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 President Nazarbayev’s upcoming visit to India.
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 president Karzai.
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 the move which Armenia endorsed. In related news, the same blog also details the contents of a new issue of...
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) soon may have its own search engine and quotes an advertisement placed on the official website of the Governmental Agency...
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 Stanley Robinson, an 18-year-old African-American student in Volgograd – here and here. Window on Eurasia writes about a strike by...
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 attempting to violently overthrow the government after the presidential election held earlier this year. The blog says that all signs...
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 517design reveal the prime minister plays guitar and enjoys art-house films. All three blogs post photographs.
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, such an event should be held daily rather than annually and ironically notes that a recent survey of university students...
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 ethnic groups like the Tajiks, Uzbek and Hazaras. It’s hard to keep others from one who believes that gun is...
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 ethics in todays politics.
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 to become a family’s pride in one of Central Asia’s poorest countries.
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 record.
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 the population lives in poverty and hundreds of thousands of Uzbek people have left the country for seasonal jobs elsewhere.
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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