The Meta accounts of two independent journalists were deleted on July 8. Lukpan Akhmedyarov’s Just Journalism page on Instagram and Vadim Boreiko’s page on Facebook became suddenly unavailable and the two journalists appealed for their reinstatement via YouTube. Just Journalism was again available online on July 10.
The local branch of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty filed a lawsuit against Kazakhstan’s ministry of foreign affairs after the ministry refused to extend the accreditation of seven of its journalists. Gulmira Birzhanova, the journalists’ lawyer, commented saying that the decision “is absolutely absurd”. In January last year, RFE/RL filed a lawsuit after 36 of its journalists were denied accreditation and later reached an agreement with the ministry.
Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev responded on July 9 to US President Donald Trump's earlier letter announcing 25% tariffs on Kazakhstani goods. In his response, Tokayev emphasized that Kazakhstan is “committed to the development of fair, predictable, mutually beneficial trade relations.” According to Kazakhstan’s ministry of trade, 92% of Kazakhstani exports to the US will be excluded from the tariffs because of exemptions issued in Trump’s April executive order.
Tokayev appointed on July 8 Nurzhan Kussainov as the new head of the Anti-Corruption Service at the National Security Committee (KNB). Last week, the president merged the former anti-corruption agency into the structure of the KNB.
Both Kazakhstan and OPEC+ will export larger volumes of oil than planned in August, the group of oil exporting countries agreed on July 5. OPEC+ planned to increase oil production quotas for a number of countries, including Kazakhstan, which has repeatedly exceeded the output quotas that it pledged.
Companies from China or South Korea could build new thermal power plants, Bakytzhan Ilyas, the deputy minister of energy, said on July 9. Kazakhstan’s government had agreed with Russia’s Inter RAO to build three coal-fired power plants in Semey, Oskemen, and Kokshetau, but recent doubts have prompted officials to look for other contractors. Coal-fired power plants provide around 60% of Kazakhstan’s electricity.
Kazakhstan’s Central Bank kept interest rates untouched at 16.5% on July 11. The regulator said it wants to keep the rate at this level until the end of the year, as it tries to counter inflationary pressure. The government decided on July 8 to postpone the increase of utility prices in an effort to ease overall inflation.
A trial against five activists kicked off in Almaty on July 10. Their lawyers asked the court to transfer them from the detention center where they have been held since October last year to house arrest. The court refused. The activists were detained ahead of a referendum on the construction of a nuclear power plant.
Two young women were rescued in the mountains outside Almaty on July 10 after being unable to descend for several hours due to adverse weather. They had set out to climb Furmanov Peak earlier the same morning. On July 11, rescuers found the body of an 18-year-old student who had been reported missing since July 6. He had embarked on a long hike in the mountains four days before.
The director of Almaty Hostel, Adilbek Mukhamedyarov, was sentenced to five years in prison on July 9, after a fire at his hostel killed 13 people in November 2023. The owner of the company in charge of installing the fire alarm system was sentenced to four years in prison.
An investigation by OCCRP and The Times of Malta revealed on July 8 that top Trump adviser Sergio Gor was born in 1986 in Tashkent, today’s capital of Uzbekistan. Gor, born Sergio Gorokhovsky, had repeatedly refused to answer questions about his birthplace. Gor said he spent most of his childhood in Malta before migrating to the US.
Поддержите журналистику, которой доверяют.
