With nine months to go before Baku hosts the Eurovision pop-music competition, transparency concerns are arising about Azerbaijani government expenditures on the event.
A powerful earthquake registering 6.2 on the Richter scale struck Ferghana Valley early July 20, affecting Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. The epicenter of the quake was about 45 kilometers south of the Uzbek city of Ferghana.
Journalist Ogulsapar Muradova was murdered in a Turkmen prison after one of her children challenged police surveillance methods. The adult-age children were taken early September 14 to an Ashgabat morgue to identify the body, which showed signs of a "violent death."
For Turkmenistani students, one of the worst legacies of the Soviet era is their forced and uncompensated annual participation in the cotton harvest. It is not unusual for students at the secondary and higher education levels spend weeks working in fields, rather than studying in classrooms.
He said this, in turn, would help accelerate progress toward democracy.
"Since Tajikistan has publicly expressed that it intends to be a member of the democratic states of the world, I believe it's important from time to time to remind about the most fundamental tenants of democracy," Hoagland said. "One of [them] is pluralism and freedom of the mass media."
The ministry on August 2 sent a circular letter to all Uzbek media outlets stating that, starting immediately, military censors must review all defense/security-related reports. Censorship was necessary to promote "objective coverage" of developments and "to avoid misunderstandings," the letter explained.
Some candidates are already well known -- like current Afghan Transitional Administration Chairman Hamid Karzai -- but the official list has not yet been finalized.
But at the end of July it's unclear where the party stands among voters. Observers say July has been a difficult month.
One setback involves Ak Zhol co-Chairman Bolat Abilov, who was found guilty of slander on 27 July, receiving an 18-month suspended sentence. The verdict bans him from running in the election.
The desert capital of one of the world's most isolated countries already has five-star hotels, new government buildings, and newly widened streets. And soon it will add new theaters, an ice-skating palace, and even a Turkmen version of Disneyland to its architectural landscape.
The controversy surrounding the Juma mosque community, led by Imam Ilgar Ibrahimoglu, stretches back to March, when authorities first issued the eviction order. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
