KHUJAND, 8 Dec 2004 (IRIN) - Galina Akhmerova is one of thousands of elderly ethnic Russians living in northern Tajikistan. She has had a hard time since both her husband and son died in early 1990s. "I have experienced a bitter and terrible life [since that],” she told IRIN at the regional centre catering for the disabled and vulnerable elderly in Khujand, capital of the northern Sogd province. Full report

ANKARA, 29 Nov 2004 (IRIN) - Tajikistan has the highest rate of under five child mortality among the Central Asian states, with 78 deaths per 1000 live births, according to a survey by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Full report

DUSHANBE, 24 Nov 2004 (IRIN) - A controversial ban on women attending mosques to pray is being debated in Tajikistan. The secularist government endorses the ban, while the Islamist opposition sees it as an infringement of women's rights. Full report

ANKARA, 19 Nov 2004 (IRIN) - Falling rocks and stones killed six local residents in the central Tajik district of Nurobod and seriously injured another inhabitant, an emergency official told IRIN on Friday. Full report

DUSHANBE, 16 Nov 2004 (IRIN) - The Tajik tax police have impounded copies of the independent weekly Ruzi Nav printed abroad, Rajabi Mirzo, editor of the newspaper, told IRIN in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe on Tuesday. Full report

DUSHANBE, 9 Nov 2004 (IRIN) - Twenty seven-year-old Shakhlo (not her real name) was not happy to find out that she was pregnant. She couldn't face having a baby. "What fate can a child of an HIV-infected woman face?!" she asked herself. The young woman had an abortion during the first month of pregnancy. Full report

ANKARA, 9 Nov 2004 (IRIN) - A donor conference held in the Tajik capital Dushanbe has reiterated support for poverty reduction and reform efforts to ensure sustainable development in the country. Full report

ANKARA, 4 Nov 2004 (IRIN) - Donors are set to meet in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, on Friday in an effort to highlight the many developmental challenges facing Tajikistan and how...Full report

ANKARA, 2 Nov 2004 (IRIN) - The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) will strengthen the role that remittances play in rural communities in the southern Tajik province of Khatlon, possibly later replicating the effort in other parts of the country. Full report

DUSHANBE, 25 Oct 2004 (IRIN) - "A man raped his own mother, and then killed her. To hide the traces, he decided to burn the corpse," Sharifmat Rajapov, a judge from Tajikistan's southern Khatlon province, told IRIN, recalling a case he had recently presided over Full report

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