Kazakhstan

In Kazakhstan, the topic of developing new nuclear power plants to meet energy needs is a hot topic with public debates and discussions. Gas reserves are not enough and Uzbekistan prefers trade with China. Ties with Moscow and the prospect of a public referendum among the population.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will attend the 5+1 summit in Astana (9-12 August). He will bring a substantial aid package to support the region’s development, centred on transport and energy, particularly decarbonisation. In the background is Tokyo’s difficult relationship with Moscow and Beijing.

Today's headlines: Iran arrested a street female performer for singing in public without headcover. Purges continue in Vietnam, where a tycoon was sentenced to 21 years for fraud. Tomorrow in Jeddah, the OIC will meet to discuss Haniyeh’s assassination at the request of Pakistan and Iran. Cambodia’s prime minister is set to launch the controversial Funan Techo project. China and Kazakhstan plan to jointly build a lunar station.

Since 1936, when the Stalinist constitution proclaiming ‘democratic freedoms’ was approved, tens of thousands were relocated from the Ukrainian regions of Vinnitsa, Žitomir, Kiev and Kirovograd to the kolkhoz Avangard in the middle of the steppe. Where, in the name of a modern fish miracle, the Queen of Peace, patroness of Kazakhstan, is worshipped today.

Averted until yesterday in commercial traffic between the East and Europe due to its too high costs, today the Transcaspian route with the blockade of relations with Russia due to the Ukrainian conflict has become the most viable solution. The World Bank estimates that 11 million tonnes of goods will transit it by 2030. But on its growth much will depend on Beijing's choices.

Today's news: three civilians killed in an Israeli raid in southern Lebanon, in Gaza the attack on the UN school exceeds 20 dead; Talks between Palestinian factions on 20 and 21 July in China; High North Korean official in Cuba defects and flees to South Korea; Bangkok court postpones extradition hearing in Vietnam for activist Montagnard Y Quynh Bdap.

Fears of Islamic radicalisation have made it an increasingly hot-button issue for Astana. The culture minister is proposing a ban on the hijab and niqāb, and President Tokaev himself has described them as "an archaic form of clothing", sparking protests and flash-mobs on social networks. The constitution, which does not provide for such diviedi, was invoked.

At the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit dozens of cooperation agreements were signed in the fields of energy, trade and defence at the external borders. But - beyond the proclamations on the rejection of the dollar - China, India, Pakistan and the Central Asian countries remain well integrated in the world economy, taking care not to be dragged into the abyss of sanctions against Russia.

There are now more than a million citizens of the country who recognise themselves in this shamanic confession of Turkish-Mongolian origin, which is based on the worship of nature and the altenats. A petition calls for its official recognition in Astana, but many consider it only a moral philosophy. Pre-Islamic local traditions survive in Kazakhstan.

The President of South Korea visited Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in recent days. The focus of attention was access to rare earth minerals, which are particularly needed by Korean manufacturers of semiconductors and accumulators.

Today's news: 50 victims of Kuwait migrant massacre rise to 50, three people arrested in the blaze; The Ibrahim government in Malaysia holds the record for the most content removed from social media; Bipartisan US Congress delegation in view of the Dalai Lama; Wild horses return to Kazakhstan after 200 years; Putin ratified the agreement with Beijing to build the international moon station.

Nazarbayev had chosen him for his loyalty shown in the many posts given to him in previous years. Instead, the surprises began with the elections on 9 June 2019, which caused unprecedented protests. There has been no real change in the bureaucratic machine and in the caste of the country's oligarch masters, while political repression against any semblance of opposition continues.