Stories about Central Asia & Caucasus from February, 2010
Azerbaijan: Interview with Feride Sadikhova Buyuran
Women's Forum interviews culinary blogger Feride Sadikhova Buyuran while her AZ Cookbook posts a recipe for lemon upside down cake.
Armenia: Eurovision National Competition
Armenia tonight chose its entry for the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo, Norway. Twitter users provided an online summary of the national competition televised inside the country while some blogs offered reaction to the successful entry.
Georgia: Tragedy strikes as Winter Olympic Games open
News about the tragic death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili a few hours before the opening of the 2010 Winter Olympics broke out just after midnight on a Georgian forum. Twitter users also weighed in with their response to a death which many considered could have been avoided.
Kyrgyzstan: Controversy over sale of the national telecoms operator
Users of the leading Kyrgyz Internet forum “Diesel” have held their own investigation of the transaction, in which shares of the national operator Kyrgyztelecom were sold. According to them, the new owners are linked to Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's son Maksim, recently appointed to a key economic position in the...
Kazakhstan: About children and president's speech
The bloggers of Kazakhstan were talking about children and the President Nazarbayev's annual address to the nation. The kids topic, probably, aroused from the news about the death of Casey Johnson, heiress of the multi-national pharmaceuticals empire Johnson&Johnson, whose daughter Ava Monroe was adopted from Kazakhstan in 2007. Thousand-pa says...
Uzbekistan: President Karimov's thoughts about media
Recently President Karimov again mentioned about leading role of mass-media in Uzbekistan. Considering sensitivity of this issue and increasing cases of pressure on independent journalists (i.e. thos who don’t work in the official media), Uzbek leader called local media toothless, reports Vesti.uz [RU]. According to Islam Karimov, today’s conditions have...
Uzbekistan, Tajikistan: A row on the border
Alpharabius reports on a border incident between Uzbek border guards and Tajik servicemen, which almost led to a gunfire, and wonders could an alleged attempt to steal a cow provoke an armed conflict.
Turkmenistan: Aside of crisis
“Turkmenistan’s leadership has been insisting that the country was not affected by the global financial’, Annasoltan says and comments on how could this be.
Uzbekistan: Entry restricted for Kyrgyz citizens
Kyrgyz blogger writes about Uzbekistan's resitriction to Kyrgyz citizen to visit Uzbekistan more than once in three months.
Afghanistan: Prospects for exporting Baghlani Gouda
Peter Marton reports on a cheese factory in Afghanistan. It was started 30 years ago, destroyed in the 1980s and re-launched again in 2006.
Armenia: Eurovision 2010
Unzipped comments on what it considers to be the two main contenders, Mihran & Emmy and Eva Rivas, as Armenia's entry into this year's Eurovision Song Contest. The blog says that it is not entirely happy with all the choices on offer, but at least notices how coverage in the...
Azerbaijan: Book review
Scary Azeri in Suburbs comments on Artush and Zaur, a homo-erotic novel telling the love story between an Armenian and Azerbaijani man. The blogger says that while the book is a brave attempt to overcome taboos, she found it more funny than touching in its depiction of various sexual encounters.
Mongolia: “Khoomii doesn't belong to China”
On PetitionSpot, a new petition goes on to ask China officials to stop registering “Khoomii” or Mongolian throat singing in their Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in UNESCO.
Armenia: Illegal hunting on YouTube
bnamarduk [AM] posts a video on YouTube of what it alleges is illegal hunting in a nature reserve in Armenia. The same environmentalists posted another such video last year which resulted in the dismissal of those involved.
Tajikistan: Justice or prosecution of the press
Alpharabius reports on a lawsuit by three Tajik Supreme Court judges against three independent newspapers, and interviews a judge of the Tajikistan’s Supreme Court on this and other matters.
Kyrgyzstan: Podcast about youth and activism
Nuraika talks about advantages and achievements of active youth with Antonio Henriques, one of 20 top-managers in AIESEC who has been visiting Kyrgyzstan lately.
Kazakhstan: OSCE Chair on a Trip to U.S.
Vicki reports on a visit of Kazakh Secretary of State and Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev to the United States on the wings of Kazakhstan's chairmanship in the OSCE. Some videos of his appearences attached.
Afghanistan: How Karzai outsmarted the diplomats
Nick Fielding reviews a report on President Karzai's re-election in Afghanistan, which notes that the US diplomats underestimated his grip on the political machine in Kabul.
Afghanistan: Why so optimistic?
Joshua Foust criticizes General McChrystal, a top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, who offered a hint of optimism on the situation in this country by declaring it is no longer “deteriorating”.
Georgia, Russia, France: First Caucasian
Media Network blog of Radio Netherlands Worldwide writes about the Georgian-owned, Russian-language First Caucasian TV channel, whose satellite broadcasts have recently been interrupted – here and here. And here's Eternal Remont‘s take on the situation.
Armenia-Azerbaijan: Twitter Diplomacy
With a peaceful resolution to the conflict over Nagorno Karabakh as elusive as ever, Armenians and Azerbaijanis are unable to visit each other’s country or communicate through traditional means such as telephone or mail. Can new and social media step in to fill the gap to break the information blockade?
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