The Times Of Central Asia | Eurasian Publication & News Online

Central Asia’s presidential forum now spans both shores of the Caspian. Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan anchor the principal Caspian crossing at the center of the Middle Corridor, the rail-and-sea network linking Central Asia to European markets through Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye. Azerbaijan’s full participation brings the corridor’s eastern and western Caspian...

Environmental Assessment

Uzbekistan’s $5 Billion Sea Breeze Resort Awaits Environmental Review

Uranium

Kazakh Uranium for Asia: Japan Returns for Fuel, South Korea Expands Cooperation

Taliban Troubles, Security Service Strife and the Deportation Divide

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Dastan
Short Stories from the Region

Dastan: The Story Behind the Name

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Opinions

Uzbekistan’s Heritage Did Not Stop With the Silk Road

Mathieu Lemoine

Opinion: Kazakhstan’s Demining Expertise Could Provide Boost to Afghanistan

Timur Serikuly

Opinion: Uzbekistan Census – When the Village Reappears in the City

Zamirbek Minbaev

Opinion: The Specter Is Back – A Kazakh Warning to America

Askar Alimzhanov

Opinion: The Amu Darya Stress Test – Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and the Politics of Agricultural Adaptation

Zamirbek Minbaev

Opinion: Kazakhstan’s New Income Growth Plan – Administrative Measures Against Market Realities

Igor Klevtsov

Opinion: Central Asia’s Shift from Silk Road Romance to Infrastructure Finance – What the June Forums Are Building

Dr. Magsud Mammadov

UNDP Opinion: Central Asia – Shared Wildlife, Shared Landscapes, Shared Responsibility

UNDP Representatives in Kazakhstan, Katarzyna Wawiernia, Kyrgyzstan, Alexandra Solovieva, Tajikistan, Sudipto Mukerjee, Turkmenistan, Narine Sahakyan, Uzbekistan, Akiko Fujii.

Opinion: Beyond Multivectorism – What Kyrgyzstan’s UN Security Council Win Really Shows

Zamirbek Minbaev

Opinion: Eurasia’s New Corridors Are More Than a Transit Race

Aidar Borangaziyev

Opinion: Silk Seven or the OTS? Central Asia May Not Have to Choose

Ken Moriyasu

Opinion: How AI Is Reshaping the Global Image of Nations

Sergey Akhmetov

Business & Economy

Fuel Prices

Turkmenistan Tightens Diesel Limits as Fuel Shortages Persist

Turkmenistan has halved the amount of diesel that vehicles may carry in their tanks when leaving the country, cutting the limit from 300 to 150 liters from August 10. The charge for every liter above the limit has also risen from 20 manat (about $1) to 30 manat (about $1.50). The move is the second tightening of the rules in several months. According to Chronicles of Turkmenistan, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov signed the relevant decree on August 5. At the beginning of April, vehicles leaving Turkmenistan were limited to 300 liters of diesel in their tanks, with a charge of 20...

Electricity Demand

Kyrgyzstan Electricity Imports to Rise Again in 2026

Tajik Airlines

Tajikistan’s Somon Air Adds Routes, Receives First Boeing 737 MAX

Caspian Pipeline Consortium

Black Sea Risks Elevate Azerbaijan and Turkey in Kazakhstan’s Export Strategy

Urban Air Mobility

Kazakhstan Advances Air Taxi Plans After First Passenger Flight

Direct Flights

Etihad Flights to Uzbekistan Begin Daily as Almaty Service Moves to 2027

Etihad Airways has launched daily service between Abu Dhabi and Tashkent, adding Uzbekistan to its operated network. A direct service to Almaty that had been scheduled for March 2026 is now expected in 2027. Etihad's inaugural outbound flight departed Abu Dhabi on August 9 and arrived in Tashkent early on August 10. The return flight left later that morning, and the route is operated with an Airbus A320. Etihad senior vice president Jurriaan Pieter Stelder told The Times of Central Asia that the airline had studied Uzbekistan's aviation market for several years before entering it. He said the growth of local...

Growth Forecasts

Why Central Asia Growth Forecasts Differ So Sharply

How fast can Central Asia continue to grow? The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) give markedly different answers. The contrast is sharpest in Kyrgyzstan, where the EDB expects another year of double-digit growth, while the IMF sees a much more pronounced slowdown. Both institutions are looking at the same countries and have access to broadly the same set of macroeconomic data. Their forecasts, however, reflect different assessments of how much of Central Asia’s recent momentum can be sustained. The EDB expects strong investment to keep growth high, while the IMF is more cautious about how...

Uranium

Kazakh Uranium for Asia: Japan Returns for Fuel, South Korea Expands Cooperation

Kazakhstan accounts for around 40% of global uranium production. China already receives not only raw material from the country but also finished fuel assemblies; Japan is signing new contracts after bringing some of its reactors back online; and South Korea is expanding cooperation with Kazakhstan’s nuclear industry. Kazakhstan itself, which for decades exported almost all of its uranium, is preparing to build its own nuclear power plants. These developments are gradually changing the country’s place in Asia’s nuclear energy sector. In December 2025, Kazatomprom, the world’s largest producer of natural uranium, agreed on new supplies with Kansai Electric Power, one...

Transit Corridors

Afghan Traders in Ashgabat Discuss Proposed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan Transit Corridor

A delegation from the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment was in Turkmenistan in recent days as the two countries explore ways to boost trade and develop transit corridors, according to Afghan state media. Mawlawi Fazal Mohammad Saber, Afghanistan’s chargé d'affaires in the Turkmen capital of Ashgabat, met the group of Afghan traders during their visit, the National Radio and Television of Afghanistan, also known as RTA, reported on Thursday. The Afghan delegates and their counterparts in Turkmenistan discussed a proposal to create a new transit corridor from the Turkmen city of Turkmenabat to the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif,...

Local Politics

Former Presidents

What Do Former Presidents Do? From Akayev to Nazarbayev, the Fates of Central Asia’s Ex-Leaders

Central Asia has produced remarkably few former presidents who simply retired from public life. In Kyrgyzstan, former leaders have been driven from office, prosecuted, imprisoned, or forced into exile. Kazakhstan’s Nursultan Nazarbayev has followed a different path, largely withdrawing from public view after losing much of his political influence. Elsewhere, some of the region’s founding presidents died in office, leaving no post-presidential career to examine. The Times of Central Asia has previously examined how political succession has developed across the region. The fate of leaders after they leave office reveals another side of that political tradition. The architect of Kyrgyzstan’s...

Cremation Ban

Kyrgyzstan Reverses Cremation Policy as Japarov Signs Ban

Electronic Visas

Kazakhstan Proposes Rules for Paid Electronic Entry Permits

AI Governance

Kazakhstan Smart Cities Face the Test of Turning AI Ambition Into Results

Transport Policy

Bishkek Proposes Curbs on Private Car Use

Artificial intelligence

AI E-Government in Kazakhstan Expands Into Jobs and Benefits

Kazakhstan is preparing a deeper overhaul of its e-government system, with artificial intelligence expected to identify which service citizens need, match unemployed people with vacancies, and assist officials in identifying potential recipients of social assistance. The plans were outlined at a government meeting on August 11 by Minister of AI and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev and Minister of Labor and Social Protection Askarbek Yertayev. Several are expected to expand nationwide by the end of 2026. eGov GPT, which the government was testing earlier this year, currently works with 50 of the most frequently used public services. According to Madiyev, these...

Succession

The Tradition of Power – Why Political Succession in Central Asia Follows Its Own Rules

In January 2027, Kyrgyzstan will hold a presidential election, an event that is anything but routine for the Central Asian republic. Over the past three decades, political crises, often surrounding disputed elections, have repeatedly ended in the removal of presidents. Kyrgyzstan remains an outlier in the region, although it, too, has gradually been moving towards a political model that has long become the norm across the rest of Central Asia. This year marks 35 years since the Soviet republics embarked on independent political lives following the collapse of the USSR. Yet many of the mechanisms governing the transfer of supreme...

Kurultai Election

Kazakhstan Kurultai Election: Can a Third Party Break Through?

With only weeks remaining before Kazakhstan elects its new 145-member Kurultai on August 23, three national surveys point to a commanding victory for Adilet and place Auyl in second. The less certain question is whether Ak Zhol, Respublica, or another smaller party can clear the 5% electoral threshold and join them in the new legislature. Seven political parties have been registered to contest the vote. All 145 seats will be allocated through nationwide party lists, so small changes around the threshold could have a large effect on the composition of Kazakhstan's first Kurultai. The election is the first under Kazakhstan's...

Presidential Election

Kyrgyzstan Moves 2027 Presidential Election to January 27

President Sadyr Japarov has signed legislation changing the schedule for Kyrgyzstan's next presidential election. Under the amendments, the vote will be held on 27 January 2027, the fourth Wednesday of January, instead of the fourth Sunday of the month, as provided for under the previous legislation. The amendments also retain the requirement that the Jogorku Kenesh, Kyrgyzstan's parliament, must schedule the presidential election no later than four months before polling day. Election day will be a paid day off. According to the explanatory note accompanying the legislation, moving the vote from Sunday to a weekday is expected to encourage higher...

International Affairs

World Nomad Games

Independence Day, SCO Summit and World Nomad Games Converge in Bishkek

Kyrgyzstan is preparing for one of its busiest days in years. August 31 marks the 35th anniversary of the country’s independence, a day which will also see the opening ceremony of the sixth World Nomad Games. Meanwhile, leaders from the SCO’s ten member states, including Russia, China, India, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan, are also expected in Bishkek for a summit. The overlap is partly by design. Organizers say the World Nomad Games opening ceremony will be staged at Bishkek Arena on August 31, alongside the SCO summit program, ahead of the stadium’s formal opening later in September. The new stadium is...

Middle Corridor

Central Asia and Azerbaijan Extend Cooperation Across the Caspian

Caspian Sea

Iran Moves to Ratify Caspian Sea Agreement Amid Tensions

Russia's War in Ukraine

How the Russia–Ukraine War Is Reshaping Central Asia’s Geopolitical Balance

Neutrality

Turkmenistan’s Neutrality: Diplomatic Space, Economic Limits

Caspian Pipeline Consortium

Vance Personally Asked Zelensky to Halt CPC-Linked Tanker Strikes, FT Reports

U.S. Vice President JD Vance personally asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 31 to halt attacks on oil tankers serving the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s Black Sea terminal near Novorossiysk, the Financial Times reported on August 12. Citing Ukrainian officials and others familiar with the call, the newspaper said Kyiv had agreed not to target CPC infrastructure or non-Russian vessels unless they were under Ukrainian sanctions or carrying Russian oil or other Russian cargo. Ukraine has not struck tankers near the CPC terminal since the July 31 call. Vance’s intervention came after repeated July attacks had disrupted Kazakhstan’s main oil-export...

Civilian Casualties

Uzbekistan Forms Commission After Nizhnekamsk Drone Strike as Russia Puts Uzbek Death Toll at Eight

Uzbekistan has formed a special commission after its citizens were killed in a drone attack on several locations in the Russian city of Nizhnekamsk on Monday. Russian authorities now say eight Uzbek citizens were among the 13 people killed, one more than Uzbekistan’s consulate in the Russian city of Kazan initially reported. A Tajik citizen was also reported among the dead. Moscow blamed Ukraine for the attack, the latest in a campaign of long-range strikes by the Ukrainian military in the long-running war with Russia. Ukraine has often targeted oil facilities in an attempt to undermine a key source of...

Caspian Pipeline Consortium

U.S. Reportedly Secures Ukrainian Pledge to Avoid Strikes on CPC Infrastructure

Turkey has begun restricting some commercial vessels from entering the Black Sea on voyages to Novorossiysk, adding a potential new obstacle to Kazakhstan’s oil exports through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium amid reports that Ukraine has agreed to spare CPC infrastructure and qualifying non-Russian tankers from attack. Turkey’s Directorate-General of Coastal Safety has told multiple ships bound for Novorossiysk that it is not currently issuing transit permits for those voyages or needs more time to review applications through the Dardanelles. The authorities have not publicly explained the measure. Some vessels were told the restriction also applied to ships heading to Ukraine,...

Russia Migration Policy

Russia Migration Rules Tighten as Central Asian Work Entries Fall

Entries to Russia for work by citizens of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan fell by 15% in the first half of 2026 amid tighter migration rules and higher costs for workers. The Border Service of Russia’s Federal Security Service recorded about 1.9 million work-related entries by citizens of the three countries between January and June, down from more than 2.3 million in the same period of 2025, according to data published through Russia’s Unified Interdepartmental Information and Statistical System. The restrictions are also separating some migrant workers from their children. Since April 1, 2025, foreign children applying to Russian state schools...

Life & Culture

Central Asian Music

Central Asian Music Takes the Stage in Berlin

Young Central Asian musicians have featured at the ongoing Young Euro Classic festival in Berlin. Since its beginnings in 2000, the festival has brought youth orchestras from around the world to the German capital, while the later addition of the Future Now series as a “festival within the festival” opened it to smaller experimental ensembles. It was not the first time that orchestras and smaller groups from Central Asia had performed at Young Euro Classic. Kazakh musicians had appeared before, including at the 2024 festival. Turkmen musicians also performed in Berlin later that year as part of the separate FUTURE...

ComicCon Astana

Comic Con Astana 2026 Draws Game of Thrones and One Piece Stars

Chess

Will Host Uzbekistan Be the “Most Dangerous Team” at the Chess Olympiad?

Uzbekistan Football

Uzbekistan National Team Set for Youth Overhaul After World Cup, Says Cannavaro

International Olympiad

Astana Hosts Largest International AI Olympiad to Date

Artificial intelligence

From Walking Robots to AI Errors: A Kazakh Researcher’s Path to Intelligent Systems

What should a robot do after making a mistake? The answer becomes more complicated when the person nearby does not explicitly say something has gone wrong, but merely hesitates, looks confused, or begins to lose trust in the machine. This is one of the problems currently being studied by Kazakh researcher Arman Ibrayeva. Over several years, her scientific interests have developed from mechanics and walking robots to autonomous navigation, medical robotics, and human interaction with intelligent systems. In June 2026, Ibrayeva was among the authors of REPAIR-Bench, a new research benchmark for studying how people respond to robot errors and...

Abai Qunanbaiuly

Abai Day in Kazakhstan: The Enduring Legacy of a National Poet

Nearly two centuries after his birth, Abai Qunanbaiuly remains a symbol of Kazakh identity, with his poetry and music still familiar across Kazakhstan. Often described as the founder of modern Kazakh written literature, he has been compared in Kazakhstan to Alexander Pushkin in Russia and William Shakespeare in England. On August 10, the country marks the 181st anniversary of his birth and the seventh official Abai Day. Abai wrote about 170 poems and 56 translations. His best-known prose work, Kara Sozder (Words of Edification), consists of 45 short pieces of philosophical and moral reflection. He was also a composer, and...

TCA Interviews

Memory Is a Living Matter: An Interview with Artist Gauhar Bisengaliyeva

On July 24, Almaty's Kasteyev Museum of Arts hosted the opening of Gauhar Bisengalieva’s solo exhibition, Matter of Memory. The artist, who works under the name Arukhan, recently returned from Italy, where her solo exhibition, The Spirit of the Steppe, was presented at the historic Palazzo Marchesale, in Italy’s southern Apulia region. Her new project at the Kasteyev Museum continues her exploration of memory. Working with felt, steppe grasses, and other organic materials, Arukhan's work explores the processes of time and the transformation of matter. In an interview with The Times of Central Asia, Gauhar Bisengaliyeva discusses her artistic practice...

Games of the Future

Peru’s PlayTime Wins Dota 2 Title at Astana Games of the Future

Peruvian team PlayTime won the $1 million Dota 2 tournament at the Games of the Future 2026 in Astana, defeating China's Yakult Brothers 3-0 in the grand final. The 16-team competition included clubs from China, Southeast Asia, Europe, South America, and Kazakhstan. PlayTime received $350,000, while Yakult Brothers earned $160,000 as runners-up. China's Team Resilience claimed third place after defeating Kazakhstan's Rune Eaters 2-0. Team Resilience collected $120,000, while Rune Eaters received $70,000 for finishing fourth. Team Resilience player Kongbo "Niu" Li said the team gained confidence after the opening map and maintained control throughout the series, according to the...

Justice

Cybersecurity

Kazakhstan Examines Data Leak Claim Involving 15 Million People

A database allegedly containing the personal information of 15 million people in Kazakhstan has appeared on the dark web. The seller is asking 0.5 bitcoin, about $32,000, for a dataset containing tens of millions of records. The seller claims the information was obtained after hacking the government’s eGov portal. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development has not confirmed that account. Specialists are examining samples of the database and trying to determine where the data came from. The sale was reported by the Russian Telegram channel Mash. According to the channel, the file is about 2.7 GB and contains...

Bride Kidnapping

Bride Kidnapping in Central Asia: Why the Practice Persists Despite Tougher Laws

Gulnara Karimova

Swiss Court Fines Lombard Odier $3.7 Million in Karimova Money-Laundering Case

amnesty

Kazakhstan Amnesty Clears $48 Million in Unpaid Fines

Domestic Violence

After Bishimbayev, Kazakhstan’s Domestic Violence Laws Face an Enforcement Test

Islam and National Identity

Dombra Dispute and Niqab Bans Fuel Religious Debate in Central Asia

Standing before a court in Aktobe in June, 35-year-old Azat Konys apologized to “the entire Kazakh people” for insulting one of the country’s most cherished cultural symbols. Two months earlier, during a TikTok livestream, he had declared the dombra forbidden under Islam, compared the two-stringed instrument to part of the devil’s anatomy and called clerics from Kazakhstan’s official Islamic authority “dogs of hell.” Konys asked the court not to imprison him. The judge instead sentenced him to three years and six months for inciting religious and national hatred. The controversy began when Konys cited the Hanafi school of Sunni Islamic...

Kyrgyz-Uzbek Border

Kyrgyzstan Uncovers Suspected Smuggling Tunnel on Uzbek Border

Authorities in Kyrgyzstan have uncovered an underground tunnel on the border with Uzbekistan that is believed to have been built for smuggling goods, 24.kg reported, citing the Batken Regional Department of Internal Affairs. According to the police, officers from the department responsible for combating extremism and illegal migration received information that an underground passage was being constructed to move goods illegally across the border. During an inspection of an abandoned house on Mamazhanov Street in the village of Chechelik, Kadamjay District, investigators discovered a tunnel leading toward neighboring Uzbekistan. According to the regional police department, the tunnel is approximately 12...

Religion

Tajikistan Hijab Ban Denied by Authorities Amid Confusion

Tajik authorities have denied reports that the country has introduced a new ban on beards and hijabs, following renewed attention to the government’s regulation of religious dress and appearance. An official from Tajikistan’s Committee on Religion, Regulation of Traditions, Celebrations and Ceremonies told Asia-Plus that no new legislation prohibiting beards or hijabs had been adopted. The committee said recent reports had misrepresented the state of religious rights in Tajikistan and had relied on information from unreliable sources. The government statement followed a July 25 report by Azattyq Asia (RFE/RL) describing continued pressure on some men with beards and women wearing Islamic...

Press Freedom

Tajikistan Frees Two Journalists as Press Freedom Concerns Persist

An international media rights group has welcomed the release from prison of two journalists in Tajikistan, while urging the government to free others who remain in jail. Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, said Zavkibek Saidamini and Abdusattor Pirmukhammadzoda were freed on July 18 after four years in detention. “They should never have been jailed, just like their colleagues, who must also be released,” RSF said. The two journalists were sentenced to seven years in prison in 2022 after being convicted of links to groups labeled as extremist, and were released under an amnesty law that was passed by Tajikistan’s parliament...

Environment

Environmental Assessment

Uzbekistan’s $5 Billion Sea Breeze Resort Awaits Environmental Review

Uzbekistan’s environmental authorities have still not received the full set of documents for Sea Breeze Uzbekistan, a controversial $5 billion resort planned on the shore of the Charvak Reservoir. Azerbaijani businessman Emin Agalarov presented the project to Uzbek authorities in late 2024, and Agalarov Development is participating in the venture. Although the government approved the investment project in August 2025 and public hearings were held in January, key technical documents required for the second stage of the state environmental review remain outstanding. Sea Breeze is planned to cover 577 hectares on the eastern shore of Charvak, around 80 kilometers from...

Land Degradation

Kazakh Environmental Group Proposes Trials of Chinese Land-Restoration Technologies

Climate Change

Kyrgyzstan Links Record Heatwave to Accelerating Glacier Retreat

Chemical Waste

Kyrgyzstan Hazardous Waste Cleanup Begins at Soviet Era Kristall Plant

Rogun Dam

Italy Commits $150 Million to Tajikistans Rogun Hydropower Plant

Syr Darya River

Central Asian States Plan Automated Water Monitoring on the Syr Darya

Central Asian countries have agreed to prepare a plan for automated water monitoring on the Syr Darya, one of the region’s main transboundary rivers. The system is intended to provide the countries with more accurate data on water volumes and distribution across the basin, where irrigated agriculture in several countries depends on river flows. The cost of weak coordination across Central Asia is already measured in billions: the World Bank estimates the region’s annual economic losses at more than $4.5 billion. The agreement was reached on August 7 in Turkistan, Kazakhstan. A working group to prepare the plan is expected...

Glacier Retreat

Kyrgyzstan’s Issyk-Kul Glaciers Have Lost One-Third of Their Area

Glacier coverage in the Issyk-Kul Basin has shrunk by 33.7% compared with records from 70–90 years ago, according to an updated inventory released by Kyrgyzhydromet, the Hydrometeorological Service under Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations. The service said coverage had declined by 23.1% over the past 7–10 years, indicating that the retreat has accelerated. The revised inventory was compiled using Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite imagery, Google Earth, QGIS, and earlier glacier catalogs. Researchers refined glacier boundaries, documented fragmentation, and identified glaciers that had disappeared. Kyrgyzhydromet attributed the decline to climate change and said the new inventory would provide a baseline for assessing...

Amur Tiger

Kazakhstan Releases First Tiger into Wild in More Than 70 Years

Kazakhstan has released a tiger into the wild for the first time in more than 70 years, beginning the practical phase of a long-running program to restore the predator to the Ili River delta. The female Amur tiger, Umit, was released at the Ile-Balkhash State Nature Reserve on July 31, the Ecology Ministry announced on August 3. “Today we witnessed a truly historic event,” Ecology Minister Yerlan Nysanbayev said. He described the release as the result of more than a decade of work by Kazakhstan, Russian specialists, scientists, and international conservation partners. Before the release, Umit underwent veterinary examinations and...

Public Health

Kazakhstan and China Launch One Health Research Center in Almaty

Kazakhstan and China have opened a joint research center in Almaty focused on infectious diseases and biosafety. The Center for One Health Research opened on July 27 at the Kazakh National Agrarian Research University, known as KazNARU. It was created under Kazakhstan’s National Academy of Sciences in cooperation with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. During the opening ceremony, four institutions signed a memorandum covering joint research and academic exchanges. The signatories were Kazakhstan’s National Academy of Sciences, KazNARU, Zhejiang University, and the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The center will support research into microbiology, veterinary medicine,...

Independence Day, SCO Summit and World Nomad Games Converge in Bishkek

Latest

Features

Features

Taliban Troubles, Security Service Strife and the Deportation Divide

Latest

Dastan: The Story Behind the Name

Taliban Troubles, Security Service Strife and the Deportation Divide

Dastan: The Story Behind the Name

Opinions

Opinions

Mathieu Lemoine

Timur Serikuly

Zamirbek Minbaev

Askar Alimzhanov

Zamirbek Minbaev

Igor Klevtsov

Dr. Magsud Mammadov

UNDP Representatives in Kazakhstan, Katarzyna Wawiernia, Kyrgyzstan, Alexandra Solovieva, Tajikistan, Sudipto Mukerjee, Turkmenistan, Narine Sahakyan, Uzbekistan, Akiko Fujii.

Zamirbek Minbaev

Aidar Borangaziyev

Ken Moriyasu

Sergey Akhmetov

Business & Economy

Business & Economy

Turkmenistan Tightens Diesel Limits as Fuel Shortages Persist

Etihad Flights to Uzbekistan Begin Daily as Almaty Service Moves to 2027

Why Central Asia Growth Forecasts Differ So Sharply

Kazakh Uranium for Asia: Japan Returns for Fuel, South Korea Expands Cooperation

Afghan Traders in Ashgabat Discuss Proposed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan Transit Corridor

Local Politics

Local Politics

What Do Former Presidents Do? From Akayev to Nazarbayev, the Fates of Central Asia’s Ex-Leaders

AI E-Government in Kazakhstan Expands Into Jobs and Benefits

The Tradition of Power – Why Political Succession in Central Asia Follows Its Own Rules

Kazakhstan Kurultai Election: Can a Third Party Break Through?

Kyrgyzstan Moves 2027 Presidential Election to January 27

International Affairs

International Affairs

Independence Day, SCO Summit and World Nomad Games Converge in Bishkek

Vance Personally Asked Zelensky to Halt CPC-Linked Tanker Strikes, FT Reports

Uzbekistan Forms Commission After Nizhnekamsk Drone Strike as Russia Puts Uzbek Death Toll at Eight

U.S. Reportedly Secures Ukrainian Pledge to Avoid Strikes on CPC Infrastructure

Russia Migration Rules Tighten as Central Asian Work Entries Fall

Life & Culture

Life & Culture

Central Asian Music Takes the Stage in Berlin

From Walking Robots to AI Errors: A Kazakh Researcher’s Path to Intelligent Systems

Abai Day in Kazakhstan: The Enduring Legacy of a National Poet

Memory Is a Living Matter: An Interview with Artist Gauhar Bisengaliyeva

Peru’s PlayTime Wins Dota 2 Title at Astana Games of the Future

Justice

Justice

Kazakhstan Examines Data Leak Claim Involving 15 Million People