Displaying items by tag: fuel

Protests in Kazakhstan began on 2 January when the government removed a fuel price cap. The speed with which protests turned violent surprised everyone, hinting that they are not only about fuel. This is a traditionally stable Central Asian state, often described as authoritarian, with no electoral democracy - so people needed to take to the streets to be heard. Accusing foreign-trained ‘terrorist gangs’ of being behind the trouble, President Tokayev imposed a state of emergency that includes a curfew, a ban on mass gatherings, and Russian assistance to help ‘stabilise’ the country. Dozens of protesters were ‘eliminated’ after they stormed police buildings to steal weapons. By 6 January about 1,000 people had been injured; 400 are being treated in hospital and 62 are in intensive care. Twelve members of the security forces have been killed, and 353 injured.

Food is rotting in refrigerators, people needing dialysis die as hospital equipment shuts down. Diabetics pick leaves, high in sugar, from neem trees amid fears for insulin supplies which must be kept refrigerated. Venezuela has frequent power cuts. It is illegal to fill jerry cans - so people resort to the black market for fuel for generators. ‘The government calls it contraband - we call it survival,’ said a resident. Recently an electrical substation caught fire in unexplained circumstances, which added to the sense of desperation in a neighbourhood experiencing outbreaks of looting. Citizens have mounted lookouts to warn of government security forces and paramilitary gangs called colectivos, who they fear will take down their jerry-rigged homes where residents pump water from a well and take turns carrying supplies to elderly neighbours on higher floors. Analysts and engineers say underinvestment in a network mismanaged by soldiers rather than qualified technicians has caused the power cuts. See