What’s Holding Back Kazakhstan’s Air Transport Market?
By Dauren Moldakhmetov Kazakhstan’s aviation industry has posted steady growth in recent years. Over the past four years, passenger and cargo traffic have risen by more than 36% and 23% respectively, with an actively expanding route network. The state’s aviation development strategy prioritizes infrastructure upgrades, improved safety standards, and expanded international cooperation. Yet, despite these […]
Read MoreHow US and EU Sanctions Are Rippling Through Central Asia
By Andrei Matveev Russia’s economy has faced renewed pressure following a fresh round of sanctions imposed this past week by both the European Union and the United States. After abruptly canceling a planned meeting with Vladimir Putin in Budapest, President Donald Trump shifted to a more hardline stance, announcing new sanctions. While these sanctions may […]
Read MoreCan Egypt summit turn Gaza’s fragile truce into a foundation for regional peace?
LONDON: Standing before Israeli lawmakers in Jerusalem on Monday, US President Donald Trump declared an end to what he called “a long and painful nightmare.” Twenty surviving hostages had just been released from Gaza after more than two years in captivity. In return, Israel has begun freeing almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners as part of the […]
Read MoreKyrgyzstan’s Rebrand: New Country, or New Distractions?
By Joe Luc Barnes On January 29, in what became a viral social media post, Seide Ibraimova and her mother drove to the site of VDNKh, the exhibition center built in the Kirghiz SSR to demonstrate the achievements of socialist science and culture. Her mother, wrapped in a white headscarf, reminisced happily about the times […]
Read MoreChina-Russia pipeline would be ‘shock’ to global LNG trade: analysts
By Kandy Wong The long-delayed Power of Siberia 2 pipeline between Russia and China would create a “structural shock” if it begins operations, analysts said, and cause “strategic and market challenges” for the United States, the world’s current largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter. While President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin stood […]
Read MoreKim’s sister says North Korea will never see the South as a diplomatic partner
By KIM TONG-HYUNG SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ’s powerful sister yet again taunted South Korean efforts to improve ties, state media reported Wednesday, saying that her country will never accept Seoul as a diplomatic partner. Kim Yo Jong’s remarks fit a longstanding pattern of aggressive language during ongoing […]
Read MoreCan India Survive the Trade War?
By Eleanor Hume and Kyle Rutter New Delhi has been blindsided by U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent tariff temper tantrums. While Indian policymakers anticipated some trade tensions with the United States during Trump’s second term, they hoped that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s strong rapport with Trump, along with the geostrategic importance of the India-U.S. partnership, […]
Read MoreIs Central Asia the Next Target of Russian Aggression?
By Alex Little As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drags into its third year, analysts have speculated whether Vladimir Putin might turn his sights elsewhere. While most concern has focused on Europe, some have pointed to Central Asia, a part of Russia’s traditional sphere of influence, as a possible next target. Despite Central Asia’s rising geopolitical […]
Read MoreWhy Israel’s spy tactics against Iran have sparked fears in Taiwan
By Lawrence Chungin Taipei Israel’s sweeping intelligence operations against Iran have jolted Taiwan’s security community, raising concerns that Beijing could adopt similar tactics to cripple the island’s leadership or critical infrastructure. As assassinations and sabotage rattle Tehran, analysts in Taipei warn that Beijing’s infiltration of Taiwan is no longer a purely political threat, and it […]
Read MoreWith Russian and Chinese nuclear plants, will Kazakhstan balance the risk, or double it?
It was a completely unsurprising surprise announcement. In a highly unusual statement issued on June 14, a Saturday, Kazakh authorities said they had selected Russia’s state-owned Rosatom to build Kazakhstan’s first nuclear power plant, binding the country further to its northern neighbor. “Finally, the spectacle is over,” Kazakh economist Aset Nauryzbaev, who opposed the project, […]
Read More