Caravanserai
  2. Women's Rights

    2021-09-13

    Kazakhstan cites successes in rehabilitating radicalised women

    Government programmes are helping women repatriated from Syria and Iraq to deal with concerns over their children, improve their physical and mental health, and find spiritual solace.

  3. Diplomacy

    2021-09-10

    30 years after Soviet collapse, Central Asian republics forge new path

    In the past, Central Asian countries were influenced heavily by outside powers, particularly Russia, but now they're playing their own game on a regional scale with unprecedented co-operation.

  4. Human Rights

    2021-09-09

    Russian obstructionism torpedoes major international human rights meeting

    A look at Russian regime behaviour under President Vladimir Putin makes clear why Moscow would prefer to prevent the OSCE human rights conference from taking place.

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Spotlight

Russian trolls hijack comments in Western media to push Kremlin narratives

State media outlets have been compiling 'reader comments stories' that use the comments pro-Russian trolls post on the websites of Western media outlets as their basis to claim 'dissent'.

Russian trolls hijack comments in Western media to push Kremlin narratives
  1. Terrorism

    2021-09-09

    Imprisoned ex-IS members share sobering stories of radicalisation

    Stories told by Kazakhs who spent years fighting in IS ranks will help prevent youth radicalisation in the country, say clergy and religious specialists.

  2. Crime & Justice

    2021-09-08

    Grieving families slam Russia at trial of Flight MH17, downed by Ukraine separatists

    Evidence is overwhelming against the Moscow-backed separatists who downed the passenger airliner, murdering 298 people. The Kremlin's spin on the subject has been deemed an 'outrageous lie'.

  3. Media

    2021-09-08

    Russian trolls hijack comments in Western media to push Kremlin narratives

    State media outlets have been compiling 'reader comments stories' that use the comments pro-Russian trolls post on the websites of Western media outlets as their basis to claim 'dissent'.

  1. Security

    2021-09-07

    Central Asia tightens borders with Afghanistan despite Taliban's assurances

    Militaries in Central Asia are on high alert and are preparing for a number of possible threats emanating from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

  2. Economy

    2021-09-06

    Iraqis question the price of Chinese economic investment

    Some worry that an economic agreement with China would leave Iraq in China's debt and would open the door to Iranian exploitation.

  3. Human Rights

    2021-09-03

    Pressure on China builds as Kazakhstan recognises Xinjiang refugees

    Nur-Sultan has been granting refugee status to those fleeing China, in a sign it officially recognises Beijing's flagrant repression of Muslim minorities.

  4. Business

    2021-09-02

    Prigozhin's business empire bankrolls chaos, bloodshed around the world

    Yevgeny Prigozhin continues to fund a wide range of 'dirty work' operations across the globe for the Kremlin, none of which officially lead back to Vladimir Putin -- yet the connections are clear.

  5. Business

    2021-09-02

    Taliban sit on untapped $1 trillion trove of minerals -- but who will invest?

    Many donors have halted support to Afghanistan after the Taliban returned to power, but China signaled it wants 'friendly and co-operative' relations with the country -- and its resources.

  6. Elections

    2021-09-01

    Putin gives cash to police, soldiers to bolster ruling party ahead of polls

    The popularity of Putin and his United Russia party has been plummeting amid a crackdown on the opposition and media, an economic crisis, and an extension of Putin's term limits.

  7. Security

    2021-09-01

    Taliban takeover spurs old fears among ex-Soviet neighbours

    Central Asian states are grappling with an influx of refugees fleeing the Taliban after the group seized power in neighbouring Afghanistan.

  8. Security

    2021-08-31

    Kazakhstan remembers horrors of Soviet nuclear tests

    Thirty years after of its closure, Kazakhstan is reminding the world of the irreparable damage caused by four decades of reckless nuclear testing at Semipalatinsk.

  9. Media

    2021-08-30

    Central Asia eyes Ukraine's sanctions on Russian propaganda outlets

    Russian media outlets continue to promote the Kremlin's agenda in Central Asia and many say it's time to implement bans of their operations.

  10. Terrorism

    2021-08-27

    'We will hunt you down,' Biden warns Kabul bombers

    Twin suicide bombings that struck Hamid Karzai International Airport left at least 85 people dead, including Afghan civilians and 13 US troops.

  11. Health

    2021-08-27

    US donation of PPE to Kyrgyzstan marks latest assistance in fight against COVID-19

    The US embassy donated the equipment on behalf of the US Department of Defence and US Central Command.

  12. Diplomacy

    2021-08-27

    Russia hedges bets in Afghanistan

    Strategic calculations are encouraging Moscow to embrace a group that it has funneled weapons and money to for years, and is banned in Russia as 'terrorist'.

  13. Economy

    2021-08-26

    US ramps up foreign direct investment into Kazakhstan as Russia, China stand back

    During the pandemic, the United States has increased its capital flow into Kazakhstan's economy while China has taken the opposite tack.

  14. Economy

    2021-08-25

    USAID summit in Tashkent seeks to support women's workforce development

    Participants discussed the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic on gender inequality, and stressed the need to improve the participation of women in the formal economy.

  15. Security

    2021-08-24

    US, UK ramp up sanctions over Kremlin's poisoning of Navalny

    The Russian regime is still holding jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny on trumped-up charges one year after his near-fatal poisoning.

  16. Environment

    2021-08-24

    Russia's Chuvashia Republic falls prey to Chinese investment-related corruption

    Russia, much like Central Asia, is not immune to risks involved with Chinese investment: loss of control, opacity, debt and corruption.

  17. Education

    2021-08-23

    Russia's latest attempt at historical revisionism provokes concern in Kyrgyzstan

    Kyrgyz observers are worried about the spillover of Vladimir Putin's effort to glorify Russian and Soviet history.

  18. Science & Technology

    2021-08-20

    Hundreds of fake social media profiles discovered pushing China propaganda

    The network focuses on distorting hot topics like COVID-19, human rights abuses in Xinjiang, political discord in Hong Kong, overseas conflicts, and US gun laws, among others.

  19. Society

    2021-08-19

    Russian politicians try to paint Central Asian countries as 'oppressive'

    Following on a few trivial incidents, Russian politicians are attempting to portray Central Asian states as oppressive towards ethnic Russians, while ignoring how migrants are treated in Russia.

  20. Security

    2021-08-17

    Afghan insecurity raises spectre of online extremist recruitment of Kazakh youth

    The fall of the Afghan government raises the urgency of combating extremist recruitment, say Kazakh observers.

  21. Security

    2021-08-13

    Wagner Group's war crimes exposed in tablet recovered on Libya battlefield

    The tablet, abandoned by a Kremlin mercenary, included manuals for anti-personnel mines and IEDs, reconnaissance drone footage, and military maps of the frontline -- all marked in Russian.