Central Asian countries, including Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, have teetering economies. The Economist Intelligence Unit says that the risk of sovereign debt default in Kyrgyzstan is high. Meanwhile, poverty, unemployment, austerity, electricity shortages, and political repression are sources of possible destabilization in 2024-25 in Tajikistan.
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Japan give Ukraine $5.5 billion financial aid package
Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has announced a new $5.5 billion financial aid package for Ukraine and will mark the first anniversary of the war on February 24 by hosting an online Group of Seven summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Ukraine still suffers under the Russian invasion and its people need help to rebuild their daily lives and infrastructure that’s been badly damaged by Russian attacks.
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Plane crash in Amazon rainforest kills 14 people
Fourteen people died in a plane crash during bad weather in the Brazilian Amazon on Saturday. The small propeller plane was nearing the end of its 400km (248 mile) trip between Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state, and the remote jungle town of Barcelos when it went down.
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Death Toll In Slovyansk Climbs To 11
Intense fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces raged in the devastated town of Bakhmut on April 15 as the death toll from a Russian strike in nearby Slovyansk climbed to 11. Russian forces have been besieging Bakhmut in the Donetsk region of Ukraine for months, making only incremental progress at an enormous cost of human life. The spokesman for the eastern military command, Serhiy Cherevatiy described the fighting in the city center as unprecedented and there had been 17 clashes with Russian troops over the past 24 hours.
