The transition to sustainable energy requires an assessment of drivers of the use of clean and dirty fuels for cooking. Literature highlights the importance of access to modern fuel for switching from dirty fuels. Though access to cleaner fuels such as electricity promotes clean fuel use, it does not necessarily …
Kazakhstan has warned ArcelorMittal, the world's biggest steel company, that it could be forced to close one of its coal mines if it does not improve safety following an explosion last month that killed 30 people. Vladimir Bozhko, head of Kazakhstan's ministry of emergencies, has given the company one month …
Surging prices for agricultural commodities - and the fear of shortages at home - have prompted some countries to impose restrictions on exports. But their moves threaten to prolong the current global food crisis - and even exacerbate it. Countries such as Argentina, Kazakhstan, India and Vietnam have stopped their …
When the order came down from the top brass of Bangladesh's armed forces it sounded like a joke. Some of the soldiers and sailors who were told that from now on their daily rations would include increased servings of potatoes almost certainly did not take it seriously either. But in …
A landmark deal reached between Russia's state-controlled gas monopoly Gazprom and three energy-rich Central Asian nations is likely to affect European consumers. On March 11, Gazprom agreed with heads of the gas companies from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan that starting in 2009, it will pay "European market prices' for Central …
>> Law and Justice, one of Kazakhstan's few independent newspapers, is to be closed by order of the Astana region court. The newspaper is charged with improper registration. The newspaper, however, claims the move has to do with getting rid of independent media in Kazakhstan. It says that the paper …
An environmental dispute brewing between Kazakhstan and a foreign oil consortium tapping the Karachaganak field might herald further moves by the central Asian country to gain influence over the crown jewels of its oil industry. A Kazakhstan court fined the KPO group $15m on Tuesday for unauthorised gas emissions at …
Eurasian Natural Resources Corp, the Kazakh mining group, is set to make a dramatic entry into the top third of the FTSE 100 this week, just three months after it listed in London, in spite of having a free float of less than 25 per cent. ENRC shares have risen …
Thousands of people were left without fresh water in Kazakhstan on Monday after a major flood disrupted water supplies in the southwest of the Central Asian state, the Emergencies Ministry said. Spring flooding is a recurring problem across Central Asia but an abrupt rise in temperatures following weeks of severe …
A deadly new and virulent fungus capable of affecting wheat crop has been detected in Iran, a major cereal growing area in West Asia. The fungus was previously found in East Africa and Yemen and has now moved to Iran, according to Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The fungus is …
More than 12,000 people have fled their homes in Kazakhstan after rain-swollen rivers swept away houses and bridges, the emergencies ministry said on Tuesday. Spring flooding is a recurring problem across Central Asia but a sudden rise in temperatures on Feb. 20 following weeks of severe cold has exacerbated the …
As the cleanup of the decade-old mercury pollution in Nura river started in Kazakhstan, environmentalists emphasised the need for extreme caution. Mercury had been discharged in the river over many years by a Karbid acetaldehyde plant in Temirtau town, until it closed down in 1997. It contaminated a large area …
Children in parts of Siberia near the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan are suffering serious health problems due to pollution caused by unburned rocket fuel. This fuel is sprayed by rockets launched at the cosmodrome, used by the Russian space agency Rosaviakosmos, the European Space Agency (esa) and the us- based …
