Our weekly Turkmenistan briefing: Berdymukhamedov goes traveling and lectures the WHO, while YouTube bows to Turkmen censors and takes down Eurasianet’s channel.
While clumsy on COVID-19, Turkmenistan is being more sure-footed, or consistent at least, on the Afghanistan front. Plus, unsustainable agriculture. Our weekly briefing.
The government signals it is taking COVID a bit more seriously, without admitting the virus is running rampant. And Ashgabat gets down to business with the Taliban. This and more in our weekly briefing.
As the country opens up, citizen journalism is flourishing. In a place unaccustomed to journalists, and with the ethics of the profession not yet cemented, theirs is a risky business.
The journalist faced not only the customary bureaucratic hurdles, but even alleged sexual harassment from an individual possibly linked to the security services.
Spraying chlorine, new infrastructure on the Afghan border, and claims of a naturally occurring COVID vaccine. This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan bulletin.