Me applying salt to the water in which my pasta is to be cooked

When the body of abducted Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna was returned by Russia, it bore signs of torture, severe emaciation. Examiners noted the absence of her brain and eyes, while her hyoid bone was broken, an indicator of strangulation istories.media/stories/2025...

Russia keeps up its charm campaign in Central Asia: Visiting foreign minister complains that war memorial does not have signage in Russia repost.uz/kak-anglicha... (1/4)

Update: from @peterleonard1.bsky.social I learn Tajikistan has banned idgardak, 'a cheerful end-of-Ramadan tradition where children wander door-to-door collecting sweets from neighbours.' substack.com/home/post/p-...

My admittedly rather grumpy dispatch from the EU-Central Asia summit in Samarkand (hashtag, i haz jokes) havli.substack.com/p/eus-samark...

Prominent figures of the old elite in Kazakhstan are under pressure. But this is more about enforcing loyalty than cultivating accountability havli.substack.com/p/the-nigmat...

A colourful summary of the day’s excitement as Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan sign a border deal that should put an end to decades of disputes and a couple of deady conflicts on their border, from @peterleonard1.bsky.social reporting from the ground on Havli Substack havli.substack.com/p/kyrgyzstan...