Kazakhstan

ALMATY (Reuters) - Twelve people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus at one of the worker camps located next to the giant Tengiz oilfield in Kazakhstan, its operator Tengizchevroil said on Saturday.

The Chevron-led group, the central Asian nation’s No.1 oil producer, said critical activities in Tengiz had not been impacted and production was continuing as normal.

Tengizchevroil said it had taken measures to ensure the safety of workers on the site and avoid output disruption, including through limiting access to the field.

NUR-SULTAN, March 31. /TASS/: The Kazakhstani authorities have imposed a temporary ban on supplies of gasolines, diesel and aviation fuel to the republic from Russia, press service of the republic’s energy ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

"The Republic of Kazakhstan is imposing a temporary ban on supply from the Russian Federation of gasolines, diesel and aviation fuel to the domestic market of Kazakhstan," the statement said.

Supplies will be temporarily banned starting March 31, a source in the ministry’s press service explained to TASS.

ALMATY (Reuters) - Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee has detained a man suspected of planning a bomb attack in the capital, Nur-Sultan, on behalf of Islamic State, the security body said on Thursday.

The man had an improvised explosive device, it said in a statement without providing any other details. Hundreds of Kazakhs joined the radical Islamist group at the time when it controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq.

ALMATY (Reuters) - Kazakhstan is suspending all public events and closing schools and colleges in response to the coronavirus outbreak, authorities said on Thursday.

The Central Asian country, which borders China, has so far reported no coronavirus cases, but Kazakh authorities have said the arrival of the disease appeared imminent.

The government will ensure a steady supply of food and other necessities, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev wrote on Twitter, urging officials to minimize the impact of the pandemic on small- and medium-sized businesses.

NUR-SULTAN, March 7. /TASS/: Kazakhstan’s first President Nursultan Nazarbayev has had a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin with whom he discussed the results of the Russian-Turkish negotiations on the situation in Syria, Nazarbayev’s press service reported on Saturday.

"The interlocutors exchanged views on pressing bilateral and international issues, including the results of the recent Russian-Turkish top-level negotiations on the Syrian settlement process, during which the important role of the Astana process was reaffirmed," the press service said.

ALMATY/NUR SULTAN (Reuters) - Police in Kazakhstan detained dozens of opposition supporters on Sunday who took to the streets after the death of an anti-government activist in a detention center.

Activist Dulat Agadil died in a jail cell on Feb. 25, a day after police took him in on charges of contempt of court and insulting a judge. The authorities - including President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev - have said his death was caused by acute cardiovascular failure, ruling out any foul play.

22 February 2020; AFP: Police in Kazakhstan detained dozens of activists Saturday after two opposition groups announced plans to hold anti-government protests in the oil-rich Central Asian country.

An AFP correspondent saw police detain at least ten activists from the unregistered Democratic Party who were attempting to hold a protest in the largest city Almaty.

Eyewitnesses said that police had detained up to 70 people, who were en route to the site where the group said it would hold a protest.

NUR-SULTAN, February 18. /TASS/: Negotiations between Moscow and Nur-Sultan on possible Power of Siberia-2 gas pipeline route through Kazakhstan will continue, says Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan Nurlan Nogayev.

"Implementation of this project is still a plan at this point; no concrete parameters have been outlined yet. There are various options of delivering Russian gas to China. We offered to build this pipeline through Kazakhstan, if possible," Nogayev said.

NUR-SULTAN, February 9. /TASS/: The situation in several populated localities in Kazakhstan’s Zhambyl region, where a state of emergency had been declared over violent clashes on Saturday, has returned back to normal, the press service of the country’s prime minister said on Sunday.

According to the prime minister’s office, deputy premier Berdibek Saparbayev visited some of those areas on Saturday night.

NUR-SULTAN, February 8. /TASS/: Eight people have been killed in clashes and a mass brawl in Kazakhstan’s Zhambyl Region, Kazakh Interior Minister Yerlan Turgumbayev told reporters at a press briefing on Saturday.

"Several dozen people were injured and sustained gunshot wounds in massive riots. Unfortunately, eight people died from injuries," he said.

"By now, 47 people have been detained and taken to a police station. Two hunting rifles were seized from them," Turgumbayev noted, adding that several police officers were injured. Two of them sustained gunshot wounds.