Kyrgyzstan's new leader tackles challenging job

Otunbayeva -- a former Soviet official, United Nations representative, Kyrgyz ambassador to the United States and United Kingdom, and and Kyrgyz foreign minister -- is not a newcomer to this business. A short, unpretentious woman, it's clear the weight on her shoulders is intense. She's working long hours, taking no time off.

Her immediate challenge is dealing with the deposed Kyrgyz president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, in hiding in the southern part of the country. She has called on him to resign. He has refused. She has offered him free passage out of the country. He hasn't responded.

Beyond that, the interim government has managed to restore law and order in the capital, Bishkek. In the days following the fall of the old government last week, looters ransacked and torched department stores and the national tax office.

Otunbayeva also needs to find out what happened to all the government's money. The deposed regime apparently made off with tens of millions of dollars, though she says the state coffers do have more than the 16 million euros ($21 million) initially claimed by some of her aides.