Tajikistan has placed itself in direct competition with Uzbekistan as a supplier of electric power. From August this year, Tajikistan has agreed to supply electricity to Afghanistan through the new Sangtud-Puli-Khumri power line, an Uzbekenergo spokesman says. READ MORE

As Americans watch the London Olympics, commentators filling airtime have speculated on the decline of the special relationship between the U.S. and the U.K. Mitt Romney took a few swipes at Barack Obama for being responsible for this decline when he was in London two weeks ago. Actually, the bonds between the United States and United Kingdom remain very strong. Why? READ MORE

More than ten years after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, counterterrorism practitioners, academics and policymakers are still struggling to understand what motivates men who have spent their formative and early adult years in Western urban settings – like London, Toronto, Copenhagen, New York or Madrid – to turn against the countries of their citizenship or residence and attack them. READ MORE

The longest section of the Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan-China transit pipeline passes through Kazakhstan’s territory: it measures 1,115 kilometers in length, of the total 1,830-kilometer Turkmenistan-China distance. Kazakhstan is adding a dedicated export pipeline for its own gas exports to China. In combination, these developments (alongside planned oil exports) confer to Kazakhstan a major role in China’s energy security calculations. READ MORE

The President of Tatarstan signed amendments to the law on the freedom of conscience earlier grandiosely adopted by the State Council of this entity of the Russian Federation. In particular, foreigners are forbidden to found religious organizations in the republic. However, all the decisions made by the power were late. It’s senseless to issue a ban on the way of penetration of “foes” to Tatarstan, when in the environment of local population already occurred people, calling themselves “Mujahideens”, able to take the responsibility for the terrorist attack against the leaders of Spiritual Department of the Muslims of the Republic. READ MORE

A curious election took place recently in the Caucasus. It attracted very little notice but deserved more. In the tiny, unrecognized territory of Nagorny Karabakh—entirely Armenian but still regarded by the world as de jure part of Azerbaijan—an opposition candidate for president did extremely well. READ MORE