Kazakhstan's controversial Muslim Union and Muslim Committee on Humans Rights in Central Asia have proposed to set an age limit for the country's future presidents to 80 years and put to death any ruler who tries to keep the reins beyond that age, Central Asian News reports.
The title of Greg Palast's piece, "Boston, Bombs and Borat: From Kazakhstan with Truth," initially posted online on April 28th immediately struck an intriguing note. After all, it's not very often that a seemingly critical journalist with lots of muckraking cred pens an article from tightly controlled Kazakhstan, the massive resource-rich authoritarian state at the strategic heart of Central Asia.
Two Kremlin-controlled banks are planning to back a bid for U.K.-listed Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. PLC (ENRC.LN), the Sunday Times said. VTB Bank (VTBR.RS) and OAO Sberbank (SBER.RS), majority owned by the Russian state, have been hired by three central Asia tycoons who founded ENRC, the U.K. newspaper said. They've set up a vehicle to acquire the outstanding shares and have 12 days to table a bid to meet a Takeover Panel deadline, the Sunday Times said.
Recently, Kazakhstan's Oil and Gas Minister Sauat Mynbayev finally confirmed China's interest in becoming involved in one of the world's most expensive energy projects ever at the Kashagan oilfield on the Caspian Sea.
The most surprising thing about the founding trio of Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation – which controls some of Kazakhstan's most important assets – is that none is a native Kazakh.
The two students –Dias Kadyrbaev and Azamat Tazhayakov -- are facing federal charges that they obstructed the investigation into the Boston Marathon bombings on April 15 by allegedly disposing of a computer and backpack belonging to accused bomber Djokhar Tsarnaev. A hearing in their case is scheduled for May 14. If convicted, they face five years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines. The Kazakhstani pair and Tsarnaev were constant companions for much of the past two years while taking classes at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, roughly 60 miles south of Boston, according to a criminal complaint filed in US District Court on May 1.
On April 16, Kazakhstan's Oil and Gas Minister Sauat Mynbayev made a statement that drew much attention from both domestic and international media and should certainly have been widely commented on in several capitals, including Washington, Moscow, Beijing and New Delhi. After walking out of a regular government meeting, Mynbayev officially confirmed China interest in the Kashagan's oil project. This vast and complex undertaking in the Kazakhstani sector of the Caspian Sea has already cost its investors over $116 billion by August 2012, ahead of the Gorgon and Ichthys gas projects in Australia worth $57 billion and $43 billion, respectively (Newskaz.ru, April 16; The Astana Times, January 11; CNN Money, August 27, 2012)
