At least 1,000 people gathered in front of Gyegu's town hall Wednesday morning to mourn those killed in last week's devastating earthquake; Kazinform refers to Xinhua.



The mourners, representing all the different ethnic groups in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu, in northwest China's Qinghai Province, wore white paper flowers, a traditional symbol of mourning in China, and stood in silent tribute at 10 a.m..



The national flag in the square was lowered to h...

Pakistan has signed a deal with the United States to buy a guided missile frigate USS McInerney (FFG-8), Pakistani television network Geo-TV said on Wednesday, citing military sources; Kazinform refers to RIA Novosti.



The U.S. Congress approved the deal in September 2008. The frigate will be commissioned as PNS Alamgir on August 31 in the United States.



Reports on the total sum of the deal vary, with several Pakistani sources putting the price at $65-$78 million.
...

The chairman of the provisional government of the Kyrgyz Republic, Roza Otunbaeva, held the meeting with the SCO Secretary General, Muratbek Imanaliev, the agency reports.



M. Imanaliev informed that the purpose of his visit to Kyrgyzstan - to familiarize with the situation in the country. "I arrived to meet the members of the provisional government and to discuss a number of important questions," he said.



He noted that the Republic has faced difficulties...

Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon on Thursday welcomed the new development in Sudan's first national elections in 24 years, which were closed across the African country; Kazinform refers to Xinhua.



Ban congratulated all those who participated in the polls " which took place without any major incident of violence" and called on all parties to refrain from actions that could jeopardize the "peaceful conclusion" of the electoral process.



A statement,

...

Ukraine has asked Russia to cut the gas price to $250 per 1,000 cubic meters in 2010, an oil and gas industry source close to the negotiations reported, Kazinform refers to Itar-Tass.



"The offer is $250, but no more than $260," he said.



The Ukrainian government press office did not comment on the gas talks. "We are waiting for a report of Fuel and Energy Minister Yuri Boiko to Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov," the premier's press secretary Vital

...

The death toll from a powerful earthquake that struck China's northwest Qinghai province on Wednesday has risen to 1,144 people, local media reported; Kazinform refers to RIA Novosti.



A 7.1 magnitude earthquake, the strongest to strike the country in two years, hit an area in Qinghai, near Tibet, on the morning of April 14. The epicenter of the earthquake was registered at the depth of 33 km (20 miles) in Yushu county, in the south of Qinghai province.



The number

...

Thick drifts of volcanic ash blanketed parts of rural Iceland on Friday as a vast, invisible plume of grit drifted over Europe, emptying the skies of planes and sending hundreds of thousands in search of hotel rooms, train tickets or rental cars; Kazinform refers to China Daily.



Polish officials worried that the ash cloud could threaten the arrival of world leaders for Sunday's state funeral for President Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria in the southern city of Krakow.

...

Taking into account Kazakhstan's relations with the Caucasian states, European Union and Russia, the Kazakh chairmanship in the OSCE could play great role in stabilization of the situation in the South Caucasus. EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby has brought out such opinion at the meeting with Kazakh Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Belgium, Luxembourg, Head of Kazakhstan's mission to EU and NATO Yerik Utembayev.



The EU Special Repres

...

Kazakh Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Belgium, Luxembourg, Head of Kazakhstan's mission to EU and NATO Yerik Utembayev has met with President of the EU Court of Auditors Vítor Manuel da Silva Caldeira. The issues of establishment of cooperation and interaction between the EU Court of Auditors and the Kazakh Accounts Committee were discussed at the meeting.



In particular, the sides exchanged information on activity and tasks which they face. The issues of

...

Kazakh Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Belgium, Luxembourg, Head of Kazakhstan's mission to EU and NATO Yerik Utembayev has hold a meeting with the Eurostat heads. The issues of cooperation establishment between the Kazakh Statistics Agency and the Eurostat were discussed.



Following the results of the meeting there was reached an agreement on development and signing of a Memorandum of cooperation between the Kazakh Statistics Agency and the Eurostat. Besides, th

...

Lacking a protein involved in the response to low levels of oxygen may help control weight, a new study suggests.



Researchers at the University of California in San Diego based their findings on examining mice, according to the study published in the April 15 issue of Cell Metabolism.



The findings showed that even on a high-fat diet, mice that lack the protein, called FIH, stay lean and healthy.



The discovery could offer a new target for drugs to help...

The funeral of the Polish president, who was killed in a plane crash last week, could be delayed as ash clouds from a volcanic eruption in Iceland might prevent other world leaders from coming to pay their last respects.



The funeral for late Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria is scheduled for Sunday.



"If there are no opportunities for the foreign guests to arrive and for us to transport the president and the first lady's bodies to Krakow, it

...

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) highly appraises Kazakhstan's contribution to the global disarmament and mass destruction weapons nonproliferation. The closure of the Semipalatinsk Test Site and voluntarily renunciation of nuclear weapons became very important milestones to nuclear-free world.



Tibor Tóth, the Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization said it at the meeting with Kaza...

Germany's Frankfurt airport, the largest in the country, and other major international airports were suspended Friday as a cloud of ash from a volcano in Iceland floated over Europe, German airport and authorities said, Kazinform refers to Xinhua.



The Frankfurt airport, Germany's transportation hub, has halted all takeoffs and landings from 8 a.m. (0600 GMT), and it remained unclear when the air traffic would resume, German transport company Fraport, which runs the Frankfurt airpo...

For the first time in the history of space exploration two astronauts will celebrate their birthdays on board the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday; Kazinform refers to RIA Novosti.



On April 15, Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Korniyenko celebrates his 50th birthday and his fellow astronaut from Japan, Soichi Noguchi, turns 45.



Traditionally, birthdays on board of the ISS are celebrated with a festive table and the astronauts toast the birthday person with

...

Today, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Kazakhstan's Secretary of State and Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev issued the following statement:



"Today, on April 15, as a result of joint efforts of Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev, U.S. President Barack Obama and Russia's President Dmitriy Medvedev, as well as active mediation by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, along with the United Nations and the European Union, an agreement was reached with

...

A volcano under a glacier in Iceland erupted Wednesday for the second time in less than a month, melting ice, spewing smoke and steam, closing a major road and forcing hundreds of people to flee rising floodwaters; Kazinform refers to the Arab News.



Authorities evacuated 800 residents from around the Eyjafjallajokull glacier as water gushed down the mountainside and rivers rose by up to 10 feet (3 meters).



Iceland's main coastal ring road was closed near the volc

...

Kyrgyzstan temporary government passed the decree to deprive the President Kurmanbek Bakiev of immunity, the temporary government's press centre informed.



According to the temporary government decree, arrest order will be issued and Bakiev will be taken to court.



According to Vice President of the temporary government, Azimbek Beknazarov, "K. Bakiev will be punished for all crimes."



Kyrgyzstan President's brothers are wanted: ex-head o

...

Kazakhstan, Russia and the USA have expressed intention to support Kyrgyzstan. The chairman of the temporary national government of Kyrgyzstan, Roza Otunbaeva, informed, the agency reports.



"Now we will define priorities and the special national coordinators will work over them," she noted.



R. Otunbaeva has expressed gratitude for support to "the friends from all over the world, including the OSCE, the European Union and the United Nations."

...

President Nursultan Nazarbayev had an informal meeting with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev within his working visit to the United States of America.



As the Presidential press service informs, N. Nazarbayev and D. Medvedev discussed the issues concerning bilateral relations as well as regional and world policy at a dinner yesterday.

Source: KAZINFORM

Chinese President Hu Jintao called on his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama to resolve an issue of Iran's controversial nuclear program by means of a dialogue; Kazinform refers to RIA Novosti.



Jintao and Obama met on the sidelines of a two-day global summit on nuclear security, which opens on Monday in Washington. The summit focuses on the vulnerability of stockpiles of nuclear materials and preventing them from falling into the hands of terrorists.



According to U.S.

...

Today Azerbaijan, Georgia and Romania signed a memorandum on cooperation in gas sphere in Bucharest, SOCAR Representation in Romania said today, Kazinform refers to Trend News.



According to representation, the document was signed by Minister of Industry and Energy Natik Aliyev, Minister of Economy, Commerce and Business Environment of Romania Adriean Videanu and Georgian Energy Minister Alexander Khetaguri.



The project envisages construction of two terminals for

...

If this 13-year-old American boy succeeds in his bid to climb Mount Everest, he has modest ambitions - pick a small piece of rock from the top of the world as a memento and wear it in a necklace; Kazinform refers to the Arab News.



"I will not sell it; I will not give it to anyone. It is something for myself to say 'this is a rock from the summit'," Jordan Romero from California, told Reuters in Katmandu. He is due to leave for the mountain on Sunday.



If

...

President of the National Scientific-Practical Educational and Health Center "Bobek" Sara Nazarbayeva was awarded the CIS Star of Commonwealth Prize for her significant contribution to the moral and spiritual education of the younger generation, protection of motherhood and childhood on April 9 in Moscow; Kazinform has learnt from the Kazakh Embassy in the Russian Federation.



The prize was received by Kazakh Ambassador to Russia Zautbek Turisbekov, who thanked the CIS

...

France and Italy signed Friday a string of agreements on nuclear cooperation, under which leading French energy companies will provide technology and professional support to Italy in developing nuclear energy.



Cooperation on nuclear sector dominated the meeting between Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysee Palace, when the two leaders presided the signing of 20 agreements, letter of intents and joint declarations.

...

A US military doctor removed a live round of ammunition from the head of an Afghan soldier in an unusual and harrowing surgery; Kazinform refers to China Daily.



Doctors say a 14.5 millimeter unexploded round -- more than 2 inches long -- was removed from the scalp of an Afghan National Army soldier at the Bagram Air Field hospital last month.



When the Afghan soldier, in his 20s, arrived at the base, doctors thought it was shrapnel or the spent end of some sort of

...

A new mudslide buried up to 200 people in the Brazilian town of Niteroi, near Rio de Janeiro, with few chances of finding survivors, Civil Defence officials said Thursday, Kazinform refers to Trend News.



The mudslide late Wednesday made matters worse in a rain-induced tragedy that has already caused 154 confirmed deaths in Rio and its surroundings since late Monday, dpa reported.



The latest mudslide affected a favela (slum) on Bumba hill, in Niteroi, some 13 kilo

...

"Kazakhstan play the key role in provision of security and stability in the region, in this regard cooperation with your country is of special importance for NATO", NATO Supreme Allied Commander Admiral James Stavridis said at the meeting with Kazakh Ambassador to Belgium, Luxemburg, European Union and NATO Yerik Utembayev that was held in the headquarters of Allied Command Operations of NATO in Mons (Belgium).



The sides exchange opinions on the issues of bilateral co

...

Two separate demonstrations of employees of the state and private sector were held in the center of Athens on Thursday afternoon, as Greek citizens culminate the mobilization against the austerity measures after a break for Easter holidays.



Hundreds of protesters took part in the gatherings organized by labor unions close to the two Left parties represented in the Greek Parliament, in front of the old university of Athens and the parliament building.



Holding bann

...

Government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has passed a decision to freeze South Korean real estate in the Kumgangsan tourist region, the Korean Central News Agency /KCNA/ said Thursday quoting a representative of the department for development of tourist areas; Kazinform refers to Itar-Tass.



He recalled that North Korea on March 4 made public its intention to resume tourist trips to the Kaeson and Kumgangsan areas for South Korean citizens as of March 1 and April

...