The ineptitude of policies championed by the USA is to blame for the political violence in Kyrgyzstan which overthrew the government. Only a long-term vision of radical political change could make amends. David Coombes lays out key priorities
The plane crash at Smolensk which Poland’s president has provoked an outpouring of Russian sympathy, from Putin down. It has helped many Russians identify their country’s responsibility for the Katyn massacre in 1940. But it has left many others unmoved, even cynical. ‘Re-setting’ Russian-Polish r
Seventeen years after civil war, Abkhazia is finally recovering under Russian protection. But many inside the country are unhappy, fearing association with their big brother will result in another loss of independence.
Bishkek’s bloody regime-change reflects the aborted hopes of the brief political flowering in 2005. But a key question of external agency remains, says Sureyya Yigit.
Nuclear summit sets lofty goals for member nations. Interim Kyrgyz government asserts its authority. Fighting displaces 100,000 in Mogadishu, says UN. Thai red shirt protesters refuse talks. Mexico's drug violence kills 23,000. Hostilities erupt in southern Philippine island. All this and more in
The flight-disaster that consumed Poland’s president and dozens of the nation’s senior figures may be followed by a lasting improvement in relations between Warsaw and Moscow, says Krzysztof Bobinski.
Russia’s people do not bow to government opinion on the subject of war, a revealing survey of public attitudes by the Levada Center shows. The only ‘just war’ is one fought in defence of home and country, like the World War II. By this token, Russia’s wars in Afghanistan and Chechnya were unjust w
NATO killings of Afghan civilians spark street protests in Kandahar. Obama presses Hu to collaborate on Iran sanctions. Kyrgyzstan’s defiant president ordered to yield. Israeli forces kill Palestinian militant near Gaza border. All this and more in today's security briefing.
Kyrgyzstan’s government has fallen, its provisional rulers are untested, and there is as yet no sign of a lasting political settlement. Yet that does not mean it will automatically follow the example of neighbour Tajikistan and descend into civil war, writes John Heathershaw
Sudan polling starts amidst delays and confusion. Polish president and other elites died in plane crash. Obama hosts ‘unprecedented’ nuclear summit. Death toll rises to 21 in Bangkok protests. Ousted Kyrgyz president defiant as interim leader takes office. All this and more, in today's security up
Kyrgyzstan’s violence underscores the instability of those former Soviet governments which are burdened by authoritarian and corrupt rule. To varying degrees, every Central Asian country faces serious threats at home and from the war in neighboring Afghanistan. They need help. The West and Russia
As another “colour revolution” is overthrown in Kyrgyzstan, Boris Dolgin reflects that it changed nothing. Will the country be able to sort out a more nuanced relationship with the USA, Russia and China?
