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Kyrgyzstan

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Kyrgyzstan. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Bishkek

Head of State

President Sadyr Japarov

Head of Government

Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Akylbek Japarov

Men repair a truck next to a replica of the Eiffel Tower in the village unofficially called Paris, in Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia. Photo: AFP

Asia travel

Paris, mountain truck stop in Central Asia with its own Eiffel Tower

A makeshift village in Kyrgyzstan offers food and warmth to truckers plying a dangerous north-south mountain road. But for how much longer?

5 Feb 2025 - 8:12AM

Belt and Road Initiative

How a new railway will extend China’s reach into Central Asia

6 Dec 2024 - 8:00PMvideocam

Science

China set to conduct nation’s first expeditions in the ‘land of the dinosaurs’

9 Oct 2024 - 11:07AMvideocam

Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Hong Kong-based Malaysian excited at chance of being oldest medical graduate

Retired Malaysian executive Toh Hong-keng, 70, is picking up his medical degree from Southwestern University in Cebu.

22 Jul 2024 - 3:42PMvideocam

Toh Hong-keng decided to study medicine after retiring from working as an executive based in Hong Kong. Photo: Handout

Tourism

Why more Asian women are flocking to Buenos Aires’ milongas for tango

An unspoken invitation to press themselves close to a stranger for a tanda, or set of dances, may stop there, but those that navigate the codes and the dance floor well enough may find further invitations

18 Jul 2024 - 7:00PM

Diplomacy

Opinion | Has China gained the upper hand over Russia in Kazakhstan?

The recent Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Astana offered a glimpse of the jockeying for geopolitical influence in Central Asia.

9 Jul 2024 - 8:30PM

Central Asia

How 2 years and Russia’s war in Ukraine shifted China’s ties with Central Asia

Xi Jinping visits Kazakhstan and Tajikistan as the region is increasingly looking to Beijing for security and investment guarantees, analyst says.

6 Jul 2024 - 9:00PMvideocam

Chinese President Xi Jinping is welcomed to Dushanbe by Tajik President Emomali Rahmon on Friday. Photo: Xinhua

China-Russia relations

Can China and Russia overlook Central Asia rivalry for SCO goal to counter West?

Both nations want Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to counter Western hegemony, but rivalry over influence in Russia’s ‘backyard’ might be a concern.

6 Jul 2024 - 8:38PMvideocam

Belt and Road Initiative

Chinese highway crews cut ‘super-long’ tunnel through Xinjiang glacial area

Huge boring machine to cut passage for north-south link providing vital connection to Central Asia.

6 Jul 2024 - 6:29PM

China trade

‘This has come naturally’: China’s new Caspian Sea trade route sidesteps Russia

Despite its choppiness, the world’s biggest inland body of water has rapidly become a more desired journey for shipments than one through Russia or the Red Sea.

5 Jul 2024 - 9:30PM

President Xi Jinping made a state visit to Kazakhstan this week and met President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in the capital Astana (pictured). Photo: Shutterstock

Tourism

How to say place names most get wrong like Laos, Oaxaca, Leicester

Think you can pronounce these hard-to-say countries, cities and other places? Try your hand at Phuket, New Orleans, Leicester, Reykjavík, Kaohsiung, Laos, Yosemite, Oaxaca, Edinburgh and more.

5 Jul 2024 - 6:59PM

Can you pronounce Leicester properly? Photo: Shutterstock

India

Modi’s Russia trip a sign of India’s unresolved tensions with China: analysts

Modi’s visit underscores importance of Russia ties and reluctance to engage China with border issues still outstanding, observers note.

5 Jul 2024 - 11:11AMvideocam

Xi Jinping

China’s Xi hails ‘unique’ ties upon arrival in Kazakhstan for state visit

Chinese President Xi Jinping is in Astana for state visit and annual SCO summit alongside Russia’s Vladimir Putin, before heading to Tajikistan.

2 Jul 2024 - 9:43PMvideocam

China-Russia relations

Xi and Putin are pivoting to the Global South. It may not go to plan

China and Russia want stronger ties with developing nations as they try to counter the Western-led world order.

1 Jul 2024 - 11:37AMvideocam

Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin arrive to mark the 75th anniversary of China-Russia relations, in Beijing on May 16. The pair have called for the Global South to unite. Photo: via Reuters

Fifa World Cup 2026

China in World Cup qualifier ‘group of death’ with Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia

The 18 remaining Asian teams fighting for eight direct qualification spots at 2026 tournament are drawn in three third-round groups of six.

27 Jun 2024 - 10:03PM

Former internationals Shinji Okazaki of Japan (second from left) and Mehdi Mahdavikia of Iran (right) help conduct the draw in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday. Photo: AFP

Russia

ICC issues arrest warrant for ex-Russian defence minister, top military chief

Warrants were issued for the alleged war crimes of directing attacks at civilian objects and causing excessive incidental harm to civilians, as well as the crime against humanity in Ukraine, the ICC said.

25 Jun 2024 - 8:08PMvideocam

Extreme fitness

F1 star Bottas among those embracing fast-growing sport of gravel riding

Thirty-four cyclists competed in the first edition of Dirty Kanza in 2006 – this year 5,000 riders started the race, now renamed Unbound Gravel, with many more left out.

24 Jun 2024 - 3:08PM

Russia

Armenia to leave Russia-led security alliance, PM says

The leader of Armenia declared his intention to pull out of a Russia-dominated security alliance of several ex-Soviet nations as tensions rise between the two allies.

13 Jun 2024 - 11:35AM

A police stun grenade explodes during a rally against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan, Armenia on Wednesday. Photo: Vahram Baghdasaryan/Photolure via AP

Fifa World Cup 2026

China take on South Korea with only 5 spots up for grabs in World Cup Asian zone

If China lose in Seoul, they could lose second spot in Group C to Thailand, who host Singapore; India, Indonesia among teams in hunt.

10 Jun 2024 - 6:23PM

Central Asia

China reaches deal on railway project linking it with Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan

The rail link, first proposed in the 1990s, will serve as a faster and cheaper alternative to current China-Europe land routes, most of which travel through Russia.

7 Jun 2024 - 12:19AMvideocam

Asia travel

From Flying Pigeons to ultra bikes, Beijing’s extreme cycling boom

Spurred by the pandemic, ultra cycling is booming in Beijing, with enthusiasts heading out of the city to ride day and night on ‘probably the most beautiful roads in the world for cycling’.

2 Jun 2024 - 10:29AM

Elina Cai, of Beijing West Cycling group, rides up Miaofeng mountain during a weekend group ride. Photo: Sean Gallagher - Beijing West Cycling Group

Hong Kong sports

Controversial Hong Kong weightlifting boss who implied city is country resigns

Dr Josephine Ip had been under pressure after implying Hong Kong and Taiwan were countries during opening remarks at an event this month.

24 May 2024 - 2:40PM

Masahito Kitsui (far left), former HKWPA chairwoman Dr Josephine Ip, president of the association Pok Kim-won and Raymond Fong at the 2018 IPF World Powerlifting Championship in Sweden. Photo: Instagram/ hkwpa_powerlifting_hong_kong

China-Russia relations

Chinese President Xi and Russia’s Putin to meet again in July: foreign minister

Beijing and Moscow should ‘maintain security and stability in the common Chinese-Russian neighbourhood’, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says

21 May 2024 - 5:49PMvideocam

The Philippines

‘Not a spy but a love child’: embattled Philippine mayor reveals murky past

In a televised interview, Guo revealed that she was an abandoned child of a man who was a Chinese citizen and a domestic helper.

21 May 2024 - 3:58PMvideocam

Belt and Road Initiative

China’s top diplomat vows stronger security, anti-terror ties with Tajikistan

Wang Yi meets Tajik President Emomali Rahmon in Dushanbe as part of four-day trip to Central Asia, which will include an SCO foreign ministers’ meeting in Astana.

19 May 2024 - 9:20PMvideocam

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon at his official residence in the capital Dushanbe on Saturday. Photo: Handout

The Philippines

A Chinese ‘asset’? Philippine town mayor with mysterious past raises eyebrows

Alice Leal Guo, mayor of small town Bamban, was unable to provide details about her early life and background during a senate hearing.

16 May 2024 - 4:26PMvideocam

Bamban Mayor Alice Leal Guo has come under scrutiny over her alleged links to a dubious gaming company. Photo: Facebook/AliceLealGuo

Hong Kong Sports Institute

Hong Kong weightlifting body’s ‘deepest regret’ for implying city, Taiwan are countries

Hong Kong, China Weightlifting and Powerlifting Association issues public apology over remarks made by chairwoman Josephine Ip, who previously called city a ‘small country’.

13 May 2024 - 5:50AM

Central Asia

Opinion | How China’s greener investments are driving Central Asia energy shift

The growing cooperation between China and Central Asia on green energy fits Beijing’s agenda of making more sustainable Belt and Road Initiative investments. Central Asian states, particularly Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, have embraced the opportunity to improve their energy security and gain distance from Russia.

12 May 2024 - 5:30AMvideocam

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