News Roundup - July 19, 2007

BBC: Campaigning Start In Kazakhstan
Campaigning has begun in Kazakhstan for the parliamentary elections in August. International monitors have judged previous polls to be deeply flawed, and Kazakhstan is under pressure to hold these elections in a more open manner...
EurasiaNet: President's Daughter to Sit Out the Upcoming Election
Dariga Nazarbayeva – the powerful daughter of Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev, and not so long ago viewed as a possible presidential successor – appears to have taken a wrong political turn. With Kazakhstan’s election campaign scheduled to kick off on July 18, Dariga will not be one of the candidates vying for a parliamentary mandate...
The Washington Post: Family Fight Leaves Kazakhstan's Power Couple on the Outside
For years, Rakhat Aliyev and his wife, Dariga Nazarbayeva, were the power couple of Kazakhstan, building empires in media, banking and politics under the protective wing of Papa -- President Nursultan Nazarbayev. However, things have changed quickly in this energy-rich nation on the Central Asian steppe, where the United States, Russia and China jockey for influence and access to oil and gas...
EurasiaNet: Man-made Environmental Hazards Threaten Lake Balkash
Late on a Friday evening, workers at the municipal stadium in the Kazakh city of Balkhash were busy rolling out broad strips of artificial turf. Real grass can’t grow due to pollution from the local metal plant, explained the venue’s administrator...
Harper's: Kazakhstan Recruits American Supporters to “Monitor” Its Election
The Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan will be holding parliamentary elections this August and is hoping to make a positive impression with the international community about its progress towards democracy. If the past is any guide, that won’t be easy...
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Central Asia: Is There Any Escape From Lifelong Presidencies?
Virtually no one in Central Asia expects radical changes from elections scheduled for later this year in Uzbekistan and neighboring Kazakhstan. Incumbent Islam Karimov is widely expected to hold on to his presidential post in Uzbekistan, and another compliant parliament is likely to emerge from voting in August to help Nursultan Nazarbaev further consolidate his presidency-for-life...
BusinessWeek: China, Turkmenistan Ink Natural Gas Deal
China has signed a 30-year contract to buy gas from Turkmenistan, a state news agency said Wednesday, giving the resource-rich Central Asian nation a boost in its effort to realign away from its former rulers in Moscow.