Since coming to power, there has been a shift in relations between Kabul and the countries of the region. The commercial pragmatism of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, and the greater caution shown by Tajikistan. The (future) crux of the issue: the Koshtepa Canal and the disputed use of the waters of the Amu Darya River.
Today's news: The Afghan Taliban launch a nationwide anti-polio campaign; US court sentences Chinese student to prison for stalking threats against compatriot 'pro-democracy' campaigner; Casualties and new school closures due to heat wave in India and Bangladesh; Another two-year sentence for Thai activist in prison for lese majesty.
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: Record gold seizure at Hong Kong customs worth more than $10 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.
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.
The number of Tajiks involved in the Moscow massacre is increasing, with arrests and verifications also by the Dushanbe authorities. Despite the clampdown on mosques, recruitment is taking place via social networks, among the most marginalised sections of the population. And the hostility that is forcing many migrants to return home could have repercussions on the country ruled by Rakhmon for thirty years.
The Isis cell in the region between Afghanistan and Central Asia sees Russia as the main support for its two worst enemies, the regimes in Kabul and Tehran. While in Tajikistan, President Rakhmon stigmatises the high number of Tajiks among the militia, but according to his opponents their radicalisation is the effect of his twenty years of repression.
The news following the court session that validated the arrests triggered a wave of intolerance towards Tajiks and immigrants, with calls on social media to kick all Asian taxi drivers out of the country. President Rakhmon called Putin on the phone, expressing his strong condemnation of the terrorist act and confirming that 'they belong neither to our nation nor our religion'.
Today's headlines: Senior doctors in South Korea join trainee doctors’ protest. India's foreign exchange reserves reach their highest level in two years. Iran is beset by a severe nursing shortage with more than 3,000 emigrating abroad a year. Thailand is considering legalising casinos. The Chinese are quietly occupying Siberia, raising concerns among local Russians.
For thirty years, Tokyo has been focusing its development aid for Dushanbe on hospitals and mobile first aid devices. Interventions that have led to significant improvements in some areas. Now the goal is to bring the whole of Tajikistan up to the minimum health care standards set by the World Health Organisation by 2030.
Dushanbe rediscovers ancient festivities dating back to the earliest periods of earthwork. In them, some of the world's oldest settled communities commemorate forms of recognition of the forces of nature, with legends, decorations and rituals specific to each.
Defence Minister Šojgu - lashing out against those who oppose Moscow's presence "in countries traditionally our friends" - equates Isis terrorists and large pro-Western NGOs. While Kyrgyzstan approves a law "on non-commercial organisations" that is a photocopy of the Russian one and puts foreign financing in the crosshairs.
The law officially prohibits and criminally punishes bigamy and polygamy. But the lack of civil recognition of Islamic marriages and a vague definition of marital status create ambiguities that allow the phenomenon to persist. With women turning to the police when the man stops fulfilling his religious obligation to support all his wives.
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