Blinken warns Central Asia of dangers from war in Ukraine
The Biden administration is pledging to support the independence of the five Central Asian nations, in a not-so-subtle warning to the former Soviet states that Russia’s value as a partner has been badly compromised by its year-old war against Ukraine.
Officials say 98,000 Russians enter Kazakhstan after call-up
About 98,000 Russians have crossed into Kazakhstan in the week since President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization of reservists to fight in Ukraine, Kazakh officials said Tuesday, as men seeking to avoid the call-up continued to flee by land and air into neighboring countries. Kazakhstan and Georgia, both part of the former Soviet Union, appeared to be the most popular destinations for those crossing by car, bicycle or on foot. Plane tickets abroad had sold out quickly despite steep prices.
news.yahoo.comKazakh businessman tells how Russia has lost ‘friends and well-wishers’ in Kazakhstan
Statements by the Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, DmitryMedvedev, that Kazakhstan and Georgia could be Russia’s next targets after Ukraine, have seriously undermined trust in Russia among Kazakhstan’s people and politicians.
news.yahoo.comKazakhstan renames capital, extends presidential term
The president of Kazakhstan on Saturday signed constitutional amendments that extended the presidential term to seven years and brought back the old name of the country's capital. The changes are among political and economic reforms that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has called for after violent protests rocked the country in January, killing more than 200 people. The unrest was sparked by a sharp rise in fuel prices, but also reflected widespread dismay with the country’s politics, which for over 30 years had been dominated by former President Nursultan Nazarbayev and his party.
news.yahoo.comPresident: Kazakhstan's capital will again be called Astana
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has agreed to restore the former name of the country's capital just three years after he renamed it in honor of his predecessor, his spokesperson said Tuesday. One of Tokayev's first moves upon taking office in 2019 after President Nursultan Nazarbayev stepped down was to call for Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, to be dubbed Nur-Sultan instead. Nazarbayev, who led the country for three decades under the Soviet Union and after it gained independence in 1991, relocated the capital from Almaty to Astana in 1997.
news.yahoo.comKazakhstan adds uncertainty to talks with Russia on Ukraine
Russia’s decision to send paratroopers into Kazakhstan, where a crackdown on violent anti-government protests has left dozens dead, injects additional uncertainty into upcoming talks over a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. The question is whether the unrest in Kazakhstan has changed the calculations of Russian President Vladimir Putin as he weighs his options in Ukraine. The instability in Kazakhstan may even add new urgency to Putin's desire to shore up Russia's power in the region.
news.yahoo.comWhy Putin Just Raised a Massive Army Back From the Dead
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/GettyMOSCOW—The sixth day of violent unrest devolved into a massacre on the streets of Kazakhstan’s capital city of Almaty, with dozens of protesters and at least 13 law enforcement officials killed, as well as hundreds more wounded.President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev—who just a week ago was considered a weak shadow of Kazakhstan’s now-ousted Security Council Chairman Narsultan Nazarbayev—admitted he was the one who had given local security forces the order “to
news.yahoo.comRussia sends troops into Kazakhstan as clashes between security forces and anti-government protesters turn deadly
Tension between Russia and the West was already sky-high over Ukraine. Now Putin's being forced to divide his attention with yet another crisis growing in a former Soviet Republic.
cbsnews.comPutin’s Next Door Nightmare Just Came True Right Under His Nose
ABDUAZIZ MADYAROVMOSCOW—The unprecedented protests sweeping Russia’s neighboring country of Kazakhstan entered their fourth day on Wednesday with violence, a declaration of a nationwide state of emergency, and the resignation of the government.As the country’s rich elite took off in their private jets, the “revolution”—sparked in part by hiked up fuel prices—showed no signs of slowing down. Protesters have set administrative buildings on fire in several big cities across the country, disarmed co
news.yahoo.comRussia-led alliance sending peacekeepers to Kazakhstan
A Russia-led military alliance says it will dispatch peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan after the country’s president asked for help in controlling protests that have escalated into violence, including the seizure and setting afire of some government buildings.
The Latest: Venezuela's Guaidó urges nations to decry Maduro
Member state flags fly outside the United Nations headquarters during the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)TANZANIA – The Latest from the U.N. General Assembly (all times EDT):8:10 p.m. But U.S.-backed Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó still put out his own online message during this year’s gathering of world leaders. Guaidó is recognized by nearly 60 nations as Venezuela’s president and has been in a nearly two-year standoff with Maduro. This week at the U.N. gathering of world leaders, African nations again have made it clear it’s time that changed.