12 Killed, Dozens Hurt After Jetliner Crashes in Kazakhstan

VLADIMIR TRETYAKOV and DARIA LITVINOVA / The Associated Press Dec 27, 2019 A jetliner with 98 people aboard struggled to get airborne and crashed shortly after takeoff Friday. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

U.S., Russian Astronauts Safe After Emergency Landing

DMITRY LOVETSKY / The Associated Press Oct 11, 2018 A booster rocket failed less than two minutes after launching toward the International Space Station, forcing an emergency landing on the steppes of Kazakhstan. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Mysterious ‘Sleeping Disease’ Perplexes Scientists and Doctors

Natasha Hakimi Zapata / Truthdig Mar 21, 2015 Residents of a village in Kazakhstan are being relocated because of a mysterious illness that has been causing people's brains to "switch off" and go into comas. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Milestones in Nation Branding: Kazakhstan to Ditch the Stan?

Staff / Truthdig Feb 9, 2014 Kazakhstan's president is worried the final syllable of the country's name is scaring off tourists and investors; Edward Snowden was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Norwegian lawmakers who may have felt slighted by Obama's choice of ambassador to Oslo; and now there is an app for Google Glass that will identify you at a glance. These discoveries and more after the jump. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Report: Philip Morris Benefits From Child Labor

Staff / Truthdig Jul 14, 2010 Human Rights Watch is planning to release a report on Wednesday that documents widespread child and forced labor practices on the Central Asian farms that supply tobacco to Philip Morris' cigarette factory in Kazakhstan. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Meet Frank Giustra, Mining Magnate and Clinton Chum

Staff / Truthdig Jan 31, 2008 The name Frank Giustra may not ring any bells with those outside the international mining industry, but Thursday's New York Times brings Giustra (pictured with Clinton) out of relative obscurity into sharp focus with its startling report about the Canadian entrepreneur, who boldly inserted himself into the uranium business in Kazakhstan (!) and into Bill Clinton's inner circle. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Hypocrisy Alert: Bush to Embrace Kazakhstani Autocrat

Staff / Truthdig Aug 29, 2006 Just after launching an initiative to combat international kleptocracy, President Bush is scheduled to meet with the leader of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, a man who stands accused in U.S. courts of high-level bribery and who runs his country as a repressive despot. Nazarbayev just happens to rule an oil-rich country. Above, Dick Cheney meets with Nazarbayev in May. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Ali G’s Borat Tackles the ‘War of Terror’

Staff / Truthdig Aug 13, 2006 The movie trailer is out for Sacha Baron Cohen's "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan." Watch an American rodeo crowd roar in approval (and then disgust) as Cohen's Borat mocks America's "war of terror" and arrogance. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )