The Times Of Central Asia | Eurasian Publication & News Online

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...

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...

Caspian Pipeline Consortium

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

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...

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

Data Center Valley

Kazakhstan Sets June 2027 Launch for First Data Center Valley Facility

Kazakhstan expects to launch the first facility at Data Center Valley, a large data center campus in the country’s northeast, in the summer of 2027. The government says the first 50 MW object now under construction is due to enter service in June 2027, while the site is ultimately planned to expand to as much as 1 GW. Earlier plans put the first 125 MW center in the first half of 2027; the latest statement does not explain how the 50 MW object fits into that figure. The project is aimed not only at domestic demand: Kazakhstan wants to attract...

Internet Outages

Telegram Outage Affects Users Across Kazakhstan

Oil and Gas

U.S. Firm to Test Oilfield Water Recycling in Kazakhstan

Direct Flights

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

Growth Forecasts

Why Central Asia Growth Forecasts Differ So Sharply

Logistics Infrastructure

Landlocked Kazakhstan Builds a Logistics Network from China to the Black Sea

Although Kazakhstan is landlocked, companies based in the country already hold stakes in logistics terminals at Lianyungang on China’s Yellow Sea coast and in Poti on the Black Sea. Projects farther west are at various stages of development. The strategy allows Kazakhstan-based operators to remain involved as freight travels between Asian ports and European markets, including beyond Kazakhstan’s borders. One of the main facilities is at the Chinese port of Lianyungang. The China-Kazakhstan Logistics Cooperation Base began operating in May 2014. It was jointly developed by Lianyungang Port and Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), Kazakhstan’s national railway operator. Cargo arriving by...

Transport Infrastructure

Kazakhstan’s Largest City to Bring Back Trams as Almaty LRT Targets 2027 Launch

Kazakhstan’s largest city plans to bring back tram service more than a decade after it was suspended. Almaty aims to launch the first light rail transit (LRT) line by the end of 2027, dedicating part of one of the city’s busiest transport corridors to the new system. For Almaty, the project is primarily an attempt to cope with growing pressure on its roads. The city had a population of about 2.37 million as of June 1, 2026, while many more people commute daily from the surrounding metropolitan area. Rail-based public transportation is currently limited to a single metro line, whose...

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

Kyrgyzstan will again have to import a significant share of its electricity in 2026. With consumption expected to reach 19.6 billion kWh, domestic power plants are projected to generate 15.5 billion kWh. The difference, around 4.1 billion kWh, will have to be covered by imports. For a country where most electricity is generated by hydropower plants along the Naryn River, many of them built during the Soviet period, the current deficit is the result of a long-running gap between rising demand and the construction of new large-scale generating capacity. The new estimates from the Energy Ministry were presented on August...

Local Politics

Internet Restrictions

Internet Restrictions in Central Asia: How the Five Countries Differ

There is no single Central Asian internet. Crossing a border can turn a freely accessible website into one that is blocked or reachable only through a virtual private network (VPN). The contrast is starkest in Turkmenistan, where years of censorship have created a black market for access to the open internet. Freedom House’s 2025 Freedom on the Net assessment covers three of the five Central Asian countries. Kyrgyzstan scored 47 out of 100 and retained its Partly Free status. Kazakhstan scored 37, while Uzbekistan scored 29; both were classified as Not Free. Turkmenistan has the most restrictive system in the region. The largest measurement...

Artificial intelligence

AI E-Government in Kazakhstan Expands Into Jobs and Benefits

Succession

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

Kurultai Election

Kazakhstan Kurultai Election: Can a Third Party Break Through?

Presidential Election

Kyrgyzstan Moves 2027 Presidential Election to January 27

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

In less than two and a half years, Kyrgyzstan has gone from recognizing cremation in law to banning it. On August 3, President Sadyr Japarov signed amendments prohibiting the cremation of human remains and removing the legal framework for the burial or storage of ashes. Law No. 139 will take effect on August 14. Under the new law, “cremation” no longer refers to the burning of a deceased person’s body. It is redefined as the sanitary burning of human organs or tissue resulting from medical activity, while a “crematorium” will mean the technical facility used for that purpose. Such facilities are expressly...

Electronic Visas

Kazakhstan Proposes Rules for Paid Electronic Entry Permits

Kazakhstan's Interior Ministry has opened public consultation on rules for a paid electronic entry permit for foreign visitors. The ministry has proposed a phased rollout between August and December 2026, but the published summary leaves several basic questions unanswered. The proposal was posted on July 31, and remains open for comments until August 17. It would amend Kazakhstan's 2012 rules governing the entry, stay, and departure of foreign nationals. The ministry says the system will provide "transparency, speed, and completeness [in] recording the cross-border movements of foreign nationals.” However, the consultation page does not display the proposed amendments, an explanatory...

AI Governance

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

Almaty has ranked 38th among 61 cities in the inaugural Intelligent Cities Index, a respectable result that also reveals the distance between Kazakhstan’s digital ambitions and the world’s leading urban centers. The index, compiled by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), assesses how cities use artificial intelligence and digital technology to improve services and outcomes for residents. Almaty scored 62 out of 100, placing it in BCG’s “emerging” category. What Almaty's Ranking Reveals This score placed Almaty 38th among 61 major cities worldwide, ranking above cities including Milan, Melbourne, and Istanbul. However, it remained five points below the lowest-ranked city in BCG’s...

International Affairs

G20 Summit

Kazakhstan Confirms Tokayev Will Attend Miami G20 Summit

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on August 12 that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit on December 14–15 at Trump National Doral Miami, President Donald Trump’s golf resort near Miami. Kazakhstan is not a member of the G20 and will attend as a guest of the United States, which holds the group’s presidency this year. Trump first said on December 23, 2025, that he would invite Tokayev and Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev following separate telephone calls with the two Central Asian leaders. In a Truth Social post, Trump said the relationship with both countries was “spectacular.”...

World Nomad Games

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

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

Labor Migrants

Uzbekistan Repatriates Bodies of Eight Citizens Killed in Drone Attack

The bodies of eight Uzbek construction workers who were killed in a drone strike in the Russian region of Tatarstan were repatriated on Wednesday, according to Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Uzbekistan’s ministries for emergency situations, internal affairs and health, as well as migration authorities, were also involved in the repatriation, the press service of the foreign ministry said. It posted photos of the operation, including a wooden coffin being carried onto an Uzbek Air Force plane. The ministry said it was coordinating with Russian officials to help injured Uzbek citizens who were hospitalized after the August 10 attack in...

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,...

Life & Culture

Public Health

Nearly Two-Thirds of Adults in Uzbekistan Are Overweight or Obese

Nearly two-thirds of adults in Uzbekistan are overweight or obese. According to the latest World Health Organization data, the figure reached 64% in 2024, one of the highest rates among former Soviet republics. The WHO Global Health Observatory data, published by Our World in Data, cover adults aged 18 and older with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or higher. The figures are age-standardized to allow comparisons between countries. Among former Soviet republics, only Georgia has a higher rate, at 67%. The figure is 63% in Azerbaijan, 61% in Moldova, 59% in Latvia, and 58% in both Turkmenistan and...

Historical Archives

Berlin Archive Reveals Rare Records of Uzbekistan’s Past

Artificial intelligence

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

Abai Qunanbaiuly

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

TCA Interviews

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

Kyrgyz Film

Kyrgyz Film Opens Central Asian Cultural Series in Argentina

A screening of the Kyrgyz historical drama Kurmanjan Datka: Queen of the Mountains in Buenos Aires on August 7 has opened a new series aimed at introducing Central Asian cinema and literature to audiences in Latin America. The event was organized by the Eurasian Creative Guild with support from the Yunus Emre Institute in Buenos Aires. The organizers told The Times of Central Asia that the screening was the first official presentation of a Kyrgyz feature film in Argentina. The event also launched an international series of Central Asian film screenings and book presentations in Argentina and elsewhere in Latin...

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

Comic Con Astana returned to Kazakhstan’s capital from August 6 to 9, with stars from Game of Thrones and Netflix’s One Piece among the headline guests. The event followed a record year in 2025, when the festival attracted more than 75,000 visitors, including over 10,000 from abroad. Held at Barys Arena and the Alau Ice Palace, the fifth edition of the festival drew fans of film, television, games, comics, and anime for autograph sessions, actor meetings, cosplay competitions, and gaming. [video width="360" height="640" mp4="https://timesca.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/7641361931360792851.mp4"][/video] Among the biggest names at this year’s festival was Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who played Jaime...

Chess

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

Some 400 teams have been confirmed for the FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, next month, an increase of 20 teams over the previous record number that competed at the Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary two years ago. In the open section, the United States is the top seed with Fabiano Caruana leading the five-player team, while India will aim to defend its 2024 title with Arjun Erigaisi at the head of its lineup, according to FIDE, the international governing body of chess. “The host nation might be the most dangerous team in Samarkand,” FIDE said this week. Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov,...

Justice

Bloggers’ Rights

Uzbekistan’s New Bloggers’ Council Has No Confirmed Leader

Uzbekistan’s Union of Journalists says it plans to help bloggers when officials refuse to provide information or when they face pressure over their work. The proposal follows several prosecutions of bloggers known for reporting on alleged local corruption or criticizing public officials. The initiative immediately encountered a leadership problem: one day after the Creative Council of Bloggers was announced, the blogger expected to lead it said he had declined the position. The Union of Journalists announced the council on August 7, saying the decision reflected the growing role of bloggers in Uzbekistan. According to the union, bloggers increasingly compete with...

Cybersecurity

Kazakhstan Examines Data Leak Claim Involving 15 Million People

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

Kamchybek Tashiyev

Kyrgyz Prosecutors Seek Nine-Year Prison Terms for Tashiyev and Seven Others

Kyrgyz prosecutors are asking an appeals court to send former security chief Kamchybek Tashiyev and seven other defendants to prison. A lower court convicted all eight in July of preparing to seize power by force, but allowed them to remain free on probation. The appeal is being heard by the Bishkek City Court, with the hearing taking place behind closed doors. Prosecutors are challenging the sentences handed down by the trial court. The “Letter of 75” case arose from an open letter signed on February 9 by 75 politicians, former officials, and public figures. The authors called for an early presidential...

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...

Environment

Water Security

Kazakhstan Seeds Clouds as Kyrgyzstan Questions Regional Impact

A small aircraft climbed out of Turkestan airport on July 10 with hygroscopic salt flares fixed beneath its wings. Operated by the United Arab Emirates’ National Center of Meteorology, it was searching for a cloud suitable for seeding. Pilot Ahmed Aljaberi described the aircraft as “specifically equipped with a cloud-seeding flare system.” But no suitable cloud appeared during the mission. Cloud seeding can try to draw more rain from an existing cloud, but it cannot make one from clear air. Kazakhstan launched the project in Turkestan on May 16, targeting more than 911,000 hectares of arable land in the country’s...

Syr Darya River

Central Asian States Plan Automated Water Monitoring on the Syr Darya

Glacier Retreat

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

Amur Tiger

Kazakhstan Releases First Tiger into Wild in More Than 70 Years

Public Health

Kazakhstan and China Launch One Health Research Center in Almaty

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

Around 29 million hectares of land in Kazakhstan are affected by erosion, while 27.1 million hectares of pastureland are degraded. Kazakhstan’s environmental association ECOJER is proposing trials of Chinese technologies to retain soil moisture, reduce pesticide use, and restore land in the country’s arid regions. ECOJER representatives studied these technologies during a visit to China’s Hunan province. The association was particularly interested in biological fertilizers, targeted spraying, specialized seed treatment, and methods for restoring pastureland. According to ECOJER, targeted spraying can reduce the use of chemical pesticides by 30-50%. For degraded pastures, Chinese specialists use bio-organic additives and ground-cover crops....

Climate Change

Kyrgyzstan Links Record Heatwave to Accelerating Glacier Retreat

Kyrgyzstan's state weather agency, Kyrgyzhydromet, has warned that last month's record-breaking heatwave is the latest sign of climate change accelerating the retreat of the country's glaciers, threatening water supplies across Central Asia. The agency said the immediate heatwave was caused by regional atmospheric conditions, but its director, Daurbek Sakeyev, argued that the growing frequency of such extreme weather reflected a longer-term warming trend already affecting mountain ecosystems and water resources. Abnormally hot weather settled over Kyrgyzstan on July 14. Meteorologists attributed it to a combination of a summer thermal depression over Central Asia and a persistent area of high pressure...

Chemical Waste

Kyrgyzstan Hazardous Waste Cleanup Begins at Soviet Era Kristall Plant

Kyrgyzstan has launched a project with Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom to eliminate hazardous chemical waste stored for decades at the former Kristall industrial plant, one of the country's most dangerous Soviet-era environmental sites. Located in Tash-Kumyr in Jalal-Abad Region, the Kristall plant was intended to become one of the Soviet Union’s largest producers of high-purity silicon, a material used in microchips and, more recently, solar panels. Construction began in 1982 and the site was commissioned in 1989, but was never completed at its planned scale. Rising energy costs and the economic disruption that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union left...

Kazakhstan Seeds Clouds as Kyrgyzstan Questions Regional Impact

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

Kazakhstan Sets June 2027 Launch for First Data Center Valley Facility

Landlocked Kazakhstan Builds a Logistics Network from China to the Black Sea

Kazakhstan’s Largest City to Bring Back Trams as Almaty LRT Targets 2027 Launch

Turkmenistan Tightens Diesel Limits as Fuel Shortages Persist

Kyrgyzstan Electricity Imports to Rise Again in 2026

Local Politics

Local Politics

Internet Restrictions in Central Asia: How the Five Countries Differ

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

Kyrgyzstan Reverses Cremation Policy as Japarov Signs Ban

Kazakhstan Proposes Rules for Paid Electronic Entry Permits

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

International Affairs

International Affairs

Kazakhstan Confirms Tokayev Will Attend Miami G20 Summit

Uzbekistan Repatriates Bodies of Eight Citizens Killed in Drone Attack

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

Life & Culture

Life & Culture

Nearly Two-Thirds of Adults in Uzbekistan Are Overweight or Obese

Kyrgyz Film Opens Central Asian Cultural Series in Argentina

Central Asian Music Takes the Stage in Berlin

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

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

Justice

Justice

Uzbekistan’s New Bloggers’ Council Has No Confirmed Leader