Author: Ravshanbek Sabirov

It was bitter cold, but I don’t remember freezing or being cold. Hemingway wrote that the air was so cold when you took a breath it was like drinking water. We travelled by train, then we walked through the cold streets, no bus was running, we had to hustle to catch the last ride up the mountain, then it was up to the mountain, bundled up in two thick woolen blankets with the snow showering us. It was warm looking out of the peep hole I created, flying up the mountains sitting on the last ride of the day. The…

Synopsis Israel’s recent killing of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders and missile attacks on Tehran have made Iran’s dialogue with the West problematic and forced Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to seek closer relations with Russia, China and the Gulf States. The failure of Iran’s strategy of forward defence, as shown in its inability to fend off the Israeli attacks, may compel Iran to acquire a nuclear arsenal earlier. This could derail its hard-won relations with the Gulf States and complicate its desired rapprochement with the West. Commentary Since July 2024, Iran’s policy community has experienced unprecedented events, including the assassinations of…

In October 2024, China’s first comprehensive regulation to tighten state control over the critical sector of rare earth resources took effect. Coming amid the global transition towards clean energy, the regulation demonstrates China’s increased leverage of its rare earth monopoly to outpace its geopolitical rivals like the United States, which remains far behind China in this sector. Intensified competition for rare earth elements risks overshadowing collaborative efforts to develop clean technology.Mountain Pass, owned by MP Materials, is the only large-scale rare earth mining and processing facility in North America. Image from Wikimedia Commons.In the race to develop clean technology, major…

Kiev 1 November 2024. The Ukranian army eliminated a troop concentration of newly arrived North Koreans on the battlefield. About 40 soldiers were killed in an exchange with only one survivor. A heavily bandages survivor spoke in North Korean recorded on social media. Despite anti-Ukranian western media the captured North Korean commented on the success of the Ukranians defeating the Russian army on the battlefield. The freshly arrived North Koreans planned to be embedded woth Russian troops faced the brunt of Ukranian artillery and mortar fire killing forty. The Ukranian president Zelensky commented that North Koreans will be killed should…

A follow-up report issued recently by the UN General Assembly’s Human Rights Council assails Tajikistan’s government for failing to implement recommendations contained in an earlier survey concerning atrocities committed during the country’s civil war in the mid-1990s. The follow-up report relates to a mission conducted in 2019 by UN researchers intent on promoting the closure of old societal wounds left by the civil war. Among that mission’s recommendations was the establishment of a “a truth-seeking State policy” and the development of “specific mechanisms, supported by dedicated resources, for dealing with disappearances caused by and related to the civil war.” The Tajik civil war…

Kazakhstan’s presidential spokesman, Berik Uali, announced that Kazakhstan plans to refrain from applying for membership in the international association BRICS. According to him, despite Kazakhstan’s proposals, the decision to join BRICS remains under consideration. Specialists are analyzing prospects with a focus on the country’s national interests. Uali also noted that President Tokayev will participate as a guest in the BRICS Summit, scheduled to take place October 23-24 in Kazan. He will speak at the organization’s extended outreach meeting on October 24. At the same time, Kazakhstan will refrain from applying for BRICS membership. This is due to the multi-stage process of accepting…

North Korean soldiers have been filmed receiving uniforms and equipment at a training ground in Russia’s far east, appearing to confirm reports from South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) that 1,500 soldiers have been shipped over for military training to be deployed in Ukraine. The North Korean troops are thought to be receiving training before being sent to the front line in Ukraine, in what is thought to be a clear sign of the ever-warming relations between Moscow and Pyongyang. In a video shared with CNN by Ukrainian government organization the Ukrainian Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security, a long line of…

A hospital in the eastern Turkmen town of Sayat has admitted 21 people with symptoms of food poisoning, after eating at a restaurant where they were given infected meat. All the patients were kept in hospital for several days, Chronicles of Turkmenistan reports. An outbreak of a disease among camels and cattle, presumably animal pox, was recently recorded in Sayat. The virus began to spread rapidly but has since been halted by epidemiological and veterinary services. The way that dead animals are disposed of in Turkmenistan poses an additional threat. The authorities do not control this process, and many people bury cattle…

Kazakh Majilis deputy Konstantin Avershin has explained why the authorities do not support the petition to abolish compulsory military service. Avershin opposed the idea, stating that compulsory service trains citizens to handle firearms and live in barracks conditions. According to him, in Soviet times, this was taught in schools through initial military training, but today, there is no such practice besides military service. Avershin stated that Kazakhstanis must be prepared to defend the country, given its vast territory and resources. He also emphasized that the country’s population is small, about 20 million people, so it is crucial that as many citizens as…

After Tajiks were charged with a deadly attack in Moscow, the country has cracked down on signs of Islam. But experts say it’s not addressing the causes of terrorism. People in Tajikistan were expecting a government crackdown after Tajik men were arrested and charged with a terrorist attack on a Moscow concert hall in March. But it still seemed excessive to Nilufar, a 27-year-old education professional, when she saw local authorities with scissors outside a K.F.C. in Dushanbe, Tajikistan’s capital, trimming beards that were deemed too long. Excessive, but not so surprising. In the span of a month, Nilufar herself…