KAZAKHSTAN ENDS CONTROLS ON EXPORT OF PRECIOUS METALS.

Underthe terms of a decree issued by Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev,foreign firms and joint ventures involved in the extraction andprocessing of precious metals may now export these goods, Interfaxreported July 24. Earlier, Almaty had strictly controlled suchexports; but now it wants to attract more Western investment inthis sector.

Tajik Fighting Begins to Intensify.