FEB. 6 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Around 1,400 workers at the Kumtor gold mine, which makes up around 12% of Kyrgyzstan’s national income, started a strike over new tax payments which they say their employer should pay on their behalf. Centerra Gold, the Canadian company which owns and operates the mine, said the strike was illegal.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 76, published on Feb. 9 2012)
FEB. 3 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Underlining its position as the world’s biggest uranium producer, Kazakhstan’s atomic agency Kazatomprom announced it increased uranium output by 9% in 2011. The 20,000 tonnes Kazatomprom mined in 2011 was the equivalent of about a third of the world’s total uranium production.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 76, published on Feb. 9 2012)
JAN. 31 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – After 46 days, the Kazakh authorities lifted a state-of-emergency in Zhanaozen. Zhanaozen, about two hours drive from Aktau on the Caspian Sea coast, was the focus of rioting last month. Police opened fire on protesting oil workers, killing at least 16 people.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 75, published on Feb. 2 2012)
FEB. 1 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Increasingly severe power cuts are hitting cities in Uzbekistan, including Tashkent, local media and eyewitnesses have reported. The authorities have blamed consumers and imposed rationing. Many residents, however, believe the government is diverting gas from domestic use to fulfil lucrative export contracts.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 75, published on Feb. 2 2012)
JAN. 25 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – A property developer in Azerbaijan has applied to the Baku city government for permission to build the world’s tallest tower, the AP news agency reported. Avesta wants to build an office complex with a 1,050m tower at its centre. The tower would be nearly a third higher than the world’s current tallest building.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 75, published on Feb. 2 2012)
JAN. 31 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Officials in western Kazakhstan ended a week-long strike by 300 workers at an engineering business in Atyrau on the Caspian Sea coast by agreeing to boost their wages by 25%. The deal avoids any risk of a repeat of the acrimonious six-month long strike in Zhanaozen, about 600km south of Atyrau, which ended in riots that killed 16 protesters.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 75, published on Feb. 2 2012)
JAN. 19 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR agreed to build an oil refinery in Kyrgyzstan. Media reported that the refinery will process 2m tonnes of crude oil a year and be operational by the end of 2013. The construction will cost $150m. China is already building an oil refinery in Kyrgyzstan.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 74, published on Jan. 26 2012)
JAN. 18 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Paris-based intergovernmental International Energy Agency warned that unrest last month in west Kazakhstan could slow investment in the Kazakh oil and gas sector, Bloomberg reported. This is the first warning from a major institution that violence which killed at least 17 people could impact the investment climate.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 73, published on Jan. 19 2012)
JAN. 18 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – In its annual growth forecasts, the World Bank said weakening markets in the West would hit the developing world in 2012. For 2012 growth forecasts for Central Asia and the South Caucasus were: Tajikistan 6%, Kyrgyzstan 5.5%, Kazakhstan 5.5%, Uzbekistan 8%, Turkmenistan N/A, Azerbaijan 3.1%, Georgia 5%, Armenia 4.3%.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 73, published on Jan. 19 2012)
JAN. 10 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – The personal envoy of Chinese President Hu Jintao, Chen Zhili, travelled to Bishkek to meet new Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev. Ms Chen pledged to strengthen relations between China and Kyrgyzstan. Through diplomacy and finance, China has been boosting its influence in Central Asia.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 72, published on Jan. 13 2012)