Free Republic

The war in Ukraine has caused many Mongolians to fear the consequences of the existing historic and economic ties between Russia and their country ...Mongolia is still in Russian-language contexts referred to as the ‘sixteenth Republic’ (of the former USSR) causing many in the country to identify with the Ukrainian commitment to independence from Russia. As evidenced by the ‘sixteenth Republic’ label this independence is still all too often not recognised by Russian counterparts, with whom Mongolian and Ukrainians’ history, social networks, and critical physical infrastructures are deeply entangled. Since the first democratic elections following a student-led Democratic Revolution in...

YINCHUAN, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- China's top political advisor Yu Zhengsheng met on Sunday with King of Jordan Abdullah II ibn Al-Hussein on the sidelines of a China-Arab State Expo in Yinchuan in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Yu, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), spoke highly of the long-term friendship between China and Jordan. He said the king has visited China seven times, which showcased the high importance he attached to relationship with China. He added the China visit of the king will promote further development of the bilateral ties. Yu...

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Aug. 4, 2008 – Landlocked sailors of the provincial reconstruction team in Afghanistan’s Konar province keep the wheels of coalition forces’ vehicles rolling to accomplish the mission of security, reconstruction and development in the country’s easternmost province. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Edward Jimenez, a reserve construction mechanic from San Diego, tightens a bolt under the hood of a Humvee in the motor pool where Jimenez and two other sailors keep the engines running for coalition forces in Afghanistan’s Konar province. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The task of keeping the engines running...

Christopher Pala for The New York Times Workers for China National Petroleum who helped build a $700 million pipeline attended an opening ceremony in Atasu, Kazakhstan, in December. A company executive called the pipeline "the new Silk Road."  March 17, 2006 China Pays Dearly for Kazakhstan Oil By CHRISTOPHER PALA ALMATY, Kazakhstan ? China, which for more than a century turned its back on Central Asia, has reached out to Kazakhstan, Central Asia's biggest country, for one major reason: oil.In 2005, the China National Petroleum Corporation bought Petrokazakhstan, a Canadian-run company that was the former Soviet Union's largest independent...