| |
| | BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Country profiles | Country profile: Kazakhstan |
 | | The varied landscape stretches from the mountainous, heavily populated regions of the east to the sparsely populated, energy-rich lowlands in the west, and from the industrialised north, with its Siberian climate and terrain, through the arid, empty steppes of the centre, to the fertile south. |
 | | Insulting the president and officials is a criminal offence; the private life, health and financial affairs of the president are classified as state secrets. |
 | | The president's close associates, including his eldest daughter, Dariga Nazarbayeva, and son-in-law, have benefitted from the privatisation of the former state media. |
| news.bbc.co.uk /1/hi/world/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1298071.stm (841 words) |
|