Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

RFE/RL Central Asia Report 15.04.2013 A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about the five countries of Central Asia. HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW MARGARET THATCHER? TAKE OUR WEEKLY QUIZ TO FIND OUT! For more stories on Central Asia, please visit and bookmark our Central Asia page .

 

Karimov Warned Russia Over Growing Dangers Of Extremism Uzbek President Islam Karimov has warned Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over the increasing dangers of extremism in Central Asia. More   Dubai Court Orders Tajik Extradition A court in Dubai has ruled that a Tajik opposition figure wanted by Dushanbe for an alleged $1.2 million fraud, Umarali Quvatov, can be extradited to Tajikistan. More   Turkmen Capital's Renewal Unsettling For Residents Ashgabat's efforts to transform itself quickly into a modern city come with a human cost. Many residents of the capital are forced to vacate their family homes at short notice, with inadequate compensation. More   ICRC Stops Visiting Uzbek Penitentiaries The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is stopping its visits to penitentiaries in Uzbekistan. More   Kyrgyz Lawmakers Probe Kingpin's Release Kyrgyzstan's parliament has established a commission to investigate the early release of organized crime boss Aziz Batukaev. More   Turkmenistan: A Land Of Health And Happiness...And Horses The Turkmen government has unveiled a new website in honor of the country's famous horse breed, the Akhal-Teke. Featuring extensive and adulatory musings on all things equine by President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, the site appears to have been launched to coincide with Horse Day, Turkmenistan's national holiday. More   Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov And His Celestial Horses Turkmenistan's government has just launched a multilingual website in honor of Turkmenistan's famous horse breed, the Akhal-Teke. The website also features two books about horses written by Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov. Here's selection of pictures from his tome titled The Flight of Celestial Racehorses. More   Tajik President Meets EU, NATO Leaders European Council President Herman Van Rompuy has called on Tajik President Emomali Rahmon to assure his country's November presidential election advances democracy. More   Turkish PM Meets With Kyrgyz Leaders Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has met with his Kyrgyz counterpart, Jantoro Satybaldiev, in Bishkek. More   Shell Explodes In Bishkek; 2 Dead Two people have been killed in Kyrgyzstan's capital, Bishkek, in the explosion of an artillery shell. More   U.S. Assistant State Secretary Starts Central Asia Visit U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Mike Hammer has started his trip to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. More   Kyrgyzstan Considers Chemical Castration For Sex Offenders Legislation is being debated in Kyrgyzstan that would offer a new way to deal with convicted pedophiles: chemical castration. Various countries enforce castration as a way to prevent repeat offenses, but various rights concerns arise. More   A Struggle To Make Ends Meet For Bishkek's Luli Children During the Soviet era, authorities forced the nomadic Luli minority in Central Asia to settle on state-provided plots. Today, many Luli families in Kyrgyzstan live in poverty and some children in Bishkek resort to begging to help their families get by. (8 PHOTOS) More