live Iran says no progress on reviving interim peace deal with U.S.
Iran and the United States remain at loggerheads over efforts to agree a permanent end to the war in the Gulf, according to a senior Iranian source wh...
Kazakhstan will hold a snap parliamentary election on 23 August under a decree signed by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, paving the way for a new constitutional system in the Central Asian state.
Voters will elect a new single-chamber parliament, replacing the country's current bicameral legislature. The election will be the first contested by the newly created Adilet party, which announced in June that it would merge with the ruling Amanat party.
Amanat has effectively been Kazakhstan's ruling party since independence. The Adilet party, which was formed in May, is led by close allies of Tokayev, who is due to remain in office until his term ends in 2029.
Tokayev, who took office in 2019, has been driving a far-reaching overhaul of political life in Central Asia's largest economy, a major minerals and energy exporter with an authoritarian political system.
He first came to power as the handpicked successor to Kazakhstan's founding president, Nursultan Nazarbayev. Tokayev broke with his predecessor in 2022, alleging that a wave of nationwide unrest that killed hundreds of people that year was a coup attempt by Nazarbayev loyalists.
Tokayev has since portrayed Nazarbayev's three decades in power as a period of unrestrained corruption and has sought to erode his remaining influence.
The new constitution also creates the post of vice-president, which is expected to be filled after the election.
Iran said it was nearing a final pact with Oman defining new shipping lanes between them through the Strait of Hormuz but repeated that the U.S. must meet other conditions.
Iran and the United States remain at loggerheads over efforts to agree a permanent end to the war in the Gulf, according to a senior Iranian source who said there had been no progress in talks to revive the interim deal agreed in June and define a timeframe to implement it.
U.S. President Donald Trump has called for Iran to pay compensation for decades of deaths and damage, adding a new demand to peace talks as Tehran seeks compensation and sanctions relief before reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
A criminal court in Damascus has sentenced former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia for premeditated murder, torture, arbitrary detention and crimes against humanity, according to Syria’s state news agency SANA.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Russia is preparing to deploy additional North Korean forces on its territory and has received more ballistic missiles from Pyongyang, arguing that their growing military cooperation poses a threat beyond Ukraine.
Central Asia’s economy has surpassed $543 billion, driven by Kazakhstan’s economic weight, strong exports and foreign investment, while growing trade across Asia points to an increasingly connected region.
The United Nations refugee agency is planning a settlement and carpet-weaving workshop for Afghan returnees in Kabul as the country grapples with large-scale returns and growing pressure on housing, jobs and basic services.
Iran will soon join the New Development Bank (NDB), the lender established by BRICS nations, Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said in a state media report on Wednesday ahead of a BRICS finance meeting in India.
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev has outlined an expanded vision for the Zangezur Corridor, describing it not simply as a transport route connecting mainland Azerbaijan with the Nakhchivan exclave, but as a future platform for energy, telecommunications and wider regional integration.
Iran and Russia are seeking closer cooperation on arms control and Iran’s nuclear programme as the two countries deepen strategic ties amid heightened tensions with the U.S. and Israel.
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