SEPT. 27 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakh bank KazInvestBank is investigating allegations that Darkhan Botabayev, one of its directors, punched a saleswoman working for Air Astana in the face after an argument, media reported. Reports said that police were called to the sales office in Almaty after the alleged attack.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 154, published on Oct. 2 2013)
OCT. 1 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev sacked his Central Bank chief, Grigory Marchenko. Mr Marchenko had been head of Kazakhstan’s central bank since 2009. Mr Nazrarbayev didn’t give a clear reason for sacking Mr Marchenko. Former economy minister Kairat Kelimbetov was named as the new Central Bank chief.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 154, published on Oct. 2 2013)
SEPT. 25 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Less than two weeks after the start of official production, a gas leak halted oil output at the Kashagan field in the Caspian Sea. The gas leak was relatively minor, energy minister Uzakbai Karabalin said, and it wouldn’t delay the start of commercial oil production next month.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 154, published on Oct. 2 2013)
SEPT. 26 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan will delay the issue of its long-muted $1b Eurobond until next year, Kuat Akizhanov, head of the ministry of finance’s borrowing department said in an interview with local media. Kazakhstan, which has not issued a Eurobond since 2007, has been talking about a sovereign debt issue throughout the year.
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(News report from Issue No. 154, published on Oct. 2 2013)
SEPT. 23 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan is facing a petrol shortage because demand from industry and agriculture is overwhelming production, the head of the Kazakh Fuel Association Ashim Abdrakhmetov told reporters. Mr Abdrakhmetov said shortages are likely to worsen this year when one of Kazakhstan’s three refineries closes for an upgrade.
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(News report from Issue No. 153, published on Sept. 25 2013)
SEPT. 23 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Early on Sept. 19 news started to filter through to Almaty’s small opposition intelligentsia that Bulat Abilov, one of their more charismatic leaders, was retiring.
At 56-years-old this could have some as a surprise, instead there was a knowing understanding.
Being an active opposition leader in Kazakhstan, even if you’re not a militant one, is exhausting. You’re increasingly marginalised and harassed. This has intensified since violence in the town of Zhanaozen, western Kazakhstan, in December 2011. At least 15 people died in fighting in Zhanaozen between police and demonstrators.
It appears as if Mr Abilov, a wealthy businessman, had just had enough.
A few days later, on Sept. 23, a court in Almaty suspended the Kazakh-language Ashyq Alan (Tribune) newspaper for three months. Its transgression was not to publish between July 10 and Aug. 21. Apparently this was in breach of its licence.
Ashyq Alan, a new weekly newspaper, is considered a critic of the government. Newspapers are not particularly influential in Kazakhstan, the readership numbers are too low, but suspending Ashyq Alan still resonates. Last year, the authorities suspended or closed a handful of opposition newspapers.
In the past week, dissenting voices in Kazakhstan have become even less audible.
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(News report from Issue No. 153, published on Sept. 25 2013)
SEPT. 23 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — A court in Atyrau, near Kazakhstan’s Caspian Sea coast, began the trial of nine people for allegedly plotting attacks and being members of a banned Islamic extremist organisation, media reported. Kazakhstan has been combating a rise in attacks linked to militant Islamic groups since 2010.
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(News report from Issue No. 153, published on Sept. 25 2013)
SEPT. 20 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan is successfully rejuvenating the northern section of the dried up Aral Sea, media quoted the governor of the southwest Kazakhstan region of Kyzylorda, Krymbek Kusherbayev, as saying. He added that the Aral Sea’s water is now only 17km from the town of Aral. It had retreated 74km away.
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(News report from Issue No. 153, published on Sept. 25 2013)
SEPT. 18 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Bulat Abilov, a relatively high-profile opposition leader in Kazakhstan, announced that he was retiring from politics. His decision is a blow to the increasingly marginalised opposition. Mr Abilov, a wealthy businessman, was considered a moderate.
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(News report from Issue No. 153, published on Sept. 25 2013)
SEPT. 23 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — From summer 2014 Kazakhstan will drop visa requirements for tourists from some EU countries, media quoted Kazakh deputy foreign minister Rapil Zhoshybayev as saying. Mr Zhoshybayev said visa-free regulations were likely to cover countries, such as Croatia, where Kazakh citizens can travel to without a visa.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 153, published on Sept. 25 2013)
