ALMATY: Kazakhstan’s new president was sworn in Wednesday following the shock resignation of the country’s long-time ruler and in his first official act renamed the capital after his predecessor.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev took office in a pomp-filled ceremony less than 24 hours after Nursultan Nazarbayev, the only leader an independent Kazakhstan had ever known, suddenly announced he was stepping down.
Tokayev immediately proposed changing the name of the Central Asian nation’s capital from Astana to Nursultan, or “Sultan of Light” in Kazakh, and parliament approved the change within hours.
The senate also appointed Nazarbayev’s eldest daughter Dariga Nazarbayeva as speaker, setting her up as a potential contender to succeed her father.
Tokayev, 65, will serve out the rest of Nazarbayev’s mandate until elections due in April next year, though the former president retains significant powers in the country he ruled for nearly three decades.
Tokayev told lawmakers that Nazarbayev had “shown wisdom” by deciding to step down, a rare move in ex-Soviet Central Asia where other leaders have hung on to power until death.
“Yesterday the world witnessed a historic event,” Tokayev said, hailing Nazarbayev as a visionary reformer.
“The results of an independent Kazakhstan are there for all to see,” he added.
Nazarbayev changed the capital from Kazakhstan’s largest city Almaty to Astana in 1997, transforming it from a minor provincial town into a futuristic city of skyscrapers rising from the steppes.
Its name meant “capital” in Kazakh and there had long been speculation of a renaming after the leader who shaped it.
The city is central to government propaganda highlighting the achievements of Nazarbayev’s reign and his journey to build it was recently the subject of a state-funded film, “Leader’s Path: Astana.”
Nazarbayev, 78, ruled Kazakhstan since before it gained independence with the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.
He steered the country through a major transformation, developing huge energy reserves and boosting its international influence, but was accused of cracking down on dissent and tolerating little opposition.
Nazarbayev will continue to enjoy significant powers thanks to his constitutional status as “Leader of the Nation,” life-time position as chief of the security council and head of the ruling Nur Otan party.
Tokayev appeared to be in pole position to take over in the long term until senators voted shortly after his swearing-in to name Dariga Nazarbayeva, 55, as their new chief.
She is the most politically prominent of Nazarbayev’s three children and has long been mooted as a potential successor.
Kazakhstan’s deputy prime minister from 2015 to 2016, Nazarbayeva has significant influence over the media.
Analysts said it was too early to declare a clear frontrunner to become the next elected president, with the recently named prime minister, 53-year-old Askar Mamin, another possible contender.
Tokayev, the interim president, has a strong diplomatic record dating back to the Soviet period and has twice been foreign minister.
This should go some way to reassuring Kazakhstan’s major partners including China, the European Union, Russia and the United States that the move will not threaten key relationships.
Tokayev “is a safe pair of hands, he is a loyal presidential lieutenant,” said Kate Mallinson, a Russia and Eurasia expert at the London-based Chatham House think-tank.
Kazakhstan-based analyst Dosym Satpayev described Tokayev as a “heavyweight” but said he lacked popular appeal.
As for Kazakh society’s reaction to Dariga Nazarbayeva, it “would be mixed to say the least,” Satpayev said.
“A candidate from the family would be controversial and Dariga does not speak the state language, Kazakh, as well as her father,” he said.
Satpayev also pointed to another Nazarbayev relative — nephew Samat Abish, a high-ranking security official who rarely appears in public — as a potential contender from inside the family circle.
“This would be something like a Putin scenario, wherein a connected figure appears from the shadows at the last moment,” Satpayev said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s sudden emergence following Boris Yeltsin’s sudden retirement in 1999.
The new leader will need to tackle growing discontent over falling living standards after Kazakhstan’s economy was hit by the 2014 drop in oil prices and western sanctions against Russia, a key trading partner.
Kazakhstan renames capital after retiring leader Nazarbayev as new president Tokayev takes office
Kazakhstan renames capital after retiring leader Nazarbayev as new president Tokayev takes office
- Kassym-Jomart Tokayev took office in a pomp-filled ceremony less than 24 hours after Nursultan Nazarbayev stepped down
- Tokayev immediately proposed changing the name of the Central Asian nation’s capital
At least 23 Indian soldiers missing in flash flood
- Intense rainfall triggers flash flood through valley in India’s mountainous northeast Sikkim state
- Flash floods are common during the monsoon season, which begins in June and ends in September
Guwahati, India: The Indian army said Wednesday that 23 soldiers were missing after a flash flood caused by intense rainfall tore through a valley in the mountainous northeast Sikkim state.
A video released by an Indian army spokesman showed a thick torrent of raging brown water sweeping down a thickly forested valley, with roads washed away and power lines ripped down.
“Due to sudden cloud burst over Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim, a flash flood occurred in the Teesta River... 23 personnel have been reported missing and some vehicles are reported submerged under the slush,” the army said in a statement. “Search operations are underway.”
Lhonak Lake sits at the base of a glacier in the peaks that surround Kangchenjunga, the world’s third-highest mountain.
The army said water released upstream from the Chungthang dam meant the river was already more than 4.5 meters (15 feet) higher than usual.
Local media reported that three civilians had died after water smashed into homes overnight, with their bodies recovered from the town of Singtam on Wednesday.
Sikkim is close to India’s border with Nepal and China and boasts a sizeable military presence.
India has been wary of its northern neighbor’s growing military assertiveness and their 3,500-kilometer (2,200-mile) shared frontier has been a perennial source of tension, with parts of Sikkim claimed by Beijing.
Clashes in January 2021 left injuries on both sides in Naku La pass, which connects Sikkim with Tibet on the Chinese side.
China and India, who fought a border war in 1962, have posted tens of thousands of troops into border zones.
Flash floods are common during the monsoon season, which begins in June and normally withdraws from the Indian subcontinent by the end of September. By October, the heaviest of the monsoon rains are usually over.
Experts say climate change is increasing their frequency and severity.
Other photographs shared by the army showed water submerging the first floor of buildings, and flowing down a street in a town with only the tip of a small construction crane visible.
Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang said emergency services were working to support those impacted by the ferocious floods and urged people to “remain vigilant.”
Six bridges were washed away and the national highway that connects Sikkim with the rest of the country was badly damaged, state disaster management chief Prabhakar Rai said.
The monsoon occurs when summer heat warms the landmass of the subcontinent, causing the air to rise and suck in cooler Indian Ocean winds, which then produce enormous volumes of rain.
It brings destruction every year in the form of landslides and floods.
Melting glaciers add to the volume of water while unregulated construction in flood-prone areas exacerbates the damage.
Himalayan glaciers are melting faster than ever due to climate change, exposing communities to unpredictable and costly disasters.
Glaciers disappeared 65 percent faster from 2011 to 2020 compared with the previous decade, a report in June by the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development warned.
Based on current emissions trajectories, the glaciers could lose up to 80 percent of their current volume by the end of the century, it said.
Taiwan cancels flights, shuts schools ahead of typhoon
- Taiwan experiences frequent tropical storms from May to November but last month’s Typhoon Haikui was the first to slam into it in four years
TAITUNG, Taiwan: Taiwan canceled flights and closed schools in parts of its southern region on Wednesday ahead of Typhoon Koinu’s expected landfall, the second major storm to make a direct hit on the island in a month.
Taiwan experiences frequent tropical storms from May to November but last month’s Typhoon Haikui was the first to slam into it in four years – unleashing torrential rains, high winds and forcing nearly 8,000 people to evacuate from their homes.
Experts say climate change has made the paths of tropical storms harder to forecast while increasing their intensity, which leads to more rains and flash floods.
Ahead of Thursday’s expected typhoon, more than 100 international and domestic flights have been canceled, while ferry services to Taiwan’s outlying islands have also been halted.
More than 200 people were evacuated for fear of landslides in the south of the island, and waves lashing the coast could reach up to seven meters (22 feet) high, authorities said.
Fishing boats were crammed into a fishing harbor in Pingtung county on Wednesday to shelter ahead of the typhoon, while primary schools in the agricultural region of Taitung allowed children to go home early.
“It’s barely a month, and we have another typhoon,” 65-year-old Yang Pi-cheng lamented said, as she waited to pick up her grandchildren from Dawang Primary School.
A major highway along the coast has also been closed as a precaution.
Koinu – which has been charting a jagged course for Taiwan’s southern tip – is currently just 200 kilometers (125 miles) east of the island, moving toward it at 10 kilometers per hour.
The typhoon has already brought heavy rains to the mountainous northeast regions of Yilan and New Taipei City.
“We forecast that its center will pass through the Hengchun Peninsula at the southern tip of Taiwan tomorrow morning,” said Lu Kuo-chen, head of Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration.
After making landfall in Taiwan, Typhoon Koinu is forecast to move toward the eastern coast of China’s Guangdong province, said the weather observatory in nearby Hong Kong.
The Chinese territory – which last month was skirted by another typhoon before being flooded by the heaviest rainfall in 140 years days later – will issue its lowest typhoon signal on Wednesday evening.
Putin’s Kyrgyzstan visit to be first abroad since ICC warrant
- The long-time leader has rarely left Russia since launching a full-scale military offensive against Ukraine in February 2022
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan: Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Kyrgyzstan next week, authorities in the Central Asian country said Wednesday, in his first trip abroad since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for him.
Putin has not left Russia since The Hague-based court issued the warrant in March over the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.
“By the invitation of the president of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov on October 12 the president of the Russian Federation will pay an official visit to our country,” the Kyrgyz news agency Kabar reported, citing an official from the presidential office.
Putin is due to visit a Russian air base in the city of Kant, east of the capital Bishkek, for the 20th anniversary of its opening, Russian media reported.
The long-time leader has rarely left Russia since launching a full-scale military offensive against Ukraine in February 2022.
He last traveled abroad in December last year, when he visited both Kyrgyzstan and Moscow’s neighbor Belarus.
Kyrgyzstan has not ratified the Rome Statute, a treaty obliging members to adhere to the International Criminal Court’s decisions.
Since March, ICC members are expected to make the arrest if the Russian leader sets foot on their territory.
Putin did not attend the BRICS summit hosted by South Africa — a member of the ICC — in July.
On Tuesday, lawmakers in Armenia approved a key step toward joining the ICC, angering Moscow.
Taliban brands Pakistan expulsion threat to Afghan immigrants ‘unacceptable’
- About 1.73 million Afghan immigrants are living in Pakistan without any legal status
- Interior minister alleges that Afghan nationals had carried out 14 out of 24 suicide bombings in Pakistan this year
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s threat to forcibly expel illegal Afghan immigrants is “unacceptable,” a spokesman for the Taliban administration in Kabul said on Wednesday, adding that Afghans were not to blame for Pakistan’s security problems.
Estimating that there were 1.73 million Afghan immigrants living in Pakistan without any legal status, Pakistan’s caretaker government on Tuesday set a Nov.1 deadline for them to leave or face forcible expulsion.
“The behavior of Pakistan toward Afghan refugees is unacceptable,” Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Taliban administration in Kabul, said in a post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
To help justify the crackdown, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti alleged that Afghan nationals had carried out 14 out of 24 suicide bombings in Pakistan this year.
The Taliban spokesman rejected that claim.
“The Pakistani side should reconsider its plan. Afghan refugees are not involved in Pakistan’s security problems. As long as they leave Pakistan voluntarily, that country should tolerate them,” Mujahid said.
Pakistan’s ultimatum to the immigrants, most of whom have been living in the country for years, came after a meeting of civil and military leaders to review the law and order situation following two suicide bombings on Friday that killed at least 57 people. Bugti said one of the suicide bombers was an Afghan national, and he also accused India’s intelligence agency of involvement.
Relations between the Taliban and the Pakistan government have deteriorated markedly, with border clashes temporarily closing the main trade route between the neighbors last month.
Islamabad alleges that the militants use Afghan soil to train fighters and plan attacks inside Pakistan. The Taliban denies those accusations, saying Pakistan’s security problems are home-grown.
A caretaker government was installed in August to guide the Pakistan through to elections expected sometime in the coming months, and the military has been able to exert more influence as a result of the uncertainty and instability in the country.
Netflix plans to raise prices after actors’ strike ends
- WSJ reported that price increase will occur in ‘several markets globally’
LONDON: Netflix is planning to raise the price of its ad-free service after the ongoing Hollywood actors’ strike ends, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, sending the streaming company’s shares up more than 3 percent.
Netflix is discussing raising prices in several markets globally, but will likely begin with the United States and Canada, the WSJ reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
It was not immediately clear how much Netflix will raise prices by or when exactly the new prices will take effect, according to the report.
Netflix declined to comment on the report.
Talks between the SAG-AFTRA actors’ union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents the studios, are ongoing, with their next meeting scheduled on Wednesday.
The writers’ union struck a tentative deal with the AMPTP last week after five months of failed negotiations.
Netflix cut prices of its subscription plans in some countries in February. In the same month, it laid out a plan to crack down on password sharing by subscribers that was rolled out in over 100 countries in May.
