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☆ Iranian chess player in exile has no regrets about removing hijab
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Elena Rodriguez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/6] Iranian chess player Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, 25, better known as Sara Khadem gestures during an interview with Reuters in southern Spain February 15, 2023. REUTERS/Jon NazcaSOUTHERN SPAIN, Feb 15 (Reuters) - An Iranian chess player, who moved to Spain after she competed without a hijab and had an arrest warrant issued against her back home, has no regrets over her bold gesture in support of the protest movement against her country's clerical leadership. But 25-year-old Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, better known as Sara Khadem, also told Reuters that the warrant, which made her return to Iran impossible, was "the most horrible thing" that happened to her. Ranked 774th in the world and 9th in Iran, Khadem plans to keep playing under the Iranian flag, but has received proposals from other countries. "I know that many of the athletes are not responsible for what is happening in their countries," she added.

☆ Kazakh yurts in Ukraine irk Russia as crowdfunded aid pours in
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"They asked us to comment and we said we saw no reason to do that," a Kazakh foreign ministry spokesman said. A year ago - just before Russia invaded Ukraine - Astana demonstrated its reliance on Moscow by briefly inviting in Russian troops to help put down street unrest. A poll carried out late last year showed 22% of Kazakhs supported Ukraine, against 13% for Russia, while 59% remained neutral. Her "Nation's Future" group started collecting aid the day after Russia invaded Ukraine, and has raised about $1.5 million in cash and donated items from about 20,000 people. "We are helping ourselves in the first place by helping Ukraine, we are supporting our independence, our decolonisation, and the image of our country."

☆ Former McDonald's restaurants reopen without branding in Kazakhstan
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/6] A view shows a fast food restaurant, which used to operate under the McDonald's brand and reopened with no branding weeks after the U.S. company left the local market, in Almaty, Kazakhstan January 23, 2023. REUTERS/Pavel MikheyevALMATY, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Several restaurants which used to operate under the McDonald's (MCD.N) brand in Kazakhstan reopened on Monday with no branding to serve fast food under generic names such as "Cheeseburger", weeks after the U.S. company left the local market. McDonald's and Food Solutions KZ terminated their licence agreement this month, citing supply issues. Sources earlier told Reuters that McDonald's Kazakhstan had stopped buying supplies from Russia and had trouble replacing them. Food Solutions KZ did not say on Monday whether it has replaced any components such as beef patties with Kazakh produce, and declined to comment on any questions not addressed in its statement.

☆ Kazakh ex-leader Nazarbayev undergoes successful heart surgery - spokesman
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ALMATY, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has undergone a successful heart surgery and his life is not in danger, his spokesman Aidos Ukibay said on Friday. Ukibay's tweet followed reports by Kazakh media that Nazarbayev, 82, who ran the oil-rich country for three decades, was hospitalised. Nazarbayev resigned as president in 2019 and lost his remaining positions of power last year after falling out with his successor Kassym-Jomart Tokayev amid violent unrest. This month, the Kazakh parliament repealed a law that had given Nazarbayev the title of Yelbasy, or the leader of the nation, and granted legal immunity to his immediate family members. Nazarbayev himself still enjoys immunity from prosecution given to him by the constitution.

☆ Russia's rebranded McDonald's may expand into Kazakhstan after McDonald's reportedly banned its restaurants there from selling Russian meat, forcing them to close
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Fast-food chain Vkusno & Tochka replaced some of McDonald's restaurants in Russia after they all closed. Alexander Govor, a Russian businessperson, bought Russia's closed McDonald's restaurants in May and rebranded them as Vkusno & Tochka, which translates as "tasty and that's it." Pavel Mikheyev/Getty ImagesMcDonald's confirmed to Insider that its contract with Food Solutions had been terminated. Kazakh news outlet Tengrinews, however, reported that Food Solutions' director said the company didn't plan to rebrand its restaurants as Vkusno & tochka. The chain said in December, however, that it was working on a substitute for McDonald's trademark Big Mac.

☆ Kazakhstan ends unlimited stay for Russians
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ALMATY, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan will no longer allow Russian citizens to stay in the Central Asian country indefinitely by doing so-called visa runs every three months, according to a government directive published this week. Tens of thousands of Russians, mostly young and middle-aged men, relocated to Kazakhstan last year as Moscow, embroiled in the Ukraine conflict, launched its first conscription campaign since World War Two. The Russian language is widely spoken in Kazakhstan and the two countries share the world's longest continuous land border, making Kazakhstan a popular choice among Russians fleeing the draft. The ability to stay in the country de facto indefinitely - by leaving it and reentering every 90 days - has been another important factor. However, the country has struggled to cope with the influx of Russians.

☆ Mixed emotions as McDonald's leaves Kazakhstan
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Workers remove the logo signage from a restaurant of McDonald's in Almaty, Kazakhstan, January 6, 2023. Food Solutions KZ, the Kazakh licensee of McDonald's Corp, will no longer operate under the U.S. corporation's brand due to supply issues. "I doubt any other company will be able to compete with McDonald's in Kazakhstan at the moment as no other fast food chain can replicate the menu that McDonald's had for the same price." Many Kazakhs, proud of their meat-focused cuisine, expressed incredulity that McDonald's Kazakh licensee, Food Solutions KZ, could not source its beef patties locally and imported them from Russia until the war forced it to stop and ultimately shut down. Food Solutions did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.

☆ Iranian chess player was warned not to return to Iran after competing without hijab -source
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Elwely Elwelly | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Chess - FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships - Rapid Women - Almaty, Kazakhstan - December 28, 2022. Sara Khadem of Iran sits in front of a chess board. REUTERS/Pavel MikheyevDUBAI, Jan 3 (Reuters) - An Iranian chess player arrived in Spain on Tuesday after receiving what a source close to her said were warnings not to return to Iran for competing without a hijab at an international tournament in Kazakhstan. Sara Khadem, born in 1997, took part in last week's FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in Almaty without the hijab - a headscarf mandatory under Iran's strict dress codes. The source also said Khadem's relatives and parents, who are in Iran, had also received threats, without giving further details.

☆ Magnitude 5.7 earthquake strikes Kyrgyzstan- EMSC
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Dec 28 (Reuters) - A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck northeastern Kyrgyzstan, near the border with Kazakhstan, the European-Mediterranean Siesmological Centre (EMSC) said on Wednesday. The quake was at a depth of 40 km (24.85 miles), EMSC said. (This Dec. 28 story has been corrected to fix location to remove reference to 'Almaty region' in the first paragraph)Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Editing by Angus MacSwanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Kazakhstan to deport Russian major who fled his country over war
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ALMATY, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan is preparing to deport a Russian security officer who fled his country because he objected to the invasion of Ukraine and hoped to find refuge in the West, his wife said on Thursday. Hundreds of thousands of Russians fled to Kazakhstan and other neighbouring states after the war started. Many of them were civilians, crossing legally as they sought to avoid mobilisation. His wife Yekaterina travelled to Kazakhstan legally with their two children at the same time. Zhilin was detained in Kazakhstan and sentenced to deportation which he tried to preempt by flying to Armenia, only to get detained again before he could board the plane.

☆ Iranian chess player appears at Kazakhstan tournament without hijab for second day -Reuters witness
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ALMATY, Dec 28 (Reuters) - An Iranian chess player on Wednesday took part in an international tournament in Kazakhstan without a hijab for the second day running, according to a Reuters journalist present. A Reuters witness at the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, saw Sara Khadem competing without a headscarf, a violation of Iran's laws governing female dress code. Khadem, born in 1997 and also known as Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, is ranked 804 in the world, according to the International Chess Federation website. The website for the Dec. 25-30 event listed her as a participant in both the Rapid and Blitz competitions. Iranian news outlets Khabarvarzeshi and Etemad in reports on Monday said that Khadem had competed at the championship in Almaty without a hijab.

☆ Iranian woman competes at chess tournament without hijab- media reports
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

DUBAI, Dec 27 (Reuters) - An Iranian chess player has taken part in an international tournament without a hijab, according to media reports, the latest of several Iranian sportswomen to appear at competitions without one since anti-government protests began. Iranian news outlets Khabarvarzeshi and Etemad, in reports on Monday, said Sara Khadem had competed at the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, without the hijab - a headscarf mandatory under Iran's strict dress codes. Photos posted by both outlets appeared to show her with no headscarf during the tournament. There was no comment on Khadem's Instagram page about the tournament or the reports, and she did not immediately respond to a direct message from Reuters. In October, Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi competed in South Korea without a headscarf, later saying she had done so unintentionally.

The article was one of a series of reports this year by the news agency on Binance's financial compliance and relationship with regulators across the world. Reuters also asked representatives of the local Binance units and affiliates about their relationship with the main Binance exchange. In Italy, Binance's public corporate filings detail just the unit's capital base and its ownership by a separate Binance company in Ireland. The Italian company, Binance Italy S.R.L., has its listed address in a block of shops and apartments in the southern city of Lecce. Just two of the Binance units analysed by Reuters offer more substantial details in their filings.

☆ The Year in Pictures 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +57 min

Every year, starting in early fall, photo editors at The New York Times begin sifting through the year’s work in an effort to pick out the most startling, most moving, most memorable pictures. But 2022 undoubtedly belongs to the war in Ukraine, a conflict now settling into a worryingly predictable rhythm. Erin Schaff/The New York Times “When you’re standing on the ground, you can’t visualize the scope of the destruction. Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 25. We see the same images over and over, and it’s really hard to make anything different.” Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb 26.

☆ Russian officer who fled to Kazakhstan could be deported, family says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Olzhas Auyezov | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Hundreds of thousands of Russians fled to Kazakhstan and other neighbouring states after the war started. Many of them were civilians, crossing legally as they sought to avoid a Russian mobilisation order. She travelled to Kazakhstan legally with their two children. A Kazakh police document, which she showed to Reuters, stated he had been detained on suspicion of violating Russian law. The Russian authorities did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment on the case.

☆ Exclusive: Kazakh McDonald's shut outlets temporarily after halting supplies from Russia - sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Mariya Gordeyeva | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

In a statement, the U.S.-based company said that its "licensee in Kazakhstan has temporarily closed all of its restaurants due to local supply issues. Food Solutions, the Kazakh licensee company, announced the closure on Nov. 17 and cited "local supply issues." After Russia invaded Ukraine in what Moscow calls a "special military operation", McDonald's exited Russia, selling all the restaurants it owned to a local licensee in May. It was unclear where the decision to ditch Russian suppliers originated. Marr Russia, one of the Kazakh company's Russian suppliers, said it never worked directly with McDonald's, dealing with its Kazakh logistics partner HAVI instead.

☆ Exclusive: Kazakh McDonald's shut outlets temporarily after halting supplies from Russia-sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Mariya Gordeyeva | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Joe LaPaille, a spokesperson for McDonald's Corporation based in the United States, said in an email: "Our McDonald's licensee in Kazakhstan has temporarily closed all of its restaurants due to local supply issues. Food Solutions, the Kazakh licensee company, announced the closure on Nov. 17 and cited "local supply issues." It was unclear where the decision to ditch Russian suppliers originated. Marr Russia, one of the Kazakh company's Russian suppliers, said it never worked directly with McDonald's, dealing with its Kazakh logistics partner HAVI instead. Miratorg said it was a supplier for Vkusno & Tochka, the Russian successor to McDonald's, and did not directly address the question of Kazakh sales.

☆ Kazakhstan seeks share of booming Russia-Iran cargo traffic
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Zhumangarin said reducing red tape and improving infrastructure could streamline cargo flows. Zhumangarin also said Kazakhstan was considering building a third railway crossing on its border with China. The move could be regarded as either positive or negative for Russia, depending on where the added volumes go. The Central Asian nation is in talks with the European Union about boosting its transit capacity as part of a project to divert China-Europe cargo traffic from Russia to the Caspian and the Caucasus. Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov and Mariya Gordeyeva; Editing by Jan HarveyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Kazakh leader stages snap vote to emerge from predecessor's shadow
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Kazakh army service members cast their votes at a polling station during presidential elections in Almaty, Kazakhstan, November 20, 2022. REUTERS/Pavel MikheyevALMATY, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev holds a snap election on Sunday that he is certain to win, solidifying his grip on power less than a year after he sidelined his long-ruling predecessor Nursultan Nazarbayev. Nazarbayev, who had held on to important posts after stepping down, gave them up during the uprising in which 238 people died. Tokayev has since forced Nazarbayev allies to relinquish other positions, and changed the name of the capital - renamed "Nur-Sultan" in Nazarbayev's honour - back to Astana. "Among those who are running for president, I only know Tokayev, firstly," said Timerlan Sadykov, a resident of Kazakhstan's biggest city Almaty.

☆ Analysis: Shocked by Ukraine war, Russian neighbour Kazakhstan looks west
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Olzhas Auyezov | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Out of total exports of 68 million tonnes a year, 53 million tonnes of Kazakh oil move through it. The chief executive of Khazakhstan's state oil firm KazMunayGaz said this week that the target of 20 million tonnes was a "medium-term" aim. But getting Kazakh oil to Baku requires either tanker shipments across the sea or the construction of a trans-Caspian pipeline. Smailov said last week that Kazakhstan would start by sending an additional 1.5 million tonnes a year via BTC starting from 2023, gradually rising to 6-6.5 million tonnes. Kazakhstan's Aktau port, the only one equipped to load oil tankers, can handle up to 5.5 million tonnes.

The young Russians who fled their country for neighboring Kazakhstan to avoid being conscripted to fight in Ukraine all want to go home one day. “I feel very sad, because, actually, I love Russia,” a 25-year-old Muscovite told NBC News in the biggest city in Kazakhstan, Almaty, a prime destination for Russians avoiding conscription. The young man, who was a juggler and a street performer before he left three weeks ago, said he already feels homesick for Mother Russia. Asked what drove him into exile, the Muscovite said: “Well, firstly, because of this conscription stuff happening now in Russia. Some of those who have left, he said, intend to stay in Kazakhstan, while others see the country as a “trampoline” to somewhere else in Europe.

☆ 'We want respect': Putin's authority tested in Central Asia
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Olzhas Auyezov | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"We want respect. Respect," said Emomali Rakhmon, Tajikistan's president since 1994, complaining that Moscow's attitude had not improved since the Soviet era. The conflict prompted Japarov to skip an informal meeting of ex-Soviet leaders in Moscow on Putin's birthday, Oct. 7. Kazakh state television showed a selection of street interviews in which respondents said the war in Ukraine cast doubt on whether any post-Soviet unity still existed. Its report also highlighted what it called provocative behaviour by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, widely regarded as Putin's proxy, who interrupted one of Tokayev's speeches.

☆ Video: See why Putin is losing his grip on former Soviet republics
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

Russia's war in Ukraine is being felt across the former Soviet Union, where many countries are reacting in horror to the Kremlin's destructive invasion. CNN's Ivan Watson reports from Almaty, Kazakhstan.

☆ Russian ballet dancer censured for pro-war performance in Uzbekistan
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Russian ballet dancer Sergei Polunin rehearses at the Royal Opera House for the Project Polunin show in London, Britain, March 1, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File PhotoALMATY, Sept 28 (Reuters) - A prominent Russian ballet dancer complained on Wednesday that he was censured for performing a song dedicated to fallen Russian soldiers while on tour in Uzbekistan, while Uzbek authorities said he had deviated from an agreed programme. The incident highlighted the concern among Moscow's Central Asian partners about its military campaign in Ukraine, a fellow former Soviet republic. After the performance, Polunin said, officials of Uzbekistan's Culture and Arts Development Foundation - an Uzbek state agency overseeing arts - rudely reprimanded him for it. "We must not cave in to this, we must not allow them to do this to Russian artists and Russian culture," he said.

☆ Kazakhstan struggles to accommodate Russians fleeing war
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ALMATY, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan is struggling to accommodate tens of thousands of Russians who have fled their homeland since Moscow announced a military mobilisation last week, officials say, but the Almaty government has no plans to close its border. Russians do not need a visa or even a passport to enter Kazakhstan, just their Russian identity papers. The Russian language is also widely spoken in the country, which is home to a large ethnic Russian minority. While some Kazakhs have already called for border closures or restrictions on Russians' entry, others have arranged meeting points for arriving Russians and set up volunteer networks to help them find shelter. In the city of Oral, some Russians have spent a night at a local cinema which invited them through social media.

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