Kazakh president accepts PM's resignation

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev had accepted resignation by Prime Minister Karim Masimov, according to a presidential decree published on Monday. The decree did not reveal the reason for Masimov's resignation. A report by the RIA Novosti news agency quoted an unnamed government source as saying that Masimov would now head the powerful presidential administration of Kazakhstan. The report also said Masimov would be succeeded by First Deputy Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov. Masimov, 47, had been heading the government since January 2007, the longest serving prime minister of the country. He had previously served as minister of transport and communications, presidential advisor, minister of economy and budget planning, and vice prime minister. The new prime minister will take office after being approved by Nazarbayev's Nur Otan party-dominated parliament.