Regional cooperation could only improve the lot of Central Asia's poor (RFE/RL) What if? That's the biggest question asked by a major new United Nations report on human development in Central Asia. What if the region could truly open up its borders, liberalize its economy, improve its respect for human rights, and democratize its political institutions? Well, for starters, life in Central Asia would be a lot better.
Turkmen President Niyazov (file photo) (RFE/RL) 7 December 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Turkmenistan's parliament has adopted a new law that gives President Saparmurat Niyazov direct control over the country's oil and gas sector, RFE/RL’s Turkmen Service reports citing Turkmen TV.
The Ferghana Valley, Central Asia's crossroads (RFE/RL) 7 December 2005 -- A new United Nations report says the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan could jointly battle poverty and crime by improving cross-border cooperation and removing unnecessary trade barriers.
Ministers gathering in Ljubljana on 5 December (epa) Ljubljana, 5 December 2005 (RFE/RL) --- The European Union today urged Uzbekistan, Belarus, and Turkmenistan to honor their OSCE commitments on human rights issues.
(RFE/RL) Prague, 1 December 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov has proposed to establish a special government group to tackle bribery in the country's oil-and-gas sector, RFE/RL's Turkmen Service reported.
Tajik migrant workers in the Russian city of Astrakhan (RFE/RL) 1 December 2005 -- President Vladimir Putin has submitted to Russia's lower house of parliament a bill that would make it easier for citizens of former Soviet republics to acquire Russian citizenship.
30 November 2005 -- Defense ministers from CIS countries are meeting today in Moscow to discuss military cooperation and peacekeeping operations.
Ivanov was speaking at a meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CTK) 29 November 2005 -- The secretary of Russia's National Security Council today accused the United States and NATO of putting pressure former Soviet republics in Central Asia and increasing tensions in the region.
The Independence Day parade in Ashgabat in October (AFP) 22 November 2005 -- A committee of the United Nations General Assembly has expressed serious concerns about the repression of political opposition groups, censorship of all media, and an abusive legal system in Turkmenistan.
The head of a U.S. body that monitors religious freedom has criticized the U.S. State Department for failing to list Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan among the most serious violators.
Reporters Without Borders has created a list of countries it considers "enemies of the Internet." Heading that list are China and Iran. Regimes in Belarus, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan also are singled out as repressive governments who are trying to control the Internet in order to silence the political opposition.
President Saparmurat Niyazov (file photo) (RFE/RL) 15 November 2005 -- State media say doctors in Turkmenistan must now pledge allegiance to President Saparmurat Niyazov, instead of taking the traditional Hippocratic oath.
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