Tag: Tajikistan
Mindorashvili wins freestyle wrestling 84kg gold
Revazi Mindorashvili of Georgia has won the Olympics men's 84kg freestyle wrestling gold medal, beating Yusup Abdusalomov of Tajikistan in the final.[MORE]
France to have 3,000 troops in Afghanistan
French troops operating in Afghanistan will number about 3,000, France's Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on a visit to the central Asian state of Tajikistan.[MORE]
Two Tajiks arrested over Russian reporter's killing
Two men have been arrested in Tajikistan on suspicion of involvement in the murder of Russian television journalist Ilyas Shurpayev, who was found strangled in his Moscow apartment last week, Interfax said.[MORE]
UN urges aid for Tajikistan as winter crisis worsens
The United Nations is appealing for urgent humanitarian aid for Tajikistan, saying that 260,000 people needed food aid after extreme cold knocked out electricity supplies.[MORE]
Opium, heroin seized in massive Tajikistan bust
Authorities in Tajikistan have seized more than half a tonne of opium, their biggest drug haul in almost two decades.[MORE]
9 killed in Tajikstan bus-train smash
A train and a minibus have collided in the capital of Tajikistan, killing nine people and seriously injuring three. [MORE]
Tajikistan to crack down on witchcraft
Tajikistan is launching a crackdown on witchcraft and fortune-telling as part of an anti-poverty drive, after earlier banning lavish weddings and expensive funerals.[MORE]
Tajikistan bans Jehovah's Witnesses
Ex-Soviet Tajikistan outlawed the Jehovah's Witnesses religious organisation on Monday, saying its missionary activities violated the laws of the predominantly Muslim Central Asian state. "Door-to-door missionary activities, calls to refuse to serve in the armed forces and their intolerance of other religions contradict the law," Tajik Culture Minister Mirzoshohruh Asrorov told a news conference. Jehovah's Witnesses in Tajikistan could not immediately be reached for comment. According to official figures, more than 95 percent of the Tajik population belong to the Sunni branch of Islam and another two percent are Shiites. The Tajik government though is strictly secular. The Jehovah's Witnesses have around 5 million members worldwide but number only in the hundreds in Tajikistan, most of whom joined in the early 1990s. Human rights activists say members of the group face persecution Central Asia. In July, Amnesty International urged nearby Turkmenistan to revoke suspended sentences handed down to three Jehovah's Witnesses accused of refusing to serve in the army on religious grounds.[MORE]
Bridge to link Afghanistan and Tajikistan
The presidents of Afghanistan and Tajikistan are preparing to open a major new bridge linking their two countries.[MORE]
Russia and China to hold joint military exercise
Troops from Russia, China and Central Asian states will take part in a joint military exercise designed to show off their alliance's increasing power.[MORE]
China steps up security for regional leaders meeting
China has set up a massive security curtain around Shanghai as regional leaders from countries including Russia and Iran gather for an annual meeting.[MORE]
Avalanche kills 20 in Tajikistan
Twenty people have been killed by an avalanche in eastern Tajikistan, the Emergencies Ministry says. [MORE]
Tajik children's home fire kills 13
Thirteen children have died in a blaze that swept through a home for mentally handicapped children in the Central Asian state of Tajikistan.[MORE]
21 killed in Tajikistan bus collision
Police say a powerful blast killed all 21 passengers on board when a bus running on liquefied gas collided with another bus in western Tajikistan.[MORE]
Bomb rocks Tajikistan
A powerful bomb has destroyed windows and damaged cars outside Tajikistan's Emergencies Ministry. [MORE]
