The events took place under the auspices of the Türksoy, established in 1993. The occasion also commemorated the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Turkmen poet and spiritual leader Magtymguly Pyragy. The stage in Arkadag, the new smart-city just built in honour of the former president and 'father of the fatherland'. 

According to a study by German researchers, the large quantities of dust originating from the drying out of what was once the great lake between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are causing a cooling of the ground during the day, and a warming effect at night. Making desertification caused by drying out a problem not only local

In the International Monetary Fund's report, the ills that have always made growth impossible in Ašgabat re-emerge: the 'black accounting' of the Berdymukhamedov regime, in which the revenues from the sale of gas and oil are not shown, and the black market in manat, the local currency, which unloads all the burdens and imbalances onto the shoulders of the population.

In many regions of the two countries, rivers have been flooding since the beginning of April. Among the worst affected areas are the Kazakh region of Atyrau and the Russian city of Orsk. Astana rejects the criticism that it did not manage the discharge of snow accumulations properly. There is controversy over the Russian civil defence not taking measures to mitigate the impact of the water.

Today's news: over 243 million children in East and Southeast Asia at risk from heat waves:; Beijing denies top management access to two US companies for selling arms to Taiwan; The Taliban want to black out Facebook (and social media) by blocking the few sources of information; Islamabad negotiates the renewal of the rescue plan with the International Monetary Fund; Over 98,000 people evacuated in Kazakhstan due to flooding.

Moscow is pushing to extend the free trade area created in 2014 with Belarus and Kazakhstan and already extended to Armenia and Kyrgyzstan to all non-hostile former Soviet countries. But the Eurasian countries are gaining big economic benefits from geopolitical tensions. With the oil sector, in particular, now poised between traditional routes and new prospects of collaboration with Westerners.