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Kyiv and its Western allies fear tactical nuclear weapons could be used in battle after Putin and others warned Russia was prepared to use all its vast arsenal in defence. WHAT ARE TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPONS? Academics and arms control negotiators have spent years arguing about how to define tactical nuclear weapons (TNW). The president is the ultimate decision maker when it comes to using Russian nuclear weapons, both strategic and non-strategic, according to Russia's nuclear doctrine. The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, signed by the Soviet Union, says that no nuclear power can transfer nuclear weapons or technology to a non-nuclear power, but it does allow for the weapons to be deployed outside its borders but under its control - as with U.S. nuclear weapons in Europe.

☆ Putin says Moscow to station nuclear weapons in Belarus for the first time since the 1990s
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Russia will station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday, marking the first time since the mid-1990s that Moscow will have based such arms outside the country. They have long deployed their tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of their allied countries," he said. "Tactical" nuclear weapons refer to those used for specific gains on the battlefield. Russia has stationed 10 aircraft in Belarus capable of carrying tactical nuclear weapons, he said, adding that Moscow had already transferred to Belarus a number of Iskander tactical missile systems that can be used to launch nuclear weapons. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, nuclear weapons were deployed in the four newly-independent states of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

☆ Russian officer sentenced to 6.5 years for deserting amid war he opposed
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 24 (Reuters) - A Russian security officer who fled the country because he objected to the invasion of Ukraine has been sentenced to six-and-a-half years in high-security prison, the Taiga.info news website reported on Friday. Federal Protective Service Major Mikhail Zhilin, 36, fled to Kazakhstan last year when Russia announced a conscription campaign, illegally crossing the border through woods while his wife and children drove through a checkpoint. Zhilin sought refugee status in the former Soviet republic but his request was denied and authorities there stopped him from leaving for Armenia. Kazakhstan handed him over to Russia late last year, leading to the rare conviction of an officer for desertion. A Barnaul court clerk reached by telephone confirmed that Zhilin has been sentenced but declined to provide any further information.

☆ Xi snubbed Putin after their summit, calling a meeting of Central Asian countries as part of an audacious power play
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

China's President Xi Jinping has made a power move timed with his visit to Russia. He set up a new meeting of Central Asian countries the week, muscling in on Russia's backyard. Xi invited the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to the first China-Central Asia summit Wednesday, the AFP news agency reported. Analysts say that China has secured significant leverage over Russia in return for its diplomatic and economic support, and that in calling the meeting of Central Asian nations it is seeking to exploit that advantage. China in recent years has increased its economic and security ties with Central Asian nations, which have abundant mineral resources and lie on ancient trade routes between east and west.

☆ Earthquake in Afghanistan kills at least 11, nine of them in Pakistan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ISLAMABAD, March 22 (Reuters) - At least nine people were killed and 44 injured in northwest Pakistan by a magnitude 6.5 earthquake that struck in neighbouring Afghanistan late on Tuesday, a Pakistani government official said. At least two people were killed in Afghanistan, a disaster agency official there said. The quake was felt over an area more than 1,000 km wide by some 285 million people in Pakistan, India, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre said. A 6.1 magnitude earthquake in eastern Afghanistan killed more than 1,000 people last year. In 2005, at least 73,000 people were killed by a 7.6 magnitude quake that struck northern Pakistan.

☆ Photos from Putin's big meeting with China's Xi show no absurdly long tables but feature unexpectedly giant flags
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

On Tuesday, he was photographed with China's President Xi next to weirdly tall flags. But for Chinese President Xi Jinping, Moscow broke out long red carpets and massive flags. Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with China's President Xi Jinping at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21, 2023. Photo by PAVEL BYRKIN/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty ImagesRussian President Vladimir Putin meets with China's President Xi Jinping at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21, 2023. Russian President Vladimir Putin met with leaders of the countries of the CTSO Monday at a new long table, but this one is round.

☆ A close Russian ally is messing with the legendary spaceport it leases to the Kremlin, seizing assets over an unpaid debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Baikonur is a source of pride for Moscow, from which the Soviet Union sent the first man to space. Baikonur is pivotal to the Russian space program. Even though it isn't physically in Russia, it has been leased by the Kremlin since Kazakhstan became independent when the Soviet Union collapsed. Founded by the Soviet Union as a test range for intercontinental ballistic missiles, it was transformed into a space port in 1955. It remains a key part of Russia's space program, and is the only site where Russia launches missions to the International Space Station.

☆ Earthquake of magnitude 6.5 hits northern Afghanistan, killing at least 3
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KABUL, March 21 (Reuters) - A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck northern Afghanistan on Tuesday evening, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, killing two in the east of the country and one child in neighbouring Pakistan. The tremor was very deep, 194 km (120.5 miles), and its epicentre was in the Hindu Kush mountain range, near the remote northern Afghan province of Badakhshan. A spokesperson for Red Cross said they had no immediate reports of damages from Badakhshan's capital but were making checks on other areas. "We felt a strong earthquake, according to primary information the main place (affected) was Yamgan District," he said. A 6.1 magnitude earthquake in eastern Afghanistan killed over 1,000 people last year.

☆ Russia's invasion of Ukraine has had wide-reaching effects, including trade and partnerships in Egypt
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Insider Studios With Fcdo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has damaged partnerships and trade agreements around the globe. For Egypt, this has meant the country must seek new trade routes and reinforce existing partnerships with Europe and the US. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has presented Egypt with complex diplomatic challenges. Bilateral trade between the US and Egypt, at $9.1 billion in 2021, is also almost double the volume of Egypt's trade with Russia. A year on from the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Western economic partnerships with Egypt are only likely to grow in importance.

☆ To escape the rat race, this pair cycled 15,000 km along the route from Finland to Singapore
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Audrey Wan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Valtteri Heinila was working in a startup when he realized he needed a break. With his friend Alvari Poikola, Heinila cycled through 21 countries in eight months, he told CNBC. The men chose Singapore as their goal because it was the farthest point they could cycle to, Heinila said. Valtteri Heinila (left) and Alvari Poikola at the Imperial City of Hue in Vietnam. Valtteri Heinila

☆ Chinese media is claiming an Instagram post shows the US military stealing aid for earthquake victims in Syria. It's a bogus conspiracy theory.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Chinese state media promoted a conspiracy theory about the US stealing aid for earthquake victims. The false claims were based on US soldiers helping to distribute humanitarian aid in Turkey. That writing, the article states, is "exactly the same" as the writing on the aid "that China sent to earthquake victims in Syria." "The Americans are not only stealing oil from Syria," one user wrote, "but also humanitarian aid." A US soldier helps distribute aid to earthquake victims in Turkey.

ISTANBUL, March 20 (Reuters) - Turkey halted the transit of Western-sanctioned goods to Russia this month after a year of war in Ukraine and mounting U.S. and European pressure on Ankara for action, a top export official and a diplomat said. "Any goods on that list are blocked from Russia no matter which country they come from," he said. "There was a list of restrictions on re-exports from free trade zones to Russia beginning in March, and an instruction was given," he said. However goods produced in Turkey even with components from other countries can still be shipped to Russia without restrictions, he said. At least $777 million of these products were made by Western firms whose chips have been found in Russian weapons systems.

☆ Ruling party likely to sweep Kazakh parliamentary election
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

While Tokayev has reshuffled the government, the lower house of parliament - elected when Nazarbayev still had sweeping powers and led the ruling Nur Otan party - was not due for election until 2026, and the president called a snap vote. Unlike Nazarbayev, Tokayev has chosen not to lead the ruling party - now rebranded Amanat - but polls show it is likely to retain a comfortable majority and form the core of his support base in the legislature, especially in the absence of strong opposition parties on the ballot. The completion of political transition is also likely to strengthen Tokayev's hand in foreign policy. Despite receiving Moscow's backing during the 2022 unrest, he has refused to support Russia's invasion of Ukraine or recognise its annexation of some Ukrainian territories. Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Emelia Sithole-MatariseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK to help Kazakh exports bypass Russia, seeks critical minerals
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev shakes hands with British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly during a meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan March 18, 2023. Cleverly said London valued the position of Astana - which has traditionally been closely allied with Moscow - on the Ukrainian conflict. Kazakhstan has refused to support Russia's invasion or recognise its annexation of Ukrainian territories. Cleverly and Kazakh diplomats said they have signed a memorandum on critical minerals such as rare earth metals, but provided no details about it. But since the invasion Tokayev has been careful to keep his distance from Moscow and keep relations open with the West.

Two of the sources linked the increased Russian interest directly with reported Turkish plans to crack down on the transit of sanctioned goods. Some Russian firms have sought to establish long-term sanction-busting partnerships, the sources said. Under Russian law, it is an offence to comply with the Western sanctions and sanctions-busting has become a profitable boom industry for some entrepreneurs. Ankara also said it would not allow Western sanctions to be violated in or via Turkey and was taking steps to prevent this. Kazakh exports to Russia rose by a quarter to $8.8 billion last year and sales of some items surged.

☆ Explainer: Everything to know about nuclear fuel uranium
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Here is everything you need to know about uranium and its usage as a nuclear fuel. WHAT IS URANIUM USED FOR? The radioactive metal is the most widely used fuel for nuclear energy due to its abundance and the relative ease of splitting its atoms. It is also used in treating cancer, for naval propulsion, and in nuclear weapons. HOW MUCH URANIUM IS NEEDED FOR A NUCLEAR WEAPONThe amount of uranium that went missing contains enough of the U-235 isotope to build a first-generation nuclear bomb if enriched to over 90%, according to Dr. Edwin Lyman from the Union of Concerned Scientists.

☆ OneWeb 'moves on' from Soyuz-stranded satellites as its network nears completion
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Dmitry Rogozin said at the time that his agency wanted OneWeb to provide guarantees that its satellites were not going to be used against Russia. But it has been unable to retrieve the satellites from their Soyuz launchsite at the Russia-owned Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The satellites are worth a combined $50 million, OneWeb chief executive Neil Masterson said Tuesday. OneWeb, which manufactures at least two satellites per day, had another batch of 36 satellites ready for launch soon after cancelling Soyuz, Masterson said. Asked if Russia's custody of the commercially sensitive technology raises security or competitive concerns for OneWeb, Masterson said: "It's not a material problem."

"It seems to me that all the countries located around the Russian Federation should draw their own conclusions about how dangerous it is to take a path towards engagement with the United States' zone of responsibility, its zone of interests." Putin casts the war in Ukraine as an existential battle with the West over the future of both Russia and its former Soviet and imperial satellites which since 1991 have been courted by the United States, NATO, the EU, and China. Washington and the broader West, Lavrov said, wanted to punish Russia because it was perceived as "too independent a player" which challenged the hegemony of the United States. Lavrov, Putin's foreign minister since 2004, said that events in Georgia were orchestrated from outside and motivated by a Western attempt to claw away Russia's traditional allies. They say they simply did not agree with the proposed law and want a Western future which Russia, that fought a war against Georgia in 2008, does not offer.

Schwedt has traditionally supplied 90% of the gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and fuel oil used in Germany's capital city. Moscow last month retaliated against their bilateral efforts by halting oil flows to Poland via the Druzhba pipeline, thereby squeezing Poland’s ability to free up oil for Schwedt. Polish state-controlled refiner PKN Orlen now needs to use more capacity at the Gdansk oil terminal to feed its own Plock refinery. ROSNEFT STAKEGermany and Poland started discussions about shipping non-Russian oil to Schwedt via the port of Gdansk, Polish pipelines and Druzhba in early spring 2022. KEBCOIn a move that further complicated talks with Poland, Germany late last year approached Kazakhstan about supplies for Schwedt, sparking new concerns in Warsaw.

☆ A Russian man fleeing Putin's draft was stuck for 5 months in a South Korean airport, terrified of being sent to war
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Russian man fleeing the Ukraine war spent almost five months stuck in an airport. The man flew to South Korea to avoid compulsory enlistment, but couldn't leave the terminal. He was one of five Russians who applied for refugee status on reaching South Korea, but had their applications rejected. South Korea has a low acceptance rate for refugees, Insider's Cheryl Teh previous reported. He said that South Korea was then the only democratic country he could fly to.

☆ Critical for Kazakhstan to pursue oil export options outside of Russia, investor says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Kazakhstan's ability to diversify its seaborne crude oil export routes away from Russian territory is critical to the country's economy, the developer of an alternative port told CNBC. Once complete, the port could provide an alternative to Kazakhstan's main seaborne crude oil export route, which currently transports volumes across Russian territory via the 1,511-kilometer (939-mile) Caspian Pipeline Corporation's pipeline, for later shipment from the CPC terminal near Russian port Novorossiysk. Exports from the CPC terminal were intermittently disrupted in 2022, with Russia citing technical and regulatory issues. "Approximately 95% of oil is going through Russian territory, and we have seen some disturbance last year, and actually … it's quite a threat to the Kazakhstan economy, because we are depending on the oil revenues," Marabayev told CNBC on Wednesday. ExxonMobil's after-tax earnings linked to its Kazakh interests were roughly $2.5 billion in 2022.

☆ Blinken has 'no plans' to meet Russian, Chinese counterparts at Delhi G20 meetings
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Simon Lewis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a news conference at the Hyatt Regency in Tashkent, Uzbekistan March 1, 2023. Olivier Douliery/Pool via REUTERSTASHKENT, March 1 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that he has no plans to meet either the foreign ministers of Russia or of China during the Group of 20 (G20) meeting in New Delhi. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang are attending the meeting. A Russian foreign ministry official said Lavrov was aiming to meet at least seven foreign ministers before India hosts a welcome dinner on Wednesday for delegates from 40 countries. During his trip to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Blinken met with counterparts from all five Central Asian countries that used to be ruled from Moscow and have strong trade links with Beijing, ahead of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting.

☆ Kazakhstan needs to have alternative shipping routes away from Russia, Semurg Invest says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailKazakhstan needs to have alternative shipping routes away from Russia, Semurg Invest saysNurzhan Marabayev of Semurg Invest says Kazakhstan is a large oil exporter, and it needs alternative routes away from Russia to maintain the amount of oil it ships out.

Satellites can help secure telecom connections when normal networks are disrupted by wars or natural disasters. Veon and OneWeb declined to comment. Veon and Starlink are negotiating fees for the coming year, after governments and other entities paid for the service through spring 2023. SpaceX activated Starlink over Ukraine following the Russian invasion last year, providing internet access to millions of civilians and military personnel. The merged companies are racing to build a constellation of low-orbit satellites to challenge Starlink and Amazon's (AMZN.O) Project Kuiper.

☆ The US is increasingly backing one of Russia's few remaining allies, seizing on cracks in the relationship after the invasion of Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Kazakhstan, one of Russia's closest allies, has seemingly snubbed it since it invaded Ukraine. The US says it supports Kazakhstan's independence and wants an "even stronger" relationship with it. During his visit, Blinken said the US was "determined to make even stronger" its relationship with Kazakhstan. But the relationship between the two countries has shifted since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Kazakhstan aligning itself more with the West, drawing the fury of some in Russia. Kazakhstan also abstained in a UN vote last week aimed at condemning Russia's invasion, not backing Russia but also not totally aligning itself with the West.

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