BAKU, Azerbaijan (MNTV) — One year after a U.S.-brokered summit that marked a turning point in their decades-long conflict, Azerbaijan and Armenia are moving from political agreement toward economic cooperation, with their leaders marking the anniversary in a phone call, the outlet Trend reported. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenia...
SAMARA, Russia (MNTV) — The Bashkirs, one of the indigenous peoples of Russia’s Samara region, are working to preserve their language, traditions and cultural identity, and showing growing interest in Islam amid growing use of Russian in urban areas, according to Argumenty i Fakty, cited by IslamNews. About 5,000 Bashkirs live in the Samara re...
BAKU, Azerbaijan (MNTV) — Azerbaijan’s model of multiculturalism, which promotes equal rights regardless of religion, ethnicity or language, was highlighted at an international conference in Cairo on combating Islamophobia, AzerNEWS reported. Speaking at the Second International Conference on “Muslim Communities in the West and The...
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (MNTV) — President Sadyr Japarov has signed amendments to Kyrgyzstan’s Law on Burial and Funeral Services that explicitly prohibit the cremation of deceased persons and the incineration of aborted and stillborn foetuses. The legislation, adopted by the Jogorku Kenesh on June 25, is aimed at improving the legal framework gov...
YEREVAN, Armenia (MNTV) — Armenia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) has registered a citizen-initiated referendum seeking amendments to the country’s Constitution, approving a civic initiative that now moves to the signature collection stage, Iravunk reported. The initiative was submitted in early July by the ‘Eurasian Alliance’ ...
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (MNTV) — Uzbekistan’s Central Bank has approved licensing procedures for banks conducting Islamic banking activities and established a new Islamic Finance Council to oversee the development, regulation and supervision of the sector. The Central Bank’s Board adopted amendments to the Regulation on the Procedure ...
DUSHANBE, Tajikistan (MNTV) — Tajikistan’s interior minister said a man arrested in Israel on suspicion of spying for Iran is a native of Tajikistan but is no longer a Tajik citizen. Interior Minister Ramazon Rahimzoda told a news conference on July 21 that the suspect had renounced his Tajik citizenship and obtained a Russian passport. ...
By Akhtar Pathan CENTRAL ASIA (MNTV) — Chess may have originated in northern India around the sixth century, but Central Asia has emerged as one of the world’s most dynamic chess regions through a unique blend of history, culture and sustained public investment rather than any single tradition. As the world marks World Chess Day on July ...
ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan (MNTV) — Turkmenistan has launched a field workshop using advanced digital technologies to help preserve the ruins of the ancient Dandanakan mosque, one of Central Asia’s oldest surviving cathedral mosques, as part of the country’s 2022-2028 state program for protecting historical and cultural heritage. The w...
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (MNTV) — President Sadyr Japarov has signed Kyrgyzstan’s Law on Climate Activity, making the country the first in Central Asia to adopt a comprehensive legal framework dedicated to climate policy. The law, signed on July 7 after parliamentary approval on May 20, will take effect on Jan. 1, 2027. The Cabinet has six [&...
