Astana

The Presidential Tour of Turkey (TUR) enters its second half-century this year, and an international peloton of the highest order will join the opening celebrations at the seaside resort of Alanya, on the Mediterranean coast, where the first of the eight stages begins on April 26.

A mysterious black circle above Shortandy village in the north of Kazakhstan, near the capital Astana,  taken on Sunday morning has baffled residents. The black dot in the distance hovered in a near perfect circle for over a quarter of an hour. Experts said taht it’s size was almost 100 meters in diameter and it hovered 70 km above the ground

The fighting in eastern Ukraine has been renewed with new intensity, claiming the lives of at least eleven people over the past day.

Military spokesperson Andriy Lysenko announced on Friday that at least six soldiers were killed and 18 were wounded in the past day, the Guardian reports.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone on Jan. 10 that a four-way summit to discuss the situation in eastern Ukraine would not take place until there was real progress on the Minsk peace plan.
   

A ministerial meeting on resolving the Ukrainian crisis in the so-called "Normandy format" will be held in Berlin on Friday, according to Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexei Makeyev.

A meeting at the level of political directors from the foreign ministries of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France will take place in Berlin on Monday.

The so-called ?Normandy format? meeting will discuss the progress in the implementation of the Minsk Accords and the possibilities for a settlement of the Ukrainian conflict, TASS news agency reports.

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko said on Monday he is planning to meet with leaders of  Russia, Germany and France next month to discuss a peace settlement for his country's eastern regions.

The meeting is planned to be held in Kazakhstan's capital Astana on 15 January.

Duma speaker: EU is rude towards Serbia

ASTANA -- Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin said on Monday that an EU official's statement that Serbia must to join the sanctions against Russia was "rude and caddish."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved the agreement which would incorporate Armenia into the Eurasian Economic Council, according to radio Voice of Russia's website.

Armenia is the fourth country to enter the body also known as Eurasian Union which was established on May 29, 2014 in Kazakhstan's capital Astana.

Vincenzo Nibali fought back tears as he stood on the Tour de France winner's podium and described the moment as better than he ever expected.
      
Nibali completed his victory at the 2014 Tour by finishing safely in the pack on Sunday's 21st and final stage from Evry to Paris, won by German Marcel Kittel.