International News

MOSCOW, Russia, Sept 2, (APP/AFP) – Strongman Uzbek
leader Islam Karimov is in critical condition with his health worsening “sharply” days after he suffered a stroke, an official statement said Friday, as rumours swirl over his condition.
“Dear compatriots, it is with a very heavy heart that we inform you that yesterday the condition of our president deteriorated sharply and, according to doctors, it is evaluated as critical,” the statement posted on a government website said.
The terse announcement — which was also reportedly published in state newspapers on Friday — confirmed that Karimov, 78, who has dominated the ex-Soviet nation for over 25 years, was hospitalised last Saturday following a stroke.
Speculation over the president’s condition has swept the very
tightly-controlled Central Asian nation since officials first said last Sunday that he had been hospitalised, with opposition media based outside the country claiming that he has already died.
The veteran leader’s youngest daughter Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva on Monday announced on social media that he was in “stable” condition in intensive care after a cerebral haemorrhage, before hinting two days later that he was making a recovery.