Author: Marta Rusieshvili

Beijing, Dushanbe announced upgrading of diplomatic relations. Chinese President Xi Jinping has promised to defend the “territorial integrity” of Tajikistan as he announced a boost to diplomatic relations with the neighbouring country on a rare visit. Xi arrived in the Tajik capital Dushanbe, Thursday night from Kazakhstan following a gathering of leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), during which he held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged the bloc to “resist external interference”. Central Asia is a vital link in China’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a massive infrastructure project that Beijing has used to expand…

Paris/Jakarta (24/7 – 28.57). “Coffee is the common man’s gold, and like gold, it brings to every person the feeling of luxury and nobility.” – Sheik-Abd-al-Kadir A friend recently opened a coffee shop is called after its owner, Muteeya. Though modest, it embodies the burgeoning coffee culture found in Paris, London, the US, and now Jakarta. The coffee is steaming hot, and soft tunes fill the air. Outside, rain pounds against the window, streaking down and forming small puddles on the street. As I gaze through the glass blurred by water, I take a sip of my warm coffee,…

The successful phasing-out of gas imports from Russia risks making Europe dependent on liquified natural gas (LNG) imports, according to a report published by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) today (June 24). Between 2021 and 2022, LNG imports increased from 80 billion cubic meters (bcm) to 120 bcm — reflecting an increase from 22% to 34% of total gas imports including from Russia and pipeline — according to the ECA. By 2023, the largest LNG global exporters to the EU were Norway (30%), the US (19.4%) and North Africa (14.1%), Russia was still responsible for 6.1% of LNG imports alongside 8.7% via pipeline,…

Russian House in Dhaka (formerly the Russian Cultural Centre), in cooperation with the National Museum and the Liberation War Affairs Academy, organized an event dedicated to Bangladesh’s 53rd anniversary of independence, ahead of Independence Day on March 26. At the beginning of the ceremony, a minute’s silence was observed to pay respect to the memory of all the martyrs of the Great War of Liberation and to express sincere condolences to the families and friends of the victims of the tragic terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall in Moscow on March 22. Twenty-six freedom fighters from different districts of Bangladesh…

Atlanta (18/12 – 12) The Rabbit is about to be devoured by a snorting, writhing, fire-breathing Dragon, come 10 February 2024 (Lunar Calendar, for lunatics). While the dreadful 2023, known by the philosophical Chinese as the “Year of the Rabbit”, is characterized as “thoughtful, tender, considerate, kind-hearted, and talented in language” for folks born in 1939 / 1951 / 1963 / 1975, Dragons born in 1940 / 1952 / 1964 / 1976 are reputedly “…confident, intelligent and enthusiastic – not afraid of challenges, willing to take risks”. That sounds more like this year of living dangerously, don’t you think? “…aggressive,…

Ukraine overnight tried to attack Moscow with dozens of drones, Russian authorities said Sunday, just a day after Ukrainian officials reported that Russia had launched its most intense drone attack on Kyiv since the beginning of its full-scale war in 2022. Russian air defenses brought down at least 24 drones over the Moscow region — which surrounds but does not include the capital — and four other provinces to the south and west, the Russian Defense Ministry and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported in a series of Telegram updates. Neither referenced any casualties. Andrei Vorobyev, governor of the Moscow region,…

Defense ministers of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye held a trilateral meeting here Monday to discuss military cooperation among the three nations in 2024, said the Azeri defense ministry. The ministers shared their views on the prospects of cooperation in the fields of military education, military medicine and other aspects of mutual interest, said the ministry press service. They underlined the importance of joining efforts in the fight against factors that may pose a threat to regional security, and expanding the scope of trilateral military exercises and training, it said. The meeting ended with the signing of a protocol on conducting…

Help is on the way for those who need assistance with heating their homes. Applications open Friday in Georgia for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps homeowners and renters with the costs associated with heating their homes through direct payments. The Georgia Department of Human Services says in order to qualify, a family’s income must be less than or equal to 60 percent of the median income for a Georgia family. For a household of one, the income threshold is $29,713, and for a household of five, it’s $66,284. Georgia residents 65 and older or those who are…

Azerbaijan’s state oil company, SOCAR, will receive a $1.5 billion loan from Russia’s Lukoil as part of a deal to supply crude oil to SOCAR’s oil refinery in Turkey. Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR has concluded a wide-ranging agreement with Russia’s Lukoil under which the Russian oil company will lend SOCAR $1.5 billion and supply SOCAR’s STAR oil refinery in Turkey with up to 200,000 barrels per day of Russian crude oil. The unusual agreement is apparently structured to overcome the problems SOCAR was facing in purchasing Russian crude oil for its STAR refinery due to the sanctions imposed by the West…

Turkey and Azerbaijan will hold joint military exercises today. The two-day drills will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital, as well as the region of Nakhchivan and some territories seized from Armenian control in 2020. They follow a meeting held between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Last month, Azerbaijan seized the Nagorno-Karabakh region, an enclave home to about 120,000 ethnic Armenians. While Aliyev has promised to guarantee rights and security to ethnic Armenians in the area, decades of mistrust and violence have generated fears that Azerbaijan will soon invade southern Armenia. Erdgoan has expressed support…