MALE, Maldives (MNTV) — New training initiatives are being introduced in the Maldives to help people with disabilities gain formal qualifications, improve workplace readiness, and strengthen financial independence. One of the flagship efforts is a Job Readiness Programme launched in partnership with the Care Society. The program focuses on adm...
KABUL, Afghanistan (MNTV) — Afghanistan has opened its first pediatric open-heart surgery and dialysis units at Indira Gandhi Hospital in Kabul, a development officials say will reduce the need for families to seek costly treatment abroad. According to ToloNews, the Ministry of Public Health announced that the new center includes 50 beds and t...
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (MNTV) — South Korea has launched a $10 million project to help Kyrgyzstan tackle worsening air pollution, with a focus on the capital Bishkek, one of the world’s most polluted cities during winter months. According to the Times of Central Asia, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of...
ASTANA, Kazakhstan (MNTV) — Kazakhstan has formally criminalized stalking, becoming the first country in Central Asia to introduce a dedicated statute against obsessive harassment. The measure, reported by the Times of Central Asia, defines stalking as persistent attempts to contact or monitor an individual against their will, causing psycholo...
DUSHANBE, Tajikistan (MNTV) — Tajikistan’s government has submitted draft legislation that would outlaw the use of fortune-telling and other mystical services, extending existing penalties to include not only practitioners but also their clients. According to the independent outlet Asia-Plus, the proposed amendments would add a new clause to A...
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (MNTV) — An international team of archaeologists has found evidence that hunter-gatherer communities in Central Asia were harvesting wild barley nearly 9,200 years ago, a discovery that could rewrite the history of how agriculture began. The excavation was carried out in the Surkandarya Valley’s Toda Cave, where researcher...
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (MNTV) — Uzbekistan has launched construction of a landmark National Museum in its capital, a project designed by acclaimed Japanese architect Tadao Ando and set to become the country’s largest cultural institution. The new museum will cover more than 40,000 square meters and showcase up to 10,000 artifacts, according to t...
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (MNTV) — Uzbekistan has launched its first Migrant Resource Centre (MRC), a facility designed to provide citizens with guidance on safe migration pathways and protection from human trafficking. The centre opened Thursday in the capital as part of an EU-funded program to strengthen migration governance across Central Asia. ...
ASTANA, Kazakhstan (MNTV) — Kazakhstan is set to open Central Asia’s first private contemporary art museum, a $100 million institution scheduled to debut in September 2025 in the country’s largest city, Almaty. The Almaty Museum of Arts is designed to elevate Kazakhstan’s cultural profile and connect Central Asia’s artists with global audience...
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — South Asia’s drug economy is undergoing a dramatic shift. Afghanistan, once the world’s largest producer of opium, has seen cultivation collapse under the Taliban’s ban. But as Afghan fields lie barren, illegal narcotics production is surging across eastern India, creating a new hub for opium and cannabis. According ...
