Kazakhstan stuff:

Italian PM Berlusconi praises the virility of Kazakh men (Telegraph). 

Yep, those men are virile enough for a Russian bride scam at $1-5,000 a time plus military housing benefits (AP). 

Pawel Pawlikowski in praise of Chimkent-born documentary film-maker Sergei Dvortsevoy (Guardian).

Aktau City is a new "energy showcase" metropolis being constructed from scratch in Kazkhstan's western desert (TOL).

Kazakh patriotism is at an all-time high of 90.4% according to the latest poll, up from 53.4% in 2006 (Tsentraziya, in Russian).