Until recently, oligarch Gagik Tsarukyan had managed to stay in the government’s good graces. But then he started criticizing them more sharply, and now the authorities have unveiled several criminal cases against him.
The idea that the president is concerned for the health and wellbeing of his people is undermined by the merry song-and-dance on which he has led the WHO.
Ashgabat is reviving talk of the TAPI gas pipeline; a sheep dip for trucks; and an official doesn’t like farmers growing food. This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan briefing.
Articles on the U.S. Embassy-sponsored website call COVID-19 a "fake pandemic" and oppose vaccines. Health experts warn it could make the crisis worse.
Tbilisi may have refused to let the insult slide because Georgia’s coronavirus response has become an electoral platform for the governing party, which faces a parliamentary vote this fall.
Authorities say they wish to resume trade, but continue to prevent trucks carrying essential items from entering the country. This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan column.