To Be or Not to Be...? Someone’s grief, and someone’s drinking party

Traditions of the Kyrgyz people were being formed with the help of economic, trade, domestic and other relations with kindred and other tribes that were closely related to the geography of their ha...

Iran of the 60s: unsuccessful attempt to reform

After the coup of 19 March 1953 in the socio-political history of Iran there were fundamental changes: the powers of parliament were limited and the absolute power of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi was...

Topic: Regional rivalry in the Middle East.

In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran are two countries that claim to leadership in the region. With a powerful resources and political potential these countries are the...

Law & Legal Issues, Cental Asia

Kazakh Deputy Education Minister detained on suspicion of budget funds theft
20.05.2013
Cental Asia|Kazakhstan|Law & Legal Issues

Kazakhstan's Financial Police Agency has detained the Deputy Minister of Education and Science Sayat Shayakhmetov and General Director of 'Management of Education and Science Projects Construction' A. Pak, the press service of the financial police reported.

Earlier the Financial Police Agency launched a criminal investigation on the misappropriation of budget funds in the amount of about $1.5 billion tenge (150.95 tenge = $1) while constructing an educational facility for 700 pupils in the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk.

Kazakhstan facilitates visa regime for foreign tourists and entrepreneurs
13.05.2013
Cental Asia|Kazakhstan|Law & Legal Issues

Kazakh Foreign Ministry facilitated visa arrangements for foreign tourists and entrepreneurs, the Ministry reported.

"The new rules for issuing visas are primarily aimed at creating favorable conditions for foreign tourists and entrepreneurs traveling to Kazakhstan," the Ministry said.

The experience of different countries in the area of visa policy was taken into consideration for development of the new visa rules. According to the new rules, Kazakhstan issues two kinds of visa: immigrant and nonimmigrant ones.

Turkmenistan CEC summarizes local elections
18.04.2013
Cental Asia|Law & Legal Issues|Turkmenistan

In Turkmenistan, summed up the results of the elections of new members of the local authorities, khalg maslahaty and gengeshs, to replace the leaving ones, took place on April 13, the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda of Turkmenistan announced on Thursday.

At a meeting of the Central Election Comission in Ashgabat the elections were declared valid at all polling stations; extremely high turnout was detected. Two or more candidates ran for one mandate in all constituencies, candidates receiving more than half of the votes were considered to win.

Turkmenistan to establish state service of intellectual property
08.03.2013
Cental Asia|Law & Legal Issues|Turkmenistan

The Ministry of Economy and Development of Turkmenistan is working on establishment of the State Service of Intellectual Property, the official Turkmen source said.

The corresponding decree was signed by the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. The Ministry of Economy is also required to develop and adopt the provision on the new public service.

Creditors decide to liquidate MTS subsidiary in Uzbekistan
08.03.2013
Cental Asia|Law & Legal Issues|Uzbekistan

A meeting of the creditors of Uzdunrobita, Russia's MTS branch in Uzbekistan has voted to seek its liquidation, a source in government circles told Trend.

As previously reported, in January Uzdunrobita appealed to the Commercial Court of Tashkent with an application for bankruptcy.

A bankruptcy petition was filed due to the company's inability to fulfil its obligations in accordance with the decision of the Tashkent Criminal Court and the Appeal Court which set the total amount of fines and penalties to be paid by the operator at $600 million.

Vice-Minister: 119 contracts canceled with unscrupulous subsoil users in Kazakhstan
08.03.2013
Cental Asia|Kazakhstan|Law & Legal Issues

119 contracts for solid minerals with negligent subsoil users in Kazakhstan have been canceled within last three years, the Vice Minister of Industry and New Technologies of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nurlan Sauranbayev told Trend.

Kazakhstan to regulate wholesale pricing of petroleum products
04.03.2013
Cental Asia|Kazakhstan|Law & Legal Issues

Kazakhstan develops a bill on regulation of wholesale pricing of petroleum products, Novosti-Kazakhstan reported with the reference to Deputy Chairman of the Kazakh Agency for Natural Monopolies Regulation Anatoly Shkarupa.

"A new bill is under development, and we hope it will envisage regulation of wholesale prices (of petroleum products), because retail sales are under threat now and any fluctuation in wholesale prices can immediately result in retail distributors' bankruptcy," Shkarupa said at the briefing on Friday.

Regulations on housing privatisation adopted in Turkmenistan
04.03.2013
Cental Asia|Law & Legal Issues|Turkmenistan

The Turkmenistan Mejlis (parliament), approved and unanimously adopted the draft on a new housing code, an official Turkmen source announced.

Adoption of this new legislative act is intended to promote the formation and development of housing market as one of the components of the new economic relations, the announcement says.

The new document is about realising the guaranteed right of citizens to housing and new forms of purchasing housing accommodation into ownership. It establishes regulations on management and exploitation of residential houses and their neighbourhoods.

Kazakhstan to revise labor laws to eradicate disparity in local and foreign citizens’ wages
20.02.2013
Cental Asia|Kazakhstan|Law & Legal Issues

Kazakh Labor and Social Protection Ministry plans to revise labor laws in order to eradicate disparity in wages of Kazakh and foreign workers, Kazakh Prime Minister's press-service said.

"Following the examination, the ministry will conduct complete analysis of the existing labor laws to eradicate the items, allowing for the disparity in wages between Kazakh and foreign workers," the Ministry said.

Moreover the Ministry will pass new regulations envisaging liability of legal people responsible for wage disparity.

Lowest rate in number of prisoners observed in Uzbekistan
18.02.2013
Cental Asia|Law & Legal Issues|Uzbekistan

Today the lowest number of prisoners in the world is observed in Uzbekistan, which has 166 people for every 100,000 of population, chairman of Uzbek Supreme Court Buritosh Mustafayev said in an interview with The People's Word newspaper.

In Russia, the figure reaches 611 and in the U.S. 738 people.