Today in Astana, Kazakhstan's Defence Minister Adilbek Dzhaksybekov met with the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the NATO for the Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai and a new NATO officer on interaction with Central Asia Alexander Vinnikov, the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Kazakhstan informed Trend.

• March 27, 2013

China has approved a production-sharing contract with Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) for the Fushun shale gas block in the southwestern province of Sichuan, with the global oil firm preparing to step up drilling activities in the country.

• March 26, 2013

In former Soviet Central Asia there is little debate that the root problem [of extremist beliefs] is “foreign ideas,” defined so broadly as to become a target of opportunity for both every political purpose and every local policeman or official’s ambition. Any sign of dissent from state policies or ideology can be enough to bring the wrath of the state, sometimes with great violence.

• March 25, 2013

Cyprus clinched a last-minute solution to avert imminent financial meltdown early Monday after it agreed to slash its oversized banking sector and inflict hefty losses on wealthy depositors in troubled banks to secure a 10 billion euro ($13 billion) bailout.

• March 25, 2013

Japan and the United States have started talks on military plans in case of armed conflict over a group of East China Sea Islets claimed by Tokyo and Beijing, Japanese media said on Thursday, prompting China to complain of "outside pressure."

• March 22, 2013

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says Iran will destroy the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa if it comes under attack by the Jewish state.

• March 22, 2013

Japan and the United States have started talks on operational plans in the case of armed conflict over a group of East China Sea islets claimed by Tokyo and Beijing, Japanese media said on Thursday, prompting China to complain of "outside pressure".

• March 21, 2013

Pakistan views a planned natural gas pipeline from Turkmenistan as a key way to address its energy concerns, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said.

• March 21, 2013