SEPT. 15 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – An opinion poll in Kazakhstan said that a third of people don’t believe various high profile government campaigns to reduce corruption will have any impact, media reported. Most of the respondents said corruption is too ingrained in the system to be rooted out.
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(News report from Issue No. 200, published on Sept. 17 2014)
SEPT. 10 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – KazPost, the Kazakh Post Office, will not close hundreds of rural branches as it had said it would do earlier this year, KazPost chairman Bagdat Musin told media. There had been a outcry when KazPost had said it wanted to close branches, which deliver a spectrum of services, to cut costs.
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(News report from Issue No. 200, published on Sept.17 2014)
SEPT. 10 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – An opinion poll in Armenia has highlighted support for joining the Russia-led Customs Union, despite sanctions against Kremlin-linked companies that have triggered a negative knock-on effect on the Armenian economy.
The poll carried out by Gallup last month showed that 60% of people in Yerevan still favoured joining the Customs Union later this year, media reported.
Aram Havasardyan, Gallup’s representative in Armenia, said that this was a slight drop from the 70% who favoured membership of the Customs Union in 2013.
Clearly support for Russia has held up in Armenia despite the sanctions against Russia imposed on it by the US and the EU because of its meddling in Ukraine. This is important for President Serzh Sargsyan who has been pushing for membership.
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(News report from Issue No. 200, published on Sept.17 2014)
SEPT. 13 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Once again the United States has said it is concerned about criminal charges brought against leading members of the former Mikheil Saakashvili government. The current government has charged several members of the previous government with abuse of power.
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(News report from Issue No. 200, published on Sept.17 2014)
SEPT. 11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tension between Georgia’s President, Giorgi Margvelashvili, and its PM, Irakli Garibahvili appeared to bubble to the surface. Mr Margvelashvili accused Mr Garibashvili of thwarting his attempt to speak at the UN by planning his own address at the UN General Assembly. Growing tension between the presidency and the PM is important to monitor.
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(News report from Issue No. 200, published on Sept.17 2014)
SEPT. 17 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan has opened another trial against Maksim Bakiyev, the son of ousted president Kurmanbek Bakiyev, media reported. Bakiyev lives in London. He fled Kyrgyzstan with his father in 2010. He has already been sentenced in absentia to 25 years in jail for corruption.
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(News report from Issue No. 200, published on Sept.17 2014)
SEPT. 17 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Opposition Uzbek websites reported that the annual cotton harvest had begun. This is important as human rights groups have accused Uzbekistan of using forced human labour to pick the cotton. One news outlet, uznews.net, said 40% of medical staff in one region had been sent out to pick cotton.
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(News report from Issue No. 200, published on Sept.17 2014)
SEPT. 10 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan plans to launch three more high-speed train routes by the end of this year, part of a programme to upgrade infrastructure. Media quoted the press service of Temir Zholy, the Kazakh train company, saying the upgraded routes would be Astana-Kyzlorda, Astana-Ust Kamenogorsk and Almaty- Ust Kamenogorsk.
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(News report from Issue No. 200, published on Sept.17 2014)
SEPT. 11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s president Serzh Sargsyan is spearheading a publicity drive to promote the country, the BBC reported. Mr Sargsyan wants expatriate Armenians to write positive stories about their homeland in a PR drive called One Armenian, One Article.
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(News report from Issue No. 200, published on Sept.17 2014)
SEPT. 13 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – China will boost its total investment in Tajikistan to $3b within four years, a massive amount for the country, media reported quoting the Tajik presidential press service. Tajikistan’s entire annual GDP is roughly $3b. The leaders of Tajikistan and China met after the SCO summit in Dushanbe.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 200, published on Sept.17 2014)