Bruce Pannier is a Central Asia analyst and appears regularly on the Majlis podcast for RFE/RL.
Parliament has passed a vote of no confidence against the Constitutional Court after it overturned constitutional amendments made last year.
The country's highest court has ruled that two packages of amendments are illegal, thereby restoring the 2003 constitution and the presidential powers it offers.
The prime minister has warned the consortium operating the Kashagan project that the government has doubts about its ability to complete the project.
Kazakhstan held elections in August that some officials claim helped their bid to chair the OSCE, but critics say the poll simply showed the country is not ready.
Tajikistan has immense untapped hydropower potential (file photo) (OSCE) August 30, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Tajikistan has canceled a contract with Russian aluminum giant RusAl for the construction of a hydroelectric power station.
The ex-husband of the president's eldest daughter is already wanted for kidnapping. Now, Nursultan Nazarbaev has dismissed one of two remaining son-in-laws from an influential industrial post.
Authorities are piling up the evidence in the case against Rakhat Aliev, as the scandal engulfs his father and associates.
Will Islam Karimov become another president-for-life? (file photo) (ITAR-TASS) August 27, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- It was supposed to be a birthday party to pay tribute to an ancient Silk Road city on the 2,750th anniversary of its founding. There were fireworks, concerts, and food.
International and local rights groups in Kyrgyzstan say several detainees have died in police custody, but the authorities have done little to investigate.
While recent changes to the constitution made holding early parliamentary elections necessary, the outcome appears to be a foregone conclusion.
August 16, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Hu Jintao, and four Central Asian leaders met today in Bishkek for the sixth annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
The presidents of China, Russia, all five Central Asian states, Iran, and Afghanistan are expected to meet for the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Stephen J. Blank (Courtesy Photo) August 8, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Stephen Blank is a professor of national security studies at the U.S. Army War College's Strategic Studies Institute who has written extensively on the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). RFE/RL spoke with Blank about the SCO military exercises currently under way in China and Russia and the upcoming SCO summit in Bishkek.
A Viennese court has ruled that because of doubts about a fair trial for former Kazakh Ambassador Rakhat Aliev, it will not extradite him to Kazakhstan.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is set to begin counterterrorism exercises, though some observers question whether this is real objective.
(RFE/RL) August 6, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Saken Tauzhanov was a hard-hitting journalist who criticized both the opposition and the government in his native Kazakhstan.
A self-described Georgian academic's excavations are raising doubts about his intentions and expertise, and at least one group is calling for a criminal case.
With 40 members of two banned Islamic groups on trial in Kazakhstan, the country may be facing a rise in the extremism that troubles other Central Asian countries.
(AFP) August 1, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Kyrgyz authorities are investigating how 11 people -- including nine children -- were infected with the HIV/AIDS virus in the southern part of the country. A number of local health officials have already been dismissed and it appears some will be charged with criminal negligence in a case that already has sad precedents in Central Asia.
The rising cost of basic goods such as bread is raising concerns in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
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