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☆ Sam Bankman-Fried’s Supersized Bet: $1 Billion for a Bitcoin Miner on the Kazakh Steppe
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Eliot Brown | Yuliya Chernova | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Just before crypto markets plunged last year, Sam Bankman-Fried ’s hedge fund made a $1 billion bet on Genesis Digital Assets, a Cyprus-registered bitcoin miner rigged to consume a small city’s worth of electricity in Kazakhstan. The cash injection from Mr. Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research LLC was supersized even for the red-hot crypto startup world, and it dwarfed the FTX founder’s other investments in private companies.

☆ Take Five: Welcome to 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

LONDON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - A potential shift by the world's most dovish major central bank, inflation pressures abating, a turn in the economic outlook and oil markets suffering their biggest tumble in decades: Welcome to 2023! 1/ EARNINGS AND INFLATIONThe week ahead brings a critical read into two key themes for Wall Street in 2023: the health of corporate profits and inflation. With crude oil volatility soaring, 2023 might be anything but plain sailing for producers and consumers alike. Barclays expects the UK economy to keep contracting until the end of the third quarter of 2023. It takes time for declines in market prices to filter through into household bills, but signs are positive for cash-strapped consumers and businesses.

☆ 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.

☆ Fact Check-Video of frozen deer on highway dates back to March 2021
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Contrary to claims on social media, a video showing deer partially frozen onto a highway was not filmed during the arctic blast that affected the United States in Dec. 2022. This crazy footage shows two walkers who spotted a Deer with its mouth, eyes & ears completely frozen over rescuing it. !”Through a reverse image search, Reuters found that the video has been circulating since at least March 2021. Russia's state-run RT shared the clip on March 4 that year, saying it was filmed in Kazakhstan by "Nurjan Makaev" (here). A video showing deer partially frozen onto a highway dates to March 2021.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

[1/6] Commercial vessels, including oil tankers, wait at an anchorage in the Black Sea off Kilyos near Istanbul, Turkey, December 9, 2022. A total of 28 oil tankers are in a queue seeking to leave the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, the Tribeca shipping agency said on Friday. Turkey's maritime authority said it would continue to keep out of its waters oil tankers that lacked appropriate insurance letters. A shipping source said four of the tankers waiting to cross the Dardanelles were scheduled to go on Saturday with tug escorts. Millions of barrels of oil per day move south from Russian ports through Turkey's Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits into the Mediterranean.

☆ Turkey is stopping oil not under Russian sanctions, raising global energy market supply concerns
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Cargo ships and vessels transit the Bosphorus Strait, a body of water connecting the Black Sea to the Marmara and Mediterranean Seas through Istanbul, Turkey. Above, the Russia-flagged vessel Volga River Taganrog oil tanker passes south through the Bosphorus Straits in October 2022. "It appears that all but one of the roughly twenty loaded crude tankers waiting to cross the straits are carrying Kazakh-origin oil," a price cap official told CNBC. If delays mount, refiners will seek alternative supplies from other countries or they will reduce operating capacity because they don't have enough oil, which impacts the supply of gasoline and diesel, said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. "If this continues for another week we will begin to see an impact on the oil market," Lipow said.

[1/2] Oil product tanker Lila Fujairah sails in the Bosphorus, on its way to the Mediterranean Sea, in Istanbul, Turkey December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Yoruk IsikCompanies Ingosstrakh SPAO FollowLONDON, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Western officials are in talks with Turkish counterparts to resolve oil tanker queues off Turkey, a British Treasury official said, after the G7 and European Union rolled out new restrictions on Dec. 5 aimed at Russian oil exports. "The UK, U.S. and EU are working closely with the Turkish government and the shipping and insurance industries to clarify the implementation of the Oil Price Cap and reach a resolution," the official told Reuters. At least 20 oil tankers continue to face delays to cross from Russia's Black Sea ports to the Mediterranean as operators race to adhere to the Turkish rules. "The (insurers) have agreed that they cannot and should not issue such a letter," UK P&I said in a statement on its website.

☆ 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.

☆ Oil tankers queuing to transit Turkish straits face more delays - sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Ingosstrakh SPAO FollowISTANBUL, Dec 6 (Reuters) - At least 20 oil tankers queuing off Turkey to cross from Russia's Black Sea ports to the Mediterranean face more delays as operators race to adhere to new Turkish insurance rules added ahead of a G7 price cap on Russian oil, industry sources said. The new rule was announced before a $60 per barrel price cap was imposed on Russian seaborne crude this week, Western insurers are required to retain proof that Russian oil covered is sold at or below that price. Millions of barrels of oil per day move south from Russian ports through Turkey's Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits into the Mediterranean. Tribeca shipping agency said nine oil tankers were waiting to transit the Dardanelles southbound on Tuesday. The only tanker passing the straits after the deadline, Vladimir Tikhonov, was insured by Russia's Ingosstrakh (INGSI.MM), the source added.

☆ Caspian seal deaths: Thousands of dead seals wash up in Russia's Dagestan
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Mariya Knight | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Around 2,500 endangered seals have been found dead on Russia’s Caspian coast, state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported Sunday, citing authorities in the North Caucasus region. Caspian seals, the only mammals found in the Caspian Sea, have been classified as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list since 2008. According to RIA, inspectors were patrolling the coastline in search of additional dead seals. Meanwhile, specialists from the Caspian Environmental Center were analyzing samples from the dead seals to identify the cause of death. The mass deaths come after more than 140 Caspian seals were found dead on Kazakh beaches of the Caspian Sea earlier this year, according to KASPIKA, an agency for the conservation of Caspian seals.

☆ 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.

☆ How Russian ally Kazakhstan is taking a stand against the Ukraine war
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Russian ally Kazakhstan has been subtle but firm in its opposition to the Ukraine war. Kazakhstan's official position on the war is to call for a ceasefire and a diplomatic solution, Magzhan Ilyassov, Kazakhstan's new ambassador to the UK, said in a press briefing attended by Insider. Following the invasion of Ukraine, fears have also been stoked that Russia could turn its sights to Kazakhstan next. Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesAlthough it has not outright criticized Russia for invading Ukraine, Kazakhstan has made its position clear. Ilyassov said that Russian troops were there among others from all member states and left after nearly two weeks without being involved in any action.

☆ Factbox: U.S. offers new details on plan to cap Russian oil prices
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Crucially, though, the guidance does not yet state what the price cap will be, something that the United States is still hashing out with its partners. Here are key points from the latest guidance:START AND STOP"While shipping and insurance are covered services, these costs are distinct from the price cap on Russian oil," the guidance stated. Any oil purchased or docked after those times, however, will need to adhere to the price cap. In addition, the price cap only applies to the first "landed" sale outside of Russia, meaning the first point at which the cargo comes ashore. They include trading and commodities brokers, and companies involved in financing, shipping, insurance, flagging, and customs brokering.

☆ Kazakh President Tokayev wins re-election with strong mandate
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

ASTANA, Nov 21 — Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev secured a second term in Sunday’s snap election, winning 81.31% of the vote, the central Asian nation’s Central Election Commission said on Monday, citing preliminary data. “We can say that the people have expressed convincing confidence in me as president and all of you,” Tokayev, 69, had told his staff earlier, referring to exit polls that favored him. Voter turnout was 69.44%, with five other candidates scoring in the low single digits, data showed. Prompted by the exit polls, several fellow central Asian leaders congratulated Tokayev on Monday before the preliminary results. Tokayev won his first election in 2019 with the backing of predecessor Nursultan Nazarbayev, but the two fell out this year amid violent unrest in the nation of 20 million, and Sunday’s vote consolidated his power as an independent leader.

☆ Kazakh President Tokayev wins re-election with 81.3% of vote
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ASTANA, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev secured a second term in Sunday's snap election, winning 81.31% of the vote, the central Asian nation's Central Election Commission said on Monday, citing preliminary data. Voter turnout stood at 69.44%, with five other candidates scoring in the low single digits, data showed. The second most popular option picked by voters was "against everyone", with 5.8% of ballots. Several fellow central Asian leaders congratulated Tokayev on Monday morning before the preliminary results were announced, as exit polls published earlier showed similar figures. Reporting by Tamara Vaal; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Kim Coghill and Edmund KlamannOur 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.

LONDON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - European refiners have found themselves oversupplied with crude as an expected shortage owing to the looming EU ban on Russian oil has yet to materialise. The front-month Brent crude futures spread narrowed sharply this week, reflecting better supply in the physical oil market as fears over the EU embargo on Russian crude begin to subside. Reuters Graphics"There's too much oil around," one European crude trader said. A G7 price cap on Russian crude also comes into effect on Dec. 5. ALTERNATIVES SOURCESTraders said refiners have adjusted to living without Russian crude, which had been a mainstay of Europe's refining system.

☆ 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.

☆ Russian lawmaker who called for an end to Ukraine war injured in mysterious circumstances, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russian lawmaker Anatoly Karpov received serious head injuries outside the State Duma, per multiple reports. A string of Russian officials have died in mysterious ways since the invasion of Ukraine began. Karpov's spokesperson Albert Stepanyan denied he had been injured at all, saying: "There was no attack ... there are no injuries," state media outlet TASS reported. He was taken to the neurocritical care unit at the Sklifosovsky Institute in Moscow with a fractured femur and severe head injuries, per RIA Novosti. "In the end ordinary people are the victims," he continued.

☆ '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.

☆ Putin says he sees no need for talks with Biden
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MOSCOW, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that he saw "no need" for talks with U.S. President Joe Biden. Speaking at a news conference in the Kazakh capital Astana, Putin said that he had not yet taken a decision on attending a Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia next month. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by ReutersOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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