Temperatures above 40°C are scorching parts of Central Asia, prompting the World Health Organization to warn that extreme heat is becoming an increasing public health threat across the region.
Russia’s fuel shortages are spreading into Central Asia, exposing the region’s heavy reliance on Russian petrol and diesel as governments race to secure alternative supplies and contain rising prices.
Kazakhstan has limited vehicle entries from Russia and neighbouring countries to one per day to tackle illegal fuel smuggling. The restrictions come amid a surge in Russians crossing the border to buy gasoline, as prices at home soar due to the Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries.
Kazakhstan's Constitutional Court ruled that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is eligible to seek a new presidential term under the country's newly adopted constitution. It's after a referendum on the constitution in March reset presidential term limits - a move that could extend his time in power.
China has launched a new direct rail freight route to Turkmenistan, expanding its transport links with Central Asia as trade and investment across the region continue to grow. The service will carry Chinese industrial and consumer goods to the Caspian region.
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.
Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan are advancing plans for a new energy corridor beneath the Caspian Sea that could carry renewable electricity from Central Asia to Europe, linking the region's growing clean energy sector with European markets.
With its EU accession talks frozen and its strategic partnership with Washington suspended, Tbilisi has formalised a new alliance with Astana centred on trade, transport and a shared vision for Eurasia's next major trade corridor.
Kazakhstan has not received an official request from Russia for petrol supplies, Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said, as fuel shortages and sales restrictions in Russia raise concerns over fuel supplies across Central Asia.
Russia is in talks with Kazakhstan over possible petrol imports after refinery disruptions tightened domestic fuel supplies, four industry sources told Reuters.
Kazakhstan secured agreements and investment commitments worth $12 billion during President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's official visit to Brussels on 22–23 June, underlining the growing economic importance of ties between the European Union and Central Asia's largest economy.
Ukraine said its forces had struck key energy installations inside Russia, including a gas processing plant and a helium facility in the Orenburg region, as drone assaults increased across multiple areas.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev arrived in Brussels for talks with EU leaders as Kazakhstan seeks to expand its partnership with Europe beyond energy and raw materials, with a growing focus on technology, connectivity and industrial cooperation.
Kazakhstan's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy, Serik Zhumangarin, met senior Afghan officials in Kabul during a three-day visit aimed at expanding political, trade, transit and investment cooperation.
Russia is seeking to expand cooperation with Central Asian countries in the exploration, extraction and processing of rare earth metals, underlining the region's growing importance in the global race for critical raw materials.
The Caspian Sea has retreated by up to 35 kilometres along Kazakhstan's coastline since 2006, raising fresh concerns about the future of the world's largest inland body of water and the communities, industries and ecosystems that depend on it.
Kazakhstan and Iran have agreed to accelerate cooperation on transport corridors, giving Kazakhstan access to key Iranian ports in a move aimed at strengthening trade routes and reducing reliance on transit routes through neighbouring countries.
Kazakhstan will begin routing selected government expenditures worth more than 100 million tenge ($190,000) through its digital tenge platform, expanding the use of the central bank digital currency to strengthen oversight of public spending.
Kazakhstan has signed a $10 billion agreement with Firebird and NVIDIA to build one of Central Asia's largest AI computing hubs, as governments increasingly compete for the infrastructure needed to power artificial intelligence.
The Trans-Caspian East-West International Transport Corridor, commonly known as the Middle Corridor, is a multimodal trade route linking China and the European Union via Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus and Türkiye.
Trade routes through Afghanistan took centre stage in Almaty as the European Union, Central Asian states and the United Nations discussed the country's role in shaping regional security and economic connectivity.
Kazakhstan’s ruling Amanat party has announced it will merge with a party launched only a month ago by allies of the country’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Domestic economic conditions are playing a growing role in shaping the outlook for Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, according to global financial services group ING.
The U.S. is deepening engagement with Central Asia on critical minerals as global competition for strategic resources intensifies. The issue dominated talks in Astana between Washington and the five Central Asian states.
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