Chinese business briefing: Working overtime Many Chinese workers have been stuck in Central Asia during the coronavirus lockdown, forced to work overtime to meet production quotas. Niva Yau Jun 4, 2020
Kyrgyzstan: President pleads for sovereign debt restructuring Debt has risen to $4.6 billion this year. Ayzirek Imanaliyeva May 29, 2020
Tajikistan: Coronavirus panic puts sufferers of other illnesses in grave danger With supply chains disrupted, patients with chronic needs are unable to find key medicines. May 29, 2020
Parents struggle to reach newborn surrogates in Georgia Dozens of babies are marooned in hospitals, their international parents unable to travel during the coronavirus crisis. Pearly Jacob May 27, 2020
Georgia and Armenia bicker over pandemic response 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. Giorgi Lomsadze May 26, 2020
Kyrgyzstan: Draft bill threatens to drive NGOs against the wall The bill appears intended to force independent activism out of existence Ayzirek Imanaliyeva May 22, 2020
Tajikistan strains credibility with apparent COVID-19 turnaround Officials say 1,000 people have recovered in a two-day period. May 22, 2020
Tajikistan sees unusual protests, authorities react with force Chinese workers rallied with a demand to be allowed to travel home. May 21, 2020
Georgia hopes to sell its pandemic response to tourists The nation is working on a coronavirus-conscious tourism plan. Giorgi Lomsadze May 21, 2020
Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks cautiously, anxiously, eye return to familiar patterns Newly restored freedoms in the three countries have not come without problems and worries. Almaz Kumenov, Ayzirek Imanaliyeva May 18, 2020
Tajikistan on track to suffer region’s worst COVID-19 outbreak Total number of cases reached 907 by May 14. May 14, 2020
Kyrgyzstan: Rapper voices nation’s angst in the time of coronavirus Sayasat is based on stories pulled straight from the headlines. Ayzirek Imanaliyeva May 13, 2020
Tajikistan: Reporter for independent newspaper assaulted Gurbati had been a target of a smear campaign by pro-government trolls. May 11, 2020
Uzbekistan’s small businesses counting days to post-coronavirus freedom Before the pandemic, small businesses accounted for around 56 percent of Uzbekistan’s GDP. May 11, 2020
Kyrgyzstan’s coronavirus tracking app alarms privacy advocates There is anecdotal evidence that although the app is voluntary, many people are being pressured into loading it on their phones. Ayzirek Imanaliyeva May 8, 2020