KAZAKHSTAN-OSCE-SUMMIT

Kyrgyz policemen patrol a street in Astana on November 30, 2010. Kazakhstan on December 1 hosts the biggest global gathering in its history in the Central Asian state’s futuristic capital Astana, despite concerns over its human rights and press freedom record. Kazakhstan this year became the first ex-Soviet state to chair the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)summit. Its hosting of the summit — the first such meeting since 1999 — is a major coup for its president since independence, Nursultan Nazarbayev. . AFP PHOTO / VYACHESLAV OSELEDKO