TASHKENT, 12 Jan 2005 (IRIN) - The return of drainage water back to the Amudarya River is a major source of water contamination in northwestern Uzbekistan, leading to health implications for the local population, observers say.Full report

TASHKENT, 24 Dec 2004 (IRIN) - Sunday's parliamentary election in Uzbekistan is unlikely to lead to change in Central Asia's mostly populous state, opposition members and local watchdog groups warned on Friday. Full report

TASHKENT, 21 Dec 2004 (IRIN) - A new project being implemented by Uzbekistan's Board of Muslims (Muftyat) will give blind people access to the Koran through the Braille system and allow deaf people to take advantage of signed-translation of Friday prayers in the capital's mosques, religious officials said on Tuesday. Full report

TASHKENT, 13 Dec 2004 (IRIN) - The rate of infant mortality is decreasing in Uzbekistan, with more than 1,000 newborns saved every year since 2000 in the most populous Central Asian country. Full report

TASHKENT, 7 Dec 2004 (IRIN) - “For our father [President Islam Karimov] there is no such nation as Uighurs in Uzbekistan,? Dilshad (not his real name), a 29-year-old Uighur, told IRIN in the capital, Tashkent. Full report

TASHKENT, 2 Dec 2004 (IRIN) - Uzbekistan’s president, Islam Karimov, signed a decree on Thursday pardoning more than 5,000 prisoners, just a few days ahead of the 12th anniversary of Uzbek Constitution Day on 8 December. But rights groups say it does little for the many political and religious prisoners who have been jailed in recent years. Full report

TASHKENT, 1 Dec 2004 (IRIN) - Rights and opposition groups gathered outside the US Embassy in the capital, Tashkent, on Wednesday, calling on the US government to support freedom of speech and democracy in this Central Asian state. The protesters say the Uzbek government has blocked the registration of genuine opposition candidates in the forthcoming parliamentary elections. Full report

OSH, 24 Nov 2004 (IRIN) - Demining of the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border is bringing hope to parts of the local population, hope of a new life without fear, along with economic benefits that have been denied them since 1999, when the area was first mined. Full report

ANKARA, 18 Nov 2004 (IRIN) - While a mission from the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) is touring Central Asia, Uzbekistan - long criticised by the international community over its poor human rights record and the practice of torture - is cracking down on independent Muslims following the terrorist attacks earlier this year and the situation is not likely to improve, Craig Murray, former UK ambassador to Tashkent, told IRIN in an interview on Thursday. Full report

TERMEZ, 15 Nov 2004 (IRIN) - Khosiyat Khojakulova is an elementary school teacher in the southern Uzbek city of Termez, capital of the Surkhandarya province. Like many other teachers in the region, she is trying hard to make a living. Full report

KYRGYZSTAN-UZBEKISTAN: Demining around Uzbek enclaves brings hope to impoverished villagers

UZBEKISTAN: Focus on child labour in southern cotton sector

UZBEKISTAN: Focus on rural schools

UZBEKISTAN: Focus on domestic violence

UZBEKISTAN: Poverty fuelling southern sex trade