Es könnte "gut sein", dass es nach dem Spitzel-Untersuchungsausschuss zu Gesetzesänderungen kommt, erklärte der Vorsitzende des Ausschusses, Martin Bartenstein (V), Freitag in der "ZIB 2" des ORF. Wenn im Endbericht Gesetzesänderungen empfehlen werden, "nehme ich an, dass das sehr wahrscheinlich ist".

Kazakhstan is due to assume leadership next year of an important international body set up to foster dialogue between East and West on topics including human rights. But its record on freedom of expression remains poor and there remain significant concerns about its upcoming stewardship of the 56-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

If reports coming out of Astana are to be believed, corruption and mismanagement are eating away at the core of the Kazakh state. According to official information, bureaucrats -- from ministers on down -- have either been helping themselves to government funds or, at the very least, making ill-informed decisions that have incurred billions of dollars in losses. But some opposition figures believe the proliferation of corruption cases in Kazakhstan is an outgrowth of a behind-the-scenes power struggle.

Frederic Bourke, the co-founder of handbag maker Dooney & Bourke who was once part of the Ford family, was convicted by a U.S. jury of conspiring to pay bribes to government leaders in Azerbaijan in a 1998 oil deal.

ATF Bank, a unit of UniCredit SpA, dismissed accusations from the central bank that managers may have contributed to speculation of a devaluation in the tenge by advising clients to buy dollars.

Nursultan Nazarbayev has enough oil to make himself into anything he wants.