The president of the oil-rich Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, has appointed his confidant Olzhas Bektenov as the new prime minister. Bektenov, 43, had been serving as the president’s chief of staff and before that led the country’s anti-corruption agency. Political observers view Tokayev’s pick as way for him to further consolidate power following a period of civil unrest two years ago that was triggered by a sharp increase in gas prices. On Monday, the president dismissed the government of previous prime minister Älihan Smailov, who had been in office since January …