Forced gynaecological examinations in schools have been introduced in some districts against teenage pregnancies. Absurd and humiliating practices that are not new in a country where the authorities arrogate to themselves the right to control all aspects of people's private lives.
Brussels has promised the Central Asian partners to mobilise substantial resources for state and private investments of up to EUR 10 billion by 2027. The largest part will go towards the creation of the Transcaspian multimodal corridor, which will be the main alternative to the northern route through Russia and Belarus. Moscow's reactions.
Turkmenistan wants to make up for the shortage of school books by switching to online libraries. But this contrasts with the very poor quality of the online network, which is also due to the tight police control to prevent the dissemination of undesirable material.
Today's news: China tries to push Iran to curb Houthi attacks in the Red Sea; Under threat of going underwater within the next 25 years, elections are held in Tuvalu;Taiwan initiates compulsory conscription extended to one year in response to the Chinese threat; The earth continues to shake on the border between Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and China; The precision landing of its space lander on the Moon boosts the ambitions of Japan's space programme.
Scholar Anna Matveeva's analysis of the fast-growing authoritarian trend in all five countries of the region: from the "January of Blood" in 2022 in Kazakhstan to the increasingly harsh restrictions on freedom of information in Kyrgyzstan. More than changes in the political system, it is the variants of "modernizing the economy" of the Asian giants that are imposing themselves.
Turkmen follow their own calendar with a 12-year cycle. Addressing the people, president-son Serdar Berdymukhamedov extolled the successes of the past year, starting with the inauguration of the futurist city of Arkadag dedicated to the president-father.