Topic: Central Asian Politics

US-Russia 'reset' gets a boost with Russian offer of airbase

Russia has made an unprecedented offer that indicates a desire to improve ties ahead of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.  

World's cheapest gas: Top 10 countries

While Americans and Europeans  bemoan the cost of gasoline at the pumps, people in some other parts of the world enjoy filling up their tanks cheaply thanks to subsidies provided by wealthy, oil-rich governments.  Here are the 10 cheapest countries on Earth to fill a gas tank.

Kazakhstan vote fails key democracy test, say officials (+video)

The oil-rich former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan has yet to hold an election that Western observers agree is fair, despite 20 years of democracy.

Kyrgyzstan elections: Unity top priority for Atambayev

Newly elected Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek Atambayev has said his biggest challenge will be to unify the country, which has seen two revolutions and a string of questionable elections during the past decade.

Afghanistan looms large at SCO security group meeting

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization's (SCO) meeting in Kazakhstan focused on how Central Asia could be affected by the possible spread of the Arab Spring – as well as failure to stabilize Afghanistan.

Kazakhstan's snap elections draw international criticism

International observers point to serious irregularities during the Sunday snap presidential vote in Kazakhstan that resulted in a sweeping victory of longtime incumbent President Nazarbayev.

Billionaire as Russia's president? The 5 richest men in Russia.

A record number of billionaires now call Russia home – 114 of them, according to an annual list of the 500 richest Russians published Monday by the Moscow-based Finans magazine.

How 5 revolutions got their names

Questions are cropping up about the appropriateness of calling Tunisia's uprising the "Jasmine Revolution" – stemming from the fact that the term has been used in reference to Syria in 2005 and even the path that brought ousted Tunisian President Ben Ali to power. But the moniker could stick, at least partially because it's become a tradition of sorts to name the revolutions of the 2000s after colors and flowers and even household items. Here's an overview of some of the popular revolutions – and their nicknames – that preceded Tunisia's ... whatever you want to call it:

US and Kazakhstan complete secret transfer of Soviet nuclear materials

In the largest nuclear transfer operation ever mounted, US and Kazakh officials moved 11 tons of highly enriched uranium and 3 tons of plutonium some 1,890 miles by rail and road across the Central Asian country.

Press Freedom Index: The top 10 worst countries

Syria, Rwanda, and Yemen have fallen to the bottom of the World Press Freedom Index, the media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said today. The three countries join other single-party dominated governments at the bottom of the annual index, while six democratic Northern European nations tied this year as the best places for media freedom.

Ambiguity surrounding Kyrgyzstan elections raises fresh concern of instability

The Kyrgyz government Wednesday approved a controversial vote recount, raising the specter of fresh instability in a country whose political system has been shattered by two violent revolutions in barely five years.

Kyrgyzstan elections signal unease with parliamentary rule

Weekend Kyrgyzstan elections came off smoothly and fairly. But they also demonstrate popular unease with reforms designed to prevent a return to one-man rule.

Kagame's Rwanda election win is one of recent history's most lopsided

Preliminary results show that President Paul Kagame is likely to win more than 90 percent of the vote.

Kyrgyzstan ex-president's brother arrested - with wig and fake mustache

Police say they found the brother of ousted president Kurmanbek Bakiyev with a pistol and ammunition, a wig, and a false mustache and beard. He was arrested for having a role in the Kyrgyzstan violence last month.

Why Russia's Medvedev is blasting ally Kyrgyzstan

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev unexpectedly criticized a government reform vote in Kyrgyzstan that passed Sunday with 91 percent support.

Kyrgyzstan failure could boost Afghan drug trade, Islamist radicals

The recent wave of ethnic violence is Kyrgyzstan's second violent upheaval in five years. A June 27 referendum could bolster the weak government, but lingering security problems may hamper the vote.

To make progress on Afghanistan and Russia, Obama must get Kyrgyzstan right

Politically unstable Kyrgyzstan, which experienced a coup this spring, is home to a US air base that's critical to the war in Afghanistan. Russia is paying close attention. So should Washington.

Kyrgyz violence could threaten China's influence

Kyrgyz violence has slowed trade between China and Kyrgyzstan to a trickle, allowing rival Russia to step up its already dominant influence.

Should the US and Russia work together to resolve Kyrgyzstan crisis?

Kyrgyzstan riots led to ethnic cleansing; government blames Bakiyev

The Kyrgyzstan riots that ethnically cleansed the city of Osh of much of its Uzbek population could lead to a humanitarian catastrophe. The interim government blames ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, and says the situation is improving.

Kyrgyzstan crisis spreads as 100,000 Uzbeks try to flee

The son of former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was arrested in England on Tuesday for alleged links to the Kyrgyzstan violence. Nearly 200 have died and 100,000 ethnic Uzbeks have fled to the border with Uzbekistan.