It’s becoming a truism that mobile phone technology could reshape Central Asia for the better, but there’s also a dark side, even a ridiculous side. NewEurasia’s Marat discusses the problem of shariah-backed sms-divorcing.

It is no surprise that in countries where demos do not have much say governments can and do “insistingly recommend” living lives in a certain way. The Tashkent mayor Rakhmonbek Usmonov thought so too and …

What was happening in Kyrgyzstan about a year ago from now? neweurasia’s Marat Sartpaev takes a look back. “Well, today we’ve passed through our first-ever peaceful transfer of power at the presidential level,” he writes. “Yes, it’s just the same old elite I suppose, but hey, at least this time there weren’t snipers on the roof.”

With the presidential elections “fever” over and the president inaugurated, it is now time in Kyrgyzstan to appoint a new government.  The incumbent president, Almazbek Atambayev, ascended to presidency from the post of the prime …

I have hard time understanding Speaker Akhmatbek Keldibekov’s desperate attempts to keep his position.  As someone involved in politics for quite some time now, he must realize that election of a new president inevitable entails …

Bishkek Mayor Isa Omurkulov’s claimed he is going to ask the court to reconsider the acquittal of his son, on Monday, 28 November 2011. Mayor Omurkulov issued a statement indicating his son, who killed three …

Despite its small size and under 8-million population, Israel is challenging a country with 10 times bigger population and 70 times larger surface – Iran. Israel claims Iran is developing a nuclear weapon which Tehran …

Last week’s voting at the UN Security Council could not have possibly voted for Kyrgyzstan as a non-permanent member for several reasons. For one, the closeness of the political elite of Kyrgyzstan with the Russian …

This week started with the single most important political event of the year – the launching of the presidential election campaigns. These elections will most probably be the top-rated event not only in Kyrgyzstan, but …

It was quite a surprise to hear that some Uzbek-language schools introduced instruction in the Kyrgyz language. While switching to Kyrgyz shouldn’t be a big issue for children given the linguistic kinship between the two …