Iran: Tehran Plays for Time as Nuclear Talks Enter Crucial Phase (Jul 24)
BY KAMAL NAZER YASIN
Discussions over the fate of Iran’s nuclear program have entered a critical stage. Faced with the stiffening resolve of the international community, Iranian leaders are frantically maneuvering to find a way to avoid the expansion of sanctions against their country. With no clear solution to its dilemma at hand, however, Tehran appears to be playing for time.


Turkey: "Muslim Calvinists" in Anatolia Show How Piety Can Blend with Modernity (Jul 24)
BY NICHOLAS BIRCH
"Tell me where Allah is and I will give you an orange. Tell me where Allah is not and I will give you an orange grove." This particular Koranic phrase graces a whiteboard at the entrance to the third biggest company in Gaziantep, a city of 1 million close to Turkey’s border with Syria.


Kazakhstan may boost oil export taxes (UPI) (Jul 23)
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, July 23 (UPI) -- Kazakhstan may remove exemptions to oil export taxes from its western Tengiz oil field in a move to boost petroleum revenue, officials said.


Uzbekistan's Alp Jamol Bank deploys BPC card processing technology (Finextra) (Jul 23)
Alp Jamol Bank, one of the first private banks in Uzbekistan has started the deployment of its own fully functional processing centre based on ...


U.S. urges Kazakhstan to uphold OSCE values (Reuters via Yahoo! News) (Jul 23)
The United States urged Kazakhstan on Wednesday to show clear signs of democratic progress before the end of this year ahead of its chairmanship of Europe's main human rights watchdog in 2010.


Kyrgyz Libel Case Raises Protests (Jul 6)
Objections centre on the use of criminal rather than civil legislation, and fears that the real motive is political. By Yrys Kadykeev in Bishkek (RCA No. 548, 07-Jul-08)


Women Want Female Muftis (Jun 26)
(27-Jun-08)


Japan, Kazakhstan to push nuclear co-operation (May 6)
(Reuters)


Kazakh annual GDP growth slows in first quarter (Apr 16)
Kazakhstan's annual economic growth slowed to 5.3 percent in the first quarter from 10.5 percent in the same period of last year, the economy minister said on Tuesday. (Guardian)


Understanding poverty in Tajikistan using the social exclusion framework (Apr 15)
In Tajikistan, the eincome-basedf framework used to analyse poverty has obscured its multiple dimensions, resulting in an inappropriate national Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. A social exclusion framework that considers the causes of poverty stands a better chance of generating policies that will lead to genuine pro-poor action. (id21.org)