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Keyword: kazakhstan

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  • Challenges of the Eurasian Muslim Diaspora

    05/22/2013 1:00:09 AM PDT · by cunning_fish · 1 replies
    The National Interest ^ | May 21, 2013 | Ariel Cohen
    The Tsarnaev brothers’ brutal attack in Boston sparked renewed interest in terrorism in Eurasia. The subsequent disclosure that two students from Kazakhstan allegedly tried to hide incriminating evidence against Djokhar Tsarnaev has only heightened that interest. The not-guilty plea of Fazliddin Kurbanov, the alleged Uzbek terrorist in Idaho, underscores the new threat. And that’s a good thing. Understanding what was and is happening in Eurasia can help us better fight terrorism and prevent future attacks rooted in that region. Chechens and Uzbeks fought in Afghanistan with the Taliban, and fighters from the North Caucasus are involved in Syria on the...
  • Al-Qaeda Propagandist Called For Attacks On Sports Events

    04/16/2013 2:13:26 PM PDT · by Biggirl · 115 replies
    http://cnsnews.com/ ^ | April 16, 2013 | Patrick Goodenough
    (CNSNews.com) – Although no group has claimed responsibility for Monday’s deadly bomb blasts at the Boston Marathon, a leading al-Qaeda ideologue last year recommended that jihadists in America include sporting events in their list of prospective terror targets.
  • Owners of 'Terrorista #1' BMW license plate revealed as the SAME friends pictured ...in NYC

    04/28/2013 9:57:29 AM PDT · by Ernest_at_the_Beach · 113 replies
    Daily Mail ^ | UPDATED: 04:11 EST, 27 April 2013 | By Daily Mail Reporter and Associated Press Reporter
    Full Title:*****************************************************Owners of 'Terrorista #1' BMW license plate revealed as the SAME friends pictured with the Boston bomber in Times Square***************************************** Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev are from Kazakhstan They were classmates of bombing suspect Dzhokhar TsarnaevDzhokhar may have slept at their house on the night of the bombingThey've been in custody since last Saturday and a lawyer says they are 'shocked' by the allegations against their friend Friends of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev arrested last week who cruised around in a car with the ‘Terrorista #1’ license plate have also been revealed to be two of the group of friends recently...
  • Turkey becomes partner of China, Russia-led security bloc

    04/26/2013 7:10:39 PM PDT · by haffast · 6 replies
    Reuters ^ | 4-26-2013 | Dmitry Solovyov
    ALMATY (Reuters) - NATO member Turkey signed up on Friday to became a "dialogue partner" of a security bloc dominated by China and Russia, and declared that its destiny is in Asia. "This is really a historic day for us," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in Kazakhstan's commercial capital Almaty after signing a memorandum of understanding with Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Secretary General Dmitry Mezentsev. "Now, with this choice, Turkey is declaring that our destiny is the same as the destiny of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) countries." China, Russia and four Central Asian nations - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and...
  • Kazakhstan: Two students held after Tsarnaev arrest may have known suspects

    04/23/2013 10:15:13 AM PDT · by SeekAndFind · 14 replies
    Hotair ^ | 04/23/2013 | Ed Morrissey
    Lost in the shuffle over the last few days has been the story of the two students re-arrested in New Bedford after the capture of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Friday. Originally detained in their apartment in the hunt for the Boston Marathon bombing suspect, the FBI and DHS left shortly after Tsarnaev’s capture. They returned a few hours later, however, this time to arrest two men as a consular vehicle from a then-undisclosed nation picked up two women at the same time.Late yesterday, the FBI and DHS announced that the two Kazakhs had been arrested for visa violations, but that update...
  • More arrests in Boston bombing case? Update: KDKA report confirming Mirror account?

    04/21/2013 11:44:13 AM PDT · by Ernest_at_the_Beach · 71 replies
    Hot Air ^ | 11:31 am on April 21, 2013 | Ed Morrissey
    The death of one suspected bomber and the capture of the other on Friday in the Boston Marathon bombing may not be the end of arrests in the case.  Yesterday afternoon, FBI and DHS agents arrived at the same New Bedford apartment complex where they had detained three people in the Friday manhunt for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, this time taking two away in handcuffs: Agents wearing FBI and Department of Homeland Security jackets detained two men at the Hidden Brook apartment complex just hours after releasing three people believed to be associated with Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.A neighbor who...
  • 'Terrorista#1': Bragging license plate on BMW belonging to friends of captured Boston bomber

    04/20/2013 11:30:39 AM PDT · by bryan999 · 50 replies
    The two men arrested last night in connection with the Boston Marathon bombings drive a car with the licence plate that reads: ‘Terrorista #1’ The students, named be neighbours by their first names Azmat and Diaz, drive a black BMW 330XI with the personalised plate and a sticker on the back which reads: ‘F*** you, you f****** f****’. They are thought to be from Kazakhstan and had not been seen since the bombings until last night when their ground floor apartment in New Bedford, MA, was raided by a dozen FBI agents at gunpoint.
  • 'Terrorista#1': Bragging license plate on BMW belonging to friends of captured Boston bomber

    04/20/2013 7:31:58 PM PDT · by Texas Fossil · 36 replies
    The Daily Mail (UK) ^ | UPDATED: 12:59 EST, 20 April 2013 | Daniel Bates
    The two men arrested last night in connection with the Boston Marathon bombings drive a car with the licence plate that reads: ‘Terrorista #1’ The students, named be neighbours by their first names Azmat and Diaz, drive a black BMW 330XI with the personalised plate and a sticker on the back which reads: ‘F*** you, you f****** f****’. They are thought to be from Kazakhstan and had not been seen since the bombings until last night when their ground floor apartment in New Bedford, MA, was raided by a dozen FBI agents at gunpoint.
  • Friends of accused Boston bomber are taken into custody in New Bedford, Mass.

    04/20/2013 7:24:41 PM PDT · by Texas Fossil · 122 replies
    My Daily News ^ | April 20, 2013, 5:09 PM | Iriving Dejohn AND Joe Kemp
    Two pals of the accused Boston Marathon bombers were pulled from their New Bedford, Mass. home and taken into custody on Saturday. The two men, known to neighbors by their first names Azmat and Diaz — who share a black BMW SUV adorned with a novelty license plate that reads “Terrorista #1” — were cuffed and hauled out of their Carriage Dr. apartment shortly before 4 p.m.
  • John Kerry invents country of Kyrzakhstan

    02/25/2013 8:23:43 AM PST · by Sub-Driver · 41 replies
    John Kerry invents country of Kyrzakhstan John Kerry has suffered his first gaffe as the new US secretary of state, inventing the nation of 'Kyrzakhstan' By Jonathan Earle, Moscow 11:36AM GMT 25 Feb 2013 In an embarrassing slip of the tongue, Mr Kerry last week praised US diplomats working to secure "democratic institutions" in the Central Asian country, which does not exist. The newly minted diplomat was referring to Kyrgyzstan, a poor, landlocked nation of 5.5 million, which he appeared to confuse with its resource-rich neighbour to the north, Kazakhstan. The State Department kindly omitted the error in the official...
  • India to decide response after 'ghastly' Pakistan attack

    01/08/2013 3:13:58 PM PST · by BlackVeil · 11 replies
    Yahoo News ^ | January 9, 2013 | anon
    NEW DELHI (AFP) - India was to decide its response Wednesday after accusing Pakistan of killing two of its soldiers and mutilating one of the bodies ...
  • Visit of Bishop Athanasius Schneider to the New York Metropolitan Area and CT (Jan 5 and 6)

    01/01/2013 7:21:34 AM PST · by NYer · 1 replies
    sthughofcluny ^ | November 19, 2012 | Stuart Chessman
    Photo: Diane M. Korzeniewski, OCDSWe at the Society of St. Hugh of Cluny are honored to sponsor the visit to Brooklyn, Norwalk and New York of his Excellency Athanasius Schneider ORC, auxiliary bishop of Astana, Kazakhstan and titular of Celerina. Bishop Schneider is a noted author and speaker. His best known work is Dominus Est – It is the Lord! – a defense of the Traditional discipline of receiving communion.On Saturday, January 5, at 2 PM, Bishop Schneider will celebrate a pontifical liturgy at the Cathedral of St. James in Brooklyn. Afterwards, Bishop Schneider will give a lecture on “Holy...
  • Obama Nominates Defense Acquisition Undersecretary

    02/25/2009 3:38:52 AM PST · by Cindy · 6 replies · 378+ views
    American Forces Press Service ^ | WASHINGTON, Feb. 24, 2009 | By Donna Miles
    Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53214 Obama Nominates Defense Acquisition Undersecretary By Donna Miles American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Feb. 24, 2009 – President Barack Obama announced yesterday that he will nominate Ashton Carter to be the next undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics. Carter is the chairman of the International and Global Affairs faculty at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He served as assistant secretary of defense for International Security Policy from 1993 to 1996. If confirmed to the post held by John Young since 2007, Carter would oversee a sweeping defense...
  • Putin says Lenin should stay on Red Square

    12/11/2012 2:06:28 PM PST · by No One Special · 24 replies
    Russia Beyond The Headlines ^ | December 11, 2012 | Yulia Ponomareva
    Putin has called for Communist leader Vladimir Lenin's body to be preserved in its mausoleum on Red Square, comparing the embalmed body of the founder of the Soviet state to the relics of saints. "Many are saying that having Lenin's Mausoleum runs counter to the tradition. But what runs counter to tradition?" Putin told a meeting with celebrities who campaigned for him in the March 2012 presidential election, according to the Kremlin website. "Just go to Kiev Pechersk Lavra or check out Pskov Monastery or Mount Athos. You'll see the relics of saints there." Putin cited almost word-for-word the present-day...
  • Putin Cracks Down on Russian Internet

    12/02/2012 9:50:01 PM PST · by Olog-hai · 10 replies
    American Thinker ^ | December 1, 2012 | Kim Zigfeld
    Russia’s Vladimir Putin has declared war on the Internet, and not just within his country’s own borders. Putin’s war may be coming soon to a laptop or smart phone near you. For years we’ve been told by Putin’s apologists that his moves against traditional media didn’t matter because it was impossible to strangle Russia’s feisty Internet. But for a KGB dictator, “impossible” is a meaningless term. Putin’s campaign consists of a three-part pincer movement, and now that he has essentially been made “president for life”, he is pursuing it with greatly renewed vigor. … Throughout Putin’s first twelve years in...
  • Officials from Azerbaijan, Albania, Kazakhstan Will Watch U.S. Election to Make Sure It's Free, Fair

    10/22/2012 12:39:48 PM PDT · by NYer · 40 replies
    cnsnews ^ | October 22, 2012 | Patrick Goodenough
    Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev meets with President Obama at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington in April 2010. (AP Photo/File) (CNSNews.com) – When American voters go to the polls next month, among those observing the election will be monitors from four countries judged by the veteran democracy watchdog Freedom House as “not free” and another six it regards as “partly free.”The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) observers will “assess these elections for compliance with international obligations and standards for democratic elections.”They will also look into voter-identification and other laws which critics have labeled “racially discriminatory.”In a...
  • Russian Agent & 10 Other Members of Procurement Network for Russian Military & Intelligence...

    10/04/2012 12:13:15 AM PDT · by Cindy · 13 replies
    NOTE The following text is a quote: www.fbi.gov/houston/press-releases/2012/russian-agent-and-10-other-members-of-procurement-network-for-russian-military-and-intelligence-operating-in-the-u.s.-and-russia-indicted-in-new-york Russian Agent and 10 Other Members of Procurement Network for Russian Military and Intelligence Operating in the U.S. and Russia Indicted in New York Defendants Also Include Texas- and Russia-Based Corporations; 165 Persons and Companies ‘Designated’ by Commerce Department U.S. Attorney’s Office October 03, 2012 BROOKLYN, NY—An indictment was unsealed today in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York charging 11 members of a Russian military procurement network operating in the United States and Russia, as well as a Texas-based export company and a Russia-based procurement firm, with illegally...
  • UPDATE 2-Syria to be suspended from int'l Islamic body -diplomat

    08/13/2012 6:00:08 PM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 11 replies
    Reuters ^ | Monday, August 13, 2012 | unattributed
    Syria will be suspended from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on Wednesday for its violent suppression of a 17-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, a diplomat said on Monday ahead of an emergency OIC summit in Mecca. "The resolution regarding the suspension of the Syrian membership in the OIC is not facing obstacles ... It will be approved," said the diplomat, speaking on the sidelines of a preliminary foreign ministers meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He said the decision was likely to be formally announced at the end of the second day of the summit, which was called by Saudi...
  • Rethinking the Thundering Hordes

    05/06/2012 7:31:58 AM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 8 replies
    Archaeology, v65 n3 ^ | May/June 2012 | Andrew Lawler
    Vast stretches of Central Asia feel eerily uninhabited. Fly at 30,000 feet over... Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan -- and there are long moments when no town or road or field is visible from your window. Wandering bands and tribes roamed this immense area for 5,000 years, herding goat, sheep, cattle, and horses across immense steppes, through narrow valleys, and over high snowy passes. They left occasional tombs that survived the ages, and on rare occasions settled down and built towns or even cities. But for the most part, these peoples left behind few physical traces of their origins, beliefs, or ways...
  • Russian Is Massing Troops On Iran's North Border And Waiting for Western Attack

    04/21/2012 7:14:06 PM PDT · by Thorliveshere · 43 replies
    Business Insider ^ | April 09, 2012 | F. Michael Maloof
    <p>WASHINGTON – The Russian military anticipates that an attack will occur on Iran by the summer and has developed an action plan to move Russian troops through neighboring Georgia to stage in Armenia, which borders on the Islamic republic, according to informed Russian sources.</p>
  • Kazakh Olympic athletes to be tested on national anthem

    04/21/2012 10:32:23 PM PDT · by george76 · 5 replies
    Telegraph ^ | 21 Apr 2012 | James Kilner
    For Kazakhstan’s Olympic athletes, winning gold at this summer’s Games in London will not be enough to satisfy the authorities back home. They also have to ensure the correct national anthem is played when they receive their medals. Kazakhstan has had a series of embarrassing hiccups with its national anthem over the past year, culminating at a shooting tournament in Kuwait when a fake version of the anthem created by the comic character Borat was accidently played instead of the real one. ... The main trigger for the warning was the error at the shooting competition in March in Kuwait....
  • Unearthed cities in Southern Siberia could rewrite Aryan history

    10/04/2010 7:10:56 PM PDT · by James C. Bennett · 26 replies · 1+ views
    Sify News ^ | Sify News
    A new study has suggested that recently unearthed cities in Southern Siberia could rewrite Aryan history-as they are believed to be the original home of the Aryans. Twenty of the spiral-shaped settlements, believed to be the original home of the Aryan people, have been identified, and there are about 50 more suspected sites. They all lie buried in a region more than 640km long near Russia's border with Kazakhstan. The cities are apparently 3500-4000 years ago and are about the same size as several of the city-states of ancient Greece. If archaeologists confirm the cities as Aryan, they could be...
  • ‘Borat’ national anthem accidentally played for Kazakh athlete (video....ooopsie).

    03/24/2012 6:55:05 AM PDT · by ak267 · 13 replies · 1+ views
    Yahoo News ^ | 3-24-2012 | Chris Chase
    A gold-medal winning athlete from Kazakhstan was forced to stand through a national anthem that insulted other countries and boasted of her nation's "clean prostitutes" when organizers at a shooting competition accidentally played a fake anthem from the comedy film "Borat." Gold medalist Maria Dmitrienko never lets on that there's a problem and graciously poses for photos with the other medalists following the ceremony.
  • Borat anthem stuns Kazakh gold medallist in Kuwait

    03/24/2012 1:12:26 AM PDT · by Zajko · 18 replies · 1+ views
    BBC ^ | 23rd March 2012
    Kazakhstan's shooting team has been left stunned after a comedy national anthem from the film Borat was played at a medal ceremony at championships in Kuwait instead of the real one. The song was produced by UK comedian Sacha Baron Cohen for the film, which shows Kazakhs as backward and bigoted. Footage of Thursday's original ceremony posted on YouTube shows gold medallist Maria Dmitrienko listening to the anthem without emotion and finally smiling as it ends. The spoof song praises Kazakhstan for its superior potassium exports and for having the cleanest prostitutes in the region.
  • Putin’s Grand Plan for Asia

    03/13/2012 12:05:53 AM PDT · by U-238 · 7 replies
    The Diplomat ^ | 3/14/2012 | Richard Weitz
    Vladimir Putin, Russia’s current prime minister and future president, has shown a strong interest in Asian affairs. In his second term, Putin would undoubtedly like to maintain good ties with China, consolidate Moscow’s first-among-equals status in Central Asia, manage the regional repercussions of the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan, prevent a war or major crisis in the Koreas, and deepen Russia’s integration into East Asia’s more dynamic and prosperous economic networks. At the same time, Putin is eager to strengthen Russia’s position in Europe. It’s a big to-do list, but Russia has already succeeded in raising its profile in Asia...
  • Artifacts Show Sophistication of Ancient Nomads

    03/12/2012 3:50:08 PM PDT · by mojito · 14 replies
    NYT ^ | 3/12/2012 | John Noble Wilford
    Ancient Greeks had a word for the people who lived on the wild, arid Eurasian steppes stretching from the Black Sea to the border of China. They were nomads, which meant “roaming about for pasture.” They were wanderers and, not infrequently, fierce mounted warriors. Essentially, they were “the other” to the agricultural and increasingly urban civilizations that emerged in the first millennium B.C. As the nomads left no writing, no one knows what they called themselves. To their literate neighbors, they were the ubiquitous and mysterious Scythians or the Saka, perhaps one and the same people. In any case, these...
  • Russia, Iran Proceed With Bilateral Trade, Drop Dollar

    03/04/2012 2:52:45 PM PST · by ak267 · 9 replies
    Zero Hedge ^ | 3/4/2012 | Tyler Durden
    For anyone wondering how the abandonment of the dollar reserve status would look like we have a Hollow Men reference: not with a bang, but a whimper... Or in this case a whole series of bilateral agreements that quietly seeks to remove the US currency as an intermediate. Such as these: "World's Second (China) And Third Largest (Japan) Economies To Bypass Dollar, Engage In Direct Currency Trade", "China, Russia Drop Dollar In Bilateral Trade", "China And Iran To Bypass Dollar, Plan Oil Barter System", "India and Japan sign new $15bn currency swap agreement", and now this: "Iran, Russia Replace Dollar...
  • Soyuz with returning NASA astronauts lands safely in Kazakhstan

    11/21/2011 8:41:03 PM PST · by Liberty Valance · 27 replies
    The Washington Post ^ | Monday, November 21, 9:56 PM | Associated Press
    MOSCOW — A Russian Soyuz capsule carrying three astronauts returning from the International Space Station touched down safely in the snow-covered steppes of Kazakhstan early Tuesday morning. NASA astronaut Michael Fossum, Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov and Satoshi Furukawa of Japan’s JAXA space agency landed at the break of dawn some 90 kilometers (56 miles) north of the town of Arkalyk at 8:26 a.m. (0226 GMT) after spending 165 days in space. The landing at steppe was close to its target point. NASA spokesman Josh Byerly said in the NASA television broadcast that the recovery operation was swift despite the freezing...
  • Surrender "Completely"and Receive My LOVE for YOU \o/

    12/01/2011 5:35:48 PM PST · by Jedediah · 4 replies
    The Joshua Chronicles ,bible ^ | 12-1-11 | Jedediah
    SURRENDER COMPLETELY AND RECEIVE MY LOVE FOR YOU ! My surrender to you is eternal , for as My Sacrifice was a promise and a statement of My Love coming down through the Father ! It is Now time for You to SURRENDER wholeheartedly to Me . I need to see a heart opened forth right and true ; to discern My Presence ! That you make " ALL " Known to Me ~ free for release and in this surrender as you raise your hands and lower your defenses and pride I WILL COME ! And My SPIRIT ,...
  • I AM your Kingdom Walk and Existence \o/

    11/23/2011 1:35:44 PM PST · by Jedediah · 4 replies
    The Joshua Chronicles ^ | 11-23-11 | Jedediah
    Ordinary measures are not warranted anymore for I have overcome for you and in Me you reside in the heavenlies. So cast off your flesh when it distracts you from My Will of virtue and Righteousness and "Remain" in "MY" Loyalty for I AM all you need to KNOW! John 15:9 (AMP) 9I have loved you, [just] as the Father has loved Me; abide in My love [[a]continue in His love with Me]. Acts 17:28 28For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his...
  • Uranium Boom in Kazakhstan

    11/23/2011 9:39:34 AM PST · by bananaman22 · 3 replies · 1+ views
    oilprice.com ^ | 11/21/2011 | John Daly
    Kazakhstan’s international energy image is now that of one of the world’s rising oil exporters, an extraordinary feat given that, two decades ago its hydrocarbon output was beyond insignificant when the USSR collapsed. The vast Central Asian nation, larger than Western Europe, has now quietly passed another energy milestone. Kazakhstan produces 33 percent of world’s mined uranium, followed by Canada at 18 percent and Australia, with 11 percent of global output. Kazakhstan contains the world's second-largest uranium reserves, estimated at 1.5 million tons. Until two years ago Kazakhstan was the world's No. 3 uranium miner, following Australia and Canada. Together...
  • Kazakh prosecutors acknowledge terrorist attack in the city of Taraz

    11/12/2011 3:43:19 PM PST · by struwwelpeter · 2 replies
    Lenta.ru ^ | November 12th, 2011 18:57 Moscow time
    Following shootings and explosions in the city of Taraz in South Kazakhstan, a criminal case was opened on two counts - murder and the commission of terrorist acts. According to ‘Interfax’, Deputy Attorney General of the Republic Nurmuhanbet Isayev made this statement on November 12th. The official stressed that the city had only suffered a single explosion, and not four as reported by some media sources. He also denied reports that there is a curfew in Taraz. According to prosecutors, on Saturday morning, 34-year-old M.K. Kariyev (previously identified as Kaliyev), a follower of jihadist ideas, robbed a Taraz resident and...
  • Rumors cause terrorism panic

    11/12/2011 2:09:39 PM PST · by struwwelpeter · 6 replies
    Avitrek.kz ^ | November 10th, 2011 | Robert Keller
    Original Title: "Word of mouth" On Friday, November 4th, it seemed as if the city of Karaganda, Kazakhstan was paralyzed. Life had come to a halt: cafes and restaurants were deserted, and almost no one ventured out into the streets. Parents came and took their children home from schools and kindergartens. People were afraid to ride the buses, and it was impossible to catch a taxi. But the main thing – there was information, by word of mouth, regarding alleged acts of terrorism, murders, and hostage taking... It was the first time ever that the coal-mining capital of Kazakhstan had...
  • Kazakhstan flies in US cows (bred to withstand brutal cold) to boost beef industry

    10/14/2011 5:25:55 AM PDT · by Libloather · 22 replies
    King 5 ^ | 10/10/11
    Kazakhstan flies in US cows to boost beef industryAssociated Press Updated Monday, Oct 10 at 12:01 PM BISMARCK, North Dakota (AP) — Hundreds of North Dakota cows bred to withstand brutal cold are being shipped in jumbo jets to Kazakhstan to help build the nation's beef industry. **SNIP** North Dakota is known for its harsh winters and hardy livestock, Price said. North Dakota cows typically have thicker coats and more marbling and fatty tissue, state agriculture officials say. More than 2,600 pregnant cows and heifers were shipped last year on Boeing 747 freighters from North Dakota to Astana, the capital...
  • Tiny Drone Reveals Ancient Royal Burial Sites [ Scythians ]

    10/11/2011 3:31:47 AM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 4 replies
    LiveScience ^ | October 7, 2011 | Charles Choi
    Tuekta is in the Altai Mountains where Russia, China, Kazakhstan and Mongolia come together. Researchers there have discovered burial mounds 2,300 to 2,800 years old and up to 250 feet (76 meters) wide. These burial mounds, called "kurgans," probably belonged to chiefs or princes among the Scythians, a nomadic people known for their horsemanship, who once had a rich, powerful empire. Excavations of some of these have revealed extraordinary treasures of gold and other artifacts well-preserved by permafrost. Nearly 200 burial mounds were discovered in Tuekta, situated along the River Ursul. The site's heart appears to once have been a...
  • Putin Sees His Moment

    10/10/2011 5:41:29 PM PDT · by neverdem · 8 replies
    The American Interest. ^ | October 8, 2011 | Walter Russell Mead
    For the past year, the debt crisis has monopolized Europe’s attention to the extent that many forgot the EU did anything besides argue about debt levels. Apparently many in Europe feel the same way, as efforts to bolster its relationships along its Eastern periphery — once a central focus of EU policy — have been all but ignored by policymakers and the media. But where Europe sees a distraction, Russia sees an opportunity. The FT reports that Putin is setting his sights on the big time in anticipation of his return to the presidency: Vladimir Putin, Russia's prime minister, this...
  • New laws in Kazakhstan to restrict religious groups

    10/01/2011 7:00:12 AM PDT · by TigerLikesRooster · 3 replies
    Telegraph ^ | 09/29/11 | James Kilner
    New laws in Kazakhstan to restrict religious groups Kazakhstan's upper house of parliament has passed a draft law that imposes greater restrictions on religious groups, part of a raft of measures designed to crack down on growing Islamic militancy By James Kilner, Astana 5:16PM BST 29 Sep 2011 At its core, the draft law increases surveillance of religious groups by forcing them to re-register with the local authorities. Those considered too small with be refused registration. Opponents of the law say it is an infringement on religious freedom but supporters, including Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, have said it is vital...
  • New archeological find discovered in Akmola region [ Sarmatian tomb ]

    07/15/2011 1:13:29 PM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 15 replies
    Caspionet ^ | Friday, July 8, 2011 | unattributed
    Archaeologists from the Gumilyov Eurasian National University have found a mound, presumably dating back to the Iron age. The tomb of Sarmatian warrior is located near the village of Aidarly in the Akmola region. In the mound, archeologists also found arrowheads, knives, an iron belt badge, ceramic vessels and the bones of sacrificial animals. Sergazy Saken, Archeological Expedition Leader: The body of the middle-class warrior is place with its head towards the south which is peculiar for Sarmatians and dates back to 3rd or 4th centuries BC. The artifacts found in the tomb were placed near the body with two...
  • Ahmadinejad's New Friends

    06/15/2011 6:32:06 PM PDT · by Kaslin · 9 replies
    IBD Editorials ^ | June 15, 2011 | Staff
    Threats: The leader of nuke-bound Iran joins Russian and Chinese counterparts at a meeting of a group formed to rival NATO. No wonder Moscow resists U.S. missile defense. Few people have heard of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). But they should be aware of it, especially when it includes Iran, which has observer status, as one of its members. Remember, Iran is a state that has pledged to wipe Israel off the map while developing nukes and the missiles to carry them. The SCO was created in 2001 ostensibly to address the threat of Islamic terror and extremism in Muslim...
  • U.S.-Funded Projects Increase as Kazakhstan Power-Brokers Curry Favor From Washington

    06/08/2011 6:16:27 AM PDT · by Steve Peacock · 2 replies
    U.S. Trade & Aid Monitor ^ | June 7, 2011 | Steve Peacock
    A trio of initiatives aimed at modernizing the infrastructure of oil-rich Kazakhstan—while simultaneously benefiting U.S. consulting firms—was unveiled, albeit without without fanfare, by the federal government. The U.S. Trade & Development Agency (USTDA) late last week began its search for Kazakh project vendors at a time when the U.S. increasingly is becoming embroiled in a tempestuous controversy between the Kazakh President and his exiled son-in-law. According to The New York Times, Rakhat Aliyev, son-in-law to President Nursultan Nazarbayev, has taken his case to Washington in search of safe passage to the United States. Aliyev, whom Kazakh authorities had accused of...
  • Say "Goodbye" to the Dollar

    04/15/2011 5:47:32 AM PDT · by JRNyquist · 52 replies · 1+ views
    JRNyquist.com ^ | april 15, 2011 | Jeff Nyquist
    .. inadequacies and deficiencies of the existing international monetary and financial system.. In 1998 Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov, a strategist and master spy, conceived of an economic alliance between Russia, India and China. The purpose of this combination was to counter the international influence of the United States. By now it should be apparent that Russia and China intend to launch an attack against the U.S. dollar. Do we yet realize that such an attack is possible? And have we reckoned the political consequences?
  • Putin turns to Soviet nostalgia in pressuring Ukraine to join new Russian-led customs union

    04/13/2011 5:17:44 PM PDT · by Tailgunner Joe · 7 replies
    AP ^ | April 12, 2011
    Ukraine has resisted pressure to join the Moscow-led union, preferring instead to pursue a free-trade agreement with the European Union. During a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, Putin said the customs union would stimulate growth in whole sectors of the Ukrainian economy as he touted the benefits of the economic integration formed when the countries were all part of the Soviet Union. “The technological links from the Soviet period are still functioning, and one partner cannot be efficient without another,” Putin said. “That is what we must think about and give a second wind to the capabilities formed during the...
  • 'Democratic' poll cloaks Kazakh autocracy

    04/02/2011 2:10:02 PM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 5 replies
    Al Jazeera ^ | Saturday, April 2, 2011 | Robin Forestier-Walker
    Kazakhstan's nine million registered voters are being asked to choose their president in elections tomorrow. Incumbent Nursultan Nazarbayev is not expected to lose. Observers have already given the country's election commission poor marks for allowing a questionable selection procedure through which three political lightweights are up against ''Papa'' -- as Nazarbayev is affectionately known. A fragmented opposition have not put forward any candidates. Unwilling or unable to mount a serious challenge through Egyptian style public protest they have tried to discredit the ageing strongman by encouraging voters to boycott the poll. But Nazarbayev does not seem concerned. On January 31st,...
  • Purely Kazakh Terror?

    03/17/2011 5:53:55 PM PDT · by struwwelpeter · 2 replies
    Svoboda Slova ("Freedom of Speech") #8 | March 17th, 2011 | Vagit Izmailov
    GROWTH FACTORS Religious extremism in Kazakhstan has always been present to a certain extent. As a geographic neighbor to Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, and in close proximity to Afghanistan, Kazakhstan is unable to remain above the fray as far as the extremist processes taking place with its neighbors. It is also no secret that religious extremism is gaining in popularity in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan has tried to wear the mantle of arbiter of Central Asia, but its title as a regional mediator has not always been justified. With enviable regularity, reports are...
  • Ivolga puts world's biggest farm up for sale

    02/13/2011 4:23:11 PM PST · by bruinbirdman · 10 replies
    The Telegraph ^ | 2/13/2011 | Richard Orange, in Almaty
    The world's biggest farm has put up the for-sale sign, after being hit by a collapse in grain prices during the world financial crisis, and then by the droughts and the fires that raged across its territories last summer. Ivolga, a farming conglomerate which controls 1.5m hectares of land across Russia and Kazakhstan, is presently negotiating with Royal Bank of Scotland, which leads its creditors, to restructure a $300m loan it arranged in 2007. The company's immense holding, an area a third the size of Wales, easily outstrips that of El Tejar, the Argentine conglomerate which is the largest farm...
  • Revolutions, walk-outs and fatwas

    01/17/2011 8:41:13 AM PST · by SJackson · 7 replies
    Jerusalem Post ^ | 01/16/2011 | BARRY RUBIN
    Recent events in Tunisia, Lebanon and Egypt spell a dangerous new trend in the region. There have been major developments in Tunisia, Lebanon and Egypt, each of which is of tremendous importance. In Tunisia, a popular uprising fueled by unemployment, economic suffering and long-term discontent has overthrown the dictator, but not necessarily the dictatorship. In 55 years of independence, the country has been governed by two dictators, the current one being Zine al-Abedin Ben Ali, who has been president for 23 years and was a key power in the regime even before that. Is this going to spread? Does it...
  • Russian Uranium Company Makes Major North American Acquisition

    12/07/2010 7:18:03 PM PST · by thesellout · 9 replies · 1+ views
    spectrum.ieee.org ^ | TUE, DECEMBER 07, 2010 | BILL SWEET
    ARMZ, the uranium mining arm of Russia's state-owned atomic energy monopoly, Rosatom, is taking a 51 percent interest in Canada's Uranium One. The acquisition will make ARMZ the world's fourth largest uranium mining company, according to a report in the Financial Times, and is part of the company's program of aggressive international expansion. It already has deals or is in serious discussion of deals with France, India, and South Korea, and hopes to be the world's second largest producer within a decade, trailing only Kazakhstan. Evidently the deal is structured financially in a way that will enable the paired companies...
  • Egypt and 18 other countries to miss Nobel ceremony

    12/07/2010 8:27:43 PM PST · by SunkenCiv · 11 replies
    Ahram Online ^ | Tuesday, December 7, 2010 | AP and Reuters
    Egypt and 18 other countries will not attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony honoring Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, officials said in an announcement that followed a Chinese campaign to dissuade diplomats from showing up. Representatives of different embassies, including those of Egypt, Russia, Pakistan, Serbia, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Colombia have turned down the invitation to the event, scheduled to take place in Oslo on 10 December, the Nobel Peace Prize Committee said. At least 44 of the 65 embassies that have been invited have accepted the invitation, the committee claims, adding that the Chinese boycott...
  • Icky Leaks (grave danger is coming directly from Kremlin)

    12/03/2010 11:19:14 AM PST · by Kabud · 58 replies · 1+ views
    financialsense.com ^ | 3 Dec 2010 | JR Nyquist
    Icky LeaksSensitive diplomatic communications have been published by the Wikileaks Web site, and some of this sensitive material concerns Russia. The importance of Russia as a global power has been downplayed since the fall of the Soviet Union. Leaked U.S. State Department cables give us a glimpse of how dangerous Russia is becoming. The true nature of the Russian regime has not been a popular topic of public discussion; but in secret meetings between diplomats, statesmen and law enforcement officials, there is growing concern. Russia has become the center of international corruption, drawing other states into her orbit.From the leaked...
  • Chinese air force trains for precision strikes

    09/21/2010 8:04:20 PM PDT · by sukhoi-30mki · 12 replies · 1+ views
    The Times of India ^ | Sep 21, 2010 | Saibal Dasgupta
    Chinese air force trains for precision strikes Saibal Dasgupta, TNN, Sep 21, 2010 BEIJING: Friendship with Kazakhstan, built partly on transactions in oil and gas sector, is helping China train its air force to conduct sudden and precision strikes. The first-ever simulated cross-border strike by Chinese air force took place on Monday. This could be a gradual move towards achieving the kind of capability that the US air force demonstrates in their precision strikes on Taliban hideouts in Pakistan and Afghanistan, observers said. Senior air force officials described the operation involving six warplanes as "sudden attacks" conducted under the aegis...