KYRGYZSTAN

Talks to reopen the route are stalled, but the withdrawal of the team of low-level specialists does not indicate a significant break in U.S.-Pakistan relations

As soon as Facebook went public Friday, co-founder Mark Zuckerberg became an instant multi-billionaire.

Riven by ethnic divisions and struggling amid economic woes, Kyrgyzstan is far from stable. But with its vocal and uniquely progressive citizenry, there are worlds of potential for this young Central Asian nation.

Canadian miner Centerra Gold on Tuesday slashed its forecast for 2012 production at its flagship mine in Kyrgyzstan by about a third due to ice movement in the pit, a decline sure to weigh on the fragile economy of the Central Asian state.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Monday that the death penalty could be sought over the massacre of 16 villagers in Afghanistan, which U.S. officials said they believe was the work of a rogue American soldier.

Among the victims of the Syrian uprising are a number of western journalists, the only independent witnesses remaining in the besieged city. Their plight was highlighted after the renowned war correspondent Marie Colvin, 56, and French photographer Remi Ochlik, 28, were both killed when a rocket hit their makeshift media center in the middle of Homs last week.

As smartphone sales continue to surge worldwide and the market ripens with increased spending from consumers, analysts predict Chinese vendors could seize market share with more affordable devices. Huawei and ZTE combined had sold 35 million smartphone sales in the past year.

A group of young, semi-clad Ukrainian women gate crashed into the Indian embassy in Ukraine's capital Kiev last month, tore down the Indian flag and threw it on the ground.

On Tuesday, Feb. 14, police in Malaysian city of Petaling Jaya and other parts of the country raided a number of hotels and arrested more than 80 people for being alone with a member of the opposite sex.

Russia faced a barrage of condemnations after it joined China over the weekend in vetoing a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to step aside, but Russia has stood resolutely behind its decision. Why?

Around 1,400 workers at Centerra Gold's flagship mine in Kyrgyzstan went on strike on Tuesday, a trade union leader said, halting production that contributes nearly 12 percent of GDP in the Central Asian republic.

There are up to 3,500 sex workers from the former Soviet Union plying their trade in New Delhi alone.

Apparently Ehud Barak, Israel's defense minister and former prime minister, is having some sleepless nights. Should Israel preemptively strike Iran?

Kyrgyzstan prisoners sewed their lips together to protest poor prison conditions. Prison authorities blame strike on criminal gang leaders.

America's new ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, didn't exactly get the warmest of welcomes.

South African miner Gold Fields has signed an agreement with Kyrgyz villagers that will enable it to resume drilling at a prospective copper deposit three months after an arson attack by horsemen on its geologist camp.

Uzbekistan is using torture -- both physical and psychological – on prisoners.

Centerra Gold Inc. resumed shipping diesel fuel and other supplies from the Kumtor marshalling yard in Kyrgyzstan to Kumtor mine after the voluntary lifting of the previously announced roadblock, the company said Tuesday.

In a rare peaceful transition of presidential power, Kyrgyzstan inaugurated a new president Thursday, marking the first time the former Soviet Central Asian nation chose a successor through votes at the ballot box, not the streets.

Can you imagine spending $2 million on a trailer? This list of oddly expensive places is sure to surprise.

Putin and Gilani also reportedly discussed other important topics, including battling against terrorism and extremism.