Mexican boxing star Canelo Alvarez bags the long-awaited fight against Gennady Golovkin after scoring a lopsided victory over Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. Saturday night at the T. Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Astana - Russia, Iran and Turkey on Thursday signed an agreement on setting up four safe zones in Syria that the United Nations described as a promising step to wind down the brutal six-year war.

Astana - Syrian rebels on Wednesday said they were suspending their participation as a latest round of peace talks began in Kazakhstan, with the warring sides set to discuss a plan to create safe zones.

Astana - President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday called for shoring up Syria's frail truce as Russian-led peace talks involving Syrian rebels and regime officials are set to begin Wednesday in Kazakhstan's capital Astana.

Dzhezkazgan - Two Russian cosmonauts and a US astronaut touched down safely in central Kazakhstan Monday following a 173-day mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Almaty - The trial in absentia of Mukhtar Ablyazov, a fugitive banker and Kazakh opposition figure wanted on embezzlement charges by Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine began Friday, a court in the Central Asian country said."The process began on March 17 at 10.

Astana - The Syrian regime and key powerbrokers on Tuesday tried to shrug off the absence of rebel groups as they gathered for talks on the six-year conflict, but the opposition's refusal to attend appeared a body blow for any hopes of progress.

Astana - Kazakhstan's autocratic President Nursultan Nazarbayev on Friday signed off on constitutional changes limiting the powers of his office, though he is expected to retain supreme authority in the Central Asian country.

Astana - Syrian regime and rebel representatives failed Thursday to make any breakthroughs at talks in Kazakhstan, as key powerbrokers Russia, Turkey and Iran sought to shore up a shaky ceasefire.

Astana - Kazakhstan said Wednesday a new round of Astana talks on the Syria conflict led by Russia, Turkey and Iran scheduled to begin February 15 would be delayed by a day due to unexplained "technical reasons".

Astana - In the snowy foreground of a brand new steel and glass building in Kazakhstan's capital Astana, a dancer in national dress stands frozen in a dramatic flourish, her body arching towards the sky.

Astana - Russia has given rebels a draft version of a new constitution for Syria drawn up by Moscow to speed up political negotiations to end the conflict, the Kremlin's envoy said Tuesday.

Astana - Russia, Iran and Turkey agreed Tuesday to bolster a fragile truce in Syria but rebels and Damascus made no progress towards a broader settlement to end the war after two days of talks.

Astana - The UN envoy for Syria said Tuesday that a final declaration was close to being achieved at indirect talks between Syrian rebels and Damascus in the Kazakh capital Astana."We are not far from a final declaration," Staffan de Mistura said.

Astana - Syrian rebels vowed Monday to keep fighting if peace negotiations with the government of President Bashar al-Assad fail, as talks between the two sides in Kazakhstan got off to a rocky start.

Astana - Syria's government and rebel fighters will on Monday sit down at the negotiating table for the first time in nearly six years of war, the latest diplomatic push to end the hostilities.

- In 1991, as one provincial Kazakh town embarked on a journey through independence that would see it transformed into a state-of-the art capital, another hurtled towards collapse.

Baikonur - A trio of astronauts soared into orbit aboard a Soyuz spacecraft Friday as they headed to the International Space Station for a six-month mission.

Baikonur - A trio of astronauts soared into orbit Friday bound for the International Space Station, with their Soyuz spacecraft delivering some fancy French food, a saxophone and the future female commander.

Baikonur - Two Russian cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut soared into orbit in a Soyuz spacecraft Wednesday at the start of a two-day journey to the International Space Station.