Author: Soli Muzafarov

London (15/11 – 67) The streets in Colombo, Sri Lanka, erupted into celebration on July 13, 2022 after weeks of peaceful protests forced then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country. Rajapaksa, long implicated in war crimes when he was defense secretary, had presided over an economic catastrophe amid allegations of widespread corruption and impunity. But a year later, despite some superficial changes, there is no sustained improvement in the country’s economic situation that impinges many people’s human rights. The acute shortage of fuel that was the most visible feature of the economic crisis has eased. But more than six million people – nearly 30…

According to the Tajikistan Ministry of Agriculture, the number of greenhouses in the country is increasing every year. “There are 950 greenhouses operating across the republic with a total area of 166 hectares, while in 2020 greenhouses occupied only 101.5 hectares. To this day, vegetables have been planted in greenhouses on an area of 43.9 hectares, including tomatoes on 16.2 hectares, cucumbers on 9.3 hectares and other types of vegetables on 18.5 hectares, as well as citrus fruits. Sowing in greenhouses continues,” the ministry said. Tajikistan’s commitment to agricultural innovation is evident in the continuous evolution of greenhouse cultivation methods.…

The Palestinians’ longstanding and legitimate grievances have been irrevocably subverted by Hamas’ brazen attack against Israel on Oct 7. Unlike previous rounds of conflicts and clashes between Israel and the Palestinians on the one hand and neighbouring Arab states on the other, Thailand has become a direct casualty like never before, as 30 Thai workers have been killed to date, with at least 16 injured and 17 taken hostage. As a militant political movement motivated by Islamic fundamentalism using methods of terrorism to achieve its objectives, Hamas has made a bad name for the Palestinian cause, eliciting condemnation and opposition…

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe will visit China in the upcoming week as the crisis-hit country makes progress on debt restructuring talks with its biggest lender. Wickremesinghe took office in July last year, after a popular uprising, brought on by an economic meltdown, had forced his predecessor out of power. His Oct. 15-19 visit to Beijing will be his first to China since then. Wickremesinghe, who is also finance minister, has been leading Sri Lanka’s push to manage its heavy debt and keep funds flowing from a $2.9 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. He will attend a Belt and…

Brussels (21/10 – 75) In May 2022, tens of ethnic Pamiri protesters were killed by security forces as demonstrations were violently suppressed and an “anti-terrorist operation” was launched in the east of the country. Activists, local leaders, journalists and bloggers were arrested and sentenced in unfair trials. Many reported being tortured. Access to information, including through the media and internet, remained heavily restricted. Domestic violence remained widespread with victims rarely securing justice or support. Afghan refugees continued to be detained and deported. Tajikistan’s economic and political life continued to be tightly controlled by the president, in the 30th year of…

Larry Ramer, an expert NASDAQ columnist. has selected four of the most promising specialized companies for targeted mergers and acquisitions (SPACs for short), which investors should look at in the near future. ​NASDAQ experts called the project with the investments of Kenges Rakishev and Sergey Ivashkovsky one of the most promising SPAC. At the moment, they are not operating, and their main goal and characteristic is to bring selected private companies to the stock exchange through a merger, rather than a traditional IPO. Stock analysts are holding their breath, waiting for the upcoming deals to be announced, as they predict a sharp…

Ranked third in the world, India began the match as clear favourites against the world No. 66 Uzbeks and expectedly dominated the proceedings from start to finish in the Pool A match. Lalit Upadhyay, Varun Kumar and Mandeep Singh slammed a hat-trick each as India started their men’s hockey campaign at the Asian Games with a 16-0 rout of lowly-ranked Uzbekistan here on Sunday. Ranked third in the world, India began the match as clear favourites against the world No. 66 Uzbeks and expectedly dominated the proceedings from start to finish in the Pool A match. Lalit (7th, 24th, 37th, 53rd) and…

Kazakhstan-Singapore Business Council #KSBC Chairman Mr. Sultan Marenov hosted a prominent Kazakh entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist Mr.Kenges Rakishev in Singapore and arranged a meeting with the Senior Managing Director of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) Mr. Pol de Win. The parties discussed the opportunities for Kazakh companies to list on the SGX and raise capital for investment in the growing economy of Kazakhstan. SGX is one of the leading and recognizable exchanges in the world, and deepening cooperation with Kazakhstan will raise the awareness of potential investors. We look forward to continuing our discussion and establishing fruitful cooperation soon. Source: KSBC

Berlin (27/08 – 25) Alisher Usmanov is one of Uzbekistan’s leading businessman and the Central Asian country’s main philanthropist. Despite Usmanov’s many proactive activities in the West and in Uzbekistan, he was included on the European Union and US’ list of sanctioned billionaires following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, despite never having any known connection to the Russian authorities’ decisions and activities in Ukraine. Here is a look at his biography, one that begins with his humble origins in Chust, a medium-sized city in Uzbekistan’s Fergana Valley, to being ranked among the 100 wealthiest people in the world. Usmanov is unique…

Geneva, London (29/7 – 50) Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, condemned the arrest and imprisonment of journalists, bloggers and civil society activists in Tajikistan, and questioned the credibility of the evidence presented in court against them. Lawlor was on a two-week official visit to Tajikistan last December. The report prepared by her and members of the delegation on the results of this visit was published in May of this year, but only now became available to the public. The authorities of Tajikistan will have to prepare an official response to the document, which…