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Kazakh president talks to nation online

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ASTANA, June 7 (RIA Novosti) - Kazakhstan's president is holding an online news conference, the first in the 18 years of his presidency, answering questions of concern to the nation.

Nursultan Nazarbayev, 66, proposed constitutional amendments in May to give more power to parliament. But the opposition said the amendments were undemocratic and only designed to improve the image of the Central Asian state given its aspirations to preside in the OSCE.

Nazarbayev is expected to answer 30 questions over two hours. There were about one million Internet users in the oil-rich ex-Soviet state of 15 million in 2005, compared with just 41,000 in 1997.

"The most popular questions concern education and science, housing policy, transportation and communications," the presidential press office said.

Last month, Nazarbayev ordered an investigation into his son-in-law, Rakhat Aliyev, who had announced plans to run for president in 2012. Aliyev, accused of abduction and running a crime network, is in Austria awaiting extradition.

He was arrested in Vienna June 1 on an international warrant and later released on bail of one million euros.

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