Via Forbes, a look at how Azerbaijan, Georgia, And Turkey subverted Russia and isolated Armenia with a new railway: After many years of anticipation and delays, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) rail line has ceremoniously gone into service. Its first train just pulled out of the New Port of Baku on Monday, making its first official run across Azerbaijan […]
Read more »Courtesy of The New York Times, a report on Russia’s use of Rosneft, as a foreign policy instrument: Russia is increasingly wielding oil as a geopolitical tool, spreading its influence around the world and challenging the interests of the United States. But Moscow risks running into trouble, as it lends money and makes deals in turbulent […]
Read more »Via the Iran Project, an update on the first shipment through Iran’s Chahbahar Port: India on Sunday shipped its first consignment of wheat to Afghanistan by sea through Iran’s strategic Chahbahar Port, launching a trade route bypassing longtime rival Pakistan. The shipment, an Indian gift for Afghanistan, was sent from the western seaport of Kandla. It will be […]
Read more »Via Time, a report on the New Silk Road: On China’s remote western frontier with Kazakhstan, yurts and camels are silhouetted against a piercing blue sky. Yet the most striking image rising from the desert is an entirely new city. Founded four years ago, Khorgos is poised to become the world’s busiest inland port, a […]
Read more »Via Business Insider, a look at how North Korea is incorporating free markets into its economy — and undergoing a ‘social revolution’ as a result: North Korea’s economy has advanced since the famine of the 1990s, and has begun encouraging entrepreneurship. Unlike earlier times, many citizens now earn wages instead of having the state provide everything […]
Read more »Via the New York Times, an article on the business interests of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards: From its nine-story headquarters in an upscale neighborhood of Tehran, a giant construction company directs its operations across Iran, building mosques, airports, oil and gas installations, hospitals, and skyscrapers. Armed guards stand watch at the doors, and small posters […]
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