Author: Akpulat Erentoz

The president of Uzbekistan has given a government commission three days to get to the bottom of what caused a huge blast at an industrial warehouse in Tashkent early September 28 that left one teenager dead and injured 162 people. The city hall has said 600 apartments across 26 high-rise buildings were damaged as a result of the explosion at a warehouse in a district not far from the airport. Other infrastructure damaged by the blast included a school and two kindergarten buildings. Emergency officials say that the explosion occurred around 2:43 a.m., giving rise to a blaze that spread…

Over the weekend, the Magtymguly Theater in Turkmenistan’s capital, Ashgabat, premieredits staging of Molière’s Scapin the Schemer. The 17th-century comedy tells the tale of a battle of wills between sons and fathers. This somehow feels topical for Turkmenistan, where a similarly farcical intra-generational tussle is playing out. Last week, a meeting took place in Germany’s capital, Berlin, between the leaders of Germany and Central Asia. This looked like yet another attempt by a major Western power to massage a region normally considered to be in Russia’s orbit of influence into considering alternative options. While Germany and four of the Central Asian…

A Hamas official said on Tuesday that the movement is close to reaching a cease-fire agreement with Israel in the coming hours, which will be announced in Qatar. The official, who wished to remain anonymous, said the movement had already sent its response to mediators on the cease-fire agreement, and it was waiting for Israel’s response. Khalil Al-Hayya, a member of Hamas’s Political Bureau, said in a statement on Tuesday that the Egyptian and Qatari mediators were “making significant efforts to reach an agreement,” without providing further details. Earlier in the day, Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas political bureau,…

Kyrgyzstan’s most notorious gangland figure was killed on October 4 during a security services operation in an incident that is certain to spark lively speculation about possible political undertones, casting a shadow of intrigue over the nation’s complex political landscape. The State Committee for National Security, or GKNB, said in a statement that it was seeking Kamchybek Kolbayev’s arrest over his suspected involvement in expropriating property from businesspeople. Another line of investigation concerned Kolbayev’s alleged links to the murder in July 2022 of a rival underworld personality, Chingiz Jumagulov — better known by his underworld nickname Doo (Giant). According to…

Two journalists and one civilian were killed on Tuesday morning in Israeli attacks on the village of Tayr Harfa in southern Lebanon, local media reported. Farah Omar, a reporter working for local TV channel Al-Mayadeen, and Rabih Al-Maamari, a photographer working for the same channel, were covering the events in southern Lebanon when two Israeli drones hit them, killing both of them and a civilian named Hussein Akil, Lebanese TV channel Al-Manar reported. Meanwhile, 80-year-old Laeqa Sarhan was killed and her granddaughter injured after their house in the southern village of Kafr Kila was hit by Israeli artillery fire. Israel…

A report published by a prominent watchdog group confirms that the Internet in the hands of authoritarian-minded leaders is proving an effective instrument of repression. The report goes on to warn that rapid advances in artificial intelligence threaten to “supercharge” efforts by illiberal state and non-state actors to curtail Internet freedom and spread disinformation. The annual Freedom House survey, titled Freedom on the Net 2023, paints a bleak picture for digital rights across Eurasia. Worldwide, Internet freedom declined for the 13th straight year, according to the report. Kazakhstan was the lone country in either Central Asia or the Caucasus to see an improvement in…

Russia is refocusing its attention on Central Asia. As Alisher Khamidov and Peter Leonard discussed in the latest edition of the EurasiaChat podcast, last week saw a notable visit to Kyrgyzstan by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was in the country to attend a Commonwealth of Independent States leader summit. https://www.buzzsprout.com/2046820/13784226-eurasiachat-border-progress-gangster-woes-russia-s-return?client_source=small_player&iframe=true&referrer=https://www.buzzsprout.com/2046820/13784226-eurasiachat-border-progress-gangster-woes-russian-return.js?container_id=buzzsprout-player-13784226&player=small Beyond the usual speechifying and deal-making, there was some symbolism of note. As Alisher said, Putin made a point while in Bishkek of laying a wreath at the Ata Beyit memorial complex, which was created to honor victims of the Russian Tsarist suppression of an uprising known locally as…

Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced on Tuesday it had launched the National Automotive and Mobility Investment Company to develop local supply chain capabilities for the kingdom’s automotive and mobility industry. Shortened as Tasaru Mobility Investments, the company aims to localize manufacturing expertise and technologies to promote the development of electric vehicle industry and build an ecosystem for autonomous mobility, the PIF said in a statement. The company’s first investment is a joint venture with three local companies to develop an automotive logistics hub in King Abdullah Economic City in Saudi Arabia, which will serve the aftermarket parts industry. The…

Officials in Uzbekistan have said a government delegation will travel to Afghanistan in the coming months to conduct negotiations over an ambitious canal project that is sparking deep concern over water security in the region. Tashkent-based outlet Gazeta.uz on October 19 cited Ulugbek Kosimov, the governor of the southern Surkhandaryo region, which borders Afghanistan, as saying the talks could take place before the end of the year. This announcement comes on the heel of news that the Taliban-run government in Kabul is poised to start work on the second phase of the Qosh Tepa canal, which has been billed by Afghan officials…

Saudi Arabia’s state-owned railway operator Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) has announced the launch of hydrogen train tests. The tests, set for October, came after the SAR and the French rail transportation company Alstom signed a memorandum of understanding in September 2022 to make hydrogen trains that were suitable for use in the kingdom, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. The tests will encompass operational experiments and studies to ensure the trains are compatible with Saudi Arabia’s environment, paving the way for their future entry into service, according to the SPA. SAR announced that these trains represent a pioneering initiative in…