“US Embassy in Moscow Faces Cold War-Era Harassment”, “Assad's warnings start to ring true in Turkey”, "Award-Winning KZ Film Shown at London Festival", “New Book Illuminates KZ’s History with Maps, Illustrations”, “Can Astana Survive Oil Price Sliump?"

abcnews.com. “US Embassy in Moscow Faces Cold War-Era Harassment” - One American diplomat's tires were slashed. Another's personal email was hacked. Still others reported mysterious break-ins. The incidents are all signs, U.S. officials and experts said, that aggressive, Soviet-era counterintelligence tactics are back in fashion in Russia.

reuters.com.  “Assad's warnings start to ring true in Turkey” - When Sunni rebels rose up against Syria's Bashar al-Assad in 2011, Turkey reclassified its protégé as a pariah, expecting him to lose power within months and join the autocrats of Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Yemen on the scrap heap of the "Arab Spring".

astanatimes.com. "Award-Winning Kazakh Film Shown at London Festival" - “Nagima,” a film by Kazakh director Zhanna Issabayeva, was presented during the recently completed BFI London Film Festival 2014. The heart-breaking story tells the tale of two girls who grew up in an orphanage in Almaty. “This is an art house film from my perspective.

“New Book Illuminates Kazakhstan’s History with Maps, Illustrations” -A new book edited by Hong Kong-based writer Jeremy Tredinnick collects essays, photographs, maps, artefacts and other visual and textual information to illuminate the historical passage of the many cultures and peoples that have called Kazakhstan home.

eurasianet.org. “Kazakhstan: Can Astana Survive an Oil Price Slump?” - The steep decline in global oil prices is stoking angst in Kazakhstan. Experts and officials alike say the government has ample resources to grapple with fiscal surprises. The real question is whether the political will exists for the government to take necessary measures.