(1999 pop. 319,300). Astana (Akmolinsk until 1961, Tselinograd from 1961 to 1992, and Aqmola from 1992 to 1998) is the capital of Kazakhstan and is located on the Ishim River in north-central Kazakhstan. It is an important transportation entrepot on...

Astana (Kazakh: Астана; former names include Akmola, Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, and Aqmola), is the capital and second largest city (behind Almaty) of Kazakhstan, with an officially estimated population (1 Nov. 2007) of 597,500 [2] . It is located in...

n Cycling By Julien Pretot The Kazakh rider Andrej Kashechkin was sacked by the Astana team yesterday after his B sample tested positive for blood doping. "After having been suspended following the A sample results, Kashechkin has been sacked with immediate...

WHEN A mysterious fax message invites me to judge a chamber music competition in the Kazakh capital, Astana, I wonder if it's a joke. Kazakh- stan is a big oil-producing country the size of Western Europe, with a population less than twice the size...

Team Astana missed last year's Tour de France over a doping probe. Now, its star riders have another problem: crashes on the course.Alexandre Vinokourov and Andreas Kloeden, the Swiss squad's top two title contenders, were injured in separate nasty spills Thursday in a bumpy fifth...