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European Union officials questioned Monday whether Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government can face up to the country's challenges but did not echo a U.S. pledge to withhold civilian aid without more accountability.
Russia's Gazprom saw its earnings halved in the first six months of the year due to lower natural gas prices and sinking demand in Europe, while overall debt jumped nearly a third, the company reported Monday.
Standing on the shore under the relentless Central Asian sun, Badarkhan Prikeyev drew on a cigarette and squinted into the distance as one fishing boat after another returned with the day's catch.
The smuggling of Afghan opiates is fueling addiction and drug use along trafficking routes from Iran to Central Asia as well as spreading diseases and funding insurgents, the U.N. warned Wednesday.
Uzbekistan has sharply criticized Russia's plan to boost its military presence in neighboring Kyrgyzstan, signaling a growing rift within a Moscow-dominated security alliance of ex-Soviet nations.
Anguished by ethnic violence in China but fearful that crackdowns on their minority group could spread, Uighur activists across Central Asia said Tuesday they have urged local communities to avoid large public protests.
European countries on Monday sealed an important agreement aimed at diversifying the continent's energy sources — but their pipeline project to bring natural gas from Central Asia and the Middle East to Europe can't entirely break Russia's dominance.
TURKMENBASHI, Turkmenistan — Four white-marble hotels opened here in June on a spit of sand by a landlocked sea — the beginnings of what is billed as Central Asia's answer to Las Vegas, an opulent $5 billion oasis of seaside villas, casinos, an artificial island and a ski center.
A Russian space capsule blasted off Wednesday into the searing hot afternoon skies of Central Asia on a landmark mission to expand the permanent human presence in space.
Economic growth in the Middle East and Central Asia could slow by more than half this year, but the region should still fare better than most others thanks to government intervention and stockpiles of oil wealth, the International Monetary Fund said Sunday.
Medieval knights, the warriors of Saladin, Roy Rogers and fans lining racetracks around the world all owe a debt to the Botai culture, residents of Central Asia who domesticated horses more than 5,000 years ago.
Russia sought to bolster its security alliance with six other ex-Soviet nations Wednesday by forming a joint rapid reaction force in a continuing effort to curb U.S. influence in energy-rich Central Asia.
The commander of U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan has arrived in Turkmenistan to discuss cooperation on increasing security across Central Asia.
A senior Russian diplomat harshly criticized the U.S. stance in arms control talks Friday, saying it could further erode mutual trust and undermine global stability.
Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan agreed Friday to set up an oil transport system across the Caspian Sea that will help get Central Asia's massive energy reserves to western markets and circumvent Russian territory.
Russian youths killed two people from Central Asia and assaulted two others, including a Turkmen diplomat, in separate attacks that came on a national holiday celebrating Russian unity, officials said Wednesday.
U.S. efforts to build closer ties to this energy-rich former Soviet republic are not meant to undermine Russian influence in Central Asia, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday.
Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus, led by Azerbaijan, made more changes than any other region to make doing business easier over the past year, according to annual rankings of 181 countries by the World Bank.
China's official Xinhua News Agency says an attack on a border patrol station on the country's frontier with Central Asia has killed 16 police officers.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday she will appoint a special envoy for energy issues to deal with the use of oil and gas for political means, particularly in Central Asia.
The commander of U.S. forces in Central Asia met with Uzbek President Islam Karimov on Thursday, the first visit by a high-level U.S. military officer since the authoritarian leader evicted American troops amid Western criticism of a bloody government crackdown.
The commander of U.S. forces in Central Asia has launched planning for more extensive use of U.S. troops to train Pakistani armed forces, a senior defense official said Wednesday.
Uzbeks were casting ballots Sunday in a tightly controlled presidential vote that is widely expected to extend the rule of one of the most autocratic and anti-Western leaders in strategic Central Asia.
Allegations of vote rigging and tensions between rival political parties dogged parliamentary elections Sunday in Kyrgyzstan, heightening worries about the stability of the nation that hosts the last U.S. base left in Central Asia.
UN Report Misleading on Afghanistan's Drug ProblemAs President Obama and his advisors debate future troop levels for Afghanistan, a new report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) muddies the water on one of the most important issues in the debate — the effects of Afghanistan's drug production.
Europe stoops to conquer the uzbeksThe worsening Afghan war has brought some good news for Uzbekistan. On Tuesday, the European Union announced it was lifting a four-year old arms embargo against Uzbekistan.
DAWN.COM | World | Quitting region now will be disaster: PentagonWASHINGTON: The Pentagon has warned that it would be a disaster if the US abandoned Pakistan and Afghanistan now.
BBC NEWS | South Asia | Pakistan's 'fanatical' Uzbek militantsIn South Waziristan, the Pakistani army is bracing itself for confrontation with what it says are "a large group of Uzbek extremists". So who are they and what are they doing in Pakistan? Sirojiddin Tolibov of the BBC's Uzbek service has this assessment.
BBC NEWS | South Asia | Pakistan's growing anti-US angerBy Aleem Maqbool BBC News, Islamabad Recently, while Pakistan's government may have been saying the things that the White House wants to hear, the country's media and public have often been openly hostile towards the United States.
Urgent Message from the Shabab of Hizb ut-Tahrir in UzbekistanThe systematic torture meted out by the corrupt Karimov regime against the Shabab of the Hizb ut-Tahrir in Uzbekistan has intensified greatly in recent times...
China web survey - boycott Australia over Australian support for Uyghur separatist KadeerIn an online poll conducted by huanqiu.com in August over 87 percent of the respondents favored boycotting Australia as a destination for travel or study in retaliation for the country hosting Rebiya Kadeer, a Uyghur separatist
Obama's WarIn the opening days of June 2009 President Obama placed the finishing touches on his plans for a renewed effort in the war in Afghanistan.
BBC NEWS | South Asia | Pakistan-Turkey rail trial startsPakistan has begun its first international freight train service from Islamabad to Istanbul. Its an optimistic economic endeavour for the region. Its expected to boost trade and there's plans for passenger expansion all the way into Europe.
Russia parries US thrust in Central AsiaThe Uzbeks explain the ingenuity of their mind by often repeating a saying that goes: when they speak, they seldom mean what they say; and when they act, they almost always disregard what they have in mind.
Bombshell: Bin Laden worked for US till 9/11In the interview, Sibel Edmonds says that the US maintained 'intimate relations' with Bin Laden, and the Taliban, "all the way until that day of September 11."
Bombshell: Osama Bin Laden worked for US until 9/11Former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds dropped a bombshell on the Mike Malloy radio show, guest-hosted by Brad Friedman.
U.S. Overlooks Kyrgyzstan Rights Abuses"You know what this is for," Emilbek Kaptagaev recalled being told by the police officers who snatched him off the street. No other words, just blows to the head, then all went black. Mr.
The Uyghurs and the Tibetans -- Struggling Against Chinese ColonialismThe news over the past few days that large-scale rioting has taken place in Urumqi is a reminder that the Tibetans are not the only people who are not happy with Chinese rule. But to understand the situation in either place it is necessary to be clear on a few background facts. …
140 killed and hundreds injured' in China riotChina said a riot that shook the capital of the western Xinjiang region killed 140 people and the government called the ethnic unrest a plot against its power, signalling a security crackdown.
Corrupt election campaign unfolds in US-occupied AfghanistanAmid the chorus of denunciations in US and European ruling circles over the alleged theft of the Iranian elections, the Obama administration and its NATO allies are presiding over an election campaign in Afghanistan that is as corrupt as it is illegitimate...
The real assetTwo things made America more influential and awe inspiring than any other nation on the face of the earth: cowboy movies and Michael Jackson.
The Failure to Protect: Battle-Affected IDPs in Southern AfghanistanIn early May, villagers in a remote corner of Western Afghanistan recounted how they tried to secure children, women and elderly men in a series of village compounds for safety during a raid on their village.
Russian ultranationalists target officialsRussian ultranationalists are increasingly resorting to violence against authorities in response to a sweeping government crackdown on hate crime, an independent watchdog said Monday.
Taliban threat spooks Central AsiaAs Pakistan continues large-scale military operations against Taliban militants in the country's northwest and the United States ratchets up its troop presence in Afghanistan, a recent comment by Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev captured in a nutshell the speculation these effor …
Beyond 'Af-Pak'The United States cannot win in Afghanistan while ignoring Central Asia. On May 26, unknown assailants attacked a border post in Uzbekistan's volatile Fergana Valley. Less than 24 hours later, a suicide bomber blew himself up in the nearby city of Andijan, killing a policeman.
World Bank: Ex-Soviets hit by climate changeThe former countries of the Soviet Union are severely suffering from climate change, and the effects are worsened by lingering ill effects of the Soviet era, the World Bank said.
Pakistan challenge and USAn old Moorish proverb brings to mind a great truth "He who is afraid of a thing gives it power over him." Sufi Muhammad threatened to cancel Swat Accord unless the president signed it immediately.
Obama may cede Iran's nuclear rightsWhen the wastes of Qyzylqum and Karakum blossom in early spring, the enchanting sight can pain one's heart.
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