BALKHASH, Kazakhstan -- A deadly accident at a Soviet-era military base in central Kazakhstan has sparked concerns about people's exposure to toxic materials, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports.

Kazakhstan threatened on Tuesday to rewrite key Western-run energy projects to implement new tax rules, in a move likely to send jitters among foreign investors operating in the Central Asian state.

It's back to the drawing board for Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev in his search for a successor. It seemed as if Nazarbaev had found a suitable heir to the presidency in the form of his son-in-law, Timur Kulibaev, but reports surfaced this week claiming that Kulibaev had accepted huge bribes from Chinese oil companies.

ASTANA, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan, its economy slowly recovering from the global economic downturn, cut its 2010 growth forecast on Friday after recording better than expected results for 2009.

Dinara Kulibayeva, épouse du magnat du pétrole kazakh Timur Kulibayev, a acquis pour 74,7 millions de francs suisses (50,5 millions d'euros) une immense propriété à Anières, banlieue huppée de Genève

This year, Kazakhstan has become the first former Soviet state to assume the rotating chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.