Uzbekistan questions objectivity of assessment studies for Roghun project. Mourners-for-rent hired to blub at funerals. Great Game in Central Asia After Afghanistan.

Asia Plus - Uzbekistan questions objectivity of assessment studies for Roghun project - Uzbek Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources, Shavkat Hamrayev, questions the objectivity of assessment studies for the Roghun hydroelectricity project.  He noted this in an interview with UN Radio on March 21.

The Telegraph - Mourners-for-rent hired to blub at funerals - British mourners are renting "professional sobbers" to blub at funerals to make people believe the deceased was really popular.

The Diplomat - Great Game in Central Asia After Afghanistan - Could efforts by Russia and America in Central Asia exacerbate tensions and make matters worse?

RIA Novosti - Russia Offers S. Africa Help With Nuclear Power - Russia is ready to assist South Africa with construction of nuclear power plants (NPP) in the country, providing a line of credit if the project is implemented by Russian specialists, President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.

Deutsche Welle - The German chancellor's Polish roots - The family tree of German Chancellor Angela Merkel has caused excitement in Poland. Her grandfather Ludwig Kazmierczak was Polish, and fought against the Germans in World War I.

Trend - Aral Sea ecology to be discussed at international level in Turkmenistan - The 'Ecology of the Aral Sea: sustainable development and international cooperation' conference with the participation of the International Fund for saving the Aral Sea (IFAS), delegations from Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will be held in Dashoguz on March 27-28, the Nature Protection Ministry of Turkmenistan reported.

Fars News - Legislator: Almaty Talks No Prelude to Negotiations with US - The recent talks between Iran and the six world powers in Almaty, Kazakhstan, cannot be considered as a prelude to negotiations between Tehran and Washington since the US officials' deeds don't match their words, an Iranian MP said.

Xinhuanet - DPRK: Military in combat-ready mode - According to the Supreme Command of the Korean People’s Army, all field artillery troops, including strategic rocket units and long-range artillery units, have been put on the highest alert. The units are combat-ready to strike bases in the US mainland and on Hawaii and Guam and other operational zones in the Pacific as well as all the enemy targets in South Korea and its vicinity.

Eurasianet - Are The U.S. And Russia Fueling Tension Between Uzbekistan And Its Neighbors? - The U.S.'s growing military ties with Uzbekistan may be a strategic necessity, given the importance of the Central Asian country in the U.S.'s war effort in Afghanistan. But it is forcing the U.S. to confront an important, if little-discussed, complication: Uzbekistan is the least-trusted, most-feared country in the region. Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have well-known border and water conflicts with Uzbekistan. Kazakhstan sees Uzbekistan as a regional rival. So is the U.S.'s military aid to Uzbekistan raising regional tensions?