Zamira Eshanova is a correspondent for RFE/RL's Uzbek Service.
The sudden dismissal of Kamchybek Tashiev as head of Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security (SCNS) marks a major shift in the country’s political balance.
Kazakhstan will hold a referendum on a sweeping new constitution that reshapes parliament, expands presidential powers, and addresses the status of the Russian language. Officials call the process inclusive, but critics say it consolidates authority under Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev and sidelines dissent.
The EU’s new sanctions target two Uzbek companies tied to businessman Rustam Muminov, who is sanctioned for supplying cotton pulp for Russian gunpowder and ammunition production. Evidence suggests his network dominates Uzbekistan’s cotton cellulose exports to Russia.
Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov dismissed Kamchybek Tashiev as chairman of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS) on February 10 and appointed Jumgalbek Shabdanbekov as acting chairman amid rising political tensions in the Central Asian nation.
Under a proposed 20th European Union sanctions package against Russia, expected to be adopted by the end of the month, Kyrgyzstan could face certain export restrictions for the first time.
Bishkek is hosting the B5+1 Forum this week, bringing together officials and business leaders from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and the United States to explore investment opportunities and deepen economic ties.
Lawyer confirms former presidential daughter is alive and incarcerated in an Uzbek prison, but says she denies wrongdoing and will continue to fight against asset seizures.
Secretly recorded audio shows the eagerness of Uzbekistan's newly installed finance minister to make good on his boss's order to get rid of the old-guard "rats."
Scientists in Uzbekistan say they will soon begin genetically testing children in search of future Olympic athletes. But is Uzbekistan's plan really a good idea? And is it even good science?
While according to the Uzbek Constitution elections are required this year, many observers say Islam Karimov will not surrender his office anytime soon.
Fayoz Tojikhalilov is an Uzbek citizen who fled to Kyrgyzstan in the wake of the May 2005 military crackdown in Andijon. He was later arrested and jailed, and he now awaits either trial in Kyrgyzstan or extradition to Tashkent.
Saudi security forces preparing for this year's hajj Some 1.5 million-2.5 million Muslims are expected to take part in the world's biggest religious congregation -- the annual pilgrimage known as the hajj. Although the hajj is a spiritual ritual, there are fears that militants could try to disrupt the hajj as part of their ongoing resistance to the Saudi regime. While there is no history of terrorist attacks during the hajj, Saudi Arabia has been battling a wave of violence by militants linked to Al-Qaeda. More than 100 people have been killed, many of them foreigners, since May 2003. Some 50,000 Saudi security forces are reported to be deployed during this year's hajj, with some 10,000 of them assigned directly to security matters. In the fourth and final part of our series on the hajj, RFE/RL looks at what security precautions the Saudis are putting in place and speaks with pilgrims, who largely discount the terror threat. (In Part 1 --> /featuresarticle/2005/01/cf26e68a-2dc4-4ebc-9c22-32eeee5f8b45.html of this series, RFE/RL examines the history, rituals, and meaning of the pilgrimage; in Part 2 --> /featuresarticle/2005/01/3c24591b-8bed-42dd-ab5e-5d6bc90f84f9.html , RFE/RL reports that the number of young Muslims making the journey to Mecca appears to be growing; in Part 3 --> /featuresarticle/2005/01/4f5c109a-7670-426e-a3ec-cb4217782165.html , we look at complaints of bribery, corruption, and price gouging at the annual pilgrimage.)
Mardikors gather at markets in the early morning in hopes of finding work In December 1977, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming 8 March as a commemorative day honoring women's rights and international peace. The tradition of marking a special woman's day stretches back nearly a century, and continues to unite women across the world regardless of ethnic and political boundaries. In this four-part series, RFE/RL profiles four extraordinary women in Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan.
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