JUNE 18 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan has reduced flaring off excess gas at oil producing plants by 50% over the last two years, Anita Georgia a World Bank official said in an interview with Bloomberg.The World Bank is pushing for countries to reduce flaring.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)
JUNE 19 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The head of Russian arms manufacturer Rosoboronexport, Anatoliy Isaykin, flew to Baku to meet with Azerbaijani officials, media reported. Russia has increased sales of arms to Azerbaijan over the last couple of years despite being an ardent supporter of its arch foe Armenia.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)
JUNE 24 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s Union of Journalists has awarded Julian Assange, head of Wikileaks, a prize for investigative journalism, media reported. Mr Assange has been living in Ecuador’s embassy in London since June 2012. He is wanted in the US for divulging classified information and in Sweden to face charges of sex offences.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)
JUNE 23 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, visited Yerevan in a show of support for the Armenian government. Russia is Armenia’s main ally and the Armenian government wants to join the Kremlin-lead Eurasian Economic Union later this year. Pointedly, Mr Lavrov didn’t mention the Eurasian Economic Union during his trip.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)
JUNE 24 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijani opposition activists protested outside the European Parliament in Strasbourg during a speech by Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev. The protesters wore red T-shirts with pictures of different people in Azerbaijani jails who they say have been jailed for political reasons.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)
JUNE 23 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Looking to expand its economy beyond the obvious gas sector, Turkmen officials appear to have hit on the hot idea of developing its tourist sector using a hole in the ground that burns natural gas.
Dubbed “The Gates to Hell”, Turkmen officials have been talking up its allure to international tourists.
“Landmarks such as the burning crater are hugely interesting both to people who love to travel and to researchers in various areas,” AFP quoted Ovez Kurbanov of the National Institute of Deserts, Flora and Fauna, as saying.
“Our main task is to create an attractive image of Turkmenistan as a tourism destination.”
The crater, 270km from Ashgabat and roughly the size of half a football pitch, has been burning since 1971 when the earth collapsed during exploration by Soviet scientists. They lit the fumes coming from the pit and it is still burning today.
Turkmenistan international profile has become so entwined with gas that even its main tourist attraction is a homage to it.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)
JUNE 24 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s Central Bank cut its key interest rate by 0.25% for the third time this year because of continued falling inflation.
The new 7% interest rate is the lowest set by the Armenian Central Bank for four years, reflecting concern over an economy that is bouncing along the bottom of economists’ forecasts.
Like other parts of the former Soviet Union, the unrest in Ukraine and the sanctions on Russia have impacted Armenia and slowed its economic prospects.
The Central Bank was succinct.
“There was 0.8 percent of deflation in May of 2014,” it said.
“In the coming months, the Board considers, that the inflation rate will keep on easing as the impact of energy prices, increased in July 2013, phases out, and it will further pace down (to) the lower boundary of the confidence band most probably during the third quarter.”
In other words, Armenia’s Central Bank is gently warning that its economic indicators will worsen further before there is any sign of improvement.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)
JUNE 19 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Doctors and nurses will receive a 28% salary rise next year, media quoted health minister Salidat Kairbekova as saying. Medical workers have long complained that they are underpaid, especially since a 20% devaluation of the tenge this year. Nurses in Kazakhstan are currently paid $436/month; doctors $620/month.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)
JUNE 23 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The authorities in Ashgabat have ordered residents to remove air conditioning units from the outside of their buildings as part of their drive to beautify the city, the BBC reported. It reported that fights had broken out over the order. Ashgabat swelters in the summer with temperatures around 40C.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)
JUNE 25 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – A draft report by the World Bank appears to give a green light for Tajikistan to build its controversial Rogun dam which Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon hopes will provide much need electricity. Human rights workers have said that the giant dam will force 42,000 people from their homes.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)