Author: Aksunar Karatay

Perhaps perturbed by the amount of international attention Turkmenistan is getting these days, Russia has resorted to love-bombing. At least a couple of Russian high officials chose the occasion of President Serdar Berdymukhamedov’s 42nd birthday on September 22 to send notes extending their best wishes and reminding the recipient of the healthy state of relations between their nations. “I would like in particular to note your personal contribution to the development of friendship and strategic partnership linking Russia and Turkmenistan,” wrote Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. Valentina Matviyenko, the chair of Russia’s upper house of parliament, joined in, confidently predicting the imperishability…

At least 3,000 Palestinians have been arrested by the Israeli forces in the West Bank since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict on Oct. 7, according to Palestinian statistics released on Tuesday. In the past few hours, at least 40 Palestinians in the West Bank were detained by the Israeli army, according to a joint statement by the Palestinian Authority Commission for Prisoners’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club. The Israeli forces conducted the arrests in various places across the West Bank, including Jenin, Hebron, Bethlehem, Nablus, Ramallah, Jerusalem, and Jericho, while also raiding a number of residential homes, said…

Nine people were killed on Tuesday in four Israeli airstrikes across southern Lebanon, as confrontations on the Lebanon-Israel borders intensified for over six weeks, Lebanese military and medical sources said. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that four people were killed in Chaaitiyeh village in southwestern Lebanon after their four-wheel vehicle was attacked by an air-to-surface missile launched by an Israeli drone. According to Elnashra news website, the four victims were identified as three Hamas members and the deputy commander of the Al-Qassam Brigades in Lebanon. The same sources also confirmed that a Hezbollah member was killed…

U.S. tech giant Nvidia on Tuesday announced that the hyper-scale generative artificial intelligence (AI) supercomputer it builds in Israel has started its initial operations. The supercomputer, named “Israel-1,” is the country’s most powerful AI system and one of the world’s fastest supercomputers for AI calculations. It is expected to run at eight exaflops of peak AI performance and 130 petaflops of scientific computing. The initial phase of the system was completed in less than 20 weeks, two months ahead of schedule, far faster than the several years required to build traditional supercomputers, according to a statement issued by the company.…

Rome (16/11 – 57) Sri Lanka is mired in a deep political and economic crisis and the country’s then President Rajapaksa has flown out of the country, days after a huge crowd of protesters stormed his residence in July 2022. Protesters for months have demanded the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, whose government has been blamed for chronic mismanagement of the country’s finances. The island nation of 22 million people has suffered months of lengthy blackouts, acute food and fuel shortages, and galloping inflation in its most painful downturn on record. Here is how the crisis unfolded: April 1: State of emergency Rajapaksa declares a temporary state of emergency, giving security forces sweeping powers to arrest and…

The public in Tajikistan knows all too well that police officers are far from always on their side. But a few recent high-profile incidents – and countless more that have gone unreported – are serving to deepen that distrust. Far from solving crimes, police are increasingly the ones committing them. And then getting away with it. Tales of petty abuse are legion. Over the summer, Akmal, a 35-year-old taxi driver, was out on the road when his car was scraped by a fellow motorist who turned out to be an Interior Ministry officer. As Akmal told Eurasianet, the policeman was…

China’s leader Xi Jinping is throwing a 10th anniversary bash for the Belt & Road Initiative, his $1-trillion plan to leverage Beijing’s financial resources into expanded geopolitical clout. State-controlled media is touting the BRI as a “widely appreciated public good and global driver of inclusive growth.” But the data suggests that behind BRI’s hype lies lots of unfulfilled expectations. Xi on October 17 greeted a parade of foreign guests from over 140 nations, including Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Russian leader Vladimir Putin was also expected to put in an appearance during the two-day event. At an evening welcome banquet Xi said that BRI…

China and Saudi Arabia held an opening ceremony for the “Blue Sword-2023” joint naval special operations training in Zhanjiang, southern China’s Guangdong Province, on Monday. Team commanders and trainees from both militaries took part in the ceremony, with the two countries’ national anthems playing and the team commanders delivering speeches. The elementary training and professional training stages of the “Blue Sword-2023” feature a total of 24 subjects, including fast-roping, boat driving and multi-weapon shooting, while the comprehensive drill stage features maritime rescue skill training and joint rescue drills. Team commanders from both militaries expressed their hope that the training will…

The head of Kyrgyzstan’s security services revealed in a speech on October 19 that the government has spent over $2 billion on bolstering the state security apparatus, in part to prevent popular uprisings of the kind that ushered him into office. Kamchybek Tashiyev said in the speech, which he delivered at the inauguration of new premises for a local branch of the State Committee National Security, or GKNB, in Kara-Balta, a city in the northern Chui region, that the investment was aimed at “bolstering the strength and power of the state.” He refrained from explaining how this spending was being funded.…

The China-Arab States Publishing Cooperation and Exchange Forum was held on Sunday in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh. Under the theme of “Deepening China-Arab Publishing Cooperation and Exchanges, Promoting Mutual Learning between Chinese and Arab Civilizations,” publishers from China and Arab countries reviewed their cooperation in translation, publishing, copyright trade, book fair platforms and online publishing. The summit also paved the way for a translation project of 100 Chinese and Arab classics, exploring the establishment of a China-Saudi Arabia online publishing exchange mechanism, jointly expanding the platform for international cooperation, and promoting mutual learning between Chinese and Arab civilizations. The…