Author: Diana Amireva

Women’s clothes are high on the government’s agenda once again in Tajikistan, where authorities and Islamic leaders are working on new guidelines on what women should wear to work and during their leisure time. The new dress code — the second of its kind in six years — is expected to be made public in the coming days, and a special event is reportedly being planned for the capital, Dushanbe, in August to showcase compliant clothes. Sulaimon Davlatzoda, the head of the state Committee for Religious Affairs and the Regulation of Traditions, told a press briefing in the capital this week that…

Sanjiva Weerawarana is a Sri Lankan success story. He founded enterprise software firm WSO2 in 2005, got it close to $100 million in ARR as its CEO, then sold it to private equity firm EQT for $600 million in May. He sometimes drives for Uber, too. Sri Lanka isn’t renowned for its startup ecosystem, but one company has been something of an outlier in the South Asian island nation these past two decades. WSO2, an open source enterprise software provider with customers such as Samsung, Axa, and AT&T, recently agreed to be acquired by private equity giant EQT, at a valuation TechCrunch reported at the time…

On Wednesday May 29, the top Tajik diplomat Sirojiddin Muhriddin, heading a government delegation, participated in the Third Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs “Central Asia – Italy” in the C5+1 format, which took place in Rome. According to the Tajik MFA information department, the parties discussed the prospects for the expansion of cooperation between the countries of Central Asia and Italy in the political, economic, trade, water and energy, environmental protection, transport, tourism and educational sectors. They reportedly also exchanged views on a number of regional and international issues being of mutual interest, including current threats and challenges,…

Denpasar, Indonesia — Elon Musk and Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin launched SpaceX’s satellite internet service for the nation’s health sector on Sunday, aiming to improve access in remote parts of the sprawling archipelago. Musk, the billionaire head of SpaceX and Tesla (TSLA), arrived on the Indonesian resort island of Bali by private jet before attending the launch ceremony at a community health center in the provincial capital, Denpasar. Musk, wearing a green batik shirt, said the availability of the Starlink service in Indonesia would help millions in far-flung parts of the country to access the internet. The country is home to more than 270 million people…

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which will hold a summit with Japan in Tokyo on Sunday to mark 50 years of ties, has built relations of trust with the country and generally welcome it playing a bigger security role in the region, amid China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea. The ASEAN members, however, are navigating a delicate balance in their ties with Japan and China, taking into account Beijing’s stronger economic influence in Southeast Asia, while vigilantly watching the competition for regional clout between China and the United States, experts said. Trust between ASEAN and Japan has…

China will continue to “escalate” its hostile behavior unless the United States demonstrates it stands ready to respond “aggressively” to provocation, a veteran US sailor warned. President Xi Jinping and Joe Biden came together last week after months of tensions over the People’s Republic of China’s threatening conduct toward Taiwan and nations disputing Beijing’s claims over the South China Sea. While the meeting was seen as a step toward clearer communication between the two countries, expert Brent Sadler told Daily Express US the Biden Administration is not doing enough to put an end to Beijing’s belligerent conduct. He argued the US has considerable “leverage”…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan has evacuated 127 citizens and members of their families from the Gaza Strip, said Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu in an interview with Kazinform on Dec. 14. According to Nurtleu, one Kazakh citizen and ten members of his family – Palestinian citizens who voluntarily refused to evacuate – remain in Gaza. “The ministry and foreign agencies continue to monitor the situation and are ready to evacuate if they receive applications for evacuation from Kazakhstan nationals. I would also like to remind you that, due to the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, on behalf of…

ASTANA – President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev welcomed the heads of Turkic states at the 10th anniversary summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in Astana on Nov. 3. The Kazakh leader outlined eight pillars of Kazakhstan’s chairmanship in the organization for 2024.  President Tokayev noted that the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States, a former name of the OTS, has turned into a full-fledged international organization. “Most importantly, we have strengthened the unity of fraternal countries. We have demonstrated to the whole world our commitment to our common values. We fulfill the will of our ancestors, and strengthen the…

ASTANA – The second meeting in the framework of regional expert sessions on developing creative industries in Kazakhstan, aiming to analyze regional creative ecosystems, was hosted by Alikhan Bokeikhan University in Semey with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) support on Nov.21, reported UNDP’s press service. The session focused on identifying factors influencing the creative industry’s development and determining the needs and visions of creative representatives regarding the further development of this sector in regions. Participants also analyzed the awareness among interested parties about current national and regional initiatives in the industry’s development. They formulated proposals for adapting existing and…

Nov 7 (Reuters) – The formation of a base for a multi-polar world order is proceeding with extreme difficulty amid conflict in different parts of the world, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said in an interview published on Wednesday. But Tokayev, interviewed by the Russian daily Izvestia, said he believed world tensions would subside and be replaced international cooperation focusing on a reformed United Nations. “As we see, the formation of the architecture of the modern multi-polar world is proceeding extremely painfully,” Tokayev told the daily ahead of a visit to Kazakhstan this week by Russian President Vladimir Putin. “And against…