Federal authorities want companies to know that the cost of paying bribes to win overseas contracts is growing steeper by the day.

The Kazakh government stole two brothers' multimillion-dollar businesses from them through beatings, threats, bribes and phony criminal allegations in kangaroo courts, the brothers claim in District of Columbia Federal Court. One brother says he was "informed" of the charges against him as he lay unconscious in a hospital bed, and the other says the government goons beat him and his two children.

Two Kazakh newspapers on Wednesday criticised a libel suit brought by President Nursultan Nazarbayev's son-in-law against them, saying it was an attempt to muzzle the country's independent media.

Thailand: Final destination of plane with North Korean weapons still unknown

The US Helsinki Commission in recent months has been a frequent and vocal critic of Kazakhstan's record on human rights and democratization. But commission members gave an enthusiastic welcome to Kazakhstani Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev on February 2 during a Washington, DC, hearing marking the start of Kazakhstan's OSCE chairmanship.

Freedom House condemns the Kazakh government's failure to live up to its commitment to protect fundamental freedom of expression following the seizure of print runs from five independent newspapers. The seizure of papers occurred the very week that Kazakh foreign minister, Kanat Saudabayev, is in Washington speaking about Kazakhstan's commitment to democratic norms.