“Burial Mound in Kazakhstan Yields Gold Artifacts”, “Flight linking 3 cities of Kazakhstan to be launched”, “Nearly 1 Million Kazakhs Return To Motherland Since 1991”, “Money Troubles: Russia's Weak Ruble Pulls Down Neighbors' Currencies”

archaeology.org. “Burial Mound in Kazakhstan Yields Gold Artifacts” - The Kok Kainar burial mound has yielded three artifacts, according to rep of Almaty Department of Culture. The first is described as a figurine of a feline predator dating to the fourth century B.C. “It is made of two pressed embossed plates connected into a single sculptural figurine. It can be referred to as a ‘playing kitten’ for its pose,” reads a report by Almaty’s City Department of Culture. The second item is a golden plate decorated with strawberries that depicts “a bird of prey, its head turned to the left, with a large beak, and wings unfolded.” The third artifact is a bronze mirror with a handle dating to sometime between the second century B.C. and the second century A.D. 

inform.kz. “Flight linking 3 cities of Kazakhstan to be launched” - A new flight Almaty-Karaganda-Astana will start operating in February 2015, Kazinform has learnt from the press service of Karaganda region. The new flight linking three cities, Almaty-Karaganda-Astana, will be launched this February. It is expected that the flight will operate twice a week.

rferl.org. “Nearly 1 Million Kazakhs Return To Motherland Since 1991” - Kazakhstan's Ministry of Healthcare and Social Development has announced almost 1 million ethnic Kazakhs have returned to their "motherland" since 1991. The ministry made the announcement on January 16 saying as of the start of this year 952,882 "Oralman" had returned to Kazakhstan during the years of independence.

“Money Troubles: Russia's Weak Ruble Pulls Down Neighbors' Currencies” - As the value of Russia's ruble tumbles amid low oil global prices and Western sanctions, it is taking the currencies of many former Soviet republics down with it. Just ask Gagik Ghazaryan, an exporter in Armenia. He used to be able to sell soft drinks and canned food profitably to Russia before the ruble lost 40 percent of its value relative to the U.S. dollar over the course of this year.

“Muslim Press Reacts To Charlie Hebdo Attack” - Media in the Muslim world have published a wide variety of reactions to the deadly attack on the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris. In Iran, the morning papers offered very diverse coverage of the event. Although overall coverage was low-key compared to Western media, some newspapers covered the attack on their front pages.

“In Armenia, Brutal Murder Case Tests Renewed Loyalty To Moscow” - Hundreds of people lined up outside Gyumri's St. Nshan Church on January 15 for a chance to pay their respects to six family members brutally murdered in their home earlier this week. The youngest victim, 2-year-old Hasmik Avetisian, lay in a tiny coffin, her arm wrapped around a doll.