Kyrgyz pensioner uses Haj savings to rebuild World War II monument

September 9th, 2009 Geithner pushes changes to college savings plansWASHINGTON — The Obama administration wants states to make changes to college savings plans that it hopes will expand their use by middle class families. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says the Section 529 savings plans can help Americans to save for college because of the tax savings they offer.

August 2nd, 2009 Kyrgyz president inaugurated for 2nd termBISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was inaugurated for his second term Sunday after winning an election that the opposition has dismissed as fraudulent. Opposition activists accuse the government of rigging last month's vote, which Bakiyev won with 76 percent of the ballots.

July 27th, 2009 Final returns show Kyrgyz president wins 2nd termBISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — Election officials say President Kurmanbek Bakiyev has overwhelmingly won a second term taking 76 percent of the vote in the Central Asian country that is critical to U.S. strategy in Afghanistan.

July 17th, 2009 Kyrgyz policeman arrested after reporter attackBISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — Prosecutors say a Kyrgyz police officer has been arrested in the beating of a reporter who later died from his injuries. Almaz Tashiyev's death last week reinforced concerns about the risks faced by independent journalists in the Central Asian nation.

July 7th, 2009 Kyrgyz leader approves US deal for Manas baseBISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — Kyrgyzstan's president has signed into a law an agreement allowing U.S. military forces to continue using a crucial airbase to ship supplies to troops in Afghanistan.

June 29th, 2009 Kyrgyz troops kill 3 terror suspects in shootoutBISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — Kyrgyz security forces killed three alleged members of a terrorist organization in a shootout this weekend, authorities said Monday — the latest in a series of clashes with militants in this poor Central Asian nation. Soldiers battled gunmen for several hours after surrounding a house in the western Osh region late Saturday night, the State Security Ministry said in a statement.

June 25th, 2009 Kyrgyz lawmakers back US air base dealBISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — Kyrgyzstan's parliament has unanimously approved a deal allowing the U.S. to continue using an air base crucial to operations in Afghanistan.

June 23rd, 2009 Official: US, Kyrgyz reach deal on airbase useBISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — The United States and Kyrgyzstan have reached a deal for using a Kyrgyz airport to transport U.S. non-lethal military supplies to Afghanistan, a senior Kyrgyz official said Tuesday, four months after the country said U.S.

June 11th, 2009 Obama seeks closer ties with KyrgyzstanBISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — President Barack Obama has sent a personal message to his Kyrgyzstan counterpart, officials said Thursday, as Washington tries to keep U.S. forces from being evicted from an important air base in the Central Asian nation.

June 10th, 2009 Okla. braces for challenge to Ten Commandments lawOKLAHOMA CITY — Backers of a new law authorizing a privately funded Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of Oklahoma's Capitol didn't get good news this week. A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S.

June 8th, 2009 Afghans, Kyrgyz may discuss leaving US base openBISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — A high-ranking Kyrgyz official says the Central Asian nation's president may meet with Afghan leader Hamid Karzai to discuss the possibility of letting U.S.-led forces continue using an air base to support operations in Afghanistan. Aibek Moldogaziyev said Monday that President Kurmanbek Bakiyev and Karzai might discuss the Manas air base during an upcoming security summit in Russia.

April 27th, 2009 Kyrgyz riot, say Kurds sheltered rape suspectBISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — Authorities say hundreds of people in a village in Kyrgyzstan have smashed windows and overturned cars belonging to ethnic Kurds after the rape of a four-year-old girl. An official in Petrovka says Sunday's violence began after the head of the village's Kurdish community attempted to shelter a man accused in the assault.

April 23rd, 2009 Kyrgyz police arrest suspected killer of lawmakerBISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — Police say they arrested a man suspected of killing a lawmaker in Kyrgyzstan. Pro-presidential party lawmaker Sanzharbek Kadyraliyev died after being shot in the neck on April 14 outside his home in the capital, Bishkek.

February 21st, 2009 BISHKEK - Kyrgyzstan's President Kurmanbek Bakiyev Friday signed a decree to close a US airbase used since 2001 to support NATO operations in neighbouring Afghanistan, his office said in a statement. On Thursday Kyrgyzstan's single-chamber legislature approved the closure.

February 8th, 2009 BISHKEK - The Kyrgyz parliamentary defence and security committee approved closure of the US military airbase in the country Monday. The hearings on the closure of the base will now be assessed by three parliamentary factions before going to a final debate in parliament.