Author: Farkhad Mirzaev

The ouster of Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev shows that popular expectations in the Asian states of the former Soviet Union are not appreciably different from those in the European ones. The United States and its OSCE partners must be prepared to provide Kyrgyzstan’s interim authorities with the technical assistance necessary to make these elections meet international norms. The ouster of Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev shows that popular expectations in the Asian states of the former Soviet Union are not appreciably different from those in the European ones. For the third time in eighteen months seriously flawed elections have brought down…

BANGKOK (The Nation/Asia News Network): Chinese triads arrived in Thailand under the cover of a foundation established by a Chinese national called Yu Xinqi, whistleblower Chuwit Kamolvisit said on Thursday. Yu Xinqi established the Shaanxi Association of Thailand as a front for triad activity, using it to forge relationships with Thai establishment figures including monks, Chuwit wrote on Facebook. The soapy massage tycoon turned anti-corruption crusader has made a series of allegations that have led to a national investigation into Chinese criminal gangs operating in Thailand with help from authorities including customs and police officers. The Shaanxi Association of Thailand…

The long-anticipated maiden flight of Japan’s new flagship H3 rocket was aborted Friday after a system onboard the craft detected an abnormality and did not ignite its booster engines, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said. The abrupt halt, moments before launch, marked a setback for the program, already hit by a string of delays, as the country seeks to gain a foothold in the increasingly competitive satellite-launching business with the successor to its highly reliable H2A launch vehicle. The H3 rocket, carrying a land observation satellite as its payload, did not lift off from the Tanegashima Space Center on Tanegashima…

A Japanese company is building a new whaling ship designed to travel as far as Antarctica, sparking fears commercial operations could resume in the Southern Ocean. Australia’s environment minister, Tanya Plibsersek, reaffirmed the Albanese government’s commitment to a global moratorium on commercial whaling, while Greenpeace condemned the practice as “brutal and unnecessary”. Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha announced it was building a new “mother ship” that can sail for 60 days and travel 13,000km. The term “mother-ship method” refers to a process in which smaller, more agile vessels are used to hunt whales, before the carcasses are returned to the mother ship for freezing and…

On February 15th, the official Chinese navy released a short video of the Shandong ship shouting in English to drive away in the South China Sea. The English slogan This is Chinese navy warship 17 (this is the Chinese Navy Shandong) has attracted widespread attention from the outside world. Some military experts believe that the People’s Liberation Army and the U.S. aircraft carrier or carrier-based aircraft have been in close contact, so they will use specific English warnings. Now in the South China Sea, there is not only the Shandong aircraft carrier conducting actual combat exercises, but the two aircraft carrier…

Coal may be falling out of favour elsewhere because of climate change, but Suluktu’s mines hope growing demand from neighbouring Central Asian countries and beyond will help them return to their Soviet heyday. For some, like Umarov, the mine is one of the few places offering work — despite the threat of accidents that have killed dozens of people in the area in recent years. “It’s terrifying, it’s tough, but there’s no other work here,” said the 27-year-old, who has two degrees in computing and economics. As he spoke, the coughing of miners with blackened faces echoed through the tunnels…

New York, Brussels (21/12 – 60). Tajikistan regime’s crimes committed against humanity breeds an atmosphere of fear and oppression amomgst the Pamiri community was the verdict of a United Nations human rights mission conducted by Special Rapporteur Mary Lawlor, after a recent visit to the country earlier this month. She described the situation of human rights defenders in Tajikistan as an atmosphere of corruption and the fear of persecution. She called on the government to treat human rights defenders as allies, not opponents. There is a violent repression of the ethnic and religious minority – Pamir Ismailis – and it…