Karzai sworn in as president for 2nd term Nov 19, 2009
Foreign guests attending the inauguration ceremony included Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and foreign ministers of France, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. Karzai was declared the winner of the fraud-marred presidential election on Nov. 2, just one day after his top challenger Abdullah Abdullah boycotted the runoff. (Xinhuanet, China)
Key facts and figures on Afghanistan Nov 19, 2009
Afghanistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia which shares borders with Iran, Pakistan, China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Hamid Karzai has led the country since 2001, when U.S.-backed Afghan forces ended the five-year rule of the austere Islamist Taliban movement. (AlertNet)
Paying Off The Warlords Nov 18, 2009
KEC's engineers have broken ground on a second power line -- this one from Tajikistan -- that will supply 300 megawatts of electricity to Kabul, three times what the Tarakhil plant will produce at a bargain basement construction cost of $28 million. "At full capacity, we burn 600,000 liters a day," Jack Currie, the Scottish manager of the Tarakhil plant told me as I toured it in late October. (CBS News)
Many Bailed Out Execs Flee Before Pay Cuts Oct 24, 2009
The World Bank Tajikistan Country Office in Dushanbe is looking for a Receptionist. The Republic of Tajikistan became a member of the World Bank in 1993. (CBS News -- US)
Skinner: Nobel award recognizes U.S. dominance Oct 13, 2009
The very next day, the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan) put the matter more starkly as they concluded their summit: "The tendency towards true multipolarity is irreversible.". An increasing number of regional and international institutions with evolving memberships and leadership are multilateral. (CNN -- US)
World Reacts to Obama's Nobel Peace Prize Oct 10, 2009
relations with Russia and offer a fresh start to relations with the Muslim world, there is little so far to show for his fine words" Kind of says it all, right? by jameslouiky October 9, 2009 9:53 AM EDT Compare Obama's accomplishments to Reagan?s Obama freed 0 countries from tyranny, ended no war, brought no one together. Reagan Countries liberated from Communist tyranny during or shortly after RONALD REAGAN's presidency: Afghanistan Albania Angola Bulgaria Cambodia Czechoslovakia East Germany... (CBS News)
Suicide Bomber Kills 2 in U.S. Convoy Oct 3, 2009
"Genghis Khan?s intention was not primarily to loot, but to destroy the enemy. The real reason why the Mongol horsemen made their way from Mongolia and started rolling back the Muslims from areas which are today known as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, finally reaching Iran, Iraq, and Syria lay in the subterfuge, savage cruelty and other foul tactics which the Muslims had used to convert the Turks and Mongols to Islam This had led to a gradual accumulation of bitterness and a... (CBS News)
* World News Quick Take Sep 30, 2009
Taipei Times - archives. Enter your search terms. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World Business)
Stay and fight or cut and run? Sep 24, 2009
Rupert Cornwell: Has America reached the turning point in Afghanistan. - Rupert Cornwell, Commentators - The Independent. (The Drudge Report)
Danish soldier killed in southern Afghanistan Sep 19, 2009
The military lists these other locations as Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba; Djibouti; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Jordan; Kenya; Kyrgyzstan; Philippines; Seychelles; Sudan; Tajikistan; Turkey; and Yemen ... The military lists these other locations as Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba; Djibouti; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Jordan; Kenya; Kyrgyzstan; Philippines; Seychelles; Sudan; Tajikistan; Turkey; and Yemen. (Fresno Bee -- Local)
A dangerous new Afghan road opens Sep 18, 2009
Recent events in Kunduz province due south of Tajikistan, culminating in an air strike on hijacked fuel tankers in which scores of people - including civilians - were killed and the subsequent kidnapping of an British-Irish journalist have brought the troubles in the north to the fore ... Kunduz, with its disenfranchised Pashtun population and history of Pakistani interference up until the infamously alleged 2001 Kunduz airlift [1], is now a corridor of chaos leading up to the Tajikistan border... (Asia Times Online)
Afghan war reaches a tipping point Sep 9, 2009
This helped the Taliban on the one hand to consolidate their control over the whole of the Shomali plain that stretches up from Kabul to the mouth of the Panjshir Valley, and on the other hand to effectively intercept Northern Alliance supply lines from Tajikistan. Call Dostum back. (Asia Times Online)
AIR STRIKE ERROR Sep 8, 2009
The Taliban have become increasingly active in Kunduz, a region bordering Tajikistan which had been previously calm -- a worrying sign for U.S.-led troops. The Taliban said they had set up their own commission to investigate the incident and released a list of 79 people they said were all civilians killed in the air raid. (AlertNet)
Gen. Confirms Afghan Civilians Wounded Sep 6, 2009
German officials have said the Taliban may have been planning a suicide attack on the military's nearby Kunduz base using the tankers, which were hijacked carrying NATO fuel supplies from neighboring Tajikistan ... "German officials have said the Taliban may have been planning a suicide attack on the military's nearby Kunduz base using the tankers, which were hijacked carrying NATO fuel supplies from neighboring Tajikistan.". (CBS News)
Scores left dead in NATO Afghan airstrike Sep 5, 2009
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the trucks were headed from Tajikistan to supply NATO forces in Kabul. When the hijackers tried to drive the trucks across the Kunduz River, the vehicles became stuck in the mud and the insurgents opened valves to release fuel and lighten the loads, he said. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
Afghan deaths in airstrike may damage U.S. goal Sep 5, 2009
The predawn strike in a remote part of northern Kunduz province, near the border with Tajikistan, killed more than 70 people, most of them civilians, according to Afghan police, provincial officials and doctors ... NATO has been sending supplies into Afghanistan via Tajikistan after Taliban militants in Pakistan's tribal areas repeatedly attacked the widely used supply route running through the Khyber Pass. (AZCentral -- News)
The U.S. needs Iran and Russia Sep 1, 2009
Meanwhile, the Taliban have used pockets of Pashtun populations in the north of the country as a that allow them to block supplies coming in from Tajikistan, according to McClatchy. These setbacks are taking place even as U.S. missiles into a base of the militant Haqqani group in eastern Afghanistan, allegedly killing 35 guerrillas. (Salon)
US steps up its Central Asian tango Aug 25, 2009
There are more Tajiks within Afghanistan than in Tajikistan ... Occasionally, he interfered within Tajikistan, with Tashkent's covert support, to keep leaders in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe rattled ... Tashkent also used to shelter the ethnic Uzbek rebel Mahmud Khudaberdiyev from Tajikistan and deploy him for cross-border attacks. (Asia Times Online)
Seven steps to peace in Afghanistan Aug 22, 2009
But they are gearing their activities for the Central Asian republics of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The Americans realize that they have to move quickly," Rehami said. "After last year [talks involving the Taliban in the Saudi city of Mecca] a regular dialogue process started and we opened up channels of communication with the Taliban. (Asia Times Online)
* US tests system to break down foreign Web censorship Aug 15, 2009
In addition to China and Iran, targets for the FOE technology include Myanmar, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam, he said. Berman, however, said there would be modest filtering of pornography on the system. (Taipei Times, Taiwan)
Who rules us? Aug 14, 2009
Many have benefited immensely from Badakhshan's vast poppy crops and are still said to control its gemstone mines, as well as border trade with Tajikistan. More recently the Taliban, who have never enjoyed a foothold in this majority ethnic Tajik region, have been showing up on the southern outskirts of the province - near the border with Pakistan - asking people not to vote in the election. (BBC News -- South Asia)
China dips its toe in the Black Sea Aug 1, 2009
There is no need, therefore, to second-guess that China supported the Russian initiative to call a quadrilateral regional security summit meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on Thursday, which was attended by the presidents of Russia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan ... Moscow tabled as an agenda item for the Dushanbe summit a proposal for regional cooperation that involves selling electricity from Tajikistan's Sangtudinskaya hydroelectric power plant (in which Russia has invested $500 million... (Asia Times Online)
Russia signs deal to open 2nd base in Kyrgyzstan Aug 1, 2009
That is on the fringe of the Ferghana Valley region that spreads across Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, an area that has been an incubator of Islamic militancy over the past decade ... Kremlin officials say the base would be used by a rapid-reaction force being formed by the Russian-dominated CSTO. Other organization members are Armenia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan ... Leaders of Collective Security Treaty Organization member states - which also include Armenia, Belarus,... (Fresno Bee -- Local)
Afghan, Pakistani conflicts spilling into Central Asian states? Jul 31, 2009
(From l. to r.) Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari, Tajikistan's President Imomali Rakhmon, Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev and Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai meet in Dushanbe on Thursday ... Tajikistan blames recent attacks at home on fighters fleeing anti-Taliban offensives ... Dushanbe, Tajikistan - A spate of militant clashes in Tajikistan may indicate that the conflicts in Afghanistan and Pakistan are spilling beyond their borders a top concern for neighboring Central Asian... (Christian Science Monitor -- World)
Russia Wants 2nd Base In Kyrgyzstan Jul 30, 2009
Other CSTO members are Armenia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan ... That is on the fringe of the Ferghana Valley region that spreads across Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, an area that has been an incubator of Islamic militancy over the past decade. (CBS News -- World)
New fiber-optic network brings digital era to Afghanistan Jul 29, 2009
The fiber-optic cables run to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, linking Afghanistan by land to the global Internet for the first time. Until last month, most Afghans could only surf the Web through satellite links to other nations. (Christian Science Monitor)
US Military Deaths In Afghanistan Region At 657 Jul 13, 2009
The military lists these other locations as Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba; Djibouti; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Jordan; Kenya; Kyrgyzstan; Philippines; Seychelles; Sudan; Tajikistan; Turkey; and Yemen. There were also four CIA officer deaths and one military civilian death. (CBS News -- World)
Rally for Iran: With the people - Speakers say democracy revolution far older than recent vote - more than a century Jul 8, 2009
Hojamurod Hojaev is from Tajikistan, but it's easy for him to explain why he feels a connection to the people fighting for democracy on the streets of Iran. We are all Persian, he said. (Missoulian, MT)
Kyrgyzstan weighs opium as industry Jul 6, 2009
"Tajikistan only dreams of the progress that Kyrgyzstan has made," he says. Zelichenko says that it is imperative for Kyrgyzstan to preserve this good reputation, given its dependency on international aid and need to attract foreign investors. (Christian Science Monitor)
Central Asia Jul 5, 2009
As Pakistan and Afghanistan continue efforts to push the Taliban out of their borders, Central Asian countries such as Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are stepping up security efforts in the fear the escaping militants will head for these territories ... American diplomats are scouring Central Asia for chances to drive wedges between Moscow and regional capitals in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and, increasingly, Turkmenistan ... Tajikistan's cotton industry faces bankruptcy as tumbling prices... (Asia Times Online)
Book Reviews Jul 5, 2009
It triangulates the nations' relationships with the United States, illuminates the contradictions of their dealings during the civil wars in Tajikistan and Afghanistan, and brings to light the pivotal role a newly resurgent and perhaps nuclear Iran will play in Moscow's chessboard across Central Asia and the Caucasus. - Ian Chesley (Dec 19,'08). (Asia Times Online)
Karzai's pardons hurtUS antidrug efforts Jul 3, 2009
Bilal worked as the personal secretary for his cousin, Haji Zahir, commander of the border police in Takhar, a province that borders Tajikistan and serves as a conduit for drugs to Europe. Bilal and Zahir s family connections made them exactly the kind of untouchable target that the Task Force was designed to apprehend, since leading dealers are often tied to powerful families. (Boston Globe)
Obamas Middle East Challenge Part II Jul 1, 2009
Dilip Hiro s latest book is Inside Central Asia: A Political and Cultural History of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Iran, published by Overlook Press, New York. Rights. (YaleGlobal Online Magazine, CT)
* Persian news service becomes Irans scapegoat Jul 1, 2009
The Persian channel, which is also beamed to Persian speakers in Afghanistan and Tajikistan, has an annual budget of US$25 million. Beynon, a 51-year-old Cambridge graduate, said evenhandedness became especially important during the upheaval in Iran. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- Business)
Silicon Valley should step up, help Iranians Jun 30, 2009
That's about 100 million people, including the 75 million Iranians (including the diaspora) plus neighboring Tajikistan and Afghanistan. Sure, Korea is a much more wired society than Iran, but that also means there is that much more opportunity for Iranian online applications and software to take off in the marketplace. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Opinion)
Kevin McClintock: Target Iran Iraq insurgency serves as inspiration for future Arab conflict Jun 27, 2009
Attack prongs would initiate west from Iraq and east from Afghanistan, with air elements launched from Turkey, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and new bases recently built in the former Soviet nations of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Unless Obama was to initiate a draft an unpopular move that hasn't been implemented since the 1960s an invasion of Iran would either have to wait until the current Taliban-led insurgency in neighboring Afghanistan has been quelled or its ranks padded by... (Medfield Press, MA)
Obama Taps Big Donors for Ambassadorships Jun 20, 2009
Obama also tapped career diplomats for posts in the Solomon Islands, Croatia, Tajikistan, Georgia and Uganda. Obama nominated Louisville, Ky. (Newsmax)
Iran and Russia nip at US global dominance Jun 17, 2009
The group comprises Russia, China, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan. India, Pakistan, Iran, and Mongolia attend meetings as observers. (Christian Science Monitor)
Defiant Ahmadinejad joins Russia summit Jun 16, 2009
Along with the two giants, the group also includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Iran has in the past expressed interest in becoming a full member and currently has observer status. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
Ahmadinejad attends Russia summit Jun 16, 2009
Other members are the Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The two-day summit is being attended by Chinese leader Hu Jintao and high-level delegations from India, Pakistan and Mongolia, who enjoy an observer status in the group. (India Times, India)
Shanghai group leaders open talks Jun 16, 2009
The Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) brings together Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India, Pakistan, Iran and Mongolia later joined as observer members. (BBC News -- Europe)
Iran president visits Russia despite protests Jun 16, 2009
Besides Russia and China, the SCO groups the ex-Soviet Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. (Additional reporting by Chris Buckley, editing by Angus MacSwan). (The Star Online, Malaysia -- News)
Central Asia to hold water summit Apr 28, 2009
Upstream countries Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan hold almost 80% of all Central Asia's water resources in their mountains and reservoirs ... Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, which suffer most during cold winters, have long been pursuing the construction of hydropower projects in their territories. (BBC News -- Asia-Pacific)
NATO may ask China for Afghanistan support Mar 3, 2009
China shares a 76-kilometer- (50-mile)-long border with Afghanistan in the Wakhan Corridor, a thin sparsely populated strip of Afghan territory separating Pakistan and Tajikistan. The 2,000-year-old-caravan route once used by Marco Polo is now a dirt road that crosses some of the world's most mountainous regions. (MSNBC -- International)
Moscow again eyes Afghanistan 20 years after retreat Feb 16, 2009
What Russia fears is a revival of the multiple Islamist insurgencies, which it saw as emanating from Taliban-dominated Afghanistan, that nearly overwhelmed former Soviet Tajikistan and Uzbekistan during the 1990s. Militants trained in Afghanistan are also blamed by the Kremlin for turning the rebellious Russian province of Chechnya into an extremist outpost whose terrorists struck repeatedly in the center of Moscow. (Christian Science Monitor)
Bloggers assess BBC Persian TV Feb 7, 2009
BBC Persian radio programmes and website used to cover Afghanistan, Iran, and Tajikistan. However, recently this media has dropped Tajikistan from its Persian section ... This has resulted in people thinking that Tajikistan is not a Persian-speaking country. (BBC News -- Africa)
Russia allows US supplies transit Feb 7, 2009
However, Tajikistan is reported to have agreed on Friday to allow Nato non-military supplies through its territory. Correspondents say Nato has become increasingly concerned about the security of its overland supply routes through Pakistan. (BBC News -- Europe)
