Kyrgyzstan news stories on Newser

Kyrgyzstan's 'Eternal Flame' Out Due to ... Unpaid Gas Bill

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:14:47 CDT

When is an "Eternal Flame" not eternal? In Kyrgyzstan, it's when you don't pay the gas bill. A utilities company in the economically struggling former Soviet nation has turned off the gas supply to a major war memorial in the capital, Bishkek, after city authorities failed to clear a $9,...

13 Killed by 6.1 Earthquake in Uzbekistan

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 12:05:55 CDT

A powerful earthquake killed 13 people and injured dozens in a heavily populated part of Uzbekistan today, emergency officials said. The magnitude-6.1 temblor centered in neighboring Kyrgyzstan struck shortly after midnight in a mountainous area some 20 miles away from the eastern Uzbek city of Ferghana, which has a...

Kyrgyz Parliament Sacrifices Sheep to Expel Evil Spirits

Kate Schwartz — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 08:10:19 CDT

It may not be the way to bring that "Kumbaya" feeling back to Capitol Hill, but maybe it'll work in Kyrgyzstan? Members of the country's parliament, which the AP describes as "raucous," sacrificed seven sheep this morning in an attempt to expel evil spirits from the chamber. Nearly all the...

Ten Countries With Fastest Rising Food Prices

247wallst — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 16:57:41 CST

Between June and December 2010, 44 million people across the world were pushed into poverty by rising food prices. The price of many agricultural commodities increased by more than 25%, and for many countries that rely heavily on grains such as wheat for sustenance, prices may not go back down...

10K Stray Dogs to Be Shot

Kate Schwartz — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 12:58:05 CST

From bad to worse: Last year, Kyrgyzstan shot 5,000 stray dogs, unable to afford the $300,000 it would have cost to build shelters for them. This year, that figure is depressingly higher: Officials in the capital city of Bishkek say budgetary woes are forcing them to shoot the...

100K Uzbeks Flee Ethnic Massacre in Kyrgyzstan

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 09:21:28 CDT

Some 100,000 minority Uzbeks fleeing a purge by mobs of Kyrgyz were massed at the border today, as the deadliest ethnic violence to hit this Central Asian nation in decades left a major city smoldering. With fires raging in the southern city of Osh for a fourth day, the...

Military Handed Shady Kyrgyz Firms $1.4B

Kevin Spak — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 08:43:51 CDT

The Pentagon has doled out $1.4 billion in no-bid contracts to a pair of mysterious foreign companies with alleged ties to Kyrgyzstan's corrupt ex-president, the military's main supply agency confirmed for Newsweek . The companies, Mina Corp. Ltd. and Red Star Enterprises, provided fuel for the US air base in...

Medvedev Orders Kyrgyzstan to Protect Russians

Rob Quinn — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 05:34:00 CDT

Russia warned Kyrgyzstan yesterday that it needs to take steps to protect Russian citizens and property within its borders as turmoil continues. At least five people were killed as mobs of looters and land-grabbers targeted ethnic Russians and Turks in the Central Asian state yesterday, Bloomberg reports.

Deposed Kyrgyz Leader Resigns, Bolts

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 13:02:08 CDT

The deposed president of Kyrgyzstan left the country today for neighboring Kazakhstan after signing a formal letter of resignation. The move allays fears of new violence in the Central Asian nation that hosts a key US military base supporting the war in Afghanistan. All flights there have resumed. Kazakhstan said...