Customers at the General Post Office (GPO) in Peshawar February 6 buy stamps commemorating the late computer prodigy Arfa Karim, who died of epilep...
The Kazakhs were convicted of attempting to steal pipeline parts in neighbouring Uzbekistan. (Photo by Jim Dyson/Getty Images)
Pakistan Railway is planning an international cargo service to Iran and Turkey this summer to improve trade.
Six Kazakh nationals who were badly burnt in an accident in Afghanistan are now being treated at an emergency medical centre in Uzbekistan. They are all in a critical condition.
''Microsoft for 21st Century Education'' will bring the latest IT solutions to Uzbekistan.
During June 23 evening prayers at a mosque in Dushanbe, police arrested 40 people who investigators claimed are followers of Salafiya, a fundamentalist Islamic movement.
Turkmen boxers won two medals at the Asian championship in the Chinese city of Zhuhai.
The shocking actions of former Turkmenistan Deputy Minister of Railway Transportation Durdymyrat Chopanov, who stabbed a Ministry of National Security officer to death on June 12 and then committed suicide, can be interpreted as retaliation against government corruption, Turkmen human rights activists contend.
The Pakistan Air Force confirmed on June 24 that 57 of its airmen have been court-martialed and convicted on charges of having terrorist links in connection with an assassination attempt on the life of former President Pervez Musharraf.
The third Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council forum opened June 25 in Astana.
On June 17, the OSCE demanded that Kyrgyz authorities stop the wave of attacks on journalists that seriously threatens their right to freedom of expression in the run up to the July 23 presidential election.
The decision to form the Consultative Council was taken during the international conference “CIS Muslims for Inter-Confessional and Inter-Ethnic Accord” held in Moscow.
For years, women's defiance in Iran was expressed in carefully planned flashes of hair under their head-scarves, brightly painted fingernails and trendy clothing that could be glimpsed under bulky coats and cloaks. But these small acts of rebellion against the theocratic government have been quickly eclipsed in the wake of the disputed June 12 presidential elections.
The Shymkent Employment and Social Programmes Department has begun providing a free new service for disabled people – “social taxis”. The new form of public assistance will enable people who cannot get around unaided to travel comfortably and punctually.
Hundreds of protesters renewed their clashes with waves of riot police and paramilitary militia in Tehran on June 24, witnesses said, as Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei insisted he would not yield to pressure from opponents demanding a new election following allegations of electoral fraud.
The Abuali Ibn Sino Tajik State Medical University has allocated five free places to students from Afghanistan. Training for healthcare workers is very important for Afghanistan because of the poor epidemiological situation in the country.
On June 23, the ''Alfa'' special forces unit stormed a private house outside Jalal-Abad in south Kyrgyzstan where Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) fighters had taken cover. All five were killed in a fierce fire-fight.
Interior Minister Malik said terrorists seeking “to impose their own brand of Islam on Pakistani civilians have fled from Swat after having shaved their faces and now are on the run. We will not let them stay anywhere and we will track them down.”
Thousands across Pakistan thronged the streets, dancing and shouting amid the sounds of firecrackers on June 21 to celebrate their cricket team’s victory over Sri Lanka in the finals of International Cricket Council World Twenty20.
On June 22, Kyrgyzstan and the U.S. agreed to open a transit shipment centre at Manas International Airport to take the place of a military base there. The transit shipment centre will handle non-military freight for the coalition forces in Afghanistan.
The draft law “On automobile transport” makes stringent demands on taxi drivers and taxi companies regarding passenger safety and the organisation of their business, but does not apply to thousands of unlicensed drivers.
The number of suicides in the Sughd Province of Tajikistan in the first five months of the year is double that for the same period in 2008. Experts note that socio-economic problems and domestic violence are among the main factors involved when people take their own lives.
U.S. Ambassador Anne Patterson inaugurated the new Secretariat of the American Business Council (ABC) in Karachi on June 23, an event attended by government representatives, business leaders, U.S. consulate staff, and ABC officials.
Protesters who defied Iranian government warnings and converged on Tehran's Haft-e Tir Square on June 22 were greeted by hundreds of Basij militia and riot police, said witnesses. Media reported that at least six people were arrested at the square.
President Obama harshly condemned the Iranian crackdown against demonstrations, declared the rest of the world “appalled and outraged” and dismissed what he called “patently false and absurd” accusations that the U.S. instigated the protests.
Al-Qaeda will use Pakistan’s nuclear weapons against the U.S. if they get them, Al-Qaeda commander of operations in Afghanistan Mustafa Abu al-Yazid said in an interview with Al-Jazeera June 21.
The attack on Taliban faction leader Qari Zainuddin, who was fatally shot June 23, reportedly by one of his own guards, signalled that divisions within the Taliban have broken into the open.
Kyrgyz elections sees strongest campaigning in the south - Central Asia News Afghanistan Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan Tajikistan Turkmenistan-Sports Business and Entertainment
Pakistan’s trade with Asian countries will show a large decline of approximately US$7 billion for the year ending June 30.
Over the last two years, Tajikistan has seen an 80 percent rise in refugees and asylum seekers. Because of the worsening situation on the ground in Afghanistan, people from all across Afghanistan are now seeking shelter in Tajikistan.
On June 13, Minister of State for Finance Hina Rabbani Khar presented the US$30.64 billion Pakistan federal budget for 2009-10 in the National Assembly.
The Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction awarded a US$3 million grant to assist Tajikistan in minimising potential damage from floods and other natural disasters. Each year landslides, flash floods and avalanches cause serious damage to homes, farms, irrigation systems and transportation and communication infrastructures in Tajikistan.
Public hearings on providing women with equal access to economic resources were held in the Tajik city of Kugan-Tyube. Participants concluded that gender equality has not yet been achieved in Tajikistan.
Following a meeting with Tajikistan President Emomali Rakhmon on June 17, IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said that the fund will consider increasing financial aid to the nation, which is suffering from the effects of the world crisis more than other Central Asian countries.
A department to treat a multi-resistant form of tuberculosis opened at the republic clinical tuberculosis hospital Machiton. The department will offer up to 80 people inpatient treatment for a multi-drug resistant form of tuberculosis.
Kazakh Prosecutor General Kairat Mami met June 20 with Interior Ministry, Customs and Financial Police officials to discuss how to counter the illegal drug trade and drug money laundering in Kazakhstan.
Academy of Sciences re-opens in Turkmenistan after a decade - Central Asia News Afghanistan Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan Tajikistan Turkmenistan-Sports Business and Entertainment
Protesters in Tehran fear one thing more than any other, a sudden attack by the plain-clothed toughs of the Islamic Basij militia.
On June 17, the EU offered Pakistan US$100 million in aid to assist civilians displaced by the ongoing fight between the Pakistani army and Taliban in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan.
A backstage struggle among Iran's ruling clerics burst into the open June 21 when the government arrested the daughter and other relatives of an ayatollah who is one of the country's most powerful men.
Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Noman Bashir said there is an increasing realisation that no one nation can single-handedly cope with the threats prevailing in the maritime environment.
Twelve members of the women’s arm of the forbidden Hizb ut Tahrir party in Uzbekistan have been sentenced to various prison terms.
A 16-hour radio marathon was staged by a Dushanbe radio station to mark World Day against Child Labour. Radio listeners heard educational programmes, competitions, quizzes, social promotions, and calls from well-respected people speaking out against the use of child labour.
The warming rate in Uzbekistan is twice as high as the world average and the number of days with temperatures above 40 C has grown by a third in the past decade. With its temperate climate, Tashkent could soon be in the subtropical zone.
The Kyrgyzstan President's Institute of Strategic Analysis and Assessment has compiled a portrait of a modern religious extremist. Today's extremist is a person who knows his goal and is fully aware of his actions.
Forest depletion is one of the most serious environmental issues facing Pakistan, and in Chitral district, residents and District Council members are divided on how best to cope with its consequences.
The NGO Halal Industry, which includes 400 producers of halal products, held a congress in Kazakhstan that drew businessmen from Russia’s Muslim republics Chechnya and Tatarstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
The aftershocks of the Iranian presidential election now symbolise a state of transition in Iran. A counter-revolution has been launched by the reformists and Mir-Hossein Moussavi against the hardliner conservative movement that supports President Ahmadinejad.
On June 17, Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city with a population of more than 18 million people, suffered a major 21 hour power outage. With tensions already high because of threats from Taliban militants, the city’s airport and traffic signals also stopped functioning.
Police claimed on June 17 to have broken up a “Punjabi Taliban” network and arrested terrorists involved in the March 3 deadly attack on the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team.
Six of nearly two dozen candidates have been registered to stand for president in Kyrgyzstan.
Heavily armed police prevented several thousand Iranian protesters June 20 from entering Revolution Square, one of the main protest sites in Tehran. About 1.5 km away, police kept the crowd back by throwing two canisters of tear gas at their feet, witnesses said.
Narcotics Control Agency Officers in Sughd Province seized more than 100 kilograms of Afghan heroin in northern Tajikistan on June 16. The drug-dealers were caught thanks to information from an anonymous telephone caller.
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev June 17 decreed the dismissal of Defence Minister Daniyal Akhmetov after numerous irregularities and problems were uncovered at the Defence Ministry in recent months.
While clearing the Dashti-Bibrog minefield in eastern Tajikistan, a National Guard soldier was blown up by an anti-personnel mine. Six Tajik nationals have fallen victim to anti-personnel mines and pieces of unexploded ordnance so far this year.
Three tourism zones known as Avaza have opened in Turkmenistan along its Caspian Sea coast. A gala was held on June 15 in the port city of Turkmenbashi to mark the event.
Thousands of Tajiks and employees of international organisations took part in a voluntary blood donation campaign to mark World Donor Day. According to the UN, donors give more than 81 million doses of blood per year.
On June 16, Uzbekistan cut natural gas deliveries to Tajikistan in half, a move precipitated by the Tajik gas company's inability to repay arrears to Uzbek supplier Uztransgaz.
The trial of 33 members of a criminal group headed by Nizomkhon Dzhurayev, a former Sodgi region legislator and former general director of an Isfara chemical plant, has ended.
The 26 Kazakhstan football players who departed last March to study at the OLE Brazil F.C. Football Academy have organised their own OLE Kazakhstan team there and won the Coco Paulista tournament.
Former Tajik Interior Minister Makhmadnazar Salikhov committed suicide in Dushanbe June 17. He shot himself with a pistol after learning that the Prosecutor General had issued a warrant for his arrest.
A series of seminars were conducted across Pakistan June 7-12 to mark World Day Against Child Labour. Posters, banners and other publicity materials were displayed and readily distributed informing people of the reality of the problem and the need to formulate a solid policy to put an end to it.
A strong earthquake hit south-east Kazakhstan late in the evening of June 13. Its epicentre was near Tekeli in the Almaty region 230 kilometres north-east of Almaty.
The U.S. government has provided US$2.5 million to remodel the military border academy operated by Tajikistan’s National Security Committee. A ceremony marking the start of reconstruction of the academy was held in Dushanbe on June 10.
At the initiative of arbitration courts in the Andijan region, Tashkent and the Tashkent region, the Uzbek Justice Ministry has officially registered a professional association for the country's arbitration courts.
In the face of growing terrorism and the absence of financial incentives at home, leading textile manufacturers in Pakistan are considering relocating abroad during the next fiscal year.
Five of seven member-nations of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) endorsed the creation of a joint military command, the Collective Rapid Reaction Force (CRFF).
In his sermon during Friday prayers at the Tehran University mosque, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivered a defiant, unapologetic speech on June 19 upholding the contested presidential election and calling the massive street demonstrations
The collection of Kazakh cartoons called “Tales of the Kazakh Steppe,” is a joint project of Seimar Social Fund, the Shymkent studio Animaster, and Meloman Home Video.
Five weapons caches were discovered in Tajikistan in the past ten days, some of which were used to commit murders and belonged to criminal groups.
Participants in a round-table discussion on hydroelectricity in Central Asia discussed issues relating to the construction of the Rogun hydroelectric power plant in Tajikistan and the Kambaratinsk hydroelectric plant in Kyrgyzstan.
Tajik authorities intend to increase the national production of high-quality pure honey to 6,000 tonnes per year. Tajikistan has more than 5 million hectares of mountainous territory, which is ideal for beekeeping and honey production.
The Kyrgyz parliament intends to consider a bill on banning the import of food products that contain harmful chemical, toxic and carcinogenic substances that damage people's health.
The River Indus dolphin is an endangered species, found only in its namesake waterway, with an estimated population of only 1,300. Sind wildlife experts said that a decrease in the river’s water level is perhaps the most critical of all threats facing this species.
Turkmen athletes won 10 medals at the Asian Sport and Combat Sambo Championship in Tashkent. The event, held at the beginning of June, included athletes from 25 countries competing in three age categories.
The annual Pakistan-India Permanent Indus Water Commission talks in New Delhi concluded on June 2, with both sides having exchanged concerns and reports from their respective governments.
Kyrgyzstan’s Healthcare Ministry has launched the Medical Troops 2009 campaign to provide onsite medical exams for residents in the mountains and foothill regions.
Kazakhstan’s southern regions are the gateway for the flow of drugs from Afghanistan to Europe. But the Kazakh drug control agencies have a domestic enemy as well, namely the cannabis and poppy crops now being grown in the country.
Tajikistan has launched a campaign to provide vitamins for children and mothers following birth. Local doctors and UNICEF employees will provide vitamin A to women and children under the age of six.
The humanitarian aid office of the U.S. Department of State rendered emergency aid to residents of Hurson district in the Hatlon region of Tajikistan who were left without shelter during torrential rains in April and May.
Beginning in 2010, in vitro fertilisation will be included in the guaranteed package of free medical care in Kazakhstan. The cost of IVF in Kazakhstan today is between US$3,000 to $5,000.
Pakistan’s Federal Minister of Water and Power Raja Pervez Asharaf is seeking Tajikistan’s help. He believes Tajikistan’s expertise in hydroelectric power generation will benefit Pakistan.
Kyrgyzstan President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, in a speech on a new approach to educational reform, said the criminal world and extremist movements have made schools a target to impose their influence.
Pakistan’s Health Ministry, with the financial assistance and technical support of international donors, is strengthening the country’s health sector to fight the prevalence of various diseases and bring down mortality rates.
Uzbek gas distribution company Uztransgaz has notified Tajiktransgaz management that it would suspend natural gas deliveries beginning June 15 if an outstanding debt of US$18 million remains unpaid.
Parliamentary deputies oppose government plans to increase the number of toll roads, but the Kyrgyz government plans to spend only US$5 million on road reconstruction this year.
After six weeks of closely watching the spread of H1N1 swine influenza across the globe, the World Health Organisation (WHO) on June 11 declared the outbreak an official pandemic, raising the threat alert from five to six, its highest level.
Ranikot, the world’s largest fortresses, with walls enclosing 35 square km in the Jamshoro District in Pakistan, has turned into thieves’ hideout. The federal government had promised funds to renovate the historic site, but they have yet to materialise.
On June 9, former coach of Brazil’s and Portugal’s national teams Luiz Felipe Scolari signed an 18-month contract with the Uzbek football club Bunyodkor, following his departure as manager of Chelsea.
Prime ministerial financial advisor Shaukat Tarin predicts that fiscal year (FY) 2009-10, which begins July 1, will be tough for the economy of Pakistan that faces its worst scenario since January 2008.
Tajikistan held its first paragliding championship June 8. Competitors from Russia and Great Britain participated with Tajik 'conquerors of the skies'. Competitions were held in two categories, a combination event (slalom and cross country) and landing accuracy.
Sarfraz Naeemi, a leading anti-Taliban cleric who often spoke out against militants, was killed in a suspected suicide bomb attack at his Islamic religious school in Lahore, Pakistan June 12. The explosion struck the Jaamia Naeemia madrassa around the time of Friday prayers.
Riot police clashed with supporters of presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi in the centre of Tehran June 13 after the government declared that he had been defeated in a landslide by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Tear gas and batons were used by police to battle angry crowds, a bus was set on fire and explosions were heard in the distance.
The Kyrgyz Central Elections Commission has accredited foreign observers for the upcoming presidential elections. Up to 1,000 foreign observers are expected to participate.
Tajikistan’s government is moving to resolve the problem of debt in the republic’s cotton sector by writing off debts in full or in part, deferring payment, allowing payment in instalments and issuing long-term securities.
Pakistan’s fastest growing sector, telecommunications, suffered a setback in the second half of 2008 in the wake of economic slowdown, high taxes, cost mark-ups and high inflation.
Cambridge University announced a scholarship programme for as many as 15 Pakistani undergraduates to be admitted to the prestigeous UK institution.
The OSCE announced that classes will be organised for national minorities that live in Tajikistan to learn the Tajik language. There are 120 nationalities and peoples living in Tajikistan who constitute 20 percent of the nation's population of 7 million.
One serviceman was killed in a fire at a National Security Committee Border Service ammunitions warehouse in the Almaty region. A criminal investigation has been launched to determine whether rules for handling weapons and dangerous substances had been violated.
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Leadership circles in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan responded favourably to Barack Obama's June 4 speech in Cairo during which the U.S. president called for a new beginning between the U.S. and the Muslim world.
