When Western Europe tanks, so does the homeward-bound cash flow.
Of all his aphorisms, carpe diem is the lyric poet Horace's most famous. But he also said, "Your own safety is at stake when your neighbor's house is ablaze."
The strong presence of Central Asian artists at recent art fairs and exhibits in New York is helping to underscore the fact that the region has joined the mainstream of the international art market.
The strong presence of Central Asian artists at recent art fairs and exhibits in New York is helping to underscore the fact that the region has joined the mainstream of the international art market.
The global economic downturn is likely to cut the amount of cash sent by millions of migrants worldwide to their families back home, the UN and other agencies have warned, and the impact is likely to be felt keenly in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
A financial catastrophe is looming for Central Asia's poorest countries, as migrant workers in the once booming powerhouses of Russia and Kazakhstan are having increasing trouble finding work, and are thus unable to send cash back to loved ones in impoverished Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Donald Rumsfeld, a former U.S. secretary of defense, has started a foundation that includes as one of its main areas of focus Central Asia and the Caucasus.
People in Kyrgyzstan will likely feel warmer this winter, but the extra heat will come at quite a price: the government signed a deal last week to sell Gazprom about 75 percent of the beleaguered state-owned natural-gas company, Kyrgyzgaz.
A three-sided diplomatic scrum is intensifying in Central Asia, as US, Russian and Chinese officials are stepping up efforts to wring energy-export deals from regional leaders.
