Uzbekistan
NEMETHY: Is the world heading towards a “polycrisis”?
According to historian Adam Tooze, we are currently potentially facing a “polycrisis”: a number of smaller to medium-sized crises in the world that have the potential to combine and reinforce each other.
Central Asians targeted in Russia’s desperate mobilisation drive
Rights activists insist Central Asian labourers are being conned.
More pain stored up for Emerging Europe in 2023
Government efforts to shield populations from the energy crisis and rampant inflation have shifted the economic impact to next year, says the EBRD as it downgrades GDP growth forecasts for 2023.
Taliban sign deal to buy Russian oil, gas and wheat
Agreement marks regime’s first international economic deal. Moscow eyes economic corridor through Central Asia and Afghanistan to South Asia.
Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan warn citizens not to sign up to fight for Russia in Ukraine
Warnings issued after opening of Moscow military recruitment centre for foreign citizens amid Putin’s announcement of partial mobilisation.
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PANNIER: Putin arrived with little to offer an SCO summit that showed no real clout
Disparate interests of organisation’s member nations meant many major issues of the day could not even be discussed. But there was only one dominant member: China.
EU extends oligarch sanctions list, but drops Zhirinovsky and Usmanov’s sister names
The EU extended its six-month sanctions against Russia and the leading oligarchs but dropped several names, including deceased Russian populist politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky, well as Saodat Narzieva, the sister of billionaire Alisher Usmanov.
China warns against meddling in Kazakhstan ahead of Putin meeting
It sounded like Xi Jinping was warning Putin against any adventures in Central Asia.
PANNIER: At Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, watch the action on the sidelines
Most important discussions and agreements at Samarkand gathering likely to concern regional connectivity, and the odd men out are Russia and Belarus.
COMMENT: Samarkand SCO Summit – dialogue and co-operation in an interconnected world
Uzbekistan's chairmanship in the SCO has come at a moment of great change in the world – a period of "historical fracture", when one era ends and another begins, still unpredictable and unknown.
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China expands vocational training centres to Central Asia
The Luban Workshops will spread technical skills, familiarity with Chinese equipment, and suspicion.
CENTRAL ASIA BLOG: Did Taliban take control of Uzbek island in border clash?
Tashkent has been working hard for mutually beneficial relations with Kabul. Perhaps fearing the process could be disrupted, officials stay tight-lipped about attacks along frontier made by Afghanistan militants.
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Ukraine claims Kremlin exploiting Central Asian migrant surge to boost army numbers
Military recruitment said to be focused on workers from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan tempted back to Russia by strong ruble.
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Afghanistan pays electricity debts to Uzbekistan but still owes Tajikistan
Both have long-duration electricity supply agreements signed before the Taliban returned to power.
bneGREEN: Zero-carbon housing a key battleground for climate change
Zero-carbon housing is a key battleground in combating climate change and global warming, as the residential building sector across Europe has the potential to cut fossil fuel dependency and reduce emissions.
INTERVIEW: Usmanov’s sister Saodat Narzieva battles sanctions imposed on her by the EU
Saodat Narzieva, the sister of Uzbek-born oligarch Alisher Usmanov, was placed on the EU sanctions list on April 8. An investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) linked her to a number of his bank accounts.
EVs in Uzbekistan bring problems and prospects
Number of imports up dramatically, but most market players doing little by way of providing electric vehicle servicing and infrastructure. That needs to change.
Uzbekistan: Electricity grid strained by heat
Demand has surged as the population turns to air conditioners and refrigeration equipment to keep cool.
COMMENT: As geopolitical tectonic plates shift, Central Asia's getting nowhere fast on unity
Tricky relations with Moscow and Beijing, a destabilised Afghanistan below the region’s soft underbelly and intra-regional rivalries turned a summit into a curate’s egg.
Uzbekistan: Karimova wins asset seizure reprieve in Switzerland
The ruling may give Karimova access to $303mn in frozen funds.
