Author: Toydemir Sasooli

On the first anniversary of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan’s deadliest border war, marked in September, irascible Kyrgyz national-security chief Kamchybek Tashiev aired his frustrations at the slow progress in talks aimed at demarcating the disputed frontier. Tajikistan, said Tashiev, was making “territorial claims” against Kyrgyzstan in the talks. “But our answer is that there should be no such claims,” Tashiev fumed, noting ominously that Kyrgyzstan had found “new documents” related to the border. “Based on those, we know that many parts of Kyrgyzstan had been given to Tajikistan,” he claimed. “If [Tajikistan] does not renounce its territorial claims against Kyrgyzstan then…

The Soviet Union’s collapse 32 years ago led to rapid change, economic collapse, and violence. In Tajikistan, that violence slid rapidly into civil war. Reflecting on the Soviet Union’s collapse 32 years ago and attempting to draw any sort of conclusion is often a matter of perspective. In his new book, “Moscow’s Heavy Shadow: The Violent Collapse of the USSR,” Dr. Isaac McKean Scarborough, an assistant professor of Russian and Eurasian Studies at Leiden University, writes of the collapse from one of the Soviet Union’s most distant peripheries — Dushanbe. In doing so, he highlights a perspective not often taken…

Today, almost 205 million Indonesians cast a vote for their new president. The three candidates are not new faces in Indonesian politics — one has been running in presidential elections for the past 15 years. Here are their profiles, and some of the key issues that may have swayed voters. But first, a quick rundown of the election. Indonesian election at a glance The three candidates: Anies Baswedan Anies Baswedan was initially known as an academic, having been the youngest university rector in Indonesia at the age of 38. In 2009, he initiated the “Indonesia Mengajar'” (Indonesia Teaches) program to…

ISLAMABAD: In order to reduce carbon emissions and promote cycling in the federal capital, the Capital Development Agency (CDA) has decided to build citywide bicycle lanes along major routes in three phases. A PC-I in this regard has been prepared, and the CDA board will take up this summary in its meeting planned for Tuesday.“…only 2.73 per cent of the population is above 65 years of age, so the majority …is young enough to make use of this project,“ the document read. For everyday mobility, a large number of capital residents rely on public transport, such as metro and vans,…

KARACHI – One of ousted Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan’s lawyers was elected on Saturday as chairman of his party, allowing it to take part in a national vote scheduled for February as the former cricketer is in jail and barred from taking part. Barrister Gohar Ali Khan had been nominated by Khan himself to be the chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI). The Election Commission of Pakistan had directed PTI to hold the party poll for a new chairman if it wanted to participate in the election on Feb. 8 and retain its bat election symbol. The PTI will face former…

LUCKNOW: A local court in Maharajganj district on Uttar Pradesh on Friday sentenced 40-year-old American national Erik Daniel Beckwith to two years imprisonment for attempting to enter India with a tampered visa. Beckwith has been in Maharaganj district jail since his arrest in March 2023. Government counsel Ramesh Chandra stated that Beckwith was found guilty under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections of 419 (cheating by impersonation), 420 (cheating and dishonesty), and the Foreigners’ Act. Chandra further revealed that Beckwith’s bail application was rejected following the verdict and he was jailed. Chandra said that immigration officials arrested Beckwith on March 29, 2023, at the Indo-Nepal border in Sonauli. “Upon…

Attacks on journalists have become a frequent occurrence in Tajikistan in recent years. Why are those responsible for attacks on journalists remain unpunished? Berlin (23/11 – 67) November 2 is the “International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists”. The date was chosen in commemoration of the assassination in Mali of Claude Verlon and Ghislaine Dupont, two French journalists, on November 2, 2013. The 2023 observance seeks to raise awareness of the main challenges faced by journalists and communicators in the exercise of their profession, and to warn of the escalation of violence and repression against them. Attacks on…

With a new phase of violence erupting after Hamas launched surprise attack on Israel, the world has entered into a new phase of polarisation. Soon after the attack Israel declared war on Hamas and since then the violence is getting intense and thousands of lives have been lost. Israel’s offensive in Gaza has employed use of drones and artillery strike and Human Rights Watch has raised concerns over the use of white phosphorous which violates the international humanitarian law. Both Isarael and Hamas are blaming each other for the violence happening, there are several hostages under Hamas right now and recently a short clip of Israeli…

Veteran investor David Roche said India “is a slow trundling elephant” that still has many hurdles, but is now a viable alternative to China. “I think India stands to benefit from the decline in terms of the attractiveness of foreign direct investment and portfolio flows of China,” Roche told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” on Friday. India has been aligning itself with the “democratic alliances” of the “richest and most vibrant economies” in the world, he said. After overtaking China to become the world’s most populous nation, India could also leapfrog its neighbor to also become the world’s second-largest economy by 2075. “So…

LinkedIn — the Microsoft-owned social platform for those networking for work or recruitment — is now 21 years old, an aeon in the world of technology. To stay current with what the working world is thinking about most these days, and to keep its nearly 1 billion users engaging on its platform, today the company is unveiling a string of new AI features spanning its job hunting, marketing and sales products. They include a big update to its Recruiter talent sourcing platform, with AI assistance built into it throughout; an AI-powered LinkedIn Learning coach; and a new AI-powered tool for marketing…