5 January 2013

Stories from 5 January 2013

Celebrating New Year's Eve in Central Asia

Since independence, the post-Soviet nations of Central Asia have invented a number of new 'national' holidays. Yet the celebration of the New Year's Eve still remains a cherished tradition among many people in the region. Despite some calls to denounce the holiday as 'foreign' and 'un-Islamic', families in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan celebrated the arrival of the year 2013 in line with the long-established tradition.

5 January 2013

Tunisian Army Critic Gets a One-Year Suspended Jail Sentence

A military court increased Ayoub Massoudi's suspended jail term from four months to one year. Massoudi, a former advisor to Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki, was charged with “defaming” the army and “undermining senior officials in the military”, over his declarations regarding the army's role in the extradition process of Muammar Gaddafi's Prime Minister Baghdadi Mahmoud from Tunisia to Libya.

5 January 2013