News Snapshot:
Since gaining independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the five Central Asian countries have mostly stayed out of the media glare. When they have hit the headlines, it is usually because of proximate events, such as the fall of Kabul to the Taliban last year. But now, internal tensions as a result of economic woes and external pressures from transnational terrorism and criminal organisations have created a tinderbox. From a looming civil war in Afghanistan, which will directly affect Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan, to riots in Kazakhstan and western Uzbekistan, or a possible confrontation between Moscow and Kazakh...
