What do these three things have in common: a Kyrgyz gold mine, a Malaysian Ponzi scheme, and canned camel milk? If you said the Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing wants a word with you.
Three years since the Eurasian Union unveiled a grand plan to build a unified digital agenda, there is little sign that member governments are interested in the program.
A blogger is arrested and state media turns on investigative journalists. The wheels of Kyrgyz justice are prioritizing a crackdown on free speech over one on graft.
Investigative journalism is only just taking hold in Kyrgyzstan. Although Kyrgyz media enjoy relative levels of freedom compared to neighboring countries, meticulous and in-depth reporting is poorly funded and often ignored.
Agriculture accounts for 15 percent of the Kyrgyz economy. Yet the lack of coordination means many farmers are barely able to survive, let alone export anything.
