MAY 4 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Pakistan’s ministry of natural resources said that it expected the TAPI gas pipeline running from Turkmenistan to northern India to be completed on schedule in 2020. The pipeline is considered vital for Turkmenistan’s economy and also for consumers in Pakistan and India who are hungry for more power.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 327, published on May 5 2017)
MAY 3/4 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan hosted for a fourth time this year peace talks between Russia, Iran, Turkey, the Syrian government and Syrian rebels. In the last round of talks the Syrian rebel contingent failed to show up, undermining the process. A deal was signed by Russia and the other major powers to cease fighting in some areas of Syria. The Syrian rebels walked out of the talks.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 327, published on May 5 2017)
APRIL 28 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Independent Kyrgyz news website Zanoza.kg said that the Kyrgyz Presidential Administration had filed a fifth lawsuit against it for allegedly offending the dignity of Pres. Almazbek Atambayev. Media campaigners have said that press freedom is being squeezed in Kyrgyzstan, once held up as a bastion of free press in Central Asia.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 327, published on May 5 2017)
MAY 1 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — State-owned Uzbekistan Airways carried 563,100 passengers in Q1 2017, a 5.1% increase from the same period in 2016, it said in a statement. The increase in passenger numbers is a reflection of a new policy to invest in new aircraft and new routes. Uzbekistan Airways also said that it carried nearly 25% more cargo in Q1 2017 compared to Q1 2016.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 327, published on May 5 2017)
MAY 4 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee said that on April 20 special forces carried out coordinated anti-terrorist operations in Aktobe in the west of the country and in Shymkent in the south. It said that three men had been arrested in Shymkent and seven in Aktobe.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 327, published on May 5 2017)
MAY 2 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Taliban militants have captured the Zebak district in Afghanistan, close to the border with Tajikistan, reports said. Security analysts have said that a surge north by the Taliban is a major threat to Tajikistan. Now, reports have said that Afghan government forces have been regrouping at a town on the border with Tajikistan after being defeated in a couple of battles.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 327, published on May 5 2017)
APRIL 27 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Shares at Kazakh copper miner KAZ Minerals jumped 5% immediately after Q1 results showed that copper production had nearly doubled from a year earlier. KAZ Minerals, listed on the London Stock Exchange, used to be called Kazakhmys. It is focused on mining low-cost open pit mines.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 327, published on May 5 2017)
MAY 1 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — In an interview with Reuters, BP’s Georgia country manager, Chris Schlueter said that the middle section of the $40b Southern Gas Corridor would be completed on time in 2018. This is important because it indicates that the entire pipeline system, running from Azerbaijan’s Caspian Sea coast across Georgia and Turkey into the Balkans and across the Aegean Sea to Italy may be operational by 2020 as promised. The Southern Gas Corridor is supposed to reduce Europe’s reliance on gas supplies from Russia and also boost Azerbaijan’s economy.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 327, published on May 5 2017)
MAY 4 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — In a draft law to be voted on by Kazakhstan’s parliament, candidates for future presidential elections will have to undergo a medical test. Pres. Nursultan Nazarbayev pushed through a raft of tweaks to the constitution earlier this year which he said were designed to shift power to parliament from the presidency in a move that makes Kazakhstan more democratic. His detractors have said that the changes tighten his control over power.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 327, published on May 5 2017)
MAY 4 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russia cancelled a $240m debt owed by Kyrgyzstan which had been due to be paid off by 2025. The statement from the office of Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev said that the loan had been given to Kyrgyzstan on Sept. 20 2012. The statement did not say why Russia had decided to wipe off the debt but it has previously handed out soft loans and cancelled debt in return for political favours.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 327, published on May 5 2017)
