Itar-Tass reports that the presidents of Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan will be cementing cooperative efforts “on all levels.” A meeting took place between Kyrgyzstan's Mr. Bakiev and Turkmenistan's Mr. Berdymukhamedov as part of unofficial SCO activities. Mr. Berdymukhamedov is an honorary guest at the SCO summit this year. It is his first time attending the event. […]
This week, the Stockholm International Water Institute is celebrating the “World Water Week”. We’re all pretty focused on oil these days, but in reality, water scarcity is more of a challenge. Last year, the UN Development Programme issued a report that highlighted water scarcity and the political and institutional reasons that water remained a tight factor […]
Well, the war games are now in Chelyabinsk until the 17th. We have to wait a little while longer for the mass press releases that usually attend the political meetings of the Annual SCO Summit. But so far, things are looking quite interesting. President Hu of China arrived in Bishkek today, and it looks like he's […]
Well, I don't mind saying I thought this case was over and done, but it isn't. Mr. Seidenfeld, who has been held in jail while undergoing a trial with what looked like exceedingly shaky evidence, was acquitted last month. However, the original complainant, AOA Arna, has filed an appeal of the judge's sentence. According to an […]
Jakarta: Approximately two weeks ago, I mentioned the Hizb-ut-Tahrir World Conference 2007 that was to take place in Jakarta on August 12th. Well, BBC's Lucy Williamson covered the conference, which was well-attended: it filled the 100,000-capacity stadium that had been booked. Several speakers who had previously committed did not show, however. London: On August 9, […]
This video is from Worldvision, and documents the actual living conditions of homeless children in Mongolia. Film conveys a lot: but like almost all art, it does not convey touch, smell, taste; this video does its best to include at least a verbal document of those miseries of children's street life. Along the way, it […]
Lots and lots of news: I recommend you start here, with Mr. Robichaud's interview about security, hostages, and other aspects of Afghanistan. U.S. Wind and Fury: –This week I talked about loose lips in the U.S. presidential race that can, well, sink ships of state. My collegue James Nadel at the FPA Elections 2008 blog also covered this, […]
It's Friday: must be time for the CAB. And what a week: there's no keeping up with this hot zone of geopolitical interest . . . although some states have more news than others. Central Asia General: –All SCO this week, every day. First, the beginning of a Collective Security Timeline, on a separate page […]
Well, to finish out a week of SCO backgrounders, I just want to include an uh, informative video of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. It seems that this video shows citizens of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea that President Kim Jong Il is also a participant in Shanghai Cooperation Organization events and meetings. You will notice that the DPRK […]
New developments: First of all, in a nice Americanizing of the names of other states’ scandals, there was what was once labelled “Kazakhgate“, which had to do with corruption, independent oil companies, and post-Soviet political economy; now we have “Rakhat-gate”, which is what this post is all about. This is an update on the deposed: fall of Rakhat Aliev (also […]
The Sound and the Gear: this short piece dates from around March 23rd of this year, and is featured courtesy of CCTV and YouTube. Note how the cornerstone of SCO policy continues to be cooperation against “Terrorism, Separatism, and Extremism.” The action clips look pretty heavy-duty, don't they? [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/0Iaan_5zt5w” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization begins its military exercises today, August 9, in the Xinjiang region. “Peace Mission 2007” (love the name) will end in Chelyabinsk, Russia on August 17th. Over 6500 military personnel will participate; according to Mr. Pannier over at RFE/RL, the bulk of the troops will be from China or Russia. Uzbekistan is sending […]
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