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Sher Khashimov @skhashimov.bsky.social · 1d

Investigative journalism in Asia continues to do important work despite a challenging press freedom environment. For @gijn.org, I spoke to journalists in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Bangladesh about their experiences, challenges, and the value of cross-border collaboration.

gijn.org/stories/asia...

State-Connected Oligarchs and Looted Public Funds: Tracking Illicit Money Across Asia

In this installment of GIJN's Asia Focus project, we look at how investigative journalists across the continent are exposing kleptocracy and documenting official corruption.

gijn.org

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Reposted by Sher Khashimov

Eilish Hart @eilishhart.bsky.social · Aug 8

In a dispatch from Tashkent, The Beet explores the debates about language, trust, and technology shaping Wikipedia’s development in Central Asia (and beyond) in the age of AI. meduza.io/en/feature/2... @meduza.io

‘An unusual hobby’ How Central Asian Wikipedians are closing the local-language knowledge gap in the age of AI — Meduza

In April 2025, the volunteer editors and administrators behind the Central Asian editions of Wikipedia held their first ever gathering IRL (in real life). Founded along linguistic rather than nation-s...

meduza.io

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Erica Marat 🇺🇦 @ericamarat.bsky.social · Jul 3

New pub: Central Asian migrants at the US-Mexico border: An exploration of causes

Great piece analyzing spike in Central Asian migrants in 2021-2022. journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

journals.sagepub.com

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Reposted by Sher Khashimov

Yan Matusevich @ymatusik.bsky.social · Jun 28

Lithuania's migration authorities are looking to close their visa center in Dushanbe due to the high number of visa overstays by Tajik citizens www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-e...

Lithuania’s Migration Dept wants visa centre in Tajikistan shut down due to overstays

Lithuania’s Migration Department has proposed shutting down an external visa service centre in Tajikistan that processes...

www.lrt.lt

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The Moscow Times @themoscowtimes.com · Jun 26

An ex-employee of Prigozhin’s “troll factory,” a graduate student who was near the fighting and a soldier from Rostov-on-Don shared their memories of living through the mutiny with MT.

‘A Turning Point That Never Happened’: Eyewitnesses Recall the Wagner Mercenary Mutiny 2 Years Later - The Moscow Times

A former employee of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s “troll factory,” a graduate student who found himself near the fighting and a soldier from Rostov-on-Don, the city occupied by the rebels. Two years after Wag...

www.themoscowtimes.com

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Nicole Grajewski @nicolegrajewski.bsky.social · Jun 26

My piece for @carnegieendowment.org on the impact of US and Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear program, including the damage, long-term pathways to reconstitution, internal debates in Iran, and the future of the IAEA carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...

The Most Significant Long-Term Consequence of the U.S. Strikes on Iran

It’s not the damage to Fordow or Natanz.

carnegieendowment.org

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Aigerim Turgunbaeva @aigiturgunbaeva.bsky.social · Jun 26

This is devastating.
How much my colleagues and so many others have been fighting to prevent this.

#KyrgyzParliament passed the media law in two readings at once, making changes at the very last minute. Last hope has failed

www.reuters.com/business/med...

Kyrgyz parliament backs new state controls on media outlets

Kyrgyzstan's parliament has approved a bill that tightens state controls over media outlets, in what critics say is a blow to press freedom in a country once seen as more open than other Central Asian nations.

www.reuters.com

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Reposted by Sher Khashimov

Nate Schenkkan @nateschenkkan.bsky.social · Jun 24

I can’t help but assume this includes programs for studying Central Asian languages

Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · Jun 24

This is very, very bad.

A new state law will likely force the closure of hundreds of low-enrollment programs at Indiana University. The cutoff is 15 graduates/year for undergrad majors, 7 for Masters programs, and 3 for PhD programs, averaged over 3 years.

wfiunews.wordpress.com/2025/06/24/h...

Hundreds of IU degree programs at risk of disappearing

By Ethan Sandweiss Indiana University could lose hundreds of degree programs as part of compliance with an array of new laws affecting higher education that passed at the 11th hour of the legislati…

wfiunews.wordpress.com

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Yan Matusevich @ymatusik.bsky.social · Jun 24

New legislation in Russia will require public schools to share the personal data of all immigrant children with the police

This is combined with other legislation that limits access of immigrant children to public education

www.currenttime.tv/a/33448907.h...

К чему может привести закон об обмене информацией между школами и МВД о детях иностранцев

Госдума России в первом чтении приняли законопроект, который обязывает школы передавать МВД всю информацию о детях мигрантов. По словам авторов, этот документ поможет бороться с мигрантами, у которых ...

www.currenttime.tv

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Syinat Sultanalieva @syinats.bsky.social · Jun 23

#Kyrgyzstan: Although 15 years have passed since the deadly ethnic clashes in the south of Kyrgyzstan, wounds still have not healed and new ones added with ongoing demolitions in Osh. I write about it in my oped here: thediplomat.com/2025/06/15-y...

15 Years On, Ethnic Uzbeks Sill Face Bias in Kyrgyzstan

Several ethnic Uzbeks from Osh said that the 2010 trauma continues to inform their daily lives and that the government’s efforts have largely been ineffective.

thediplomat.com

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Yan Matusevich @ymatusik.bsky.social · Jun 22

Temirlan Yensebek, who used to run a satirical news channel called Qaznews24 (think of it as Kazakhstan's The Onion), has been designated an extremist in Kazakhstan. He's banned from using banking, owning real estate, or being officially employed

orda.kz/jekstremist-...

«Экстремист» по госбазе: почему блокируют Qaznews24 и как живёт Темирлан Енсебек после приговора

Основатель и экс-автор сатирического инстаграм-паблика, оказался в списке лиц, финансирующих экстремизм.

orda.kz

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Yan Matusevich @ymatusik.bsky.social · Jun 11

Kyrgyz authorities are conducting anti-migrant raids across Bishkek today, targeting South Asian workers from
India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, many of whom work in the textile industry

The criminalization of migration is truly global

South Asian men lined up in front of a Kyrgyz security services officer

South Asian men lined up against a wall with their backs facing a Kyrgyz security services officer

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Reposted by Sher Khashimov

The Moscow Times @themoscowtimes.com · Jun 10

The Telegram messaging app's infrastructure is controlled by a man whose companies have collaborated with Russian intelligence services, according to a new investigation by the exiled outlet IStories.

Investigation Uncovers Telegram's Potential Links to Russia's FSB - The Moscow Times

The Telegram messaging app may be less secure than previously thought, as its infrastructure is controlled by a man whose companies have collaborated with Russian intelligence services, according to a...

www.themoscowtimes.com

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Kevin Collier @kevincollier.bsky.social · Jun 10

The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project reports today that Telegram's technical backbone is managed by a Russian network engineer with significant business ties to the FSB, Russia's counterpart to the FBI.

Telegram, the FSB, and the Man in the Middle

The technical infrastructure that underpins Telegram is controlled by a man whose companies have collaborated with Russian intelligence services.

www.occrp.org

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Aigerim Turgunbaeva @aigiturgunbaeva.bsky.social · Jun 6

You can’t stay indifferent when your love is this deep.

This isn’t just a story about #mountains — it’s about what lives within them: the forests, waters, glaciers, and the people who protect them.

#Kyrgyzstan’s #Ala-Archa National Park Under Siege

thediplomat.com/2025/06/dest...

Destruction in Paradise: Kyrgyzstan’s Ala-Archa National Park Under Siege

The construction of A-frame houses, cafes, roads, and funiculars in Ala-Archa National Park appears to violate multiple Kyrgyz laws protecting natural areas.

thediplomat.com

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Erica Marat 🇺🇦 @ericamarat.bsky.social · Jun 6

Mashallah! Uzbekistan qualify for the 2026 World Cup! The first Central Asian nation to do so! ⚽

www.goal.com/en-us/lists/...

Uzbekistan qualify for the 2026 World Cup! Central Asian nation, ranked 57th in the world, qualify for tournament for the very first time after avoiding defeat against United Arab Emirates | Goal.com ...

Uzbekistan have qualified for their first ever World Cup following a goalless draw with United Arab Emirates on Thursday.

www.goal.com

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Joanna Lillis @joannalillis.bsky.social · Jun 5

#Turkmenistan is on the list of countries whose citizens now face restrictions from entering the US, thought not an outright ban www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...

Trump announces travel ban on 12 countries and partial restrictions for 7 others

Trump framed the new restrictions, which primarily target African and Asian countries, as necessary to fortify national security and combat terrorism.

www.nbcnews.com

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Yan Matusevich @ymatusik.bsky.social · Jun 5

DOGE cancels the Peace Corps program in Kyrgyzstan, the only country in Central Asia to host Peace Corps volunteers.

I can only concur with @colleenwood.rocks's words quoted in this article. Peace Corps had a huge impact in Kyrgyzstan and is generally well liked

thediplomat.com/2025/05/kyrg...

Kyrgyzstan: Incoming Peace Corps Cohort Cancelled Last Minute

As DOGE takes aim at the Peace Corps, the sudden cancellation of the June departure of new volunteers to Kyrgyzstan “is particularly cruel and inefficient.”

thediplomat.com

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Yan Matusevich @ymatusik.bsky.social · May 29

Ongoing detentions of former and current media workers in Kyrgyzstan

Journalism is being demolished in real time

www.reuters.com/business/med...

Kyrgyzstan detains eight media workers in widening crackdown

National security authorities in Kyrgyzstan have detained eight current and former employees of independent media outlet Kloop, their lawyers said, accusing them of inciting unrest amid a growing crackdown on media in the Central Asian country.

www.reuters.com

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Temur Umarov @tumarov.bsky.social · May 27

It was an honor to be the guest of the final episode of THE podcast on Central Asia, the Majlis Podcast, hosted by the one&only @pannierb.bsky.social. Together w/ Bakyt Beshimov & @nargiskassenova.bsky.social, we've discussed Central Asia's position in global politics: www.rferl.org/a/majlis-rus...

Central Asia's New Position In Global Politics

A lot has changed in Central Asia in the more than three years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. As countries in the region seek to loosen Moscow and Beijing's grip on the region, how far...

www.rferl.org

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Sher Khashimov @skhashimov.bsky.social · May 15

Tajikistan allegedly has the largest number of its nationals (931) serving in the Russian forces in Ukraine from among Central Asian countries. At least 196 of them have been killed in Ukraine.
t.me/hochu_zhyt/3...

Проект «Хочу жить»

⚡️⚡️⚡️ Следующее государство ОДКБ в нашем цикле публикаций данных об иностранных наемниках, завербованных Россией на войну в Украине – Республика Таджикистан. #наемники_ВС_РФ По имеющейся у нас благо...

t.me

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Esfandyar Batmanghelidj @yarbatman.bsky.social · May 10

As the Taliban tries to attract foreign investment, it's pitching Afghanistan as a regional transit hub.

In this analysis for @boursebazaar.bsky.social, Nargiza Umarova looks at the range of road and rail projects being pursued by Afghanistan's neighbors.
www.bourseandbazaar.org/articles/202...

Afghan Authorities Accelerate Push for Road and Rail Projects — Bourse & Bazaar Foundation

As the Taliban government pursues an assertive policy to enhance Afghanistan’s logistical infrastructure, interest in the country’s role as a southern transit hub is gaining momentum across West Asia.

www.bourseandbazaar.org

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The Moscow Times @themoscowtimes.com · May 6

Russian authorities are considering forced cuts to federal spending as falling oil prices deplete the reserves needed to fund the war in Ukraine, Bloomberg reported, citing an anonymous source familiar with the preliminary discussions.

Russia Eyes Budget Cuts as Sliding Oil Prices Drive Deficit Upward - The Moscow Times

Russian authorities are considering forced cuts to federal spending as falling oil prices deplete the reserves needed to fund the war in Ukraine, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing an anonymous source...

www.themoscowtimes.com

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Eilish Hart @eilishhart.bsky.social · Apr 25

Worth a read: Reuters obtained the counterproposal from European and Ukrainian officials in response to the Trump admin’s push to end Russia’s war. The document differs on territory, sanctions, security guarantees & the size of Ukraine’s army. www.reuters.com/world/docume...

Exclusive: Documents show differences over US peace drive for Ukraine

Ukrainian and European officials pushed back this week against some U.S. proposals on how to end Russia's war in Ukraine, making counterproposals on issues from territory to sanctions, according to the full texts of the proposals seen by Reuters.

www.reuters.com

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Fuad Alakbarov @alakbarov.bsky.social · Apr 23

Uzbekistan to introduce “golden visas” for foreigners from June 1.

The cost of the document will be $200,000 and $100,000 for family members of its holder.The document will be valid for 5 years.

Uzbekistan introduces ‘golden visas’ for foreigners from 1 June - INVEXI: Investment Consulting Management Company

By the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On measures to stimulate production, export and entrepreneurial activity, increasing the efficiency of trade and industrial policy” (No. P...

invexi.org

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