Uzbek President Islam Karimov speaks during a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin (not pictured) following their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, April 26, 2016. Thousands of Uzbeks lined Tashkent's main thoroughfare at dawn on Saturday as President Islam Karimov's funeral cortege made its way through the city. The veteran leader had run the ex-Soviet Central Asian nation since 1989 and nearly half of its 32 million citizens were born after he came to power. Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev has been designated mourner-in-chief at Karimov's funeral, which is seen as a strong hint he might become the next president. Raising eyebrows, Uzbekistan's neighbors and fellow ex-Soviet Turkic-speaking peers Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan sent their prime ministers, not presidents to the funeral.

Source: Thanhnien News September 03, 2016 05:03 UTC