Kazakhstan

by Vladimir Rozanskij | KAZAKHSTAN

After years of calling politics 'the empire of evil', the publisher Ermurat Bapi - a long-standing antagonist of former president Nazarbayev - from Mažilis now fights for the return of assets stolen abroad and participates in the drafting of the new media law. Explaining: 'We must open gaps and create bridges, bringing the upper echelons closer to the masses'.


Today's news: Japan's record low in new births and marriages; Afghan Taliban publically execute a man convicted of murder; Seoul imposes a deadline on (youth) white coat protest; Anti-Muslim hatred grows in India, also linked to the 7 October attack and Gaza war.

| 27/02/2024
| ASIA TODAY

Today's news: Imran Khan appeals to the International Monetary Fund demanding independent verification of the vote before negotiations; Taiwan's TSMC opened its first microchip factory in Japan; Egyptian economy collapses as tourism, gas and Suez Canal hit by war in Gaza; In Russia more victims of the repression of crimes of opinion under Putin than in the thirty years from Kruschev to Andropov.

| 24/02/2024
| ASIA TODAY
by Vladimir Rozanskij

After his re-election as president and a few tweaks to the constitution and the system of power, Tokaev insists less and less on democratic reforms in the country, urging a focus on the economy. Going so far as to deny the existence of political prisoners despite the closed-door trials of personalities accused of 'extremism'.

| 23/02/2024
| KAZAKHSTAN
by Vladimir Rozanskij

An article by the 'Foundation for Science and Politics' in Germany identifies Astana as a major frontier country in today's world. It highlights its ambition for its own 'strategic autonomy' in the delicate game of geopolitical balances. Favoured also by the new space opened up for its economy by the sanctions against Russia.

| 16/02/2024
| CENTRAL ASIA

Today's news: Egypt on the Gaza border sets up camps for Palestinian refugees; South Korean trainee doctors resign from their hospital posts; Ukrainian drones hit one of Russia's largest and most modern landing ships; Thailand boosts tourism from abroad with anti-accident insurance policies.

| 16/02/2024
| ASIA TODAY
by Vladimir Rozanskij

Olžas Bektenov, 43 years old and close to President Tokaev, has been appointed to take the place of the recently disolved government. Astana aims for 'renewal', drawing a line under period that began woth 'bloody January' of 2022 that had led to the appointment of Alikhan Smailov as premier. The unknown of the delicate relations with Moscow and Beijing.

| 08/02/2024
| KAZAKHSTAN
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“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”