As donors and government officials converge on London to discuss ways to support the military surge in Afghanistan, non-governmental organizations are wary. Some NGO representatives who are responsible for implementing humanitarian projects in the strife-torn nation worry that the international conference may undermine their missions.
Muhtar Yusupbekov has no regrets about his decision to send his 12-year-old son Muhammad abroad to Egypt to study. Muhammad, his father says, used to attend a local Russian-language school in his native Bishkek, but "he always had a passion to study religion, especially the Koran."
Narek Markarian is the first to admit that physically, he isn't a dead ringer for the late King of Rock and Roll, despite his glossy pompadour and sleek black sideburns.
But Markarian, who's come to be known as the "Armenian Elvis," says that preserving the musical memory of Elvis Aaron Presley -- born 75 years ago today -- is what matters to him most.
Human rights activists in Azerbaijan characterize the criminal prosecution of opposition editor Eynulla Fatullayev, as well as the recent convictions of youth activists Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade, as politically motivated efforts to repress dissenting voices. Activists add that more Western pressure on Baku is needed to arrest the government's efforts to stifle freedom of speech.
No country in the Caucasus or Central Asia saw its ranking rise in this year's Freedom in the World report, released January 12 by the democratization organization Freedom House.
Kyrgyzstan's political system has deteriorated over the past year, according to Freedom House, which characterized the country as "not free,"slipping from "partly free" in last year's report.
Preliminary proceedings began on December 22 for two Azerbaijani bloggers and youth activists who were convicted last month on hooliganism charges. The appeal proceedings will take place against a backdrop of increasingly vocal international criticism against Azerbaijan's media policy.
Young Georgians are reviving a lost tradition of hymns and folk music as they strive to reestablish their country's cultural identity and historical tradition as something distinct from Russian or Soviet influence.
In recent years, Georgia has seen a surge of interest in preserving traditions that predate the country's 1804 annexation by the Tsarist Empire and 1921 re-annexation by Bolshevik Rus
Economic adversity and aggressive government action in Kyrgyzstan have placed Hizb-ut-Tahrir, a non-violent Islamic radical group, on the defensive. The underground organization now is struggling to regain traction as its membership dwindles.
Mehmet Savasir was 24 when he learned he was dying. His treatment for what a local doctor had assumed was tuberculosis wasn't working. The pain in his lungs was getting worse, he found breathing increasingly difficult, and he had lost 20 kilograms in two months.
