Moscow is pushing to extend the free trade area created in 2014 with Belarus and Kazakhstan and already extended to Armenia and Kyrgyzstan to all non-hostile former Soviet countries. But the Eurasian countries are gaining big economic benefits from geopolitical tensions. With the oil sector, in particular, now poised between traditional routes and new prospects of collaboration with Westerners.
Today's news: Hong Kong denied access to a Reporters Without Borders representative, who was searched and then deported; At least 16% of the candidates in the first phase of the Lok Sabha vote have pending criminal cases; Taiwan earthquake death toll rises to 16, over 1100 injured; The Houthis claim an attack on four boats in the Gulf, also a 'US warship'.
Today's news: Indian court dismisses appeal against arrest of opposition leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvid Kejriwal; Sunni militants kill five policemen in Sistan-Baluchestan; South Korea invests billions in artificial intelligence; Protests in Manila against Chinese 'aggression', Xi Jinping's image trampled.
Today's news: Record gold seizure at Hong Kong customs worth more than million; For the Thai premier, it is time for talks with the coup junta in Myanmar, which is starting to 'lose strength'; Beijing blocked a popular Tibetan-language blog; Meeting between the foreign ministries of Russia and China, Putin's visit to Xi Jinping on the agenda.
Also called 'the pearl of the Silk Road' Turkestan is one of the oldest cities in Central Asia. In recent times, the figure of the dervish Khwaja Ahmad Tasavi, an Islamic preacher and Sufi poet, whose mausoleum is the destination of large pilgrimages, has been re-evaluated. Today, it seeks to combine futurist dimensions with the legacy of the past.
Today's news: reports of workplace abuse have doubled in South Korea in five years; Baghdad will send 10 million liters of fuel to the Gaza Strip; Public apology from a company in Malaysia for a shoe logo that resembles the word "Allah"; The Taliban have built a wall around the Eidgah mosque in Kandahar for fear of ISIS attacks: Moscow has slowed issuing work permits to migrants from Central Asia.
