Donald Trump on Thursday called critical minerals a key priority as he hosted the leaders of five Central Asian nations at the White House. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/11/07/asia-pacific/politics/trump-central-asia-leaders/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #politics #us #donaldtrump #kazakhstan #kyrgyzstan #tajikistan #turkmenistan #uzbekistan

The prospect of a rejigged power balance across Central Asia promises to be the biggest geostrategic shift since the post-Mao Zedong rise of China. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/11/04/japan/japan-like-the-us-needs-central-asia/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #kazakhstan #kyrgyzstan #tajikistan #turkmenistan #uzbekistan #centralasia #mongolia #china #russia #defense #asianeconomy

The key to Central Asian countries’ success is a “three arrow” governance framework, comprising institutional reforms, diversification of foreign policies and deeper regional integration. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/07/07/world/central-asias-new-playbook/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #kazakhstan #kyrgyzstan #tajikistan #turkmenistan #uzbekistan #centralasia

For #MosaicMonday: tiger-lion fusions & mythical huma birds on the spandrels of two 17th c. madrasas in #Uzbekistan:
1. Sher-Dor Madrasa, Registan, Samarkand, 1619-36 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bujar%C3%A1,_Liab-i-Hauz_4.jpg
2. Nadir Divan Begui Madrasa, Liab-i-Hawz, Bukhara, 1622-3 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Samarcanda,_Regist%C3%A1n_24.jpg