The 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29), held in Baku, Azerbaijan, wasn’t just another meeting of world leaders—it was a moment to decide whether global promises on climate action would translate into real change. Against the backdrop of towering mountains, melting glaciers, and drying rivers, Central Asia stepped forward with ambitious ideas and plans to address its climate challenges. For a region often overlooked, COP29 provided a moment to showcase not just its vulnerabilities but its potential to lead in the fight against climate change.
Breaking months of isolation during which he had close to no direct contact with any major Western leader, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz over the phone on Friday, November 15. Being the two leaders’ first time speaking with one another since the beginning of 2022, and Putin’s first discussion with a sitting head of state or government of a Western nation since late 2022, the announcement of the phone call sparked surprise, controversy, and shock.
May 20th 2024, the ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A Khan filed an application before the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court, requesting the granting of arrest warrants for three senior Hamas officials and two senior Israeli officials. Among those named were Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant. The request was equally made for the arrest of Muhammad Deif, Hamas’s military chief. Applications for the two other Hamas leaders were withdrawn earlier this year after their deaths were confirmed.
On Tuesday, November 19th, British farmers gathered en masse in the English capital to protest the so-called ‘tractor tax’ included in the recent budget, delivered by Chancellor Rachel Reeves on October 30th. The budget, Labour’s first in 14 years, also included headline announcements such as an increase in capital gains tax, an increase in the ‘National Living Wage’, and increased funding for the National Health Service (NHS). None of these measures, however, have garnered as much attention as the ‘tractor tax’, which has drawn both praise and scrutiny
In the early hours of Wednesday, November 6th, Donald J. Trump was projected as the winner of the 2024 United States Presidential Election, victorious in his campaign against current Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump’s electoral triumph will make him only the second individual in the country’s history to serve two non-consecutive terms after Grover Cleveland did so from 1885 to 1889 and 1893 to 1897.
Despite this uncertainty in the US, it is clear that the era of government friendliness towards Big Tech is over, and it is probable that in the future more and more lawsuits will be filed as governments seek to limit the power, size, and influence of Big Tech.
For Kazakhstan, the future depends on how carefully it can balance this relationship. Will it become an equal partner with China, benefiting from shared growth, or will it find itself relying too heavily on a powerful neighbor? The outcome of this relationship will shape the region’s future—and could redefine what it means to be a strategic partner in Central Asia.
The re-elected US president’s aggressive stance against undocumented immigrants and migration is a promise to America that Donald Trump says has “no price tag” and one that has incited major fear within those targeted.
How can we ensure the democratic participation of the youth? What is the relationship between education and human rights? In this interview, we explore...
The current events in Georgia are somewhat similar to the beginning of Euromaidan. On October 28, 2024, during parliamentary elections, the pro-Russian Kobakhidze government got a majority. According to the OSCE report, statistical anomalies, and prosecutors in Georgia, the elections were not fair, causing the first “wave” of protests. The most likely scenario is that the Kobakhidze government will try to suppress the protests completely until the very end, which might lead to a revolution in Georgia.
Third spaces, apart from fostering community, have also historically been the cornerstone of discussion, exchange of ideas, and conversation – the proverbial “living room” of society. It is a place where we can affirm our identity while developing empathy and understanding for those different from our own, and their decline is negatively affecting our psyche as well as modern democracy.
