Government critics argue that the ruling has transformed the protestors, three of whom are mothers of young children, into political martyrs. 

Belgium again finds itself amidst a scandal that threatens to become “Kazakhgate-II”. 

Leading businesses and charities are deserting Prince Andrew over the Epstein scandal as the future of his main charitable project he repeatedly mentioned in his BBC car crash interview is in jeopardy today.

It is just a tiny grocery store in a decrepit, Khruschev-era five-story apartment block in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan – but it is flooded with shoppers, 24 hours a day.

One of the more remarkable occurrences in Central Asian politics this year was the sight of thousands of Kazakhs taking to the streets to protest at the shoo-in, far from democratic election of longtime president Nursultan Nazarbayev’s handpicked successor Kasym-Zhomart Tokayev in early June.

Beijing needed testing grounds for risky investments.