Author: Kaikhosrow

Brussels (50). Two years in the war of Russian aggression against the Ukraine the balance is grim. Let us take stock. Leadership. The EU model of command and control consist of an old grumpy old general, an Austrian, who nobody has heard before, taking a political control of a pretty large army based of a defeatist model. The question to pose is the General who often is compared with Franz Josef I. suitable for modern command? The likely answer is no. The European play wars. The Europeans appear to be out of the fight. NATO command is in contradiction with…

The president of Tajikistan likes to wrap himself in the robes of Islam. Literally, in some cases. In January 2016, Emomali Rahmon performed a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, and took several members of his family along too. His office documented the event by releasing images of the leader covered only in the seamless white garment that must be worn by Muslims performing this rite. The pictures were doubly striking since the Tajik authorities had for many years been actively repressing pious Muslims. They continue to do so today. This plays out in absurd ways. From time to time, police…

Jake Paul and Mike Tyson have been encouraged to cancel their ‘mismatch’ showdown. ‘Iron Mike’ is set to step back in the ring aged 58 to take on YouTube star Jake Paul in a blockbuster summer fight, a fight which has seen him given medical warnings given their 31-year age difference. Tyson has been documenting his training in footage posted to social media, with some fans surprisingly impressed by his punch power and suggesting he will beat Paul. And his new footage crushing the pads with trainer Rafael Cordeiro, has been met by new pleas from fans for Paul to abandon the fight…

Frankfurt, Paris (14/4 – 40) Relations between Russia and NATO have reached boiling point due the recent event: the claim that Serbia and Russia want to refight Kosovo; the closure of the border by Finland; and the statement by the President of France, Emanuel Macron, on March, 14. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov, in a series of posts on social media, claimed that NATO, the EU, and the US government were targeting Kosovo and Serbia and destroying the relationship. Never mind a coalition with Italy and Russia, this is just another pipedream of Radio…

SINGAPORE – The Chinese embassy in Singapore on March 18 asked its citizens in the Republic to “stay away” from gambling, adding that cross-border gambling violates Chinese laws. The embassy, in a statement on its official WeChat account, “solemnly reminded” Chinese citizens in Singapore to steer clear of gambling, which is strictly prohibited by law in China. “Even if overseas casinos are opened legally, cross-border gambling by Chinese citizens is suspected of violating the laws of our country and face the risk of punitive actions,” said the embassy, warning that embassies may not be able to provide consular protection for…

Tajikistan’s existential project to build the colossal 335-meter-high Roghun hydropower dam is proceeding apace, but costs are spiraling, and to a level that is making it hard to see where the government is going to find the funds needed to finish the work. To complicate matters for Dushanbe, this is happening against the backdrop of calls from environmental watchdogs for international development lenders to pause the allocation of any future funds to Tajikistan pending a fresh assessment of the project. The extent of the budget overshoot is striking. In a press conference on February 16, Finance Minister Faiziddin Kahhorzoda revealed…

PA President’s son Tareq Abbas also holds positions in other ventures incorporated by offshore company. Leaked documents from Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca reveal Tareq Abbas, son of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, holds shares worth nearly $1 million in an offshore company with ties to the Palestinian Authority. The documents, leaked as part of the massive ‘Panama Papers’ scandal, show that a company called the Arab Palestinian Investment Company (APIC) was registered in September 1994 in the British Virgin Islands. Since then, the company’s economic portfolio has grown substantially, and is active in virtually every Palestinian economic sphere, including…

The chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the US Senate asked the president of Tajikistan to stop the repression of political opponents and representatives of religious minorities inside and outside the country. Ben Cardin wrote in a letter to Emomali Rahmon that he is deeply concerned about the “bad attitude of his government towards the opposition, human rights activists and civil society”. The letter was sent to the Millat Palace, the residence of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, on November 27 of this year. Its content will be discussed on December 6 in the Senate with the presence of representatives…

Six people were killed and three injured in traffic accidents in Sughd region. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tajikistan said in a news release that there were three accidents on November 8. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, on the evening of November 8, Alimardon Rizvonov, a resident of Muminabad district, ran over the “Honda-Servi” car of Firdavs Hayatov, a resident of Dushanbe, in the city of Istaravshan, Sughd region. As a result of this incident, the driver and three of his passengers were killed, and two of his passengers were seriously injured. That same evening, Zarif Jumaev, a…

Before the start of the Russian war in Ukraine, thousands of natives of Central Asia, including Tajikistan, lived, worked and studied in Ukraine. In the last two years, some of them left the country, and some of them are still there. What keeps the people of Central Asia in Ukraine? Sheikh’s grandfather from Tajikistan Grandfather Shaykh (not his real name) went from Tajikistan to Ukraine and cooks pilaf for Kharkiv residents every day. “I’m not panicking – not everyone can bear it. There are five pots here. Imagine how hot it is. I’m also fasting. When we’re fasting, we don’t even drink water,”…