Astana, June 17, SPA --Kazakh President NursultanNazarbayev today fired the Central Asian nation's DefenceMinister Danial Akhmetov, Reuters quoted the presidential press service as saying. Nazarbayev's decree gave no reason for the sacking ofAkhmetov, a long-term devoted loyalist of the veteran leaderwhose previous posts included that of prime minister. First Deputy Defence Minister Mukhtar Altynbayev becameacting defence minister. In April, Kazakhstan's Defence Ministry was rocked by ascandal when the nation's security service accused it of buyingdefective military hardware from Israel. A Kazakh deputy defence minister was sacked after thesecurity agency's investigators established the government hadincurred losses of $82 million as a result of the deal.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/675730