Kazakhstan: Will the Elderly “Swallow” Pension Reform? Energy-hungry China scours the globe to secure future supplies. One Year Later, Doubts Swirl Around Kazakh Border-Guard Murders.

Eurasianet - Kazakhstan: Will the Elderly “Swallow” Pension Reform? - For more than two decades, the Nazarbayev administration’s emphasis on a Soviet-style social safety net ensured that retirees like Bissenova remained loyal. But now, as the country's economic growth slows and authorities start to tighten purse strings, a pension-reform bill passed by parliament in early May threatens to alienate what, until this point, has been a solid part of the administration’s base.

Radio Free Europe - One Year Later, Doubts Swirl Around Kazakh Border-Guard Murders - One year after 14 Kazakh border guards and a forest ranger were brutally murdered at a remote post on the Kazakh-Chinese border, Kazakhs remain unsettled by the case.

 It has been plagued by a spotty investigation and a controversial conviction of the alleged killer, 20-year-old Vladimir Chelakh.

CNN - Energy-hungry China scours the globe to secure future supplies - China's energy imports are so fundamental to its survival and development that China's new leadership has taken extraordinary steps to secure future supplies.

In a flurry of official visits over the past two months involving President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, China has sought to bolster its energy relations with big strategic neighbors Russia and India, key energy exporters Indonesia, Brunei and South Africa, emerging resources suppliers such as Tanzania and the Republic of Congo in Africa, and renewable energy pioneer Germany.

BBC - Census reveals German population lower than thought - Germany has found that it has 1.5 million fewer people than was generally assumed, following the first census since reunification in 1990.

Russia Today - US Muslim sues FBI over ‘months of torture on unspecified charges’ - A US Muslim alleges he was held illegally for 106 days by FBI agents and was subjected to severe beatings. The plaintiff said he was abused when he refused to become an informant at the Portland Mosque he attended while living in the US.