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0:03 exactly one year ago I left Russia I didn't go on vacation I didn't go on a 0:09 business trip I left for good burning the bridge behind me 0:15 I divided my life on before and after I 0:22 some say I fled some say I escaped I say I run away 0:28 and I think that all three definitions are right somewhat 0:34 the loss thing I want to do is 0:41 the last thing I wanted to do was to run away I liked living in Russia I was born and 0:47 raised there I am...

A BOY of 15 has been killed in a giant explosion feared to have been triggered by detonating electric car batteries. At least 163 were also injured following the huge blast in a customs warehouse near Tashkent Airport in Uzbekistan in the early hours, which was felt up to 20 miles away. Shocking footage shows the explosion at 2.43am local time, which caused damage to hundreds of houses and other buildings over a vast area. Batteries for electric cars exploded at the airport warehouse, it is understood. Dozens of ambulances ferried the wounded to hospitals and at least five children...

KABUL. July 27 (Interfax) - United States officials met with a delegation of the Taliban at an international conference on Afghanistan in Tashkent, U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Thomas West said on social media. "Today, Rina Amiri (U.S. Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls & Human Rights) and I joined a range of Afghanistan envoys for a conference in Tashkent to discuss the way ahead at a difficult moment for millions of Afghans," West said. A senior U.S. inter-agency team will continue "pragmatic engagement" with the Taliban on Wednesday, he said. The U.S. Department of State said earlier that...

Insanity. Abject, absolute insanity.

As I walked into the department this bright brisk morning, coffee cheerily in hand, the live global seismogram display in the atrium caught my eye with an alarming event that had just happened during my bike ride into work. *gasp* that looks bad *gasp* that looks bad BIG earthquake, somewhere in the vicinity of Central/Southern Asia. Indeed, an earthquake deep (>200 km) beneath the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan had shaken a huge swath of Central and South Asia. The great depth of the earthquake meant less extreme shaking at the epicenter (nobody lives closer than 212 km from the...

PRESS RELEASE SNIPPET - QUOTE: HP-1313 Washington, DC--The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated three members of a German Islamic Jihad Union (IJU) cell under Executive Order 13224 (E.O. 13224), which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism. "We commend the vigilant and effective work of German authorities in apprehending this terrorist cell before it could carry out its brutal and horrifying attack plans," said Adam Szubin, director of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. "In concert with this important law enforcement action, United Nations global sanctions provide a tool of unparalleled scope to...

Several parents - named as victims in the indictment against three Baptist Union leaders now on trial in Tashkent - have told the court that statements that their children were taught the Baptist faith against their wishes were fabricated or dictated by Investigator Anatoli Tadjibayev, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. The head of Uzbekistan’s Baptist Union Pavel Peichev and two colleagues went on trial on 24 September accused of teaching religion illegally to children at church-run summer camps and evading tax on profits from the camp. They deny all the charges - which carry punishment of up to three...

Note: The following text is a quote: YOU ARE HERE: Home > Reports > Consular Affairs Bulletins > Report Warden Message: Tashkent (Old City), Uzbekistan Security Notice CONSULAR AFFAIRS BULLETINS South / Central Asia - Uzbekistan 30 Aug 2009 U.S. Embassy Tashkent issued the following Warden Message on August 30: Several local sources report that on the evening of Saturday, August 29th Uzbek police forces clashed with unknown armed assailants in the “Old City” area of Tashkent. The Embassy has confirmed that there has been a substantial increase in police activity in this part of town. Because of ongoing police...

TASHKENT CITY, Uzbekistan (ABP) -- Authorities in Uzbekistan cracked down on Baptists after a government-sponsored news agency ran articles alleging illegal religious activity at a summer camp for children. Forum 18, a Norway-based news service that monitors alleged violations of religious freedom, reported July 28 that Pavel Peichev, head of the Union of Evangelical Christian Baptists of Middle Asia, faces criminal charges of unlawfully teaching children religion and misusing resort facilities. Local Baptists fear huge fines, confiscation of the property, imprisonment or some combination of penalties if Peichev is convicted

TASHKENT -- Uzbekistan is warning against a Russian plan to open a military base near the Uzbek border in southern Kyrgyzstan, RFE/RL's Uzbek Service reports. Uzbek Senator Surayo Odilhodjaeva told RFE/RL that the proposed new base -- reportedly near the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh -- would not contribute to the security of Central Asia. "I think the less military bases we have in the region, the better," she said. Uzbek political commentator Sanobar Shermatova said Tashkent's objection to an increased Russian military presence close to its borders is natural. "Tashkent wants to maintain a balance of power," Shermatova said....

Excerpt - ALMATY, Aug 22 (Reuters) - A strong earthquake jolted the Uzbek capital Tashkent on Friday, a witness said. ~ snip ~

GOTTA SEE THIS - War for Enduring Freedom 3/25/06 - Samarra, Op. Swarmer , Kerbala, Abu Ghraib, al-Dor, Baquba, USS Gonzalez, USS Cape St. George, Taji, Nowruz, Istanbul, Tashkent, Tehran BREAKING: Samarra, Op. Swarmer - 11 caches and 104 terrorists taken BREAKING: Kerbala - terrorist attack Abu Ghraib - Real story: cache taken al-Dor - US-Iraqi patrols root out terrorists Baquba - Cache taken USS Gonzalez, USS Cape St. George - Weapons confiscated from terrorist pirates Taji - Nowruz celebrations Istanbul, Turkey - Nowruz celebrations Uzbek capital Tashkent - Nowruz celebrations Tehran - Nowruz celebrations QFN ==== YE OLDE QUAGMIRE-FREE...

WASHINGTON, July 30 (Reuters) - Uzbekistan has told the United States to quit a military base that has served as a hub for missions to Afghanistan since shortly after the September 11, 2001, attacks, a Pentagon spokesman said on Saturday. A notice to leave Karshi-Khanabad air base, also known as K2, was delivered on Friday by a courier from the Uzbek Foreign Ministry to the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent, the Washington Post reported in its Saturday edition, citing an unnamed senior U.S. official involved in Central Asia policy. Asked about the report, Pentagon spokesman Glenn Flood said early on...

In tucked-away corner, war on terror takes off By Scott Shane, Stephen Grey and Margot Williams The New York Times WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2005 SMITHFIELD, North Carolina The airplanes of Aero Contractors Ltd. take off from Johnston County Airport here, then disappear over the scrub pines and fields of tobacco and sweet potatoes. Nothing about the sleepy Southern setting hints of foreign intrigue. Nothing gives away the fact that Aero's pilots are the discreet bus drivers of the battle against terrorism, routinely sent on secret missions to Baghdad, Cairo, Tashkent and Kabul. When the CIA wants to grab a suspected...

The leader of a group of rebels claiming to control this Uzbek border town said Wednesday that he and his supporters intend to build an Islamic state and are ready to fight if government troops attempt to crush their revolt. "We will be building an Islamic state here in accordance with the Quran," Bakhtiyor Rakhimov told The Associated Press while leaning down from the back of a horse. Tense but confident, the bearded 42-year-old farmer, wearing a traditional Uzbek embroidered black-and-white skull cup, snapped his fingers as he gave orders to an assistant. It was unclear how many people...

Dramatic events are unfolding in Uzbekistan, where crowds of people have gathered outside government buildings in the eastern town of Andijan. Troops are said to be filling a nearby street and stadium, and some shots have been fired injuring protesters. Reports say three snipers firing on the crowd were pulled down from a roof by the angry crowd. During the night, gunmen stormed the city jail releasing possibly thousands of prisoners. The crowds are thought to be protesting against the trial of 23 Islamic businessmen on extremism charges. "The people have risen," AP news agency quoted Valijon Atakhonjonov, the...

The country’s few Christians celebrate the birth of Christ whilst the majority of the population knows little of its meaning.Tashkent (AsiaNews) – In a country that is predominantly Muslim with a history of 70 years of Soviet atheism, Uzbekistan’s small Christian community is getting ready to celebrate the birth of Christ full of joy and hope. Most Christians are Orthodox. For most Uzbeks, Christmas has no religious content and its celebrations blend with those of the New Year. Under Soviet rule, all religious traditions, be they Christian or Muslim, were neglected. The current regime, fearful of Islamic terrorism, has limited...

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan - The presidents of China, Russia and four Central Asian nations met Thursday to breathe life into a security alliance and open an anti-terrorism center, part of efforts by Beijing and Moscow to counter the U.S. military presence in the region. The leaders were joined by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who warned terrorists have continued infiltrating Afghanistan and that eradicating terrorism is a "long-term fight." The one-day summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, or SCO, marked what Russian President Vladimir Putin said was the start of its work to become a vital international institution. He acknowledged the group...