Customers at the General Post Office (GPO) in Peshawar February 6 buy stamps commemorating the late computer prodigy Arfa Karim, who died of epilep...
Gazprom’s management estimates that Russia’s purchases of natural gas from Turkmenistan will decrease by 75 percent over the next three years.
On Nov. 29, Iran approved plans to build ten industrial-sized uranium enrichment facilities, a dramatic expansion of the programme, in defiance of UN demands that it halt enrichment.
The industrial sector in Pakistan has paid US$1.1 billion in loans to domestic banks in the last seven months, demonstrating a sharp turnaround in the sector, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) revealed in its monetary policy, announced on Nov. 24.
Temirbank, Kazakhstan’s tenth-largest bank announced on Nov. 23 that it was defaulting on its obligations. It is the third Kazakh bank to be forced to restructure its debts this year.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Nov. 26 led a chorus of officials in calling on the international community to make greater efforts to tackle the global pandemic of violence against women and girls.
On Nov. 24, Islamabad police rounded up more than 200 suspects during an area-wide search operation carried out in the capital and near Rawalpindi.
Mangal Bagh and his Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) supporters are cruel killers and extortionists who have no respect for women, said eye-witnesses to the atrocities he and his TTP supporters in Khyber Agency committed last year.
The International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) may deny the Kyrgyz government the right to administer the .kg national domain name if it does not reach a compromise on the matter with the local Internet community.
An animated video entitled “Right to Life” that addresses the stigmatisation and discrimination faced by HIV/AIDS sufferers has been released in Shymkent.
Ceremonies in Mumbai marking the first anniversary of a series of devastating attacks on the Indian city by violent extremists included a police parade, the inauguration of a memorial and a candle-lit prayer service.
The cost to bury exposed uranium tailings and revamp existing tailing dumps in northern Tajikistan will exceed US$22 million. The Tajik government will seek funding for the effort at the IAEA conference at the end of this month.
State Flag Day was celebrated in Tajikistan for the first time on Nov. 24. The country’s flag was adopted 17 years ago after the republic won its independence.
The current offensive by Pakistan’s army to oust the Taliban is a great one said Dr Khadim Hussain Swati, a professor at Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad, on Nov. 21.
Tajikistan is actively raising funds to finish building what will be the region’s largest hydroelectric power station. Workers are buying shares in it, but experts question whether they are doing so voluntarily.
The Kazakh Ministry of Internal Affairs is drafting a new law to combat organised crime that will double prison terms for members of organised criminal gangs.
Pakistan’s Air Force received the first Joint Fighter-17 Thunder jet manufactured in Pakistan on Nov. 23.
On Nov. 23, the Bishkek Department of Education confirmed it had ordered all state schools in the capital to close, on public health grounds. Officials say the measure is due to an epidemic of cold-like and viral illnesses that have infected more than a third of the city’s schoolchildren.
On Nov. 22, Iran began large-scale air defence war games aimed at protecting its nuclear facilities from attack, Iranian state television reported. An air force commander boasted that the country could deter any military strike by Israel.
The Kyrgyz Ministry of Emergency Situations has decided to ban the circulation of earthquake forecasting data without the ministry’s permission.
Peshawar, once famous as a centre of learning and culture, is now surrounded by more than 100 security checkpoints. Since the beginning of November, bomb blasts have paralysed life there, as violent extremists attack civilians to pressure the army to end its offensive.
Pakistan's army fought Islamist militants for control of a northwestern district on Nov. 23, killing 18 of them in an escalating campaign against insurgents intent on toppling the government.
On Nov. 23, Kazakh Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev announced an aid programme for Afghanistan that includes funding to rebuild roads, construct schools and hospitals, deliver supplies and educate Afghan students.
The average worker earns US$140 a month in Kyrgyzstan. The capital of Bishkek boasts the highest wages, whereas the southern cities of Osh and Batken have on average the lowest incomes.
It is time to actively engage students in understanding violent extremism to enable them to play a role in steering Pakistan out of the current crisis.
The OSCE office in Dushanbe has presented a plan to reform and develop Tajikistan’s law enforcement agencies over the next five years.
Tajik citizens and non-governmental organisations now have to pay for written or verbal information they request from government agencies.
On Nov. 20, the representatives of six world powers urged Iran to accept a UN plan aimed at delaying its enrichment of uranium.
Turkmenistan’s Oil and Gas Expo 2009, which drew 160 foreign companies from 28 nations, including the U.S., China, Japan and countries of the EU and the CIS to expand business contacts and find new investors and partners, concluded Nov. 19.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Balance of Payments report released on Nov. 21 revealed a massive US$5.6 billion reduction in the nation’s current account deficit during the first four months of the 2009-2010 financial year (FY).
International NGO Transparency International published its annual “Corruption Perceptions Index” on Nov. 17.
On Nov. 17, debt cancellation certificates were issued to 200 farms in Tajikistan, as part of an initiative to cancel farmers’ cotton debts amounting to nearly US$550 million.
The UN General Assembly's human rights committee condemned Iran on Nov. 20 for a violent crackdown on protesters after presidential elections this year that the Iranian opposition says were rigged.
The capital of Uzbekistan demolished one of Central Asia’s most important architectural and historic monuments, the ancient St. Aleksandr Nevsky’s Church, following a decision by authorities.
Kyrgyz Prosecutor-General Elmurza Satybaldyev declared that ex-president Askar Akayev, who was overthrown in the Tulip Revolution, will not face arrest if he returns to Kyrgyzstan.
Pakistan has decided to deport Afghans living in the country illegally, officials said on Nov. 20.
According to the “Scale and nature of gender-based violence in Kyrgyzstan” study published Nov. 17, 83 percent of Kyrgyz women are subjected to violence.
The History of Communications Museum, with a collection of more than 400 exhibits, opened in Tashkent.
The arrival of cold weather has increased demand for electricity in Kyrgyzstan’s northern and north-western regions. As a result, energy firm Severelektro added restrictions to the supply of energy at times of peak demand.
Realising the dangerous effects of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, the government of Pakistan plans to initiate the “National Programme for the Promotion of Organic Farming in Pakistan.”
On Nov. 13, Tajikistan's Barki Tochik State Energy Company denied charges levelled by Kazakhstan's National Energy Systems Regulatory Company that Tajikistan had siphoned electricity from the United Energy Systems of Central Asia without authorisation.
Dushanbe hosted an investment forum for representatives of more than 50 Chinese companies that expressed interest in investing much needed capital in Tajikistan’s economy.
Hundreds of educational institutions in Pakistan have given up the decades-old tradition of holding morning assemblies amid the fear of attacks by violent extremists.
The Ministry of Interior and Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal have jointly established the National Shuhada Children's Trust to provide for the children of police officers killed in terror attacks.
The press office of Kyrgyzgaz announced that the company has transferred US$3,000,000 to its Uzbek gas supplier, Uztransgaz. The company intends to pay off the remaining $8,500,000 it owes for “blue fuel” imports by the end of the year.
The Tablighi Ijtema is an annual event, founded by religious scholars more than five decades ago that focuses exclusively on preaching Islam. The Nov. 18-21 gathering is being held under tight security.
The head of the national water service in the Pyanj district of Khatlon Region has been arrested for attempting to bribe employees of the State Financial Control and Anti-Corruption Agency.
Iran ruled out sending its enriched uranium abroad for further processing, but said it would consider exchanging it for nuclear fuel, provided the fuel remained under supervision inside the country, the ISNA news agency said on Nov.18.
Eid-ul-Azha is just weeks away, but major markets in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and other cities look deserted as people are reluctant to go shopping.
Tajik surgeons successfully carried out Central Asia’s first donor kidney transplant on Nov. 5.
On Nov. 13, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev fielded questions posed by citizens during a televised call-in show. Confounding the expectations of many, he did not exploit the occasion to announce new political or economic initiatives for the nation.
In what may prove one of the biggest breakthroughs against violent extremism since 9/11, the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), a militant Libyan Jihadist group once allied with Osama bin Laden, is publicly repudiating Al-Qaeda's ideology.
Iran has sentenced five defendants to death in a mass trial of opposition figures accused of fomenting the unrest that followed the disputed June 12 presidential election, state television reported Nov. 17.
Pakistan’s Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA) distributed free books and school bags to needy students, its chairman said recently.
A school the army says churned out suicide bombers now lies in ruins. Soldiers patrol towns once ruled by militants who gave refuge to Al-Qaeda. Bundles of terror manuals, extremist propaganda and boxes of ammunition and explosives were left behind.
Tajikistan’s lower house of parliament has approved a draft law “On the state budget of the Republic of Tajikistan for 2010.” While focusing on the social welfare sector, it also makes provision for a significant investment of capital to boost the economy.
After beating Malaysia 3-1, the Uzbek team became the sole Group C leader at the end of the elimination round of the 2011 Asian Cup.
One by one, recruits from Pakistan's Punjab heartland would make the seven-hour drive to Waziristan, where they would pull up to an office that made no secret of its mission. The signboard above the office door read
Female legislators in the National and Provincial Assemblies have strongly condemned the brutal killing of civilians in attacks by violent extremists across Pakistan since early October.
The president of Turkmenistan has issued a decree requiring businesses, ministries, administrative departments and educational institutions to have their personnel engage in athletic competitions, starting from Jan. 1, 2010, in the name of a healthy national lifestyle.
The Kazakh government intends to declare the Daryal-U firing range (used by Russia until 2003) an ecological disaster area.
Panic over the increase in swine flu cases is gripping Kyrgyzstan, where 32 new cases have officially been registered. MPs have asked the Healthcare Ministry and Anti-Monopoly Committee to regulate the sale of masks and antiviral medicines.
On Nov. 15, hundreds of French and Afghan troops pushed into a hostile valley in eastern Afghanistan to secure an area where a highway bypassing the Afghan capital is to be built.
The new Kyrgyz government has launched reforms with unpopular measures. On Nov. 12, the prime minister signed an order to double electrical and heating rates for all consumers.
Russia's lower house of parliament ratified an agreement with Tajikistan to open the Pamir-Chacaltaya International Research Centre (PCIRC), a facility dedicated to the study of high-energy cosmic rays.
On Nov. 12, more than 770kg of narcotics were destroyed in a custom-designed incinerator in Dushanbe. The stash of illegal drugs held by police was material evidence in 250 different criminal cases. The same day, the Mini Dublin Group discussed drug smuggling in Tajikistan and other Central Asian countries.
On Nov. 15, violent extremists in Pakistan stormed the homes of two anti-Taliban elders, killing one of them, police said, as the death toll from a Peshawar bombing rose to 15.
The shortage of water in Pakistan has generated an internal need that must be resolved immediately, according to Dr Shoaib Ahmad, social scientist and visiting faculty member at the International Institute of Islamic Economics.
On Nov. 12, Tajikistan’s IMF head Axel Schimmelpfennig and permanent IMF representative Luke Moers issued a joint statement calling for urgent reforms in Tajik business and agriculture.
At a meeting on Nov. 11, the parliamentary Ak Zhol party voted to oppose Kyrgyzstan’s ratification of a UN protocol abolishing the death penalty.
Despite numerous protests, Kazakhstan's lower house of parliament approved on Nov. 11 a privacy bill limiting the media’s right to disclose information on the lifestyles of public officials.
An educational seminar for 30 school-aged journalists who contribute to children’s publications in Uzbekistan was held in Tashkent during the school holidays
Tajikistan and Poland signed an economic cooperation agreement that Poland’s Deputy Economic Minister called the start of a new phase in bilateral relations.
Following in the footsteps of their leaders, thousands of hard-core fighters of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan have fled South Waziristan to save their lives and take refuge elsewhere, experts said on Nov. 11.
A suicide bomber attacked the northwestern regional headquarters of Pakistan’s intelligence agency in Peshawar, followed by a later suicide assault in the area. Twenty people were killed in the two bombings on Nov. 13.
A CNN investigative report shows how the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), a militant jihadist group once close to Osama bin Laden, now repudiates Al-Qaeda.
Diplomats informed the Associated Press (AP) on Nov. 12 that Iran's recently revealed uranium enrichment hall is a highly fortified underground space that appears too small to house a civilian nuclear programme, but is large enough to serve military purposes.
The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences has directed a team of psychiatrists to provide psychological support to trauma victims.
The three-day American film festival in Tashkent that concluded on Nov. 8 was hailed by critics as one of the most important cultural events of the autumn.
Religious extremism in Kyrgyzstan was discussed at a recent meeting of the parliamentary Ak Zhol party.
Only a democratic government can improve the national economy and ensure the security of the country, said Punjab Governor Salman Taseer on Nov. 9.
The EU-funded and UNDP-implemented Central Asia Drug Action Programme (CADAP) has provided computers and household, office and sports equipment to a half-way house at a prison hospital in Dushanbe that rehabilitates former inmates with drug addictions.
A car bomb exploded outside a crowded market in northwestern Pakistan on Nov. 10 killing at least 24 people, in the latest attack by suspected militants apparently aimed at avenging an army offensive along the Afghan border.
Tajikistan’s internal affairs minister has said that about 200 terrorist gangs have been neutralised in Tajikistan since 1997.
The government of Pakistan is offering financial support to exporters...
Helicopter gunships shelled militant hideouts in northwestern Pakistan on Nov. 11 killing 10 suspected insurgents, following a Taliban attack that left two paramilitary soldiers dead at an outpost in the area.
Kazakhstan finished third in the medals table at the third Asian Indoor Games in Hanoi, Vietnam, which were held from Oct. 30 to Nov. 8.
The Uzbek government has refused to transfer electricity from Turkmenistan to Tajikistan via its grid. Tajikistan’s deputy minister of energy and industry has said that talks pursued since the middle of the summer have been fruitless.
Culture is a major tool to control religious extremism and create harmony in society, as visual and performing arts are a source of relaxation, said Khalid Javaid, the executive director of the National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage.
Sanzhar Umarov, a well-known member of the opposition and leader of the Sunshine Coalition, was released from prison on Nov. 8. The 52-year-old spent four years in detention and was granted an early release.
Director of the new Central Agency for Development, Investment and Innovation Maksim Bakiev held his first press conference in that capacity and outlined Kyrgyzstan’s development priorities.
A Nov. 9 accident on the Nurek-Regar high-voltage electricity transmission line cut power to 70 percent of the country, including the capital, Dushanbe.
The significance of the army breakthrough into Sararogha, a known Taliban stronghold in South Waziristan, cannot be underestimated, said the director-general of Inter-Services Public Relations, Ather Abbas.
The OSCE Office in Tajikistan and the Tajik Ministry of Defence have agreed to create a National Humanitarian Mine Clearance Agency within the Ministry of Defence.
Pink Ribbon Pakistan, a group dedicated to breast cancer awareness, in collaboration with the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Oncology, launched the nation’s first mobile mammogram clinic.
According to Zhurnalisty, an authoritative non-government organisation, 58 journalists have been attacked in Kyrgyzstan since 2005.
The Union of Turkmen Artists launched an exhibition of Turkmen stage design, coinciding with the country’s Independence Day celebrations.
Most of the leaders of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have fled South Waziristan to escape the army’s operation against them.
On Nov. 4, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon signed an amnesty law that took effect that day, and will result in the release of almost half of the country's prisoners.
Inflation, the current account deficit, rising international commodity prices and a low tax-to-GDP ratio are the major challenges facing the national economy, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), which also reported signs of gradual recovery during the current financial year (FY).
New ID cards introduced a few months ago in Kazakhstan are confusing border guards in neighbouring countries who have not been briefed on the new changes to Kazakh identity documents.
