The case of a former Uzbek spy who fled to Britain this week after accusing President Islam Karimov of personally ordering massacres has sparked heated reactions across Central Asia, with the intelligence agencies of both Tajikistan and Uzbekistan offering contradictory assessments of his allegations and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) also weighing in.
Diana Khidasheli and her four children spent the night before the August 8 outbreak of war with Russia in their house basement, hoping for an end to the intensive shelling of their village, Kemerti, in the Georgian-controlled South Ossetia conflict zone. Now Khidasheli thinks the decision to hide was a mistake. The next day, she had no time to pack.
A new Kazakh media holding company, made up of outlets that support the government, has what's left of the independent media more than a little worried.
One of the most controversial figures in recent Uzbek history and the oldest political prisoner in the country, Ahmadjon Odilov, has been released from jail on the heels of a visit by a senior US official.
dilov, now 83, was once regarded as a potential rival to President Islam Karimov with considerable influence within the opposition.
An Azerbaijani journalist who was seriously injured in a knife attack says prosecutors investigating the assault have launched a smear campaign against him.
The developments come amid growing criticism of Baku's press-freedom record and concerns the country's October 2008 presidential elections will see the muzzling of all nonstate media.
Six months ago, Gulya started taking methadone to kick her 17-year drug habit. The drug, administered clinically at a government-run health center, silences her cravings to inject heroin, making it possible for her to care for her two children.
