JAN. 24 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Police in Tajikistan detained several high-profile anti-narcotics officials for allegedly helping drug smugglers dodge the security services, local media reported. The arrests highlight the extent of corruption in Tajikistan and the collusion between the drug runners and senior officials.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 74, published on Jan. 26 2012)
JAN. 7 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov fired Aman Khanaliyev, the head of the state energy company Turkmengaz. Mr Khanaliyev had been in the post for a year. This is the third time Mr Berdymukhamedov has sacked the head of Turkmengaz since he became president in 2007.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 72, published on Jan. 13 2012)
DEC. 26 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Looking to impose his authority after the riots, Mr Nazarbayev sacked his son-in-law, Timur Kulibayev, as head of the sovereign wealth fund. Most of the rioters had been ex-oil workers and, as head of the fund, Mr Kulibayev had been in charge of the state energy company. He was seen as a potential successor to Mr Nazarbayev. Umirzak Shukeyev, a deputy PM, replaced Kulibayev as head of the fund.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 71, published on Jan. 5 2012)
DEC. 16 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Led by the Social Democrats, four parties formed a new government coalition in Kyrgyzstan. The Social Democrats are the party of new president Almazbek Atambayev although the new PM will be Omurbek Babanov from Respublika. Excluded from the coalition is Ata-Zhurt which represents Kyrgyz from the south.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 70, published on Dec. 22 2011)
OCT. 5 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Timur Kulibayev, head of the Kazakh sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna, said Kazakhstan would pay up to $1b for a 10% stake in the oil and gas project Karachaganak. His statement raised hopes that the state and the Karachaganak investors were nearing an end to their long-running dispute.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 60, published on Oct. 11 2011)
AUG. 5 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan has returned control of its prisons to its interior ministry, which operates its own army, the Daily Telegraph newspaper reported. The ministry of justice had controlled the prisons since 2002 but a series of breakouts and riots undermined its authority. US human rights group Freedom House criticised the decision as a step backwards.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 52, published on Aug. 10 2011)
JULY 29 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – In a scene reminiscent of Soviet times, several central bankers in Turkmenistan admitted during a broadcast on state television that they had stolen millions of dollars, news agencies reported. The bankers were given lengthy prison sentences.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 51, published on Aug. 2 2011)
JULY 12 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov sacked the country’s deputy defence minister four days after a blast at an arms depot in a town near Ashgabat killed scores of people. The government has said 15 people died but the opposition website chrono-tm.org said up to 200 people may have been killed.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 49, published on July 20 2011)
JUNE 30 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russian gas monopoly Gazprom appointed Timur Kulibayev, the favoured son-in-law of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, as one of its directors. Mr Kulibayev was appointed head of Kazakhstan’s $80b sovereign wealth fund earlier this year.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 47, published on July 6 2011)
JUNE 30 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyz parliamentarians set Oct. 30 as the date for a presidential election, the first under a constitution which shifted power from the president to Parliament. Roza Otunbayeva has been interim president since a revolution in April last year but has said she will not stand in the election.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 47, published on July 6 2011)