Kazakhstan
Ukraine less births than Kyrgyzstan this year as Central Europe's demographic crisis deepens
Ukraine is on track to record fewer births this year than Kyrgyzstan for the first time - a reversal from the end of the Soviet Union, when Ukraine's newborns outnumbered Kyrgyzstan's five to one.
Kyrgyzstan gained UN Security Council seat; now comes hard part
Bishkek’s priorities to include climate, Afghan reintegration into world order.
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Digital Silk Road: Chinese and Kazakhstan-based tech companies ink multibillion-dollar agreements
Freedom Holding Corp says it is gaining access to tech from leading Chinese businesses while building infrastructure to adapt and scale it across Central Asia.
MACRO ADVISORY: Best Eurasia books published in 1H26
Macro-Advisory Limited has issued its annual mid-year compilation of the best business, political and general interest books published in 1H26, covering the twelve states in the Eurasia region plus Iran and Afghanistan.
Geopolitical shocks, climate risks leave millions unable to afford healthy diets in Europe, Central Asia
Climate change, water scarcity, geopolitical tensions and volatile markets are creating new vulnerabilities that threaten both agricultural production and consumer access to nutritious food, says new FAO report.
PANNIER: Afghan groups battle Taliban near Tajik border
If Afghanistan’s rulers lose control of Badakhshan province, route to Chinese border will be blocked and calculations in Central Asia’s capitals may change.
COMMENT: Central Asia's talk of decolonisation outruns the reality
Public discourse increasingly casts Central Asia as shedding Russian influence – through decolonisation, a pivot to China, or a push for greater sovereignty – but the reality on the ground is far messier.
Kazakhstan’s Tokayev explicitly urges Putin to “freeze” Ukraine war in face to face talks
Says his country “does not understand nature” of “tragic” conflict.
CENTRAL ASIA BLOG: Unjust bureaucratic hurdles are wrecking legit UK travel dreams
Tourist visas denied based on highly subjective assessments of financial means and intentions to use “return” section of plane ticket.
COMMENT: Is Kazakhstan quietly ditching Russia?
With Putin’s war and economy going badly, the suggestion is that China will soon be seen as the clear number one strategic partner to the Kazakhs.
Climate change, not dams, driving Caspian Sea shrinkage, researcher says
The Caspian Sea's decline owes more to climate change than to dams or river abstraction, a water policy researcher says, with the Volga's navigation-focused dams limiting draw-off and Tehran's groundwater and wastewater plans making little progress.
Ukraine not behind latest drone attacks on tankers serving main Kazakh oil export route, claims Kyiv
Ambassador to Astana suggests Russia is running false flag operations.
PANNIER: Central Asia on cusp of ending quest for independence in electricity provision
Big hydro projects should get the region over the line.
China to open Afghanistan border after nearly a century? Iran to bomb “Trump” route? “Cargo corridor” journalism is where it’s at nowadays
Wars are reshaping countries’ thinking on how to get goods in and out.
Rosatom financial woes threaten Central Asia’s nuclear energy ambitions
Budget cuts call projects in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan into question.
Xi positions China to challenge US grip on global AI rules
President Xi Jinping used the opening of China's flagship AI summit on July 17 to portray Beijing as an alternative rule-setter for artificial intelligence, unveiling a new intergovernmental body and a package of aid for developing nations.
Kazakhstan, China sign $15bn worth of deals as Tokayev visits Shanghai
Agreements range across AI, digital infrastructure, corridor freight, manufacturing, energy and critical minerals.
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China and Kazakhstan intensify nuclear ties
China-Central Asia Monitor: July 3-9, 2026.
Central Asia battles to stop fuel squeeze turning into supply shock
Sustained Ukrainian attacks on Russia’s refineries increasingly hitting motorists across region.
Kazakhstan signs AI transport cooperation agreement with UAE's Presight
Proposed platform to use improve road safety, protect infrastructure and strengthen the resilience of Kazakhstan's transport system.