Antoine Blua is a senior correspondent for RFE/RL.
The Indus River system irrigates 80 percent of Pakistan's farmlands through a network of canals. Most of the water comes from glaciers in the Himalayan and Karakorum mountain ranges bordering China and India, and the Hindu Kush bordering Afghanistan. The rest comes from rainfall, especially during the monsoon season from July to September. Now, two major water reservoirs have reached critically low levels, and Pakistan is expected to face a shortage of irrigation water used for agriculture.
Shocked by the deaths of more than 300 people in the Beslan hostage crisis, Russia today began two days of official mourning as the North Ossetian town continued to bury the victims of the siege.
Last year, France, Britain, and Germany won concessions from Iran, which agreed to suspend uranium-enrichment activities to defuse the crisis over its nuclear program. But Tehran reversed that position after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in June issued a tough criticism of Iran for its lack of cooperation with IAEA inspectors. A new report issued yesterday by the UN nuclear watchdog confirms that Iran has slid away from its agreement with the European powers by resuming large-scale production of equipment to enrich uranium. RFE/RL asks an analyst about what Europe's next move might be.
Thirteen years ago today, Kyrgyzstan became the first Soviet Central Asian republic to declare its independence from the Soviet Union. Uzbekistan followed the next day, and Tajikistan about a week later on 9 September. By the end of that year, all five Soviet Central Asian republics were free nations. After years of Soviet domination, independence was hoped to usher in a period of rapid political and economic development. But RFE/RL spoke with two analysts who say the reality hasn't yet lived up to the expectations.
France's controversial law banning Islamic head scarves and other conspicuous signs of religious faith from public schools has been thrust back into the spotlight following the kidnapping of two French journalists in Iraq. The journalists were videotaped saying they may be killed if the ban is not lifted by late today.
The Kyrgyz government has made its tourism industry a top priority for development. It is looking to upgrade its tourist infrastructure and hoping to attract foreign investment. So it should come as good news that a Chinese company is now planning to build a large resort complex on the shores of Kyrgyzstan's Lake Issykul. But the project is facing stiff resistance from Kyrgyz politicians, residents, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) alike.
Three Tajik newspapers have been missing from newsstands since authorities last week closed down the only printing house that agreed to publish them. Western embassies in Dushanbe reacted by expressing concern about media freedoms in Tajikistan. Local and international media watchdogs went one step further, denouncing what they call attempts by Tajik officials to silence the independent press ahead of next year's parliamentary elections.
Established in the 1950s in the Middle East, Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami (The Party of Islamic Liberation) began operating in Central Asia around 10 years ago. The group advocates replacing the governments of the Muslim world with an Islamic state in the form of a caliphate. Although the group professes only peaceful means to achieve its aims, Central Asian governments have mostly taken a harsh stance against it.
For landlocked Central Asia, transport infrastructures and regional cooperation are key conditions to emerging from trade isolation. By opening transport links with neighboring China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have in recent years established themselves as important conduits for Chinese goods sold in Central Asia, where they are in great demand. Tajikistan followed almost three months ago with the opening of a border crossing that had been sealed since Soviet times.
Militia fighters have regularly clashed in Afghanistan's Herat Province over the past two years. The latest clashes are pitting forces loyal to provincial governor, Mohammad Ismail Khan, against those of rival factions. RFE/RL reports that the fighting appears to be taking place in several parts of the western Afghan province.
Ilham Aliyev said relations with Iran are improving Prague, 6 August 2004 (RFE/RL) -- Azerbaijan and Iran share a border but this has not been enough to foster close relations between the two. Iranian President Mohammad Khatami is visiting Azerbaijan this week. It's the first official trip to the neighboring country by an Iranian leader in more than 10 years.
Of the 16,000 athletes set to compete in this month's Olympic Games in Athens, only a handful will take away a gold, silver, or bronze medal. For many of them, their appearance at the Summer Games is the culmination of a lifetime of training. Winning a medal may mark the very pinnacle of their sports careers. But what about life after the games? Once their dream of an Olympic medal is achieved, what becomes of these star athletes? RFE/RL looks at the fate of some former Olympic medalists from the former Soviet Union.
Karimov blames Hizb ut-Tahrir for the violence (file photo) For the second time this year, Uzbekistan was the target of suicide bombers. The 30 July attacks targeted the U.S. and Israeli embassies as well as the Uzbek Prosecutor-General's Office. Seven people were killed, including the three bombers. Uzbek authorities, who have long warned of the threat of rising extremism, were quick to blame the attacks on members of the banned Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir. But analysts reject the Uzbek officials' view, saying the group has never been linked to any acts of violence.
The international aid group Doctors Without Borders (Medicins Sans Frontieres) has been in Afghanistan since 1980. It has braved the Soviet occupation from 1979 to 1989, the civil war in the 1990s, and the rule of the hard-line Taliban. The medical charity has now decided to pull out of Afghanistan, becoming the first major aid agency to quit the war-ravaged country since the ouster of the Taliban in late 2001.
Tobacco use kills nearly 5 million people each year around the world. Despite the many health risks associated with the habit, developing countries in recent years have recorded sharp increases in tobacco consumption. A new coalition of Kyrgyz nongovernmental organizations hopes to initiate a national anti-smoking campaign as cigarettes continue to grow in popularity among the nation's youth.
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili Tensions are easing following last week's confrontation between Tbilisi and Georgia's separatist region of South Ossetia that came after Ossetians detained a group of Georgian officers. The dispute sparked threats between Tbilisi and Moscow, which maintains peacekeepers in South Ossetia. But with the situation cooling today, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was free to travel to London for a three-day visit.
The Aral Sea, which straddles Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, was once the world's fourth-largest inland body of water. Today, however, it has shrunk to half its original size, due in large measure to the diversion of its feeder rivers for irrigation. This environmental catastrophe is being compounded by a related health crisis among the local population. Local populations are battling anemia, tuberculosis, and cancer believed to be linked to toxic residue left behind by evaporated Aral water. A new study finds that the Aral catastrophe is being imprinted on the DNA of local residents, raising fresh fears over the long term.
In Central Asia, corruption in the education system is rife. Low wages and lax standards have created a vicious cycle in which teachers and administrators demand bribes that students and parents often feel they can't refuse. The costs -- to students, schools, and society in general -- are high. Now officials in two countries, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, are taking tentative steps to introduce reforms. In this fourth and final part of our series on corruption in education, RFE/RL reports that reformers in both countries are hoping standardized testing can solve some of the problems.
A student in Tajikistan is forced to pay three times the average monthly salary for a high grade. A Kazakh teacher gets her students to pay for her trip to Moscow -- and they all pass their exam. In Turkmenistan, the obligation to pay bribes gives students there yet another reason to seek education abroad. All over Central Asia, corruption in education is a serious problem. In this third of a four-part series on the problem, RFE/RL reports that while students must often pay high prices for good grades, it's society that ultimately pays the higher price.
In recent years, more and more organizations have realized that the only way to achieve progress in the fight against the AIDS epidemic is by joining forces at the international, national, and regional levels. In Kyrgyzstan, for instance, civil society is currently joining efforts to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS and drug abuse among thousands of young soccer players. RFE/RL looks at this unique initiative in Central Asia, which is facing a steep rise in the number of HIV infections.
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