JUNE 23 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Central Asia is facing a drought that will not only hit cotton and food production but also heighten tension across the region, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said. UNDP said that Water levels are a third lower than average in important reservoirs in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
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(News report from Issue No. 46, published on June 28 2011)
JUNE 14 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad joined Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev as a guest at a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Astana. China, Russia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are SCO members.
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(News report from Issue No. 44, published on June 14 2011)
JUNE 1 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – In its annual index on civil and political liberties around the world, the US-based human rights group Freedom House ranked Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in the bottom eight. Separately, a UN investigation said reports of torture in Turkmenistan were “numerous”.
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(News report from Issue No. 43, published on June 6 2011)
MAY 18 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – On a trip to New Delhi, Uzbek President Islam Karimov signed 34 deals with Indian PM Manmohan Singh on trade, communications, security and energy, media reported. India has heavily increased its presence in Central Asia this year, securing energy deals with Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.
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(News report from Issue No. 41, published on May 24 2011)
MAY 19 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) -Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva, youngest daughter of Uzbek President Islam Karimov, began libel action against the French news website Rue89 for calling her the “daughter of a dictator”. Human rights groups welcomed the law suit as an opportunity to highlight the Uzbek regime which they accuse of killings and torture.
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(News report from Issue No. 41, published on May 24 2011)
MAY 5 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbek President Islam Karimov visited Ashgabat for the second time in seven months to sign agreements with Turkmen leader Kurbanguly Berdimukhamedov. Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, both major gas producers, have increasingly worked together to open new markets and leverage more economic power.
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(News report from Issue No. 39, published on May 9 2011)
MAY 3 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – An independent report headed by an ex-Finnish parliamentarian said Kyrgyz security forces attacked Uzbeks during ethnic violence in the south of the country last June and committed “crimes against humanity”. The Kyrgyz government rejected the report.
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(News report from Issue No. 39, published on May 9 2011)
MAY 9 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – A row between the Uzbek government and London- listed gold producer Oxus Gold over control of Amantaytau Goldfields, their joint venture, escalated. Oxus Gold said the Uzbek government had accused it of violating tax regulations and replied that the Uzbek government was trying to run it out of the country.
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(News report from Issue No. 39, published on May 9 2011)
APRIL 30 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – The US State Department issued a warning to its citizens in Uzbekistan that Islamic militant groups were planning attacks against US interests (April 25). In Kyrgyzstan, the head of the National Security Committee said a new militant group, the Islamic Movement of Kyrgyzstan, was active (April 30).
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(News report from Issue No. 38, published on May 2 2011)
MAY 2 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – In its annual global press freedom index, the United States-based group Freedom House ranked Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan as the second and third-worst countries for media freedom. Only North Korea was ranked lower in the 196- country index.
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(News report from Issue No. 38, published on May 2 2011)