"Uzbekistan: Stagnation and Uncertainty, the latest International Crisis Group briefing, warns that two years after the Andijon massacre, the country remains a serious risk to itself and the region. The 69-year-old Karimov’s term ended formally in January but he shows no sign of stepping down. There is no clear successor or succession process, so an eventual power struggle could well be violent.  read more »

From the Committee for Concerned Journalists, this is a collection of links to tools journalists can use in their work. CCJ says these are "some of journalism's best ideas, strategies and techniques to help journalists and citizens alike."

"The Central Asia + Information and Communication Technologies project is a multi-year investigation of Internet and related technology developments in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan." The project is based at University of Washington (US). The site includes links to papers by project participants as well as a project weblog.

"NowPublic is a participatory news network which mobilizes an army of reporters to cover the events that define our world. In twelve short months, the company has become one of the fastest growing news organizations with thousands of reporters in over 140 countries."

"The OpenNet Initiative is a collaborative partnership of four leading academic institutions: the Citizen Lab at the Munk Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto, Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School, the Advanced Network Research Group at the Cambridge Security Programme, University of Cambridge, and the Oxford Internet Institute , Oxford University.

"Our aim is to investigate, expose and analyze Internet filtering and surveillance practices in a credible and non-partisan fashion. We intend to uncover the potential pitfalls and unintended consequences of these practices, and thus help to inform better public policy and advocacy work in this area."

The ONI site includes maps, regional and country reports, and other resources for researching international practices of internet surveillance and filtering.  read more »

"Amnesty International (AI) is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights.

"AI’s vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards.

"In pursuit of this vision, AI’s mission is to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of its work to promote all human rights."

"Amnesty International (AI) is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights to be respected and protected... The Amnesty International Report 2007 documents human rights issues of concern to Amnesty International (AI) during 2006."

"Human Rights Watch is the largest human rights organization based in the United States. Human Rights Watch researchers conduct fact-finding investigations into human rights abuses in all regions of the world. Human Rights Watch then publishes those findings in dozens of books and reports every year, generating extensive coverage in local and international media."

"Legislationline is an internet-based free-of-charge legislative database published and maintained by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. Its purpose is to assist lawmakers in OSCE participating States by providing them with sample domestic legislation and international standards on selected human dimension issues."

This page links to information provided by online journalism guru Mindy McAdams for an introductory training session she designed on multimedia (audio, video, and slides) for reporters. There is a five-page handout as well as links to software, equipment, and other helpful material.