Kyrgyzstan's outgoing president said Tuesday a decision on whether to allow a U.S. air base to remain in the country after its lease ends in 2014 depends on developments in nearby Afghanistan.
Kyrgyzstan has enacted a ban on casinos that supporters say will ease the negative effects of gambling on Kyrgyz society, but opponents argue will leave thousands unemployed and boost organized crime.
Kyrgyz voters go to the polls Sunday to elect a new president in what is seen as a landmark election in the region but what locals dismiss as not bringing real change to the country following last year's uprising.
The foiling of a terror plot by Islamic extremists in southern Kyrgyzstan over the weekend has underscored ethnic and regional tensions before presidential elections in Central Asia's only parliamentary democracy.
Fresh from a 12-day hunger strike that roiled the public against graft, Indian crusader Anna Hazare is in hot demand to promote other causes as activists seek to harness his acclaim and ability to seize 24-hour media attention.
Voters turned out in force Sunday to choose a new and empowered parliament that the government hopes will usher in a new era of democracy in Kyrgyzstan after two presidents were ousted by street protests.
Kyrgyz forces fired live ammunition, tear gas and stun grenades into the air to disperse hundreds of anti-government protesters Thursday and arrested their leader, raising fears of new instability in the turbulent Central Asian nation.
What went wrong in Kyrgyzstan? What is likely to happen next? What can the international community do to help prevent a recurrence of violence?
Barely two weeks after ethnic purges left many minority Uzbek communities in smoldering ruin, about two-thirds of Kyrgyzstan's voters went to the polls Sunday to peacefully and overwhelmingly approve a new constitution they hoped would bring stability to the Central Asian nation.
