Tajikistan

Today's headlines: The Philippines, the US, Canada, and Australia hold a two-day exercise in the South China Sea. Taiwan’s defence spending is expected to reach a record high next year. Hamas appoints Yahya Sinwar as its new leader. In South Korea, climate change is disrupting agriculture with new banana and papaya farms popping up.

Rediscovering the techniques of their grandmothers, which have remained unchanged for hundreds of years, a small farming village in northern Tajikistan has set up a business where women are the protagonists. They produce handmade silky woven carpets that are among the most expensive and valuable in the world.

Behind the arrest in recent weeks of the former deputy leader of the Democratic Party Saidžafar Usmonzoda and other well-known personalities in Tajik society is the accusation of trying to overthrow President Rakhmon. But among analysts few believe in an action with a chance of success and some fear a ploy to get rid of a figure no longer serving their interests.

Although not officially recognised, Tajikistan turns more than a blind eye to this practice. And in a country where 70% of families survive only thanks to subsidies sent by migrants working abroad, for women left alone and in poverty even the status of second or third wife of someone who has made their fortune can become an aspiration.

The government in Dushanbe has launched a programme against the phenomenon, which, according to some surveys, has reached 60% of children. But the explosion is also linked to the problem of school organisation, with serious shortages among headmasters and in the teaching staff due to inadequate salaries.

Today's news: For the World Bank, war freezes Myanmar's economic growth. In Kuwait massacre of migrants in the burning of a building. Drought alarm in several provinces of China. Nobel laureate Yunus investigated for embezzlement with 13 others. In Tajikistan, the wearing of the hijab is officially banned.

Today's news: South Korean doctors on strike on 18 June against government reform; Economic crisis and joblessness cause growing school dropout in Laos; At least seven security men killed in an explosion in Pakistan; Armenian archbishop calls for street protest against government territorial concessions to Azerbaijan.

Today's news: Poverty in Lebanon tripled in a decade; Summit between leaders of South Korea, China and Japan on 26-27 May in Seoul, first trilateral talks in four years; Heavy pre-monsoon rains claim seven victims in Kerala; A centuries-old Armenian church reopens in Zakho, Iraq; Russian local government offers children a prize trip to ‘fascinating’ North Korea.

In Dushanbe, a national competition organised by the government to identify the one closest to the 'ideal traits': a family from the Sugd region was awarded. Distinctive traits include the readiness of young people to serve their country, in civil and military functions, and their contribution to counteracting negative factors in the development of society.

The 13th Usaid-sponsored trade forum with the five countries of the region was held in Almaty. Agreements were signed for 10.8 million dollars of credit for companies in strategic sectors, such as IT and green energy, which will provide work for over 8,000 citizens, with particular attention to women, young people, and the most marginalised groups.

More than a month after the attack on Krokus City Hall, the retaliation against Tajik migrants in Russia has not subsided, to the point of prompting a protest note from Dushanbe. Hundreds remain stranded at airports and at the border with Kazakhstan, but Moscow cannot afford to lose the country where its most important military base in Central Asia is located.

Today's news: Uyghurs in Xinjiang have the highest incarceration rate in the world, one in 26 in prison; Delhi begins expulsion of refugees from Myanmar; Seoul raises terror alert in five embassies in Asia amid fears of Pyongyang attacks; New passage of Chinese ships and fighter jets through the Taiwan Strait.