Tsetseegee Munkhbayar received a top award for environmental activism yesterday, for initiating and building the Onggi River Movement. Mr. Munkhbayar is a self-educated yak herdsman who has insisted upon accountability in Mongolia's mining industry. The story has captured international attention and can be found at Taipei Times, al-Jazeera, and elsewhere. The Goldman Prize Organization web site […]
President Nazarbaev's diplomatic agility remains critical in Kazakhstan's military affairs. New military reform efforts have been bolstered this year, showing that Kazakhstan intends to glide past both domestic and international constraints with as much friendliness, and as many partners, as possible. Domestic issues Early this year, Kazakh Defense Minister Mukhtar Altynbaev was recalled from his post. Through April, Kazakhstan's […]
If this comes to fruition, it is the best news of the day: According to official news reports, a Turkish construction firm has been awarded a Multiple Award Construction Contract (MACC) for building mother and child wellness "Ene Myahri" centers in Mary (Merv), Lebap, Dashuguz, and Balkan. These four cities are the capitals of Turkmenistan's […]
Last Thursday, April 19th, Kyrgyzstan's opposition promised a “decisive day” against Bakiev's government. At least that much is true: the nine-day long protests in Bishkek ended in violence. Therefore the protests, which were a call to reduce the power of the executive branch in the Constitution, may well result in increased presidential power. According to Russia's […]
The Honorable Kevin Rudd, Leader of the Opposition in the Australian House of Representatives, spoke today at The Brookings Institution. The topic: US diplomatic engagement with China. His remarks focussed almost completely upon issues of East Asia and the Pacific, but some of his comments apply quite well to US-Chinese diplomacy concerning Central Asia. China's Priorities Most Central Asia […]
Yesterday, an article about agricultural practice in the Ferghana Valley brought me up short, because the numbers in it just sounded wrong. However, I am no agricultural expert: I spent a good part of the day talking to some wonderful people who know and study cotton at Texas A & M University. In particular, I […]
Conflict between journalists and the Minister of Culture and Information Mr. Ermukhamet Ertsybaev has been a constant theme since May of 2006, when journalists protested the Minister's “authoritarian methods”. Last month, protest erupted again when Mr. Ertsybaev had television journalists from the station ERA ejected from a March 2 event. By Monday, March 5, journalists were calling for Mr. […]
The Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC), met today in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. They met in order to analyze their work, celebrate successes, and most of all, to formulate policy for 2008. The meeting was opened by Russia's Prime Minister, Mikhail Fradkov, who gave the opening remarks. Mr. Fradkov suggested that there were many integration […]
Umida Niyazova will be on trial in Uzbekistan April the 19th. According to Ferghana.ru News Agency: Umida Niyazova is charged with illegal border crossing, smuggling, manufacturing or distribution of subversive literature with the help of financial or other aid, received from religious organizations and also from foreign states, organizations and citizens. Ms. Niyazova is a […]
Reports of dissent within Zimbabwe's security forces represent hope for change in Mugabe's regim Hints of police dissatisfaction are not new — back in December and January similar rumors circulated. Here is what I wrote about the possibility of police backlash then: [The recent revelation] represents an interesting development inasmuch as Mugabe relies on both […]
Contributed by Rich Basas of FPA's Migration Blog: Rapid double digit economic growth in China and its newly minted membership in the WTO has greatly changed the world economy and China's position as an economic and political power. This view, while prominent within China is more importantly the dominant view among its neighbors abroad. Much of the […]
As I type South Africa is running down England in their World Cup Cricket Super Eight match. This is the game I have been waiting for since the Super Eight fixtures were announced, and as the weeks have passed it grew more and more clear that the South Africa-England competition would be huge and probably […]
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