News Roundup - January 23, 2008

Eurasia Daily Monitor: Kazakhstan: The challenges of the OSCE

Perhaps hoping to burnish Kazakhstan’s international image, President Nursultan Nazarbayev has called upon members of his Nur Otan party to fight corruption more actively. “Regional branches of the party must step up the purposeful fight against corruption in the localities,” he declared…

Ferghana.ru: Expert-Kazakhstan: Migration prompts economic degradation in Uzbekistan

The Uzbeks are considered the most settled nation in the Central Asia region. They would leave their homeland as a last resort. However, population outflow has significantly increased in the recent years. Those who had left the country before 1992 would hardly come back. The state in its turn tacitly fosters illegal immigration by relying on remittances sent by immigrants…

Gazeta.KZ: Kazakhstan Ambassadors to UK, Northern Ireland and Czech Republic were appointed

By the decrees signed by the president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, ambassadors to the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland and Czech Republic were appointed, as reported by the agency with reference to the press service of the president of Kazakhstan…

Kazinform: Ikea enters Kazakhstan

Ikea, the world’s largest home-furnishing retailer, plans to invest $500 million opening its first two shopping malls in Kazakhstan as economic growth fuels increased spending in the central Asian country…

Neweurasia.net: Wohnst Du noch oder lebst Du schon?

I chose a German advertising slogan as this post’s title for a lack of alternatives (well, one was: ‘Screw yourself in Kazakhstan’). Why? IKEA decided to enter the Kazakhstani market…

Registan.net: IKEA comes to Kazakhstan

IKEA, the discount Swedish retailer which furnished a swath of my apartment, is opening two stores in Kazakhstan—one in Astana, and one in Almaty…

United Press International: UPI energy watch

KazTransOil, a subsidiary of Kazakhstan’s national company KazMunaiGas, began transporting Russian oil to China along the Omsk-Pavlodar-Atasu-Alashankou route, according to Interfax…

Rigzone: Caspian spuds first well in post-salt drilling program

Caspian Energy Inc. reported that Aral Petroleum Capital LLP (”Aral”), in which the Company holds a 50% indirect interest, will spud the first exploration well, Baktygaryn #703, in its post-salt drilling program in mid-February…

TREND: Kazakh Company Increases Oil Production in 2007

The exploration production company KazMunayGas increased oil production in 2007. “The volume of production made up 10,639 tons of oil in 2007, which is 11.64% up form 2006,” a press-release stated…

Guardian Unlimited: Caspian uncertainty biggest threat to EU gas scheme

Uncertain central Asian gas supplies have emerged as the largest threat to an EU scheme to provide an alternative to Russian gas following a month-long stand-off between Turkmenistan and Iran, analysts say…

Eurasia Daily Monitor: Putin and Medvedev open the Bulgarian gate for Gazprom

Last week’s official visit to Bulgaria granted Russian President Vladimir Putin an opportunity to show that his power-transfer scheme worked impeccably, as the person standing next to him was Dmitry Medvedev, who had no business in Sofia in his official capacity as first deputy prime minister but was unofficially introduced as the next president…

Neweurasia.net: Marcus Bensmann injured in attack

German journalist Marcus Bensmann was attacked in Astana yesterday night, and is currently on his way to Germany for treatment to his serious injuries…

Earthtimes.org: German journalist injured in attack in Kazakhstan

A German journalist, Marcus Bensmann, 38, has been seriously injured in an attack in the Kazakhstan capital Astana, his relations said Tuesday as he was being flown to Germany for treatment…

Kazinform: University of West Kazakhstan region won World Bank’s grant

Agrarian Technical University named after Zhangir Khan of West Kazakhstan oblast, one of the region’s leading universities, won a grant of the World Bank with the purpose of Kazakhstan’s agro-industrial complex development…

Kazinform: Creation of 1st integrated petrochemical complex started in Atyrau

Realization of the large – scale project on construction of the first integrated petrochemical complex in Kazakhstan was started in Atyrau oblast…

Financial Times: Chief turns his attention to improving Kazakh record

As Lakshmi Mittal’s rise to global business prominence has gathered pace over the past decade, the Indian steel magnate has had a lot to smile about. But in recent days, he has been far from cheerful, in the wake of a serious accident in his company’s Kazakhstan operations that killed 30 people…

Reuters: Central Asia shivers through icy winter, shortages

With no heating and just three hours of electricity a day, Malokhat Atayeva is struggling to survive the coldest winter in three decades in her small town in western Tajikistan…