan, there have been severe debates online on the role of...
Tajikistan: Aging Cars Resurrection
Daniel McIntosh writes about Khujand’s cargo train station in the northern part of Tajikistan, where retired vehicles of the developed world are given a second life to later go on...
Kazakhstan: Human Rights Watch Condemns the OSCE “Ugly Trade”
Joshua Foust writes that just before the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Helsinki, Kazakhstan – the OSCE's chairman-in-office in 2010, faced condemnation from Human Rights Watch over its human rights...
Uzbekistan: Economic Model?
Nathan reports that preisdent of Uzbekistan Islom Karimov in his recent public speech took a moment to heap praise upon himself for his wise economic policy decisions, while much of...
Afghanistan: Afghans Win Homeless Soccer World Cup
SunLeaf says that the Afghanistani team took part in the Homeless Soccer World Cup and showed true character and determination in winning.
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