Kyrgyzstan votes in a crucial election on Sunday which interim leaders hope will help unite the country but opponents fear could trigger more violence and leave the south vulnerable to ethnic extremists and militant Islamists, APA reports quoting “Reuters”.

• October 7, 2010

As the Kyrgyz parliamentary elections near, Moscow’s attempts to influence the elections’ outcome is becoming more obvious. By using both its hard and soft power, the Russian leadership has been supporting favorable candidates, while marginalizing others before the vote on October 10.

• October 6, 2010

Pakistan appears to have stepped up construction of a new atomic reactor that could help the country produce easier-to-deliver nuclear weapons, a US research institute said.

• October 6, 2010

Amidst the latest flare-up in the centuries-old Sino-Japanese spat, Beijing made an unexpected move last month when it halted exports of a little-known commodity group, "rare earth metals," to Japan.

• October 6, 2010

In the 1960s, American political scientists became fascinated with political modernization in Turkey and Japan.

• October 6, 2010

Opportunities are opening for Australian companies in Kazakhstan's mining industry.

• October 5, 2010

Russian gas producer Itera and oil company Zarubezhneft have planned to jointly explore offshore sites in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea until 2012, said Itera Board Chairman Igor Makarov on Monday.

• October 5, 2010

As North Korea moves ahead with its plans for a father-son succession, China will maintain rock-solid ties with its erratic neighbour to ensure stability on the common border at all costs, experts say.

• October 4, 2010