Features
The Taliban's resurgence in Afghanistan is headache for China
The rapid recapture of almost all of Afghanistan by the Taliban only weeks after the US pulled out is a major headache for China, but Beijing has already moved to recognise the fundamental Islamic movement in an effort to quickly end the fighting.
Stitching Albania’s garment industry back together
Fashion industry figures have forecast an explosion of consumption in a new “roaring twenties” when the pandemic ends, but rebuilding Albania’s garment and footwear sector won’t be easy.
Russia’s stumbling along in the race to carbon neutrality
Earlier this year Vladimir Putin’s called for cutting Russia’s greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions to below those of the European Union as the Kremlin starts to wake up to the dangers of global warming.
Defeat and Uncertainty: Russia’s new wave of politically fuelled emigration
This year will go down in Russian history as the start of a new era of political emigration. While waves of emigration from the country are part of the drama of Russian life, today, for the first time since Soviet times, people are emigrating again
Uzbekistan grapples with urgent climate change problems
Uzbekistan is already the site of the world’s worst man-made catastrophe, and things will only get worse as temperatures rise. bne IntelliNews looks at Tashkent's efforts to adapt to climate change.
Uzbekistan’s energy sector overhaul
An expected increase in energy demand and the need to cut emissions have prompted Tashkent to draw up plans to overhaul existing infrastructure, raise efficiency and encourage investment into renewables.
Azerbaijan’s 'foreign' Olympic team frustrates fans
Sports commentators are questioning the wisdom of hiring foreign players to compete for the Azerbaijani flag.
Kazakhstan suffers from acute shortage of doctors
The COVID-19 outbreak has compounded a problem caused by low salaries.
Belarusians hold solidarity demonstrations on the first anniversary of the disputed presidential elections
Belarusians went to the polls to choose a new president exactly a year ago on August 9, 2020 in elections that plunged the country into its worst political crisis in three decades.
Local authorities in Romania expect new impetus from regional airports
Disappointed by the weak traffic at Oradea airport, the municipality and county authorities decided to set up their own airline.
Tensions rise as Lithuanian government takes harsh line on migrants
Human rights groups and opposition politicians accuse Vilnius of whipping up fears over migrant influx via Belarus.
Hardline cleric Raisi sworn in as Iran’s president
Guest list and inauguration speech indicate Tehran will make serious move to negotiate reinstatement of 2015 nuclear deal. First presidential in-tray will be weighed down by multiple unresolved crises.
Georgia’s Western honeymoon – coming to an end?
For the Georgian Dream government, its failure to respond to far-right mobs hunting LGBTQ activists and beating journalists was a PR disaster. Critics say it’s time for US and EU to wake up to its shift towards illiberalism.
Uzbekistan after the storm
A V-shaped recovery will support incomes and job creation, and resolve any lingering impact in the banking sector, says Uzbekistan's Deputy Finance Minister Odilbek Isakov.
Climate change is shortening Central Asia’s growing season – study
It’s bad news for plans to expand farming, but even worse for herders.
Azerbaijan’s top cleric under fire for pro-Iran remarks
The remarks earned the country’s senior Islamic official a rebuke from a senior adviser to Turkey’s president and a smear campaign in Azerbaijani pro-government media.
INTERVIEW: Making privatisation work in Uzbekistan
Despite the pandemic conditions Uzbekistan accelerated its privatisation drive this spring. The head of the State Assets Management Agency Akmalkhon Ortikov explains how.
Azerbaijani government silent on phone spying revelations
The list of journalists and activists reportedly spied on using the Israeli-made Pegasus software continues to grow. But Baku is keeping quiet.
Da Vinci fund III aims to deRussify its portfolio companies and make them more valuable
Da Vinci Capital, one of Russia’s biggest private equity investors, has been helping its portfolio companies to build up a more international business that will increase their valuation. Now it has launched a new fund that excludes Russia entirely.
DATACRUNCH: demographic disaster in Russia, but a catastrophe in Ukraine
Russia is facing two decades of stagnation thanks to its shrinking population caused by the collapse of the Soviet Union. But in Ukraine the problem is far worse, as the population has shrunk to levels last seen in the '50s.
