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Ex-Georgian President tours E. Europe

AUG. 5 2017 (The Bulletin) — Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili embarked on a high-profile tour of eastern European states opposed to Russia only a few days after being stripped of his Ukrainian citizenship. Mr Saakashvili first visited Warsaw and Vilnius, delivering staunchly anti- Russian speeches in both cities. Mr Saakashvili was stripped of his Ukrainian citizenship last month after falling out with President Petro Poroshenko.

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(News report from Issue No. 339, published on Aug. 13 2017)

Azerbaijani sprinter wins 200m gold medal for Turkey

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AUG. 10 2017 (The Bulletin) — Competing for Turkey, Azerbaijan- born sprinter Ramil Guliyev won 200m gold at the World Athletics Championship in London.

The 27-year-old’s shock victory was Turkey’s only medal at the championship and a rare win for a track and field athlete from Central Asia and the South Caucasus. Kazakhstan’s Olga Rypakova, Olympic triple jump champion in 2012, also won a bronze medal.

A jubilant Guliyev did a lap of honour carrying both the Turkish and Azerbaijani flags. He competed for Azerbaijan until 2011 before switching to Turkey because he said that the Turkish facilities were better.

To win the 200m, Guliyev beat favourites Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa and Isaac Makwala of Botswana. “This is not a shock,” he was widely quoted as saying. “But it does not feel real.”

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev was quick to congratulate Guliyev.

“I would like to note that for the first time, an Azerbaijani athlete becomes the world champion in athletics,” media quoted him as saying. “It is gratifying that you raised the flags of Azerbaijan and Turkey following your victory. It shows that you are a patriot devoted to your people.”

Tajikistan’s Andrey Abduvaliyev is the only athlete competing for a Central Asia or South Caucasus state to become World Champion. He won Gold the hammer twice, in Stuttgart in 1993 and in Gothenburg in 1995.

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(News report from Issue No. 339, published on Aug. 13 2017)

Uzbekistan says to scrap exit visas

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TASHKENT, AUG. 8 2017 (The Bulletin) — Uzbekistan will lift exit-visa requirements, media reported by quoting officials, potentially making it easier for millions of Uzbeks to travel abroad to find work.

Exit-visas are a hated hangover from the Soviet Union and, even if they were not difficult to obtain for most ordinary Uzbeks, were a reminder of the authoritarian nature of the regime. Scrapping them is another indication of the liberal reforms ushered in by Shavkat Mirziyoyev, president since September 2016 when Islam Karimov died. He has also promised to change foreign currency controls and also to encourage more foreign investment, as well as relax social controls, such as laws stipulating when bars and restaurants have to close.

Uzbekistan, like the rest of Central Asia, is reliant on remittances sent back from Uzbeks working abroad to bolster its economy. Most of these remittance payments are sent back to Uzbekistan from Russia.

Uzbekistan’s foreign ministry said a presidential decree on relaxing exit visas had already been drafted and government agencies were considering various pieces of legislation.

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(News report from Issue No. 339, published on Aug. 13 2017)

US sanctions do not hit Kazakh CPC exports

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AUG. 8 2017 (The Bulletin) — New US sanctions imposed on Russia will not affect Kazakh oil exports via the CPC pipeline to the Russian port of Novorossiysk, media quoted Kazakhstan economy minister Timur Suleimenov, as saying. CPC has become the main export route for Kazakh oil produced at Tengizchevroil and Kashagan. At the start of August, US President Donald Trump signed a series of sanctions targeting Russian oil exports in retaliation for its meddling in the US election.

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(News report from Issue No. 339, published on Aug. 13 2017)

Moodys upgrades Kazakhstan’s econ outlook

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JULY 26 2017 (The Bulletin) — Moodys, the rating agency, upgraded Kazakhstan’s sovereign rating to ‘stable’ from ‘negative’, an important indicator that analysts consider the Kazakh economy to be improving after a downturn. It cited government spending and exchange rate flexibility as well as pledged support for the banking sector as the main reasons for its improved economic outlook.

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(News report from Issue No. 336, published on Aug. 5 2017)

Berdy postures as Turkmen special forces assassin

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AUG. 2 2017 (The Bulletin) — Turkmenistan’s President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has been mocked for starring in a video in which he postures, firing a rifle and throwing daggers at targets, to adoring, gawping Turkmen commandos.

Keen to burnish his public image, Mr Berdymukhamedov is fond of releasing videos which show off his apparently unlimited skills.

A few days earlier a video showed him, wearing a white tracksuit and baseball cap, singing and playing the keyboard. At the start of the year, a video showed him leading government officials in a gym workout.

The common thread in each video is that Mr Berdymukhamedov, who is micromanaging his way through an economic downturn, plays the role of the kindly father- figure passing on his skills and knowledge to less able subjects.

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(News report from Issue No. 336, published on Aug. 5 2017)

US VP visits Georgia

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AUG. 1 2017 (The Bulletin) — On a visit to Tbilisi, US Vice- President Mike Pence pledged to support Georgia’s territorial integrity and also to back Georgian aspirations to join NATO Mr Pence’s visit was the most high- profile US visit to Georgia since Joe Biden, Vice-President under Barack Obama, visited in 2009. Georgia has increasingly pushed to join NATO and the EU.

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(News report from Issue No. 336, published on Aug. 5 2017)

Georgia looses soldier in Afghanistan

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AUG. 4 2017 (The Bulletin) — A Georgian soldier was killed in an ambush outside the Bagram Airbase near Kabul, Georgia’s ministry of defence said. Three other soldiers were injured, one badly, in the ambush. Georgia has been a strong supporter of US military action in Afghanistan. 32 Georgian soldiers have now died since 2002 in Afghanistan.

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(News report from Issue No. 336, published on Aug. 5 2017)

Tajikistan increases anti-headscarf campaign

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AUG. 2 2017 (The Bulletin) — Police in Tajikistan have detained and fined women for wearing hijabs, Islamic headscarves, the Forum 18 News Service reported. Last month, the authorities said they were launching an official campaign against what they described as non-traditional clothing. Forum 18 reported that women have felt “humiliated” for having to remove their headscarves in public.

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(News report from Issue No. 336, published on Aug. 5 2017)

Kyrgyzstan imprisons opposition leader

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AUG. 2 2017 (The Bulletin) — A court in Bishkek gave opposition leader Sadyr Japarov, known for his outspoken fiery speeches, an 11-1/2 year prison sentence for taking a former regional governor hostage during a rally in October 2013. Zaparov is influential on the streets of Bishkek, as shown earlier this year when his arrest triggered a series of tense protests. Kyrgyzstan is voting in a presidential election in October. Japarov had said that he wanted to take part in the election. A second high-profile potential presidential candidate, Omurbek Tekebayev, is in detention waiting to be tried for various financial crimes.

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(News report from Issue No. 336, published on Aug. 5 2017)