Stories from Quick Reads and Youth
How Mongolia became a 3×3 basketball powerhouse
The national teams’ success in basketball has broken the popular belief that Mongolians can only excel in individual sports.
Teenager with Muslim background saved over 100 people in Moscow concert hall terrorist attack
Fifteen-year-old Islam Khalilov, who works part-time as a cloakroom attendant, led more than a hundred people out of Crocus Concert Hall during the terrorist attack
Kyrgyzstan’s golden generation of wrestlers continue to shine bright and inspire
Ahead of the 2024 Paris summer Olympics, the nation’s hopes for an Olympic gold medal, which Kyrgyzstan is yet to win, are placed on their shoulders.
Winning a million Lira won't get you far in today's Turkey, but its worth celebrating anyway
The amount may have meant a lot in 2011 when the show first premiered on Turkish television, but in 2023, the amount isn't likely to go too far.
FC Barcelona opens its first academy in Central Asia and commits to build more
The academy in Jalalabad was FC Barcelona's 29th in the world and first in Central Asia.
A podcast in Kazakhstan is under controversy for inviting a friend of the Boston Marathon bomber
Critics viewed the episode as an attempt to whitewash a criminal by providing him with a platform and not asking tough questions.
A rapper in Uzbekistan is challenging widespread social issues through his songs
Konsta’s songs focus on Uzbek society, its problems, and the role of each individual in unfolding events.
Chişinău hosted the largest LGBTQ+ march in the history of Moldova
The march this year focused on advocating for the rights of the LGBTQ+ community in Moldova to have their marriages legally recognized.
Kyrgyzstan's YouTube sensation, D Billions, kicks off its global concert tour
D Billions, which stands for billion smiles, has already reached its ambitious goals of putting a smile on billion people's faces through their YouTube videos.
Mongolian film ‘If Only I Could Hibernate’ reaches historic milestone at the Cannes Film Festival
The film’s success is poised to kickstart a new era in Mongolia's filmmaking industry. And the government is ready to contribute.
Musicians receive draconian prison sentences for setting fire to military draft office in Russia
While some other musicians from the "older generation" of Urals rock club are either supporting or keeping silent about the war, the younger musicians from the Urals are protesting
Former imam recites children's folk song in Kahramanmaras, Turkey
In an attempt to soothe the children but also the adults affected by the earthquake, Ömer Faruk Amca, decided to recite an old Turkish folk song from a mosque.
In Russia, video games are unsafe for kids. But not for the usual reasons
Nikita Uvarov, a teenager from Siberia, is serving a five-year jail sentence for planning to build the FSB building and blow it up in Minecraft.
Azerbaijan arrests prominent political activist ahead of International Human Rights Day
Prominent activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev is facing a possible three-year jail sentence if found guilty on two separate charges — hooliganism and contempt of court. Activists say the arrest is politically motivated.
A viral video of a dog abused at a shelter reveals a polarized Turkey
Animal rights activists say this was not an isolated case, which sparked public outcry over the poor state of shelters and the mistreatment of animals.
Armenia is rocked by the suicide of a gay couple
In Armenia, a suicide of a gay couple on October 20 sparked a wave of criticism against existing and widespread homophobia in the country.
A young chef in Baku turns his flat into a restaurant
The space is not just a restaurant but is also a studio. Photo and video shoots are done here, and content is created for various culinary platforms.
Erdoğan's priorities turn to space as earthly problems mount in Turkey
As part of its national space program, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan unveiled plans to have its citizens serve aboard the International Space Station.
Turkey's latest attack on the arts: A provincial governor cancels a long-awaited music festival
While the statement did not specifically mention the upcoming music festival, the event falls under the calendar days mentioned in the statement.
Turkish prosecutor general closes investigation into death of Azerbaijan’s ‘graffiti prisoner,’ Bayram Mammadov
Six months after Azerbaijani activist Bayram Mammadov's body was found by the Turkish coast guards, the prosecutor general's office has issued the final autopsy report.
Unlivable Conditions in Macedonian Student Dorms Worsen
The Student Plenum, a grassroots movement fighting for the rights of university students in Macedonia, published new photos of the unlivable conditions that students in Macedonia's capital of Skopje live in. The movement has steadily been following the situation in the state-owned student dorms and has called on the state...