Russia

Bishkek and Tashkent ink a memorandum to connect Kashgar to Andijon. This will cut the freight journey to Europe and the Persian Gulf, while bypassing Russia. For the Chinese president, the agreement is "a show of determination,” part of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Speaking at a press briefing on the sidelines of the St Petersburg Forum, the Russian president said he "appreciates" South Korea’s position. Although Seoul joined Washington in imposing sanctions against Russia, it has not sent weapons to Ukraine. Putin also reiterated his intention to strengthen ties with Pyongyang. Conversely, he took a tough stance against Japan, saying that conditions are not in place to resume sovereignty talks over the Kuril Islands.

A US-European coordination mechanism for the Western Balkans will specifically deal with the fight against information manipulation and propaganda orchestrated by Moscow. The conflict is particularly acute in the area through which Russian gas pipelines pass.

During his visit to Tashkent Putin called Uzbekistan ‘the largest country in Central Asia’, despite Kazakhstan being six times larger. And in Astana there are those who cry provocation. In the background is the ‘cooling’ of relations with Moscow in a strategic area for trade routes between China and Europe.

A series of video-documentaries circulated by Maša Pevčik, one of Naval'nyj's best-known contributors, shift all the blame and responsibility for what is happening today onto the bandits and corrupt people who prevented the development of a free and democratic society in the 1990s. Putin propagandists and opposition publicists, older and the younger generations, all cloaked in guilt and resentment, speak to those years.

Zjuganov's communists have once again submitted a bill to the Duma calling for a Constituent Assembly to approve a series of changes to the Basic Law. But the Kremlin is bracing itself for plebiscite votes in the 2020 amendments and the 2024 presidential elections, without the need for further bureaucratic complications

After the dismissal of the historic minister Sergei Šojgu, four generals have already been arrested in the last month, all accused of corruption. Not since Stalin's time have such actions been seen at the top of state and military bodies.

Today's headlines: WFP says floods in Afghanistan have exacerbated the country’s hunger crisis. Over 300 people are killed and 1,182 houses buried in a massive landslide in Papua New Guinea. Tens of thousands of people take to the streets in Taiwan against pro-Chinese reforms currently before parliament. Laos fails to stop human trafficking, especially of young people.

An in-depth analysis by Meduza's Signal column assessed the real level of popular support for the war. The “majority of Russians” and poll respondents in polls are not the same, and the sample is becoming less and less credible. Surveys are a means of “manipulation” and “information”. The "average Russian male", who repeats patriotic slogans, is an example.

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.

Almaty wants to change the naming of a street in the city centre, shelving the cosmonaut Jurij Gagarin to make room for the memory of a local opera singer. The demolition of the Soviet mythological apparatus is one of the faces of de-Russification. But there is no lack of perplexity among the local inhabitants.

The Iranian President and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian who were killed in the helicopter crash represented the area most open to cooperation with Russia, especially in the delivery of weapons for the war in Ukraine. Khamenei will retain control, but conflicts with Moscow over control of Syria remain in the background.