The 25th birthday of Kazakhstan's capital, Astana coinciding with the 83rd birthday of former President Nursultan Nazarbaev should have been a happy occasion for the former leader. Instead, he may have reflected on a tainted legacy.
Last month saw one of ex-president Nazarbaev's relatives convicted and jailed a development unimaginable before mass unrest in January while some businesses linked to the Nazarbaevs have been gobbled up by the state. Is the government going after the family's vast wealth?
The European Union is due to add Sberbank, Russia's biggest bank, and the pro-Kremlin bikers club Night Wolves to its list of individuals and companies under sanctions for supporting Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, says a draft document seen by RFE/RL.
Kazakhstan's Supreme Court has fully exonerated the chairman of the Union of Kazakhstan's Journalists and his son, the director-general of KazTAG news agency, who served prison terms for tax evasion and embezzlement several years ago.