Aberdeen's central role in the North Sea oil industry. Who is Muhktar Ablyazov, the Man at the Heart of the Current Crisis in Italy? Kazakhstan: Pedal Power Meets the Sun.

BBC - Aberdeen's central role in the North Sea oil industry - The world of oil is distant, difficult and far flung. In Kazakhstan a few years ago, I journeyed laboriously to the shrunken Aral Sea to look at a contentious new energy producing area.

Foreign Policy Journal - Who is Muhktar Ablyazov, the Man at the Heart of the Current Crisis in Italy? - Mr. Ablyazov has portrayed himself as a “dissident” and as an “opposition leader”.  He is neither.  On the contrary, he is a convicted criminal and a fugitive from the justice authorities of five different countries.  Let us look into the individual claims with a degree of objective and dispassionate scrutiny.

Eurasianet - Kazakhstan: Pedal Power Meets the Sun - On July 23, Raf van Hulle wheeled into Kazakhstan's capital first, 37 days after leaving Savoy, France. The Belgian’s grueling 7,500-kilometer journey took him through Italy, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

UPI - Kazakhstan draws more oil interest - Two reserve areas in Kazakhstan may hold a combined 36 million barrels of recoverable oil resources, a company focusing on Caspian reserves said.

KAZINFORM - Breastfeeding longer associated with higher intelligence: study - Children who are breastfed longer are more likely to have a better understanding of language and a higher intelligence (IQ) later in life, a U.S. study said Monday.

Radio Free Europe - Kazakh Court Orders Deportation Of Orthodox Priest - A Kazakh district court has ordered an Orthodox priest deported for administrative violations.

The Diplomat - How Pearl Harbor Shaped US Submarine Doctrine - When the battle fleet was ablaze at Pearl Harbor, however, the submarine force found itself at the center of the American war effort. It was one of the few implements left to the Pacific Fleet. Accordingly, Chief of Naval Operations Harold Stark ordered U.S. boats to sink any ship flying Japanese colors. That meant unlearning the old, defensive-minded way of doing things and embracing a devil-may-care ethos.