Spotlight on Central Asia

This week, we're covering the eyes of the world turning toward Central Asia for the upcoming SCO summit in Bishkek, bringing Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi together in the Kyrgyz capital, the CSTO making a series of major pledges in response to growing instability in northern Afghanistan, one of Central Asia's largest militaries publicly showcasing its new Chinese fighter jets for the first time, Uzbekist...

This week, we're covering one of Central Asia's leaders openly calling on Vladimir Putin to bring the war in Ukraine to an end, Russia moving to tear up a number of its military agreements with two Central Asian states, upcoming elections in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, a deepening crackdown on opposition media and journalists in Kazakhstan, and a growing wave of fighting in northern Afghanistan that is already beginning...

This week, we're covering a heatwave sweeping across Central Asia, anti-Taliban forces briefly seizing a district headquarters in a worrying sign of cracks in the Taliban's control, a shootout between different branches of Kyrgyzstan's security forces near the Uzbek border, promising new talks between Turkmenistan and Georgia, and a major shake-up inside Uzbekistan's presidential security services. Before then turning ...

This week, we're covering a new election date being set in Kazakhstan, with the country's largest party staying off the ballot, rare protests in Turkmenistan over blackouts and economic frustration, the removal of one of Ashgabat's most important religious figures, renewed clashes along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, fuel shortages hitting much of Central Asia, and border swap deals that have seen thousands of people...

This week, we're covering a major political merger in Kazakhstan, new counter-terrorism raids in southern Kyrgyzstan, a shock resignation inside the Kyrgyz government, security and military forces being placed on high alert across the country, and Uzbekistan making its historic debut at the FIFA World Cup, as the rest of Central Asia reacts to a rare bit of good regional news. Before then turning to our main story this week, where ...

This week, we're covering the latest Eurasian Economic Union talks, a new defence deal between Moscow and a very unlikely ally, Kazakhstan putting itself forward to play a major role in the Iran nuclear talks, Turkmenistan once again conscripting public servants into forced labour, new developments in the Tashiev trial, and a major crackdown on madrasas and religious institutions in southern Kyrgyzstan. Before then tur...

This week, we're covering the highly successful OTS summit in Turkistan, alongside Putin's notably bad day at the Moscow Victory Day parade. We'll also break down the new ships launching in the Caspian Sea and what they signal for cross-Caspian trade, a long-awaited move from Kyrgyzstan's Prosecutor General that we've been tracking for months, another serious shootout involving counter-narcotics forces in Afghanistan, ...

This week, we're tracking the culmination of Bishkek's power struggle as charges are formally brought against Tashiev, alongside a fresh wave of EU sanctions that look designed to make an example of one Central Asian state. We'll also break down the shutdown of a key Kazakh pipeline carrying oil to Europe, Russia's increasingly blunt statements on foreign military deployments across the region, Ashgabat's crackdown on ...

This week, we'll be covering the arrest of 19 anti-China protesters in Kazakhstan, the announcement of the date for Kazakhstan's upcoming parliamentary elections, major diplomatic moves unfolding between Central Asia and the United States in Washington, and some very quiet diplomacy taking place in Florida between presidents' daughters. We'll also be looking at Uzbek workers finally being granted the right to strike, m...

This week, we examine a series of significant developments across Central Asia, from the deepening fallout of Kyrgyzstan's political power struggle, with fresh arrests, widening investigations, and reports of military build-ups in one of the country's key districts, to a meeting of the Organisation of Turkic States carrying implications that could reverberate well into the rest of the year. We also look at Kazakhstan's announcement...

This week, we examine a series of major developments across Central Asia, from the results of Kazakhstan's constitutional referendum to the announcement of new Chinese-funded border outposts and fortifications along Tajikistan's frontier. We also look at the continuing fallout from the security shake-up in Kyrgyzstan, with further arrests and resignations, as well as the increasingly strange foreign movements of Turkmenistan's seni...

This week, we examine a series of major developments across the region, from unusual trade figures linking Afghanistan and Central Asia, to the expansion of border fencing and fortifications between two Central Asian states. We also look at the arrest of one country's anti-corruption chief on corruption charges, the suspicious death in custody of a man accused of attempted assassination, and Kazakhstan's shifting position on peacek...

This week, we'll be covering Kazakhstan announcing the date for its upcoming constitutional referendum, controversial polling decisions in Kazakhstan, a new fighting force forming that could make the Tajikistan–Afghanistan border even more volatile, one leader returning from an unexplained absence, and several others travelling to the United States for talks that are raising eyebrows. We'll also cover a major government reshu...

This week, we'll be covering the B5+1 summit in Bishkek, the prospect of new EU sanctions targeting Kyrgyzstan, fresh complications around Rosatom's nuclear plans in Uzbekistan, shake-ups inside Uzbekistan's internal security services, and some genuinely surprising new drug-use statistics coming out of Tajikistan. We'll also look at the latest shootout on the Tajikistan–Afghanistan border. And then, for our main ...

This week, we're tracking a string of developments that could reshape the region's security and political landscape, from a soldier's death in Kazakhstan triggering major shake-ups at the top of the military chain of command, to Russian TV hosts openly talking about invading Central Asia, and Tokayev changing the rules in ways that could make a future Russian intervention easier to justify. We'll also cover an Uzbek ci...

This week, we're taking a look at crackdowns on the Uzbek language in northern Afghanistan, a U.S. drone going down in Afghanistan, and the latest political aftershocks in Kyrgyzstan after a former president was stripped of state titles and honours. We'll then turn back to Washington, where new payments and a fresh round of visa changes are reshaping the rules for three Central Asian countries. From there, we'll break ...

This week, we're tracking a packed slate of stories across Central Asia, starting with Trump's invitations for Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to join the G20, while the rest of the region is left out in the cold. We'll also break down Washington's shift in visa rules for one of the Central Asian republics, before cutting through the latest reporting from the Tajik–Afghan border, where fresh fighting is colliding with longer-runnin...

This week, we're unpacking Turkmenistan's Neutrality Summit, a rare moment where a string of big names quietly rolled into Ashgabat, and where the public messaging mattered just as much as the backroom deals. We'll also cut through the noise on the latest reporting from the Tajik–Afghan border, where misinformation is colliding with real security developments on the ground. From there, we'll take a hard look at t...

This week, we break down a flurry of developments reshaping Central Asia's security landscape, from the debut of the new C6 format and the surprise expansion of the once-exclusive C5 grouping, to Vladimir Putin's key trip to Bishkek for the CSTO summit. We examine the alarming collapse in Tashkent's air quality, Astana's decision to withdraw from a decades-long arms agreement, and the escalating pattern of cross-border...