China’s Xinjiang eyes closer ties with Pakistan and Central Asia to offset US sanctions

China’s Xinjiang eyes closer ties with Pakistan and Central Asia to offset US sanctions

China’s far west region of Xinjiang is seeking closer ties and cross-border cooperation with Pakistan and Central Asian countries in a bid to counter US sanctions and consolidate its role as a gateway under the Belt and Road Initiative. Khunjerab port – the sole border crossing connecting China and Pakistan – in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous … Read more

Turkmenistan and Iran to supply petroleum to Iraq, despite sanctions

Turkmenistan and Iran to supply petroleum to Iraq, despite sanctions

The Turkmen foreign ministry has announced a new deal that will significantly increase Turkmenistan’s natural gas shipments to Iraq via a new Iranian pipeline.  For more stories from The Media Line go to themedialine.org The new 77-mile pipeline, which will be constructed by Iranian companies, will allow Turkmenistan to ship an additional 10 million … Read more

Shrinking Caspian Sea worries environmental activists

Shrinking Caspian Sea worries environmental activists

Residents of Aqtau, a Kazakhstani port city located on the northeastern shore of the Caspian Sea, are on edge these days. For more than two decades, they have watched the Caspian Sea shrink and the local economy wither. As the sea receded, the city’s population, estimated at 250,000, saw disruptions in trade and experienced difficulties … Read more

Melting glaciers, drying sea highlight Central Asia’s water woes

Melting glaciers, drying sea highlight Central Asia’s water woes

WASHINGTON —  Climate change and water scarcity are harsh realities facing Central Asia. Glaciers in the east, in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, are rapidly melting, while in the west, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, the Aral Sea has turned into a desert. According to the World Bank, almost a third of the region’s 80 million … Read more

Mysterious writer behind ISIS-K propaganda calls himself ‘the Canadian’

Mysterious writer behind ISIS-K propaganda calls himself ‘the Canadian’

A mysterious writer making propaganda for an Afghan branch of ISIS claimed to be based somewhere in Canada which, experts say, could be cause for concern for authorities.  Voice of Khurasan, an online publication used by the Islamic State of Khorasan (ISIS-K), which is suspected of being behind the Moscow attack that killed at least 140 … Read more