A rocket fired by the Afghan National Army destroyed a wedding in Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan yesterday, killing roughly 28, many of them women and children. Afghan General Sultan Mahmoud said that an early investigation has revealed that artillery fire was placed in the direction of the house from both north and south at…
After roughly eight months, Uzbekistan has renewed gas supplies to Kyrgyzstan’s southern region. It is unclear what caused the reversal in policy, as the original grievance back in April 2014 was the lack of a new contract and when Kyrgyzstan sold its state gas company Kyrgyzgaz to Russian Gazprom for exactly $1 and commitments from…
A raid on Friday of last week of the Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) news service offices in Baku by Azeri prosecutors has created an uproar in the news media. RFE/RL representatives reported that armed police ordered employees to leave the radio headquarters building “Azadliq” in the capital of Baku, said the station’s director,…
Elections to the Legislative chamber of Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan took place yesterday, and international organizations are thus far having a hard time coming to an agreement on whether they are legitimate or not. Two organizations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Commonwealth of Independent States, both hailed the elections as legitimate and genuine, boasting the…
After Putin’s speech yesterday, the Russian ruble’s precipitous decline has stabilized somewhat. The President of Russia tacitly endorsed the central bank’s policy of interest rate inflation and kept outlook relatively focused on the currency crisis rather than declining government revenues and sanctions. The currency is holding steady right now at 61 rubles on the dollar,…
Iran announced yesterday that bilateral negotiations with the United States proceeded “in good atmosphere” despite lingering gaps on Tehran’s uranium enrichment and uncertainty over economic sanctions being lifted with a new US Congress in play for the coming year. The P5+1 powers and Iran failed to strike a deal by the self-imposed deadline last month…
On Saturday, the US Congress unanimously approved another round of economic sanctions against Russia in what is now the fourth round of sanctions in six months. The law was passed as the Ukraine Freedom Support Act – and is now heading to President Obama for signature. A meeting yesterday between US Secretary of State John…
Yesterday, Russia wrote off almost $865 million worth of debt owed by Uzbekistan after President Vladimir Putin visited the country for bilateral talks with Islam Karimov. Uzbekistan’s new debt will be just $25 million, an odd move for a country strapped for revenues. Tashkent appears to be more amenable to considerations to create a free-trade…
After a pre-payment of $378 million to Gazprom, gas will flow into Ukraine once again after Russia cut all gas deliveries to Ukraine in June over a pricing and debt dispute. Relations on this issue were overshadowed by the civil war that broke out, and Kiev, short on money as it is, had to borrow…
Primary NATO contributors to the ISAF task force that has occupied Afghanistan for almost 13 years have begun to withdraw their troops as of this month. Secretary of State John Kerry praised new President Ashraf Ghani for making moves to combat money laundering and corruption, with UK Prime Minister David Cameron also joining in. The…
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