Tension is rapidly escalating along the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border. In response to violent Islamic militant attacks in late May, Uzbek authorities have started to fortify their frontier by building three-meter-wide trenches in some areas, according to Kyrgyz media reports. Bishkek has criticized the Uzbek action as a violation of mutual security agreements.
The Silk Road, a 2,000-year-old trade route between China and Europe, may soon be granted the same status as the pyramids thanks to a six-nation bid to get it included on UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage List.
A special military force dedicated to protecting Central Asia from attack is to be created under the auspices of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), according to a report in a Russian newspaper.
The United States is proposing significant increases to its aid packages for Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in the hopes that stabilizing those countries will enhance US efforts to defeat the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.
The threat posed by Islamic militant groups in Central Asia, especially in the Kyrgyz and Tajik portions of the Ferghana Valley, appears to be growing, according to the US State Department's recently released annual report on terrorism.
Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan sell some of the dirtiest petrol in the world, according to the International Fuel Quality Center.
In its annual survey, released last month, the Houston-based energy industry consultancy said the three had tied for 90 out of 100 countries based on regulated sulfur limits in gasoline.
Saidjon, a 15-year-old student at Dushanbe's Haji Kemal Tajik-Turkish boarding school, is happy to be among the privileged few to attend what many consider one of the best schools in Tajikistan. Saidjon speaks four languages and has won two international education contests.
The nomination of a key State Department official responsible for Central Asia and the Caucasus is being held up because of concerns about his views on Turkish-Armenian relations.
With its energy strategy for Central Asia in grave danger of unraveling, Russia is striving to create an appearance of normalcy as the first step in reasserting its energy role in the region.
