As the president celebrates, the economic crisis deepened by a coronavirus outbreak he has refused to acknowledge has left his people in a state of Dickensian misery.
After rewarding himself with a more pliant constitution, the president held a massive military parade. This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan briefing.
Tofig Yagublu was detained shortly after the president warned that the opposition was using the coronavirus to destabilize Azerbaijan. Now even pro-government MPs are calling for his release.
A secret delivery of antibody tests, more warnings about "dust," and why cronyism will comfortably outlive COVID-19. This and more in our weekly briefing.