Die leicht bekleidete Blondine zählt den Countdown schon zum x-ten Mal herunter. Am Geldband ziehen überdimensionierte Euroscheine vorbei, 40.000 Euro sind schon im Jackpot und keiner ruft an. Dabei wäre die Lösung so einfach, ein rezeptfreies Medikament gilt es zu erraten. Im allerletzten Moment wird doch ein Anrufer durchgestellt. Der hat unglaublich scharfsinnig kombiniert, dass es sich nur um Hustensaft handeln kann und gewonnen.

State seeks bailed-out bank sales; mooted deals get mixed reception. Four years after being nationalized and restructured by the Kazakh government, a trio of troubled Kazakh lenders are eyeing a return to private-sector control.

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.

The “Church of Silence” is still a reality in this former Soviet country, where faithful still face repression. From Stalin’s gulags to censored books. “Religious freedom is non-existent” in Kazakhstan, international organisations complain, as the persecution of religious minorities intensifies. Members of religious communities and human rights defenders have said there is no freedom of faith in the country.  

The uncle of Boston's two Tsarnaev brothers worked for the CIA-front organisation called USAID.

It's been a busy month for Russians in our news. From Berezovsky, to the younger Abramovich to the mess of miner ENRC...

Kazakhstan's Education Ministry has enlisted the secret police to monitor students studying abroad on a government-sponsored scholarship program. The KNB, successor to the Soviet-era KGB, will ensure the students return home to serve the motherland.

Die Pressefreiheit ist in Kasachstan in den vergangenen Jahren stetig eingeschränkt worden. "Vor fünf Jahren gab es noch unabhängige nationale Medien", sagt der Journalist Lukpan Achmedjarow der Nachrichtenagentur sda in Genf. Übrig geblieben seien heute nur noch drei regionale unabhängige Zeitungen. Darunter ist die Wochenzeitung "Uralskaja Nedelja" in der nordwestlichen Stadt Uralsk, für die Achmedjarow als Reporter arbeitet. Unabhängige Radio- oder Fernsehsender gibt es keine mehr.