Wednesday 27 June 2012

Central Asia

All the latest and breaking news from Central Asia.

latest central asia news

Kyrgyzstan to decide fate of Canadian-owned gold mine

Mountainous and lacking natural resources, Kyrgyzstan relies on the Kumtor gold mine for roughly 12 per cent of its national income

Kyrgyz parliamentarians will decide this week whether to nationalise the former Soviet state’s most important industrial operation, a Canadian-run gold mine accused of environmental damage.

26 Jun 2012

Beatles' Abbey Road photo bought by Kazakhs

walking the opposite way over the Abbey Road zebra-crossing, compared to the final picture. Paul McCartney is also shown wearing a pair of leather flip-flops, whereas in the photo used he was bare foot.

Kazakh bank reveals it was mystery buyer that paid £16,000 for rare photograph at auction last month.

21 Jun 2012

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Kyrgyzstan is a beacon of democracy in autocratic Central Asia says ex-leader

A revolution in Kyrgyzstan, a poor ex-Soviet state in Central Asia, acted as the spark for the Arab Spring of 2011, Roza Otunbayeva, a former Kyrgyz president, has said.

17 Jun 2012

Tajikistan blocks news website

The Tajik authorities have reportedly blocked access to one of the country’s main independent news website.

13 Jun 2012

Kazakhstan to ban Soviet-made planes

Kazakhstan plans to scrap its Soviet-era planes by November in a radical modernisation of its aviation sector.

13 Jun 2012

Tajikistan hosts China and Russia lead military exercises

Senior Russian and Chinese generals have flown into Tajikistan ahead of joint military exercises, an alliance which analysts suggest could one day rival Nato.

06 Jun 2012

Kazakhstan mourns mysterious death of soldiers

Kazakhstan has marked the death of 14 soldiers and a hunter in a mysterious fire at a remote border outpost with a day of official mourning.

05 Jun 2012

Nato announces deals to exit Afghanistan via Central Asia

Nato has agreed transit deals with Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan to move its equipment out of Afghanistan north through Central Asia and Russia.

05 Jun 2012

Kazakh court convicts 34 people for deadly riots

A court in western Kazakhstan has convicted 34 people of instigating a deadly riot in December, ending one of the Central Asian state's most politically sensitive trials.

04 Jun 2012

Charred bodies of soldiers found in Kazakhstan

Police in Kazakhstan have opened an investigation into the death of 13 people at a remote military outpost near the border with China.

31 May 2012

Western oil firms pay Kazakhstan's oil field investment bill

Western energy companies developing a giant oil field in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea have agreed to pay a £628 million investment that Kazakhstan needs to make into the project.

28 May 2012

Kazakhstan jails five police for shooting rioters

A court in Kazakhstan has jailed five police officers for ordering their subordinates to shoot at protesters during a riot in the west of the country last year in which 15 people died, mainly from gunshot wounds.

28 May 2012

Turkmenistan agrees to sell gas to India and Pakistan

After nearly 10 years of negotiations, Turkmenistan has signed a deal to supply India and Pakistan with gas.

24 May 2012

UN criticises Tajikistan for using torture

Juan Mendez, the United Nation’s envoy on torture, has criticised investigators in Tajikistan for torturing crime suspects to extract confessions.

21 May 2012

Tajikistan refuses to screen Baron Cohen's The Dictator

Former Soviet Tajikistan has refused to show a new film by the British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen called The Dictator.

19 May 2012

Kazakh police officer imprisoned in riot trial

A court in Kazakhstan has imprisoned a police officer for allowing a protester to die in custody last year, the first sentencing in a series of trials linked to a riot that shook the former Soviet state.

17 May 2012

Move over Superman, it's time for Astanaman

A competition has started in Kazakhstan to create a superhero named after the former Soviet state's capital city, Astana - Astanaman.

17 May 2012

Uzbekistan hints at selling off state assets

Uzbekistan has tentatively signalled that it wants to open up its economy by selling off 500 state-owned assets over the next couple of years.

16 May 2012

Uzbek police investigate murder of former minister

Police in Uzbekistan have started investigating the kidnap and murder of Anvar Jabborov, a former minister of culture.

15 May 2012

Copper tycoon tops Kazakhstan’s rich list

Forbes magazine has published its inaugural rich list for Kazakhstan, featuring seven people with fortunes estimated at more than £500 million.

15 May 2012

16 people die in Kazakhstan road accident

A minibus and a truck have collided in central Kazakhstan, killing 16 people.

08 May 2012

Kazakh miners leave mine after three-day protest

A group of 80 miners in Kazakhstan who had refused to leave a mine because of a pay dispute have returned to the surface after a three-day stand-off ended.

07 May 2012