Author: Elmer Fitzgerald

Wars are fought in many ways. In trenches, behind the wheel of tank, at the trigger of an artillery piece, in the rear supporting the troops. But the war in the Ukraine also fights with guile and disguise, deceit, surprise and humor. No intelligence, cold warriors, or secrecy but the unmistaken conviction of bringing the fight to the Russian regime. The team is led by a quirky former academic, a housewife, a gifted arty-farty guy, an editor, some journalists and a few volunteers. There is a cat-lady, a Thor of thunder, a bunch of nerds working out the quirks, and…

The five Central Asian republics are actively building ties with the outside world, trying to balance the influence of China and Russia in the region. For the former Soviet republics, the Middle East was, until recently, a kind of terra incognita since Moscow carried out all contacts with the area. However, since the nineties, thanks to a growing friendship with Turkey, Kazakhstan, followed by other Central Asian republics, have begun establishing diplomatic, cultural, and trade ties with the Middle East and North African countries. Another escalation in the Middle East has forced the diplomatic departments of the Central Asian countries, whilst avoiding any accusations…

Lithuania can share experience in the field of renewable energy with Kazakhstan, in connection with which negotiations are underway, Egidijus Navikas, Ambassador of Lithuania to Kazakhstan, told Trend. “Energy cooperation between Lithuania and Kazakhstan has not been developed deeper, mostly because of the geographical situation. Lithuanian companies do not participate in Kazakhstan’s energy projects. However, Lithuania welcomes and supports EU-Kazakhstan cooperation in the field of energy, notably the increase of Kazakh exports to European countries,” he said. As the ambassador noted, Lithuania is known for its achievements in renewable energy. “The country’s government has set ambitious targets to reduce environmental pollution.…

When Kenes Rakishev launched Oxus SPAC – a special purpose acquisition company designed to acquire companies and take them public on the American stock market, analysts speculated on what exactly he would invest in. Kenes Rakishev is known for his broad interest in robotics, battery technologies, communications, and innovations. No one expected Rakishev to choose an extremely unusual sector and put effort and money into the food industry. Kenes Rakishev took the company Borealis Foods public. The company is famous for its environmentally friendly and trendy products, and for its further growth, Kenes Rakishev enlisted the world-class culinary star Gordon Ramsay. Borealis Foods, a…

Berlin (21/08 – 40) A group of Russian climbers were injured while climbing a tourist sports route in the Pamir mountains and urgently evacuated from the base camp and taken to Dushanbe, reported the Russian embassy in Tajikistan. All the victims have received urgent medical care in local hospitals. The climbers were evacuated from the Moskvin glade at an altitude of 4300 meters. It is noted that the successful outcome of the rescue operation became possible thanks to the tourists following the instructions of the Federation of Sports Tourism of Russia, early warning of the Committee for Emergency Situations and…

Berlin (21/08 – 37) Kenes Rakishev, an international entrepreneur, philanthropist and former special envoy of the Kazakhstan government, is leading the charge for an upcoming Nasdaq listing of Borealis Foods Inc.. He is included in the “Top 50 Wealthiest Businessmen of Kazakhstan” and “Top 50 Most Influential Businessmen of Kazakhstan” lists by Forbes magazine. In Forbes’ list of the wealthiest businessmen in Kazakhstan for 2021, he holds the 9th position with a capital of 950 million dollars. Rakishev is President of Fincraft Group and Net Element; a global publisher of online destinations and business services on a custom technology platform…

On June 20, after meeting with Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Astana, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier announced Germany’s recent endorsement of Kazakhstan’s efforts to create alternative trade routes and transport corridors to Europe while bypassing Russia. Steinmeier declared that such measures would further prevent the Kremlin’s ability to evade sanctions via Kazakhstan (Svoboda, June 20). However, Moscow’s moves to redirect trade through a new corridor that would circumvent Kazakhstan pose a challenge to Astana’s ambitions (see EDM, 5 July). Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, both local governments, neighboring foreign states and international institutions have invested much effort and money…

The negative consequences of the global cost-of-living crisis are manifesting in the Kyrgyz Republic with rising food prices and inflation, which paired with decreasing net remittances erode the resilience of households most vulnerable to food and nutrition insecurity. The COVID-19 pandemic had reverted a decade of development gains in just two years. Poverty had sky-rocketed from 20.1 % in 2019 to 33.3 % in 20211 , with an additional 10 % of the population at risk of falling into poverty. Moreover, extreme poverty increased to 6 percent in 2021 from 0.5 % in 2019. WFP has rolled out quarterly remote…

Russian engineering systems integrator DataDome is to build a new data center in Kyrgyzstan’s capital city, Bishkek. The company this week announced plans to develop what it said will the be country’s first Tier III-quality data center. The new facility will accommodate 100 racks with a total capacity of at least 500kW. The facility will be operated by DataTime, a new local data center operator. Andrey Pavlov, general director of DataDome, said: “The DataDome team includes specialists who participated in the creation of most of the largest data centers in Russia. This year we decided to enter new geographic markets…

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia will share their citizen’s personal data with each other for law enforcement purposes, the press service of Kyrgyzstan’s presidential office announced Wednesday. Under the agreement, each country will share information on the residence status, citizenship, migration registration, visas, property, criminal records and identity documents of individuals living within their borders. “Today we received notifications from the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation regarding the completion of the necessary procedures for the agreement to come into effect,” the Kyrgyz presidential office said. The agreement will enter into force on July 21, or 30 days after Kyrgyzstan’s ratification. The data…