Author: Hamasa

Joe Biden’s meeting with the leaders of five Central Asian countries is considered by experts to be a “historically important” event and a new turn in American policy in the region. On September 19, US President Joe Biden met with the heads of five Central Asian countries in the format of “C5+1” (Five plus one) in New York. He called this meeting a “historic moment” and said that in cooperation with the five countries “we are stronger and the world will be more secure.” The meeting of the American president with the leaders of the Central Asian countries was unprecedented. Until now,…

Russian and Chinese influence in the region will never go away. But the United States now has a rare and valuable window of opportunity. Central Asia is seldom a top priority for U.S. foreign policy. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the United States was one of the first countries to recognize the five newly independent states – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. For most of the 21st century, however, Central Asia largely served as a launchpad for U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, and little more than that. Since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Central Asia’s general perception of the…

A 43-year-old Tajik man has grabbed a gun, shot dead two security officers, and wounded a civilian at Moldova’s main international airport after being denied entry to the country, according to police. Key points: The suspected assailant was himself wounded and apprehended, police said, in an incident that briefly grounded flights at Chisinau International Airport. Moldova’s acting chief prosecutor, Ion Munteanu, said the shooting was being examined as a terrorist act. Investigators were not ruling out that other people were involved, but there was no evidence he was linked to any armed group. The suspect was being escorted by officials…

Ikbol Nematullo, the former head of the education department of the Rudaki district, who was detained at his workplace on charges of bribery and abuse of office, was released from the courtroom after paying only 3,000 somoni more than the total amount of money he received as a bribe. In March of this year, Tajik law enforcers reported that over several months of work, Nematullo received more than 65 thousand somoni as a bribe from 36 directors of schools in the Rudaki district. Sources of Radio Ozodi in the judiciary reported on August 4 that the court fined Ikbol Nematullo…

If he wins the 2024 US presidential election, Donald Trump will offer Kiev to “stop” resisting, and threaten the Kremlin with increased military support for Ukraine. The former president said this in an interview with Fox News . Trump again said he would “make a deal in one day”. “I know Zelensky very well , and I know Putin very well, and even better . And I have good relations, excellent relations with them,” said the former US president. “I would say to Zelensky: that’s enough. You must conclude an agreement … I would say to Putin: if you do not conclude an agreement, we will give him (apparently…

Colombo (25/7 – 30.77) In his book “Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday Massacre: Lessons for the International Community,” terrorism expert Dr. Rohan Gunaratna emphasizes the importance of de-radicalizing Islamic ideology to effectively combat Islamic terrorism. He identifies Wahhabism or Salafism as the root of Islamic terrorism, rapidly spreading worldwide through modern communication tools. Gunaratna warns that merely arresting perpetrators after attacks is insufficient; the focus should be on preventing radicalization in the first place. The Easter Sunday bombings in April 2019, which claimed over 200 lives, were fuelled by extremist ideologies inspired by events in the Middle East and Islamic extremists…

The track ‘Hussainiya of Del [Heart]’ is written by Iranian contemporary poet Alireza Qazveh. Ahangaran, who was dubbed by the Iraqi state radio “Khomeini’s nightingale” during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, embarked his Eulogy since his teenage period by singing (religiously/sorrowfully) in Hay’ats which are the religious foundation holding mourning ceremonies. Kholov is an expert in the southern folk genre of Tajik music called Falak (lit. “the firmament”). A multi-instrumentalist, trained in Shashmaqam at the Conservatory of Music in Dushanbe, he’s well known for his works on the two-string dutar, ghijak, and setar which are popular instruments in Central Asia. He…

The Russian occupation army, on the night of June 15, attacked the Odessa region with unmanned aerial vehicles. This was stated by the speaker of the Odesa OVA Sergey Bratchuk, RBC-Ukraine reports with reference to his Telegram . During the air raid in the Odessa region, the sounds of explosions were heard. According to preliminary information, the Russian Federation released 13 shaheeds. The OVA notes that all hostile targets were destroyed by air defense forces. Russian night attack on Ukraine In recent weeks, Russian troops have often carried out combined strikes on the territory of Ukraine. On June 15, twice during the night, a large-scale air raid…

The Ukrainian military continues to advance in the Ugledar direction. This was reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to the Telegram of Brigadier General, Commander of the Tavria operational-strategic grouping of troops Oleksandr Tarnavsky. “Under Ugledar, our soldiers are moving forward. The destruction of enemy forces continues,” Tarnavsky said. The situation under Ugledar Recall that the fighters of the 72nd brigade named after Cherny Zaporozhye have been keeping Ugledar under control for more than six months. In recent days, according to the Joint Press Center of the Tauride Sense, Ukrainian forces have advanced up to 1 kilometer near Vuhledar. Ukrainian counteroffensive According to official reports, the…

And U.S. officials have been touring the region chiding countries for failing to prevent Russian sanctions-busting. In our podcast this week, Alisher Khamidov, Peter Leonard and Aigerim Toleukhanova provide an update on how Central Asian countries may be abetting Russian efforts to circumvent international sanctions, and what Western officials are doing to tighten these loopholes. Senior U.S. officials traveled to the region in late April and issued fresh warnings about a possible fallout from enabling sanctions-busting.  In Kyrgyzstan, the government is on the cusp of becoming a monopolist producer of alcohol. In April, the president announced that factories belonging to alcoholic spirit and…