Kazakhstan's capital city Astana officially renamed Nur-sultanMarch 23, 2019 - 16:00 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Kazakhstan's capital city Astana has been renamed Nur-sultan after the country's new President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a decree on the renaming in honor of his predecessor Nursultan Nazarbayev, Xinhua reports. The decree published on the presidential website on Saturday, March 23 took effect immediately. The Kazakh parliament on Wednesday approved a bill to rename the capital after Nazarbayev at a joint session of its two houses. Earlier on Wednesday, Tokayev was sworn in as Kazakhstan's president following Nazarbayev's resignation. After his inauguration, Tokayev proposed to rename the Kazakh capital without a referendum. Nazarbayev had served as Kazakhstan's president for nearly three decades since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. He remains the head of the Central Asian country's Security Council, leader of the ruling Nur Otan party and a member of the Constitutional Council. Nazarbayev announced his decision to step down on Tuesday. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |