GREG MYRE
The Soviet Union collapsed more than 20 years ago, yet genuine democracy is still a stranger in most of the 15 former republics. Ukraine, where at least 25 people were killed on Tuesday, is just the latest bloody example. From President Vladimir Putin's hard-line rule in Russia to the 20-year reign of Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus to the assorted strongmen of Central Asia, many post-Soviet rulers consistently display a fondness for the old days, when opposition was something to be squashed, not tolerated.
Unplanned interruptions in the global oil supply chain last year were about 30 percent higher than in 2013, the U.S. Energy Department said. Much of the problem was blamed on Libya, though sputtering from Kazakhstan's giant Kashagan field played a factor as well. This year could be North America's to lead in terms of secure production, but the story for 2014 is as certain as market predictions themselves.
Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev ordered officials on Friday to raid the country's strategic oil reserve and slash banks' bad loans, stamping his authority on the economy in an effort to prevent growth rates from slipping. Nazarbayev, who has ruled the oil-rich nation for more than two decades, said the government should use 1 trillion tenge ($5.4 billion) from the rainy-day fund to boost the economy during 2014 and 2015.
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev urged metals and oil producers such as Kazakhmys Plc (KAZ) and Glencore Xtrata Plc's Kazzinc to increase salaries by 10 percent after the tenge was devalued this week. ArcelorMittal, Eurasian Natural Resources Corp., and "large oil and gas companies and companies in other sectors" should consider increases, Nazarbayev said, according to a statement posted on his website today.
Wien. Knapp drei Stunden vor einer Pressekonferenz zur Causa des früheren Botschafters Kasachstans in Wien, Rakhat Aliyev, wurde diese abgesagt. Nicht vom Veranstalter der Pressekonferenz, dem "Auslandsbüro der Opposition Kasachstan - Koordinierungsstelle für demokratische Bewegung und Menschenrechte in der Republik Kasachstan. Sondern vom Betreiber der Marx Media Vienna, Christian Bodizs, in dessen Räumlichkeiten die Pressekonferenz stattfinden sollte.
Der kasachische Unternehmer Sotkimbaev hätte morgen in Wien über den Fall von Kasaschstans früheren Österreich-Botschafter sprechen sollen. Wien. Drei mutmaßliche Opfer von Rachat Alijew erheben neue Vorwürfe gegen den früheren Botschafter Kasachstans in Österreich. Sie nennen sich „Auslandsbüro der Opposition Kasachstans". Um ihre Geschichten an die Öffentlichkeit zu bringen, veranstalten sie heute, Donnerstag, eine Pressekonferenz – ausgerechnet im Media Quarter Marx. Dieses Objekt steht zu 60 Prozent im Besitz von Alijews Gesellschaft VBM.
Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev said he expects "serious" output from the nation's largest oil deposit this year after waiting almost half his 23 years in office for the $48 billion project to start. The Kashagan field was halted in October, a month after production started, because of defects found in pipes carrying lethal sulfur-laden natural gas from the oil field. The operating company, a venture that includes Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA), is completing tests at the site and hasn't said when output will resume.
