APRIL 22 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — A court in Kazakhstan ordered the closure of the independent Assandi Times newspaper for retaining links to the banned opposition newspaper Respublika. New York-based Human Rights Group said: “This absurd case displays the lengths to which Kazakh authorities are willing to go to bully critical media into silence.”
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(News report from Issue No. 181, published on April 23 2014)
APRIL 19 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — A passenger train running between Almaty and Atyrau, western Kazakhstan, derailed injuring 44 people. Kazakhstan is pouring cash into updating and modernising its rail infrastructure. Rail remains one of the main ways to travel around the country.
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(News report from Issue No. 181, published on April 23 2014)
APRIL 19 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — An Italian court granted refugee status to the wife and daughter of Mukhtar Ablyazov, a Kazakh former banker-turned-opposition leader currently in French custody awaiting the result of an extradition request from Kazakhstan. The ruling is a blow to Kazakhstan which had been looking to force their return.
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(News report from Issue No. 181, published on April 23 2014)
APRIL 21 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Police in Azerbaijan detained journalist Rauf Mirqadirov on allegations that he spied for neighbouring Armenia. The lobby group Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said that the charges were trumped up and called on the Azerbaijan to release Mr Mirqadirov. Press freedom has declined in Azerbaijan.
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(News report from Issue No. 181, published on April 23 2014)
APRIL 22 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The authorities in Azerbaijan deported eight Turkish nationals with links to the US-based opposition leader Fethullah Gulen back to Turkey, media reported. Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Mr Gulen of trying to undermine the Turkish state.
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(News report from Issue No. 181, published on April 23 2014)
APRIL 20 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Easter Service at Tbilisi’s’ Sameba Cathedral has been the one place where implacable political foes in staunchly Orthodox Georgia can come together. This year, though, was different.
On Easter Sunday, April 20, only Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili and his associates attended Sameba Cathedral. At the service Patriach Ilia II delivered an epistle warning of the dangers of pseudo-liberals, an ongoing debate in Georgia.
The opposition United National Movement, instead, visited services at Orthodox, Catholic and Baptist churches and congratulated Armenian Christians on the holiday. With a local election on June 15, commentators saw this as a move to woo minorities. Many are worried about a perceived increase in Georgian nationalism under the present government.
Also missing from Sameba Cathedral was President Giorgi Margvelashvili. He has had a public falling out with his patron, billionaire former PM Bidzina Ivanishvili, and reportedly refuses to be seen with members of the government. He attended church in his small hometown.
Mr Ivanishvili, the government’s main backer, made no public appearance, fuelling widespread speculation he has left the country. A fractious Easter, in an increasingly fractious Georgia.
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(News report from Issue No. 181, published on April 23 2014)
APRIL 20 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The new mayor of Bishkek, Kubanychbek Kulmatov, appears to want to paint himself as a progressive. On his Facebook page, Mr Kulmatov announced that he wanted to look at introducing a permanent bicycle lane in the city. As progressive as he is, though, Mr Kulmatov will still be behind Almaty which already has a dedicated bicycle lane.
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(News report from Issue No. 181, published on April 23 2014)
APRIL 22 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Anglo Asian, Azerbaijan’s biggest gold producer, increased production by a third in the first three months of 2014, it said. Anglo Asian, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, also increased its output forecast for the whole of 2014 by 29%.
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(News report from Issue No. 181, published on April 23 2014)
APRIL 10 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia signed a deal with Russia that will ease Armenian migrant workers’ permits in Russian cities, media reported. The deal is another sign of the economic benefits that Armenia is in line to receive after agreeing to join the Russia-led Customs Union. Remittances from Russia are an important part of Armenia’s economy.
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(News report from Issue No. 180, published on April 16 2014)
APRIL 15 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russia’s intervention in Ukraine has made Georgia feel more vulnerable, Georgian president Georgi Margvelashvili told Reuters in an interview. Mr Margvelashvili also said that the West should work with Russia rather than isolate it. “It should be restrained by engagement,” he said.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 180, published on April 16 2014)