Kazakhstan

BAIKONUR /Kazakhstan/, July 21. /TASS/: Russia’s FEDOR humanoid robot, which is to depart to the International Space Station (ISS) on August 22, will spend a week and a half aboard the orbital outpost, Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin told reporters on Sunday.

"He will spend about a week and a half aboard the station," Rogozin said at the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan.

According to the Russian space official, the robot was named Skybot F-850.

NUR-SULTAN, June 12. /TASS/: Kassym-Jomart Tokayev took the oath of office as Kazakhstan’s president at a ceremony in the Independence Palace in the capital Nur-Sultan on Wednesday.

"I solemnly swear to faithfully serve the people of Kazakhstan, strictly observe the constitution and the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan, guarantee the rights and freedoms of citizens, conscientiously perform the high duties of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan entrusted to me," Tokayev said.

NUR-SULTAN, June 9. /TASS/: The polls at the Kazakhstan presidential election have opened on Sunday at 7:00 am local time.

9,970 polling stations have begun their work in Kazakhstan, with 64 additional stations set to open abroad, including in Russia’s five cities - Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Astrakhan and Omsk.

8 Apr 2019; DW: On Tuesday Kazakhstan's interim president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, said snap elections would be held on June 9, state news agency Kazinform reported.

Tokayev, a former parliamentary speaker, took up the presidential post after Nursultan Nazarbayev stepped down in March after nearly 30 years in power.

Following his departure, elections had been scheduled for next year, but Tokayev's announcement bumped them significantly forward.

20 Mar 2019; DW: Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was sworn in as Kazakhstan's president on Wednesday, a day after longtime leader Nursultan Nazarbayev announced his surprise resignation.

Tokayev, who had served as senate speaker, was the designated interim replacement according to the Kazakh constitution. He is expected to serve the rest of Nazarbayev's term until elections in April 2020.

ASTANA, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Kassym-Jomart Tokayev took office as Kazakhstan's interim president on Wednesday following the sudden resignation of Nursultan Nazarbayev who had served as the country's president for nearly three decades.

"I solemnly swear to faithfully serve the people of Kazakhstan, to strictly observe the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan, to guarantee the rights and freedoms of citizens, to fulfill in good faith great duties of the president of the Republic of Kazakhstan entrusted on me," Tokayev said at a parliament meeting.

ASTANA, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev announced his sudden resignation on Tuesday after nearly three decades of leadership in the Central Asian country.

"As the founder of an independent Kazakh state, I see my future task in ensuring a new generation of leaders coming to power who will continue the transformations being carried out in the country," Nazarbayev said in a statement before signing a decree terminating his presidency from March 20.

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (AP) — Three astronauts successfully blasted off Monday to the International Space Station from Kazakhstan, a perfect launch that follows October’s aborted mission.

NASA astronaut Anne McClain, David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency and Oleg Kononenko of the Russian space agency Roscosmos lifted off as scheduled at 5:31 p.m. (1131 GMT; 6:31 a.m. EST) Monday from the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (AP) — The Latest on the failed space launch carrying two astronauts (all times local):

3:30 p.m.

NASA says that two astronauts from the U.S. and Russia are in good condition after an emergency landing following booster rocket failure minutes after the launch.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos’ Alexei Ovchinin lifted off as scheduled at 2:40 p.m. (0840 GMT; 4:40 a.m. EDT) Thursday from the Russia-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan atop a Soyuz booster rocket.

12:17

MOSCOW, October 11. /TASS/. A Soyuz carrier rocket aborted after its launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, according to a live broadcast.

"The carrier rocket aborted," the newscaster reported during the live program.

11:49

BAIKONUR (Kazakhstan), October 11. /TASS/. A Soyuz-FG carrier rocket with a manned Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft has blasted off from the Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station (ISS), TASS reports from the scene.