Kazakhstan through the eyes of foreign mass media. July 2016

Kazakhstan continues receiving congratulations on its win in election as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council in 2017-2018. As is known, 193 member-countries of the United Nations General Assembly voted to let Sweden, Bolivia, Ethiopia and Kazakhstan be a part the Security Council for a period of two years, starting from January 1, 2017. 

Thus, Iranian Tasnim and Mehr news agencies published articles about Iran's support of Kazakhstan's election to UNSC. According to the articles, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman praised Kazakhstan's accession to the United Nations Security Council as a non-permanent member and noted that Astana could play a positive role in the position amid various crises around the world. ""Kazakhstan will sit on the UNSC from 2017 to 2019. This is the first time a Central Asian country has been elected as a permanent member to the Security Council.Given Kazakhstan's potential, the Islamic Republic of Iran supported the country's membership in the United Nations Security Council. Kazakhstan is capable of playing a positive role in the United Nations Security Council while the world is facing different crises," Bahram Qassemi said.
The article titled "Kazakhstan grateful to India for supporting UNSC non-permanent seat bid, says envoy" by Ashok Dixit published in sify.com on July 3, provides an exclusive interview with Kazakhstan's Ambassador to India Bulat Sarsenbayev regarding Kazakhstan's election to the United Nations Security Council. "We became a non-permanent member of the Security Council. We got 138 votes to Thailand's 55. It is a big majority and is recognition of the authority of my country, Kazakhstan, and the authority of our leader, President Nursultan Nazarbayev and his personal input to this election, because during every meeting with international states, he always raised this issue that Kazakhstan is capable of becoming a member of the Security Council. And Kazakhstan, for the first time, a country of Central Asia, elected from the Asia Pacific group, to become a member of the Security Council," the Ambassador said. The Kazakh Diplomat outlined four priorities which Kazakhstan will focus on during its service in the UNSC. These are nuclear, water, energy and food security. "Advancing these priorities in the main body of multilateral diplomacy, Kazakhstan intends to closely cooperate with all partners without exception. Kazakhstan will seek to represent the interests of the whole of Central Asia. Kazakhstan will begin its two year membership in the UN Security Council on January 1, 2017 and this will last till December 31, 2018," B.Sarsenbayev noted.
The Ambassador thanked India and its leadership for their support in promotion of Kazakhstan's bid for the UNSC non-permanent membership. "We are very grateful that India believed in Kazakhstan and they supported us steadily to become a member of the Security Council," he said.
Touching upon the issue of Kazakhstan's position on India's membership bid for the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), Ambassador Sarsenbayev said: "Recently, there was a telephone call from your prime minister (Narendra Modi) to our president (Nursultan Nazarbayev). They discussed this issue. It was an initiative from the Indian side. They exchanged their positions and they understood the importance of this issue and so on. Kazakhstan is not against India being member of this (NSG). Our leaders discussed, I am not familiar with it, but Kazakhstan is very positive." India submitted its bid for the NSG membership on 12 May. According to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, India's cooperation with the NSG started in 2004. The issue of India's membership in the organization has been discussed since 2011, at every plenary session of the NSG.
The Kazakh Ambassador mentioned also strategic partnership between the two countries and President Nursultan Nazarbayev's visit to India in 2009, which boosted this strategic collaboration. "That time, during the negotiations, we came to the conclusion that we are strategic partners. India and Kazakhstan are strategic partners and we share very similar approaches on many international issues. Politically, we don't have any problem between us. The support of India is a very strong one and we appreciate it. Kazakhstan will do everything possible to strengthen this relationship further. We would like to use our new status as a member of the Security Council to make our world more secure," B.Sarsenbayev emphasized.
The Diplomat was also asked about India's demand that there is an urgent need to reform the United Nations and make its various bodies more globally representative. "Kazakhstan has officially expressed its support to India to become a member of the Security Council, a permanent member. We are supporting India on this issue," the Ambassador said. He also stressed the importance of addressing issues like terrorism and extremism in a calibrated and concentrated manner. "Terrorism is a big problem for the whole world. Our president, during the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly, raised some proposals such as to make a global network, an anti-terrorism network, to prepare a list of all terrorist organisations and people-based on legislations of countries. In some countries, there are 30 or 40 terrorist organisations, but in other countries, it is different. It's all based on their own legislations. Kazakhstan has proposed a global list of all terrorist organisations and people who are involved in terrorist activity, and to exchange this information. We will work on these issues to coordinate with all the countries. Terrorism is not acceptable. What happened in Turkey, what happened in Bangladesh is not acceptable. We are in the 21st century, and we are facing such challenges. This is awful," he said.
B.Sarsenbayev reminded that after the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991, Kazakhstan became the fifth largest nuclear power in the world. "At that time, we use to have 1,500 nuclear warheads, while in India, from media information I know, it's about 150. We opted to destroy our nuclear stockpile and were the first country in the world to do so. On 29th of August, we have an international conference in Kazakhstan to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the closing of the nuclear weapons testing ground, the largest in the world. We have invited External Affairs Minister Ms. Swaraj and some MPs for that conference from India. So, Kazakhstan has an open policy on many issues," he said.
"Today, India is one of the most developing economy-wise countries and your leadership is doing what is possible to bring India to being among the top countries. And, in Kazakhstan, we know the importance of India. In the last few years we have completely come to an understanding that we should do a lot of things together economically. Kazakhstan is very important to India and India is very important to Kazakhstan. I am very happy with what has happened in the two years since I came here as ambassador," Ambassador Sarsenbayev said concluding the interview.
Nuclear security problem was also raised by some mass media in July in connection with Kazakhstan and its membership in the UNSC, which has still been suffering from the consequences of the nuclear tests conducted in its territory during the soviet period.
Kazakh-Indian cooperation issues were also covered in such sources as Outlook India.com and Indo Asian News Service, according to which India is going to learn from Kazakhstan in building a new futuristic city of Amaravati . As Outlook India.com reported, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu visited Astana and met with Kazakh Defense Minister Imangali Tasmagambetov. The author reminds that Tasmagambetov was former Mayor of Astana and contributed a lot in building the new capital of the country - Astana. The Kazakh Minister "explained to Chandrababu the problems they faced in building the new capital, after having to abandon the erstwhile capital city Almaty". "Almaty was to a corner of the country and we realised the need to build a capital in the centre of the country. When our President wanted to build a new capital, people questioned if it was necessary. Now, we are celebrating the 18th anniversary of the new capital," Tasmagambetov was quoted as telling Naidu.
"For designing and developing the capital city, we pooled resources from government, private and foreign companies. Basic infrastructure like electricity cabling and drainage were created underground. We spent most of the money on infrastructure building only," the Kazakhstan Minister said. "If we can create confidence, investors are ready to put in their money. Our rules and regulations should be liberal and transparent," he added.
In turn, Naidu said that Andhra Pradesh and Kazakhstan had much in common. "The world is talking about you [Kazakhstan - editor]. So our Prime Minister insisted that I visit your country," Naidu said. "He said farmers had come forward voluntarily and pooled 33,000 acres of land for building the new capital city. He also listed the steps taken to build Amaravati with the help of Singapore, Japan and other countries. Earlier, the Chief Minister and the AP delegation visited Kok Tobe, the largest entertainment zone and tourist hub of Kazakhstan.He travelled to Kok Tobe in a cable car from the city centre and wanted to create similar facilities in AP," the article reads.
Indo Asian News Service informed citing officials that "Andhra Pradesh will sign a MoU with Kazakhstan's capital Astana to work together on building new state capital Amaravati". "This was decided when Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu met Astana Mayor Asset Issekeshev. The MoU will be signed in a few months," the article reads.
According to Indo Asian News Service, it was decided to set up a joint working group with members from both the sides.Andhra Pradesh's working group will be headed by Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister P. Narayana. The working group will have four more members. Both the groups will work closely and share their experiences to build a world-class capital. The mayor showed keen interest to share their experiences in building Astana as the new capital. "We will share where we did well and where we went wrong so that you can learn from our experience and avoid mistakes and improve your performance," said Issekeshev.
"I am very impressed seeing how Astana is built. I have seen almost the entire city and found it very beautiful," the chief minister said, asking the mayor to share details of their architects, designers, and builders involved in the construction of Astana.
Issekeshev informed him that more than 150 architects have worked for 10 years on the project. Stating that this relationship will be beneficial to both, the mayor said that Kazakhstan has a lot of opportunities for business people from Andhra Pradesh.To increase the tourist traffic between Kazakhstan and the south Indian state, the mayor promised to speak to their transport minister to introduce a direct flight from Amaravati.

In early July, Russian news agency TASS published an article "Kazakhstan to focus on nuclear issues, conflicts in UN Security Council". The author cites Kazakh FM Erlan Idrissov, who said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan was developing a comprehensive plan of the country's work in the United Nations Security Council. According to Minister Idrissov, the implementation of the anti-nuclear and anti-terror initiatives [of President Nursultan Nazarbayev] put forward at the 70th session of the UN General Assembly and reflected in the Manifesto ‘Peace. 21st Century'" will be the top priority of Kazakhstan's work in the UN Security Council. Kazakhstan will focus on "ensuring the continuity of ideas, values and priorities, which Kazakhstan followed during its chairmanship in the OSCE [the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe], the OIC [the Organization of Islamic Cooperation], the CIS [the Commonwealth of Independent States], the SCO (the Shanghai Cooperation Organization] and other large regional structures," the Minister said. The third priority, as he added, will be "the search for ways to resolve the existing problems among large powers and long-standing conflicts, first of all, in Eurasia, taking into account the national interests of Kazakhstan, and also the involvement of the international community in the efforts to solve the problems of Central Asia, primarily, in the fight against terrorism and extremism and the solution of urgent economic problems." "Membership in the key UN body also provides possibilities for strengthening cooperation with our traditional partners and developing relations with Kazakhstan's new partners in Oceania, Equatorial Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean basin," he added.
In the article "Japan, Kazakhstan to share nuclear technology resources" by Kulpash Konyrova published in New Europe, the author tells about the tour of Japan's Prime-Minister Shinzō Abe to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, accompanied by the heads of a 100 Japanese companies seeking to discuss business opportunities with their Central Asian counterparts.
"The focus of the discussions around expanding the cooperation with the Central Asian countries was on technologies in exchange for resources," the author says.
It is highlighted that Kazakhstan is Japan's largest trade and economic partner in Central Asia. It has uranium, and Japan has high technology. The former is interested in selling its resource to the latter.
According to the author, even though Tokyo has revised its energy strategy after the Fukushima-1 tragedy and has closed almost all of its nuclear power stations, Japan is willing to share its experience in that area with other countries.
The author reminds that during the Japanese Premier's visit last summer, Kazakhstan's Kazatomprom and Japan's Marubeni Utility Services inked a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in nuclear energy. The purpose of the MoU was to develop cooperation in nuclear energy and to explore the possibility of building a light water reactor in Kazakhstan.
However, as President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbaev noted later, "the potential of the bi-lateral cooperation did not correspond to the existing possibilities and needed to be stepped up. So a top-level decision was made to expand cooperation.
This fall, the head of Kazakhstan is going to pay a return visit to Tokyo. It is expected that new documents and agreements will be signed during the forthcoming meetings in Japan. The governments of the two countries are working on the development and finalising of those documents," the article reads.
At an instruction of Prime Minister Shinzō Abe, the Japanese side organised "The Future of Energy and Japanese Technologies" workshop in Astana to discuss energy and technology cooperation in advance of the future summit. Those attending the workshop were the representatives of Japanese and Kazakhstan companies. Welcoming the participants, Deputy Chairman of KazEnergy Association Uzakbai Karabalin said that the volume of Japanese investment in the Kazakh economy over the years of Kazakhstan's independence had totaled $4.5 billion.In his opinion, this number compared to the other countries is very low and does not meet the existing potential. "Mainly, the lion's share of this investment went to uranium production," Karabalin said.According to him, the oil and gas sector of Kazakhstan remains the main strategic energy resource of the country. "This industry is facing new challenges as a result of the falling commodity prices, so it is setting new tasks for itself, namely, introduction of new, "clean" technologies in the production and processing of oil, petrochemistry, and energy saving. These may become promising areas for a mutually beneficial cooperation," Karabalin said. For example, energy saving is one of the most difficult issues for Kazakhstan. The losses are huge; the equipment at many plants that were built in the time of the Soviet Union is obsolete. Not just investment is needed, but, in particular, new energy saving technologies and approaches. To this point, the National Energy Report of Kazakhstan pays a special attention to energy preservation devoting a whole section to that issue and identifying the areas and describing the steps that need to be taken.

The issue of nuclear cooperation between Kazakhstan and China was raised by Trend on July 19. The article "Kazakhstan, China strengthen nuclear cooperation" tells about the visit of Chairman of Kazatomprom National Company Askar Zhumagaliyev to China and his meeting with CEO of CITIC GROUP Corporation Chang Zhenming. The sides focused on further implementation of joint Kazakhstan - China projects as well as attraction of investments to the nuclear sector of Kazakhstan. Zhumagaliyev met also with Chairman of the Board of China National Nuclear Corporation Sun Qin and the Director General of CITIC GROUP Corporation in the Republic of Kazakhstan Sun Yang. The meetings discussed mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of atomic power development. Particularly, such issues as natural uranium transit from Kazakhstan through the territory of China, fuel pellets supplies to China, joint uranium mining, conversion plant construction in the Republic of Kazakhstan, application of nuclear technologies in medicine were considered. The parties noted their interest in mutually beneficial long-term and strategic partnership. In the course of his visit, Zhumagaliyev met also with Director General of China General Nuclear Power Corporation Zhang Shanmin for debating the issues of bilateral cooperation. Earlier, NAC Kazatomprom JSC and Chinese CGNPC signed the agreement of commercial terms for design and construction of FA production plant in Kazakhstan.

China's major news agency Xinhua constantly follows political, economic and social events in Kazakhstan, especially, those concerning the two countries' relations. Thus, on July 12, the Agency posted an article "China, Kazakhstan agree on development strategies" which covers the visit of First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Bakytzhan Sagintayev to Beijing. At a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, the parties agreed to step up the alignment of development strategies of the two countries. Zhang and Sagintayev are the co-chairs of the China-Kazakhstan Cooperation Committee. The Chinese side "called on to jointly promote the Silk Road Economic Belt initiative and advance manufacturing capacity cooperation and further encourage and protect mutual investment".
"He also called for deepened cooperation on finance, infrastructure connectivity, oil and gas, agriculture, people-to-people exchanges and tourism. Sagintayev said Kazakhstan attaches great importance to relations with China and is willing to dovetail its new economic policy of the Bright Road with the China-proposed Silk Road Economic Belt. Kazakhstan is willing to expand and deepen all-round cooperation with China, so as to open a new chapter for bilateral ties, he said.
The two sides also reviewed the results of cooperation which have been achieved since the 7th meeting of the China-Kazakhstan Cooperation Committee.
The committee, established in 2004, oversees bilateral cooperation ranging from trade, transport, to science and technology," the article reads.

Another article proving development of the Kazakh-Chinese relations was published in Shanghai Daily newspaper, Xinhua, Indo Asian News Service and NewKerala.com.
The article is about the launch of the new China-Kazakhstan freight rail route. The first freight train connecting Inner Mongolia of China and Kazakhstan was launched late July. The train was loaded with building materials and other commodities and was moving from Jiuyuan Logistics Park in Baotou City towards Astana. The train will have to travel over eight days and pass more than 4200 km to reach Astana. "On its return journey, the train will carry goods such as mineral resources, according to a Hohhot Railway Bureau official. The new rail service, which follows the ancient Silk Road trade route, will support the regional export market," Lu Zhi, Vice Mayor of Baotou, said. Around 15 freight trains will make the journey in 2016," the article reads.

The Diplomat magazine published an article by Karim Massimov, the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, on "Kazakhstan Committed to Opening Economy and Modernizing Society"
The author says that since the earliest days of gaining its independence, Kazakhstan has consistently pursued a dual track policy - actively seeking international investment and knowledge to help drive economic development, while building political stability, national unity and human capital for social progress. "It was a deliberate choice which, over the last 25 years, has helped transform our nation and its prospects for the better," the author says.
"Good relations were established with countries all around the world, leading to increased trade. Our welcome to overseas companies has seen long and successful partnerships forged to the benefit of them and our country. Similarly, we have been able to establish a strong track record of political stability, ethnic and religious harmony and sustained improvement in human development indicators. Needless to say, the dual policy tracks have not only been complementary but mutually reinforcing.
The result is that Kazakhstan has been the favorite destination for overseas investment in our region. More than $210 billion in foreign direct investment has flowed into our country over the last two decades. The strong growth that this has helped drive has provided the revenue to improve dramatically the living standards and quality of life of our citizens. And Kazakhstan's citizens and international investors alike have come to expect safety in everyday life and respect for diversity as a matter of fact.
There is no question but that the country cannot stand still or slip backwards, because we are committed to building on the progress we have already achieved and strengthen and diversify our economy and modernize our society. Achieving our ambition of joining the ranks of the top 30 developed countries by 2050 requires us to continue removing any barriers which stand in the way of sustainable development.
This is why, at a time when economic shocks from beyond our borders and control could have caused us to slow the pace of reform, we have responded by accelerating the modernization of our economy and society. We have been implementing wide-ranging reforms to improve the performance of our institutions, opening up state industries through a comprehensive privatization program and taking decisive steps to improve the investment climate.
Equally important, one of the planks of the institutional reforms we launched last year aims to create an open government that is more accountable to our citizens. This means that in the first instance we have to communicate in the clearest, most concise way to explain government's intent, policy designs, implementation approaches and timelines behind reform packages. The recent public outcry over proposed land use reforms is a case in point - we are learning to listen, and as a result we have set up a land reform commission with participation of a cross-section of citizens. Moving to this more participatory approach may not be all smooth sailing, and there likely will be ups and downs, but the fact is that we are learning.
Among institutional reforms already underway are measures to improve the professionalism of our civil service and further strengthen the rule of law. This includes increased legal protection for investors and the creation of the Astana International Financial Centre which will operate to the highest global standards and practices.
These reforms have been coupled with the Nurly Zhol program that focuses on improving infrastructure including transport links. We are determined to maximize Kazakhstan's position as a regional economic hub and link between east and west, north and south. New routes linking China to Europe and Central Asia to the Persian Gulf will bring wide-ranging benefits.
The decision to sell stakes in major state enterprises such as KazMunayGas, the national oil company, has already been welcomed by the IMF as a major step in the right direction. Privatization will not only bring new resources for the government to further invest in infrastructure and human development and for the businesses themselves to expand and thus create new jobs, but will also bring an injection of fresh ideas to improve corporate governance and management, productivity and profitability.
We are also working hard to create the best possible environment for investment. A new package of generous incentives has been introduced including exemption from custom duties for equipment and raw materials and from land and corporate tax. Grants of up to 30 per cent which cut capital costs for buildings and plants are now available. In addition to the Foreign Investors Council under the president of Kazakhstan, which discusses priority issues for both investors and the government, an Investment Ombudsman has also been created to resolve disputes between foreign investors and Government agencies. The benefits of the improved business environment will expand to all businesses whether domestic or foreign as a level playing field for all actors is created; for instance, a transparent judiciary and improved rule of law will help everyone's confidence in the system.
New one-stop-shops have been established in every region of the country to help cut the bureaucratic burden, including on the foreign business community. Firms and investors will also soon be able to get help in their own countries. Senior officials from our Ministry for Investment and Development are assigned to work in our embassies in 10 priority countries to offer expert advice to potential partners with investment promotion centers to be established in five global cities.
We have also made it easier for firms to employ qualified expatriate staff while short-term visas for visitors from Kazakhstan's main partners have been abolished. In a unilateral move which underlines our determination to cut red tape and attract investment, nationals of 20 countries such as Germany, the U.S., the U.K. and Singapore no longer need any visa to visit our country for up to 15 days.
All these efforts come against a background where Kazakhstan's attractiveness as a place to do business has been enhanced by our membership of the Eurasian Economic Union. This means that businesses based in our country now have easy access to a common market of over 180 million consumers. But we also continue to strengthen our place within the global economy with accession to the WTO in 2015, a new enhanced partnership and cooperation agreement with the European Union, our biggest trade partner, an active role with China in the New Silk Road initiative, and a wide-ranging cooperation agreement with the OECD to guide our business and regulatory standards.
These measures all help explain why Kazakhstan has risen from 50th to 42nd place in the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Index. It puts us ahead of countries such as Italy, Turkey, Brazil and Russia. We moved one place higher - 41st out of 189 countries - in the 2016 edition of the World Bank's Doing Business.
While we are pleased to see the initiatives we are taking acknowledged in these global rankings, we know there is more to do. We have created new forums - under President Nursultan Nazarbayev and myself as prime minister - where the views of overseas investors are heard loud and clear at the heart of government.
Finally, let me acknowledge the concerns as well as well-wishes that our fellow citizens, our international friends, and overseas investors have expressed over the recent terrorist attack in the Western city of Aktobe. It has been jarring and shocking to our people because Kazakhstan has been so safe for so long that nobody could ever dream of such a brazen violent challenge to public order. However, under the leadership of President Nazarbayev our country is strong, our society is united, and we will not be deterred on our path to build a tolerant and welcoming modern society for all.
We are determined that together with the welfare of our citizens, the interests of our overseas partners are taken fully into account when new policy is being shaped. Together, we can continue to create the favorable conditions for the benefit of investors, companies, our economy and our citizens," the article reads.

Nicola Popovic from International Policy Digest says that "Central Asia's energy potential raises economic hopes" in his article titled "Kazakhstan: A key player in Eurasia's energy security "club". The author recalls the visit of the IMF Chief Christine Lagarde to Kazakhstan, who lectured at Nazarbayev University. In her speech, she said that Kazakhstan could create "...an environment where new investment can thrive and that is open for everyone". Her remarks prove Eurasia's importance to the future global economy as regional networks work to drive economic enhancement.

"For Russia and China, Kazakhstan may well be a linchpin - a mechanism through which both states can connect to the Eurasian region. Russia opted for the creation of a Eurasian Energy "Club" - a concept dubbed by Putin in 2006 at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Realizing this objective requires the support of Central Asia states - Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Mounting interests in the region places considerable pressure on Kazakhstan. For one, the EU's involvement in Eurasia encompasses broad ranging initiatives from development programs to the promotion of democracy and human rights. To be precise, the EU budget for bilateral and regional development increased from €675 million to €1.028 for 2014 to 2020. Simultaneously, the Eurasian Economic Union of which Kazakhstan is a member currently serves 182 million customers and is the biggest trading body of its type. Europe is still the most significant source of demand for trade in oil, but this Post-Soviet state cannot turn away from Moscow's regional presence," the article reads.
Moreover, former Australian diplomat in Moscow, Bobo Lo, characterized Sino-Russian relations as an "axis of convenience." This perspective suggests whilst economic ties are strong Russia and China have not formed an alliance. Yet such characterizations negate the complex and multidimensional aspects of the high-level bilateral relations, particularly given the common interests shared in relation to Eurasia's economic potential. After all, the Eurasian Energy Club concept flagged by Putin received strong endorsement from China. This is now being evidenced on the ground by China's New Silk Road project.
The backbone of Kazakhstan's mounting economic prospects is partly due to the instalment of a Sino-Kazakh oil pipeline. In 2012, China imported over 86 million barrels of oil in comparison to the year before, marking a 14.1 percent increase. The pipeline has guaranteed China access to the Caspian Sea oil fields, which contain the largest deposits of Kazakh oil. In essence, China's tactical investments are geared towards building strategic links to Europe through strategic energy diplomacy.
China's aspirations of completing the New Silk Road and Russia's ambitions of strengthening the Eurasian Economic Union give birth to common interests in Central Asia, particularly Kazakhstan. Investment in Kazakhstan will be boosted by both states to ensure the viability of the region. There is no doubt that transport infrastructure will be a high priority, as well as the development of human resources which are vital to an ever expanding and technologically driven global economy," the article reads.

Baikonur space site also raised interest among foreign mass media this month, such as Associated Press, Sputnik, TASS, ABC News. The materials published on these news portals covered the launch of Soyuz MS-01 spacecraft with Anatoli Ivanishin of Roscosmos, Takuya Onishi of JAXA, and Kate Rubins of NASA onboard. The crew headed to the International Space Station. The crew is expected to spend four months aboard the orbiting space platform. "Together, the Expedition 48 crew members will continue the several hundred experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science and Earth science currently underway and scheduled to take place aboard humanity's only orbiting laboratory," NASA said in a statement. "Manufactured by the S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia, Soyuz-MS is equipped with the advanced navigation and motion control systems, as well as an improved power supply system. Roscosmos postponed its launch from June 24 to July 7 to carry out additional testing of the software.
According to AP, the launch went on schedule and the spacecraft entered orbit about 10 minutes after liftoff. The crew will join American Jeff Williams and Russians Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin, who have been aboard since March.
In an email message to ABC News from Kazakhstan, Kate Rubins shared her impressions of her oncoming space journey. "Funny enough, my scientific and personal goals are almost identical. I am looking forward to every second, hour and day of observing how life operates in free-fall and watching our planet below," she says in her message.
She was selected as a member of the 20th NASA astronaut class in 2009 "after helping develop the first smallpox infection model for the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The self-described "former virus hunter" holds a doctorate in cancer biology from Stanford University".
She plans to conduct research in biological and human studies, including how human bone mass and cardiovascular systems are affected in microgravity.
"I think it's going to be amazing to see how the world of microbiology, molecular and cellular biology and human physiology is massively changed by microgravity. This is the only laboratory we have as humans to study gravity as a variable," she told ABC News. "There's a world of insights to be gained into human health and disease by understanding how gravity and space radiation influence biology."
Rubins will be the first female astronaut from the U.S. to go to space in three years and the 59th woman in space. During a NASA crew preview she gave a word of advice to future scientists.
"If you find something that you're excited about and you're interested in, my advice to young women and young men would be do what you're really interested in and what drives and motivates you," she said.
Rubins was born in Farmington, Connecticut in 1978 and raised in Napa Valley, California. She and her husband Michael Magnani live in Houston, outside of the Johnson Space Center.

Later, Russian agency Sputnik published an article titled "Russia, Kazakhstan to reach final decision on Baiterek space complex". As per the article, the decision on construction of the joint Russian-Kazakh Baiterek Space Complex will be reached in September, according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin
A final decision on the construction of the joint Russian-Kazakh Baiterek Space Complex will be reached in September, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said following an intergovernmental commission on the Baikonur space center Friday.
"Russia has drafted and submitted to Kazakhstan a proposal to place components as well as cost proposals for the Baiterek complex. We hope that the agreement will be signed in September this year," Rogozin told reporters. Moreover, a long-term cooperation strategy on Russia's Baikonur space center will be reached with Kazakhstan for signing later this year, Rogozin added. "Mutual understanding has been reached on the status and the substantive content of the document. We will need to prepare a draft concept for signing before the end of this year," Rogozin told reporters after an intergovernmental commission on Baikonur.

"Kazakhstan is building a spacecraft assembly and testing complex which will be commissioned in Astana in early 2018," Azerbaijan's Trend agency reported citing Marat Nurguzhin, head of Kazakh National Space company Kazakhstan Garysh Sapary. "The facility will allow carrying out all the tests of the spacecrafts at the same place, thus reducing possible transportation losses.
All the cycle of spacecraft creation from its idea to its full commission will be fulfilled at this assembly and testing complex. The spacecrafts produced here will be delivered to Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome from where they will be launched into the space.
It is planned that Astana assembly and testing complex will assembly first spacecrafts by 2021.
Kazakhstan Garysh Sapary is implementing the spacecraft complex project jointly with Airbus Defense and Space (division of Airbus Group responsible for defense and aerospace products and services)," the article titled "Kazakhstan building spacecraft assembly and testing complex" reads.

Israel-Kazakhstan cooperation became a topic of the article published in The Diplomat in July in regard to Kazakhstan. The author highlights that official visits of Israeli leadership to Central Asia are very rare. Thus, Israeli President Shimon Peres's 2009 visit to Kazakhstan was the first trip by any Israeli head of state to Astana since Israel established diplomatic relations with Kazakhstan in 1992
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu announced on July 5 that he planned to pay an official visit to Kazakhstan. "His intention underscores the increasing importance of Kazakhstan for Israel's geopolitical ambitions," the author says. Last November, Israel joined a free trade zone with the Eurasian Economic Union. According to the author, "Israel's strategic partnership with Kazakhstan can be explained by a myriad of economic and security factors. Kazakhstan is a vital oil supplier to Israel and Israel has contributed greatly to Kazakhstan's economic diversification efforts. Israel's provisions of military technology and counterterrorism assistance to Kazakhstan have resulted in Kazakhstan becoming one of Israel's closest security partners in the Muslim world."
"Israel is Kazakhstan's fifth largest Asian trade partner, and imports over $1.4 billion worth of goods from Kazakhstan each year.
The oil industry is the principal driver of Israel's economic links with Kazakhstan. Israel imports 25 percent of its oil from Kazakhstan. Chen Bar-Yosef, the Managing Director of the Israeli National Infrastructure Ministry's Fuel Authority, has praised the quality of Kazakhstan's oil, and has encouraged Kazakh manufacturers to sell oil directly to Israeli private companies.
Kazakh policymakers believe that Israel could indirectly assist Kazakhstan's attempts to increase its oil exports to East Asia. In November 2006, Kazakhstan's Deputy Prime Minister Karim Masimov announced that Kazakhstan would expand its investments in Haifa's oil refineries.
Masimov has also called for an extension of the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan (BTC) Pipeline to Israel. Should the BTC pipeline expand to Israel, Israel's oil terminals at Ashkelon and Eilat could be used to increase Kazakh oil shipments to Europe and East Asia.
In addition to importing Kazakh oil, Israel has played a prominent role in assisting President Nursultan Nazarbayev's economic diversification efforts. Israeli business leaders have been especially vocal supporters of closer Israel-Kazakhstan investment linkages.
Nimrod Novik, vice president of Israeli multinational Merhav, lobbied the Israeli government to invest in Kazakhstan during the 1990s, claiming that Kazakhstan is "one of the wealthiest countries in the world underground, and one of the least developed above ground." Israeli policymakers heeded Novik's advice. By 2009, 52 major Israeli companies had established business operations in Kazakhstan.
Israel-Kazakhstan economic cooperation has produced tangible successes across a wide range of sectors. The agriculture ministries of Israel and Kazakhstan have cooperated directly on the development of a joint irrigation system in the Almaty region. Israel has also helped boost Kazakhstan's agricultural production by imparting Israeli desalinization techniques to Kazakh farmers. In the early 1990s, Israel's aviation agreement allowing for weekly flights from Israel to Almaty (then known as Alma-Ata) was a major step toward facilitating closer Israel-Kazakhstan business and technology sharing linkages.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has also used his close relationship with Nazarbayev to advance Israel's business interests in Kazakhstan. Barak spoke to Nazarbayev in late 2014 about how Israel could help Kazakhstan harness its industrial innovation potential and improve the quality of its health services. Further advances in these fields will ensure that Israel remains a vital economic partner for Kazakhstan, even as Astana strengthens its alliance with Iran.
Israel's free trade agreement with the EEU and Kazakhstan's November 2015 World Trade Organization (WTO) membership should provide a foundation for more durable Israel-Kazakhstan economic cooperation in the years to come," reads the article.
Besides, the author raises the issue of the Kazakh-Israeli security partnership.
According to the author, since the early 1990s, Israel and Kazakhstan have developed a multifaceted security partnership involving exchanges of military technology, counterterrorism cooperation, and intelligence sharing.
Israel and Kazakhstan have been counterterrorism partners for almost two decades. Kazakhstan's fear of terrorist attacks rose precipitously during the mid-1990s, due to the rising presence of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) and Hizb ut-Tahrir, the destabilization created by the Tajikistan civil war, and blowback from the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan. The Kazakh military believed that a closer relationship with Israel would strengthen its counterterrorism efforts, as Israel had decades of experience combating Palestinian terror organizations.
According to a 2014 Jamestown Foundation report, Israel-Kazakhstan security cooperation increased dramatically after the 9/11 attacks. Israel became a natural ally for Kazakhstan after 9/11 because of its ability to produce sophisticated missiles, air defense systems, and stealth weaponry. Kazakh policymakers also believed that closer ties with Israel would reciprocally strengthen Kazakhstan's security links with the United States and the European Union.
Kazakhstan remains Israel's most important economic and security partner in Central Asia. Israeli policymakers believe that Kazakhstan is an emerging market with considerable economic potential, a vital energy supplier to Israel, and a crucial Israeli ally in the Muslim world. Netanyahu's upcoming visit to Astana will likely result in even stronger ties between Israel and Kazakhstan, ensuring that Jerusalem will have a diplomatic foothold in Central Asia for years to come," the article reads.

Preparation for hosting the EXPO-2017, tourism issues also aroused interest among foreign journalists. For instance, PRNewswire wrote about start of ticet sale for tour operators for EXPO-2017. " Starting July 10, tour operators from all over the world can buy tickets for the International Specialized Exhibition EXPO-2017 - "Future Energy". The hosts have prepared a special offer for the first partnering tour operators. During the promotional period, which will last from July 10 through August 10, 2016, tour operators can purchase tickets at a substantial discount. The basic package contains 2 thousand tickets including both fixed-date and open-ended tickets. The bigger the volume of purchased tickets is, the greater is the discount. There is no limit on the maximum amount of purchased tickets," the article reads.

eTN Global Travel Industry News published an article "Kazakhstan showcasing future energy in tourism". The material is devoted to a photo exposition "Kazakhstan - a country of the Great Steppe" featuring the amazing nature scenery of the republic. The exposition opened in Nikolskaya Street next to the Metro Station Revolution Square.
As per the article, the exhibition features 60 striking photos and 4 information stands about amazing natural wonders of Kazakhstan: its boundless steppes, mountains, lakes, forests and deserts. In addition, the works of photographers also tell the story of Astana and Almaty, the country's two major cities.
"In preparation for the exhibition our chief photographer Andrey Kamenev spent a month in Kazakhstan and saw what I think was only a tiny fraction of what there is to see in this beautiful country. I hope that what he saw was enough to surprise you, to make you feel and see how beautiful this country is and what an exciting tourist destination it is," says Andrey Palamarchuk, Chief Editor of the National Geographic Magazine Russia at the official opening ceremony.
Djamilya Nurkalieva, who represents the Astana EXPO - 2017 national company, pointed out in her turn that an exhibition in such a stunning historic location in Moscow will give an insight to its visitors into the culture of Kazakhstan and its tourist opportunities.
"We hope to see you all at our EXPO Exhibition in 2017. We are planning around three thousand cultural and entertainment events and topical conferences. Tickets for the EXPO - 2017 Exhibition in Astana can already be purchased online," said Deputy Head of the Department of Marketing, Promotion and Tourism of the national company Astana EXPO-2017 D. Nurkalieva.
Kazakhstan is a natural ecosystem in a class of its own with a variety of the most striking European and Asian landscapes. Apart from reflecting the country's scenic beauty, the photos also touch upon the topics of the forthcoming major international events that are scheduled to take place in Kazakhstan in the near future: the International Specialised Exhibition EXPO-2017 and the Almaty Winter Universiade.
The Exhibition has been organised with the assistance of the National Geographic Magazine, Russia, the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Moscow and the National Company Astana EXPO - 2017. It will be open until August 24, 2016.
The International Specialized Exhibition EXPO-2017 with the theme "Future Energy" is an expositional and recreational event that will take place between June 10 and September 10, 2017 in Astana. The exhibition will last 93 days and will be one of the most spectacular cultural venues in 2017. To date, 90 countries and 16 international organizations have confirmed that they will participate in the Astana EXPO-2017 exposition. Overall, the event expects over 100 participating countries and over 5 million visits.
As part of EXPO-2017, global policy documents will be drafted in order to promote an energy-efficient lifestyle and wide use of renewable energy sources," the article reads.

Azerbaijani Trend Agency devoted an article to the relations between Kazakhstan and Mongolia. Titled as "Kazakhstan, Mongolia mull expansion of mutually beneficial coop", the article for participation in the 11th ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) Summit of Heads of State and Government in Ulaanbaatar for discussing the expansion of bilateral cooperation. The Kazakh PM met with the top-ranking officials of this country within the summit. In the course of the visit, Massimov met with his Mongolian counterpart Jargaltulga Erdenebat to discuss bilateral trade and economic ties, and strengthening the contacts between the two countries' business communities. According to Massimov, energy and mining industries, agriculture, transportation infrastructure, housing, mining and processing of gold and uranium are the most promising areas for establishment of mutually beneficial partnerships between the two countries.
One more important event for Kazakhstan in July, was the 2nd stage of the Steppe Eagle Exercise 2016 taking place for the first time at Stanford Training Area in Great Britain Kazakhstan is represented there by KAZBRIG Peacekeeping Brigade involving 270 people. Being conducted since 2003, the drill hosted more than 1,500 troops as well as international military observers, representatives of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and diplomatic corps members accredited in Kazakhstan, militaries of the U.S., Great Britain, Afghanistan, France, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Tajikistan and Turkey. According to ITV.com, "800 British troops from across the country have been training members of the Kazakhstan army in order to help them become United Nations peacekeepers.The exercise took place on Stanford Training Area and involved British troops and forces from Kazakhstan, the US, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.This is the first time Exercise Steppe Eagle has taken place in the UK and featured soldiers from 1st Battalion The Rifles," reads the article titled as "British troops train with Kazakhstan soldiers in Norfolk's Thetford Forest". "I wouldn't say they were that efficient two weeks ago and there's been a huge amount of effort. Not just in what you've seen today but right across the training objectives of conduct in peacekeeping and support to United Nations operations," BRIG MARTYN GAMBLE says.

UPI published an article devoted to commissioning of Kazakhstan's first special forces ship. According to an author, the ship was assembled in Kazakhstan and it will guard against underwater sabotage in port security operations. The vessel is also equipped for detecting, classifying and determining the movements of combat swimmers while also offering modern communication and navigation capabilities.
The 42-foot-long ship launched in Urlask and will make its way to the Caspian Sea to go through factory mooring, driving and acceptance tests before it takes on missions.
Commissioning of a combat unit is an important step for the Kazakh navy due to the increased geopolitical and economic importance of the region, the MOD said.
The ship joins a fleet that already includes modern missile and artillery ships, small boats and patrol boats.

In July, Kazakhstan joined the OECD Competition Committee. This event was covered by Sputnik News Agency of Russia. "Kazakhstan has been admitted to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Competition Committee, the country's Ministry of National Economy said Wednesday. "Kazakhstan's antitrust agency has been acceptedas a member of the OECD Competition Committee. The vote took place on June 17, 2016. During the last stage, Kazakhstan was contested by Croatia and the Philippines," the ministry said in a statement.
Kazakhstan is not an OECD member, however, the organization's Competition Committee admits observers from non-member states in order to promote antitrust reforms.
Kazakhstan, which has become the first Central Asian country to become a member of the Committee, will be able to take advantage of the OECD's research and analytic materials, as well as borrow its accumulated experience and implement advanced antitrust practices already in use in the world's top economies, the ministry added.
The OECD was established in 1961 to advance growth-oriented policies. With 35 members, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan, the organization also has partnerships with major emerging economies, including Brazil, China and India.
The OECD Competition Committee is an antitrust policy discussion forum which holds three meetings annually. The Committee's work focuses on holding roundtable sessions, publishing reports and recommendations for the OECD Council," the article reads. \
In the article "Waikoloa family to retrace ancestor's Kazakhstan discoveries" published by West Hawaii Today, the readers can find information about descendants of Thomas and Lucy Atkinson, who travelled to Kazakhstan in the 19th century.
Nearly two centuries ago, Paul Dahlquist's great-great-grandfather explored the remote, rugged steppe that is Kazakhstan. Thomas Atkinson and his wife were helped in this years-long, saddle-sore undertaking by Czar Nicholas I, who gave the couple a pass that entitled the adventurers to every convenience available.
Hundreds of years later, that traversed county is inviting the family of the famous explorer back to where the story began.
Later this month, the government of Kazakhstan hosted Waikoloa's Dahlquist ohana, who came to Kazakhstan to retrace the steps of their ancestors. They visited a sacred spring site where a great-grandfather was born, culturally significant places and museums and pondered the impressions the land must have made on their ancestors long ago.
Only this time, they arrived by jet in a thriving new capital that has sprung up since the country's independence from Russia 25 years ago. They visited with the prime minister, rub elbows at embassies, and took part in the filming of a documentary celebrating Kazakhstan's independence.
And possibly sample horse meat and fermented mare's milk - more on that later.
The family has 10 days for a very packed itinerary.
For Paul Dahlquist, a cultural anthropologist and former director of the Lyman Museum in Hilo where his wife Charlene also worked as an archivist - this trip could hardly be more appropriate, or exciting.
"It is living history," he said at the couple's home in Waikoloa Village. "To follow in the footsteps of a great explorer I never knew much about, whom my mother never talked much about."
Today, the Dahlquists have binders containing hundreds of letter written by the explorer, including notes to Russian royalty and the famed author Charles Dickens. They have two moldering hardcover books he wrote and images of the more than 500 watercolors the man painted in this remote and breathtaking section of the globe.
The history sat for years in cardboard boxes, which were eventually passed on to them by Paul Dahlquist's mother.
The Dahlquists aren't sure why the great explorer wasn't spoken of more in their family, but they have a clue.
It seems Atkinson, while being lauded by English high society for his exploration, painting and written accounts, had a little secret. He was married to two women at the same time, one who had remained in the west and would lay claim to his estate after his death, and one who accompanied him on the exploration and gave birth to his son at the Tamchiboulac spring in the Alatau mountains.
Ah, the twists of history.
"It's really exciting to find out all of this, to go where they were traveling by horseback, on sleds, and camels," Dahlquist said.
That son, who was born by the sacred spring, Alatau Tamchiboulac Atkinson, emigrated to Hawaii in 1869, taking charge of St. Alban's College, which later became Iolani School. His daughter Molly married Samuel Wilder II, son of the Hawaii shipping and transportation magnate.
Sam and Molly were Paul's grandparents.
Researchers from Britain have spent at least the last two decades piecing together the history of Thomas Atkinson's days of exploration.
They've sifted through the Dahlquist's letters, but Charlene doubted at the time that much would come of it. These descendants of Atkinson didn't really catch the eye of the Khazakhstan government until the publication of the book "South to the Great Steppe: The Travels of Thomas and Lucy Atkinson in Eastern Kazakhstan," written by journalist Nick Fields and published in 2015.
The Dahlquists are part of a group of 10 descendants on the government's invite list.
For Charlene, it will be exciting to see a context develop for the letters she painstakingly transcribed into typewritten form, for the watercolor paintings, and for the steep Alatau mountains and spring whose name is born by the dark, sober eyes of an ancestor staring back at her from the old photographs.
In all, the Dahlquists know little about where they are headed - which is a theme for explorers.
Paul Dahlquist postulates that the whisperings of his ancestors' genes are behind his own interest in anthropology and the study of peoples throughout the world.
Kristine Dahlquist, Paul's daughter, teaches math at Hawaii Preparatory Academy. Saturday, she peered at a guidebook and pursed her lips over words like tenge - the currency of Kazakhstan. She found that the country, sandwiched between Russian and Uzbekistan, has 16 million people. It is the world's largest landlocked country.
She has heard about the culture's fondness for horse meat and fermented mare's milk.
"I'm a vegan," she confessed. "I haven't eaten red meat in 20 years. It's going to be a little hard for me to eat in Kazakhstan. But I'm going to be bringing my granola bars. It's OK, I can handle it."

"DOM does delicious coffee in Kazakhstan" by Daniel Scheffler, Sprudge.
Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan (and its former capital), is said to be the ancestral home of apples. Today the city is less about the fruit and much more about its many gardens and iconic fountains, as well as its status as the economic powerhouse of Central Asia. Almaty's location-in the foothills of the ancient Mount Imeon range (also called Trans-Ili Alatau)-means the city is mostly either beastly hot or practically frozen. Of course, in such extremes, coffee is most essential for cooling and heating its citizens-call it relief and comfort, if you will.
D.O.M. (which comes from the Russian translation and means "home") officially opened in April of this year. But it has been in the works for the past five years in a country that, for the most part, had never heard of specialty coffee and eagerly celebrated its first Starbucks opening in 2015.
Over that handful of years Mantas Sapoka, owner of D.O.M. and a native Lithuanian, was getting established in Kazakhstan after relocating there with his wife, a native of the country. D.O.M. is the result of his well-timed reunion with an old Lithuanian friend: Mindaugas Ryškus, former owner ofStrangeLove, a cafe/restaurant in Vilnius.
"I met Mantas in Vilnius five years ago. He came to the cafe where I worked and we started to talk about coffee-he was super interested and excited about my coffee stories," says Ryškus, who never sits still and, enviably, just keeps traveling the world learning about coffee. "He helped me to find a new job as barista trainer and salesman, and it was a big step in my career, so [in return] I trained and educated him about coffee," Ryškus continues. "As soon as he finished up the course he moved to Kazakhstan, [and eventually] became La Marzocco's official dealer there."
So last year when Sapoka invited Ryškus to visit and help build his coffee business in Almaty, Ryškus left StrangeLove behind with a wink and a wave to go and assist.
"The coffee market for specialty products is quite difficult here, because customers are used to drinking dark-roasted commercial blends of Arabica and Robusta," says Sapoka. "People expect coffee to be very bitter and dark, and most of them prefer to have it with milk. People didn't know any of the coffees we bring from European suppliers like Nordic Approach, Cafe Imports, etc." Winning Almaty over to specialty coffee was going to be a challenge.
Starting with the right machines was important, of course. "We roast our imports on our shinyProbatone 5, we pull espresso shots on a La Marzocco Strada EE, and we also have the first brew bar in Almaty," declares Sapoka. "At D.O.M. you can now choose from several brewing methods-AeroPress, V60, Chemex, siphon, French press and even cold drip. And lately we have expanded into alcohol-coffee cocktail classics like Irish coffee, and espresso Negroni or an espresso martini."
Drinks like that seem like an easy sell, but D.O.M. is making progress on the coffee front too. "Some [customers who] came and drank our coffee for the first time [said] that they had never drank coffee without sugar before, and they really loved [ours]," Sapoka says, smiling. "This was for us, the biggest compliment possible! It meant that we were making a real difference here."
But, he adds, customers still want lots of explanations and to hear stories about specialty coffee trends. Says Ryškus: "The mission at D.O.M. is to prepare coffee warriors"-don't worry, he means baristas-"and bring the right attitude to [Almaty's] coffee culture." For Ryškus, the mission is complete-he's already moved on to Spain, where his next amazing project is underway. But the good work in Almaty continues. "I do believe we have set a new coffee standard and that interest will keep booming," says Sapoka. He moved to Kazakhstan for love and gives some of that love back in every cup.

Korean pop culture is coming to Kazakhstan, an article at HELLO ASIA BLOG says. The Feel Korea concert and pop culture series is spreading its wings to Kazakhstan this year. The 2016 Feel Korea in Kazakhstan will be one of the biggest Korean events in the country's history. Organised by the Korean government agency KOFICE, Feel Korea has brought Korean culture to cities around the world including New Delhi, Perth and Vancouver.
This year's 2016 Feel Korea in Kazakhstan bring some of the biggest names in Korean entertainment with K-Pop boy group VIXX, girl group Dal Shabet, K-Pop legend Kim Tae Woo, actor and singer Seo Kang Jun, Aussie K-Pop artist Hanbyul (formerly of LEDApple), duo 2MAXand R&B duo December.
Held over three days from Friday 23rd September to Sunday 25th September, 2016 Feel Korea will bring amazing Korean artists to the Central Asian Republic!

Martinswille Bulletin writes about a Kazakh woman, Koolyash Kashkinbayeva, who brings taste of Kazakhstan food to Martinsville.
They are here visiting her mother-in-law, Marilyn Jones, who lives in King's Grant: Kashkinbayeva; her husband, Nate Fleming; and their children, Joshua Aslan, 15; Hannah Asena, 13; and Noah Abai, 3. Each of their children has an American and a Kazakh name; the boys go by their American names, and Asena uses her Kazakh name.
They will return Aug. 10 to China where they have lived for the past four years.
When Kashkinbayeva and Fleming married, the couple moved first to Kazakhstan. The original plan was to live there only a couple of years, "so I could see what the culture was like," Fleming said - but they ended up staying for 14. There, he created Central Asia's "only English-language theater for Kazakhs and Russians who want to improve their English," his wife said.
"Four years ago, we decided to try something different," he added: They moved to China, where he teaches at an international school in a city near Hong Kong.
They travel often. They married in England and took their honeymoon in Scotland. They go often to nearby Turkey. They have been to the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand. Kashkinbayeva met Hillary Clinton when both women attended the Central Asian Women in Leadership Conference in Warsaw, Poland, she said.
Throughout their travels, "We did mission work, but we never advertised it like that because it wasn't safe," she said. "I was always doing church ministry, while I earned (a salary) working in government in Kazakhstan."
She was cooking recently for friends, Jim and Marlene Woods and their children, Cate and C.J. "In my culture, this is what we do. We go to each other's houses. We cook together; we eat together," Kashkinbayeva said.
Kazakh families are friendly, she said, and show their hospitality with food. "If you were in a Kazakh home, you would have so many salads and desserts."
"The table is covered in food," Fleming said. "They believe it's important to show hospitality. There's not a chance you're going to be hungry."
She cooked the traditional Kazakh meal beshbarmak, which dates back to the time of the nomads. It is a platter of noodles topped with meat and a sauce made with onions. The name translates to "five fingers." Before the use of utensils was commonplace, people would eat it with their hands.
Kashkinbayeva usually soaks meat a few hours before cooking it, she said, "so the broth is clean." Then she boils the meat for a couple of hours with bay leaves and an onion, which "soaks up the bad stuff of the meat."
In Martinsville, she made the beshbarmak with lamb, beef and pork. However, usually "in my culture it would be only horsemeat, lamb and beef," she said. "It has to be with bones."
In Kazakhstan, people enjoy drinking the broth in which the meat was cooked. Since that isn't done commonly in the United States, she said, she recommends freezing the broth and using it later to boil noodles.
Potatoes also are cooked in the broth and served with beshbarmak. Kashkinbayeva likes to add carrots for the color, but they are not a regular part of the traditional meal, she said.
Beshbarmak was a regular meal of the nomads. Historically, they had meat easily, and began to have noodles once they received flour in trade on the Silk Road.
"My favorite part of this dish is that it is normally served with a sheep's head on top," she said. "The host of the family would get all the parts out. My favorite part is the brain," which is good with broth and black pepper.
It takes all day to cook the meal, but the noodles only are put to boil immediately before the meal is to be served. They are fried in oil in a cast iron pan over high heat.
Each family has a large platter used for the beshbarmak. By tradition, the women gets most of the meal ready, and the man puts the meat on the plate.
A modern accompaniment to a meal of Beshbarmak is a salad, she said. Her grandmother always had vegetable gardens, she said, so they had "very simple salads (that were) so delicious with olive oil, salt and pepper.
"Because this is a heavy meal, you need salads like this, and pickles," to accompany it. She prefers to soak salad vegetables in water for a while before cutting them to serve because "the water soaks out toxins," she said.
She also made a popular Kazakh puffy fried bread, baursak. Baursak usually is eaten with jam and accompanied by tea, she said, or served at the end of the meal- always piping hot and fresh.
Though it is leavened traditionally with yeast, she uses baking powder, baking soda or kefir instead, she said, from a belief "that yeast is bad for your body."
Another popular dish in Kazakhstan is plov - a meat and rice pilaf.
In Kazakh cooking, "we're not big on seasonings," she said; mostly just salt and pepper are used.
The couple met in 1995 when they were students at Samford University in Birmingham. She earned a master's degree at Beeson Divinity School. She had her undergraduate studies in Kazakhstan.
She became interested in divinity by learning about Christianity when she worked as a translator for missionaries, she said. She was translating English to Russian, which is used in the schools she attended in Kazakhstan. "My mother language is Khazak," which she spoke with her family.
She has not worked since her youngest child was born, but now that he is of an age to enter preschool, she plans to return to work, she said.
In addition to teaching, Fleming also writes. His book "Thimblerig's Ark" is written for children in the middle grades. "Thimblerig's Ark" is a fantasy and adventure novel of the animals getting onto Noah's Ark.
While in Martinsville, the couple have been holding occasional yard sales to benefit someone in Kazakhstan who needs a medical procedure. The next will be held from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday at 901 Hazelwood Lane, Martinsville, the house where the couple are staying this summer.

Kyrgyz 24.kg cites the Eurasian Economic Commission as saying that Kazakhstan will recognize education certificates of EEU citizens without restrictions. It is noted that the recognition of education documents issued in EEU states is stipulated by EEU Treaty and is one of the important conditions for the formation of a single market of labor resources in the Union. EEC has received complaints of refusal of direct recognition of education documents in Kazakhstan from legal entities. The Ministry of Education and Science of Kazakhstan believed that the EEU Treaty extended to education documents issued since January 1, 2015, i.e. the date of document's entry into force. This is contrary to the rules of the Treaty. The Ministry of Education informed the Eurasian Economic Commission that at the moment of application of EEU Treaty norms regarding recognition of education documents for the purpose of employment in respect of EEU nationals is executed in full and without any time restrictions.

European Railway Review informs about KZ4AT passenger locomotive
Rolling stock manufacturer Alstom , which set a new high-speed record in Kazakhstan whilst conducting tests on its KZ4AT passenger locomotive on the line South East of Astana.

According to the article, Alstom's KZ4AT passenger locomotive reach speeds of 200 km/h on the Moiynty-Kiik line South East of Astana as part of tests to allow the locomotives to run up to their maximum design speed during commercial operation. An important hub linking Europe, Middle East, Asia and Russia through new Silk Way. Bernard Peille, Managing Director South CIS Alstom said: "We are very pleased and proud that those tests were successful and that we reached 200 km/h for the first time in the railway history of Kazakhstan. This record opens new promising prospects for Kazakhstan as an important hub linking Europe, Middle East, Asia and Russia through new Silk Way." KZ4AT high-speed passenger locomotive operates in extreme weather conditions The multi-purpose KZ4AT locomotive is based on the Alstom Prima modular platform and is able to run at speeds of 200km/h in passenger services and has been designed to successfully operate in extreme weather conditions from -50C to +50C. Developed on the basis of KTZ (Kazakhstan Railways) technical requirements and in compliance with GOST CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) standards and specifications, the locomotive has a traction system based on Alstom's technology and components produced by Alstom and Transmashholding.
The locomotives will be produced at the EKZ plant in Astana, jointly owned by Alstom (50 percent), KTZ (25 percent) and Transmashholding (25 percent).

BelTA news portal informed about the meeting of the CSTO Foreign Ministers scheduled to be held in Yerevan on July 4. The participants of the meeting were expected to discuss a draft collective security strategy through 2025.
The document was discussed at the meeting of the CSTO Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Yerevan on 4 July, BelTA learnt from CSTO spokesman Vladimir Zainetdinov.
"The meeting will discuss the current issues of international and regional security, the situation in Syria and other zones of armed conflict, cooperation between the CSTO members states in the international arena amid the current global situation. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs will consider the draft CSTO collective security strategy through 2025 and foreign political aspects of counteraction to international terrorism and extremism," the spokesman noted.
The participants of the event were also expected to sign decisions on updating collections instructions to the permanent representatives of the CSTO member states and the CSTO plan of consultations in policy, security and defense issues for H2 2016-H1 2017.
The meeting will also highlight the progress in the implementation of the decisions of the CSTO Collective Security Council on the rotation of officials in the CSTO permanent working bodies.

TASS also informed that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attended a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a regional security body, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The sides were expected to consider issues relating to the assessment of urgent problems of the international and regional security, interaction of CSTO states on the international arena and the situation in the world.
The ministers were planned to pay considerable attention to the issue of counteraction to international terrorism and extremism in the light of tendencies in the Middle East and Afghanistan. Besides, the Russian side submitted a proposal to adopt a statement on the situation in Syria.
The CSTO is a regional security group comprising six countries - Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Armenia.
The foreign ministers also discussed a draft collective security strategy of the CSTO up to 2025, actualized collective instructions to CSTO envoys to international organizations, a plan of consultations on foreign policy, security and defense for the second half of 2016 - the first half of 2017 and other documents.
"We hope the Yerevan meeting of ministers will make an important contribution to implementation of agreements of the CSTO presidents on further development of allied interaction in the organization," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
Foreign Ministers of the States-Members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization also discussed the measures on countering terrorism on the sitting of the organization on July 5.
Foreign Ministers of the States-Members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) approved a draft decision of the CSTO Collective Security Council on counter-terrorism measures, CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha said following a meeting of the CSTO Foreign Ministers Council in Yerevan, BelTA informed referring to CSTO spokesman Vladimir Zainetdinov.
The Ministers had a constructive exchange of views on foreign policy aspects of combating international terrorism and extremism and agreed that the spread of international terrorism and extremism affects not only individual states but poses a threat to the entire international community and called for the intensification of joint anti-terrorism activities in the CSTO format.

"The Ministers focused on the measures to counteract the terrorist threat," Nikolai Bordyuzha said following the meeting. According to him, the draft decision provides for the measures that need to be taken to counter terrorism. The Ministers emphasized that in today's environment the efforts of the CSTO Member States to assist the formation of a broad international coalition against terrorism under the aegis of the UN are of particular importance.

The meeting approved the draft strategy of the Collective Security Treaty Organization for the period up to 2025, and also the updated collective guidelines for the permanent representatives of the CSTO Member States to international organizations, the list of themes for joint statements in 2016 and a plan of consultations between representatives of the CSTO Member States on foreign policy, defense and security in the second half of 2016 - first half of 2017.

The Foreign Ministers discussed the most urgent problems of international and regional security, including the situation in Afghanistan, Syria and the Middle East in general, and also in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The Ministers adopted the declaration on the situation in Syria and around it and a statement on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

A regular meeting of the CSTO Foreign Ministers Council was scheduled to take place in Yerevan in the second half of 2016 ahead of the session of the Collective Security Treaty Organization scheduled for October, Kazinform reported referring to BelTA.
In July, BelTA also informed that Belarus would take part in the China-Eurasia Expo scheduled to be held in September.
Belarus will present its national exposition at the China-Eurasia Expo in September 2016. The relevant decision makes part of Council of Ministers' Resolution No.523 of 1 July 2016 that was published at the National Legal Internet Portal on 7 July.
The document introduces amendments to the calendar of national exhibitions (expositions) of Belarus abroad for 2016. In particular, instead of Belarus' participation in the 41st international multi-sector expo Fexpocruz in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, the country will present its national exposition at the 5th China-Eurasia Expo which is due to take place in Urumqi, Xinjiang, China.

"The China-Eurasia expo is an important venue for a high-level dialogue between China and Eurasian countries, a platform for the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt, an important channel for cooperation between Xinjiang and foreign states, and an opportunity to showcase the culture and traditions of Xinjiang.
Minister in Charge of Economy and Financial Policy of the Eurasian Economic Commission Timur Suleimenov also informed that the United Customs Code of the Eurasian Economic Union would be ready by December 1.
The Eurasian Economic Union is a Russia-initiated integration association, streamlining the flow of goods and services between its member countries, namely Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan.
"It is quite a tough deadline, and everything will be definitely done [in time]. In the fourth quarter of the year, by December 1 we will have it [the Customs Code]. At the same time, our main goal is to make it a high-quality, not a result of a weak compromise," Suleimenov said, Sputniknews internet portal informed citing Arka news agency.
On July 11, Russian Trade Minister expressed his hopes for free trade deal between India and the EEU at a plenary meeting of Innoprom, a major industrial trade fair underway in Russia's Yekaterinburg.
"I hope that we will soon be able to implement the idea of an agreement on free trade between India and EAEU member states, which will deepen our trade and economic relations," Denis Manturov said.
The EAEU is a Russia-initiated regional political and economic bloc which aims to streamline the flow of goods and services between its members, namely Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, Sputniknews internet portal informed.
Besides, BelTA informed that Minsk would host the Council of Permanent Plenipotentiary Representatives to the CIS statutory and other bodies on July 12.
The CIS Council of Permanent Plenipotentiary Representatives to the CIS statutory and other bodies reviewed the draft decision of the CIS Council of Heads of State on adjusting the CIS to the new realities at the next meeting in Minsk on July 12.
The meeting, which was attended by Chairman of the CIS Executive Committee, CIS Executive Secretary Sergey Lebedev, was set to draft the agendas of the meetings of the CIS Council of Ministers for Foreign Affairs and the CIS Council of Heads of State, which would be held in Bishkek on 15 and 16 September. In addition, the members of the Council discussed the proposals to the draft agenda of the meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of Government, which was due in Minsk on October 28.

The permanent plenipotentiary representatives were also set to discuss the optimization of the number of the CIS Interstate Statistics Committee.

The meeting was followed by a ceremony to honor the winners of the 2015 CIS Quality Excellence Award.
Sputniknews portal as well as the other Caspian states informed that a meeting of the Caspian littoral states' Foreign Affairs Ministers aimed to discuss a draft convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea was to be held in Astana on July 13.
Foreign Ministers of five littoral countries of the Caspian Sea, namely Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, are meeting in Kazakh capital to participate in the meeting chaired by Kazakh Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov.
"The main theme of the upcoming talks is to agree on a draft convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea, to discuss the progress made in certain areas of cooperation in the Caspian Sea, as well as issues related to the preparations for the fifth Caspian summit, scheduled to take place in Kazakhstan," Kazakh Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Earlier, it was reported that the agenda of the forthcoming meeting will include questions such as the five-sided cooperation in various spheres, including the economy, transportation, safety and the environment.
The question of defining the legal status of Caspian Sea reopened after the collapse of the Soviet Union, when the emergence of new subjects of international law, namely Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan as states, raised the question of demarcation of the Caspian Sea among the five countries.
Difficulty in determining the status of the Caspian Sea is linked to its recognition as a lake or a sea - a distinction which is governed by different provisions of international law and would have political ramifications.
At the meeting of the Caspian littoral states' Foreign Affairs Ministers, it was noted that security and stability in the Caspian Sea was very important for the region.
Security and stability in the Caspian Sea is of fundamental importance for the region, thus it is necessary to adhere to its use for only peaceful purposes, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Wednesday.
The foreign ministers of five littoral countries of the Caspian Sea, namely Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, gathered in Kazakh capital of Astana to participate in the meeting chaired by Kazakh Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov.
"Recognizing the key aspect - security, transparency, the use of the sea for peaceful purposes, the rejection of arms race, a guarantee for not using military force, the joint struggle against threats, as well as agreements reached in Astrakhan summit on the rejection of military force by third parties - this is what will ensure peace and stability in the region," Zarif said during the meeting in Astana.
Earlier in the day, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said that the meeting is aimed at discussing a draft convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea.
Difficulty in determining the status of the Caspian Sea is linked to its recognition as a lake or a sea - a distinction which is governed by different provisions of international law and would have political ramifications.
According to Zarif, "the atmosphere of a common understanding observed during the talks inspires more optimism to achieve results."
Zarif also called for the five Caspian littoral states to establish a permanent regional body whose composition, tasks and powers would be determined by mutual consultation between the five states.
"The creation of this body will be demonstrating our long-term comprehensive view of the Caspian Sea issues," Zarif noted.
The question of defining the legal status of Caspian Sea reopened after the collapse of the Soviet Union, when the emergence of new subjects of international law, namely Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan as states, raised the question of demarcation of the Caspian Sea among the five countries, Sputniknews.com informed.
On July 13, Sputniknews portal referring to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan also informed that the next Caspian States Summit was scheduled to be held in Astana in 2017.
Earlier in the day, the foreign ministers of the five states, namely Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, met in Astana to discuss the draft Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea and preparations for the 5th Caspian Summit.
"We have confirmed today at a political level that there is a general readiness to move to the signing of the Convention in Astana at the heads of state summit next year," Erlan Idrissov told reporters.
He added that the exact timing of the summit was yet difficult to determine as it would depend on the progress made on certain outstanding issues "that require harmonization and further negotiations."
The question of defining the legal status of the Caspian Sea arose after the collapse of the Soviet Union, when the emergence of new independent states, namely Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, necessitated the demarcation of the area among the five countries that border it.

The difficulty in determining the status of the Caspian Sea is linked to its recognition as a lake or a sea - a distinction which is governed by different provisions of international law.
The news about the other EEU member state came from BelTA on July 13, when it reported that Belarus planned to sell more dairy products to China.
Belarus intends to export more dairy products to China, BelTA informed citing Alexander Subbotin, Belarusian Deputy Agriculture and Food Minister, Director of the Veterinary and Food Oversight Department of the Ministry.
At present 17 Belarusian dairy companies export their products to China. According to the Deputy Agriculture and Food Minister, another 20 companies are getting ready to get the right to sell milk powder, dairy products, and cheese to China. Alexander Subbotin reminded that Belarus is working to certify seven companies in order to give them the right to export beef and poultry meat to China. Plans have also been made to start selling merchandise to Indonesia. Indonesian specialists started auditing two dairy enterprises on 12 July. Another six will be added in the future.
Belarusian manufacturers are also successful at penetrating European markets. Five dairy companies can export their merchandise to the European Union now. The Belarusian manufacturer of ice cream and frozen foods Morozproduct may join them in the future.
Alexander Subbotin stressed: "Belarus is intent on shipping its products to various markets. The fact that we've been able to penetrate them at such a difficult time indicates that our manufacturing standards and quality are good."
The Belarusian Deputy Agriculture and Food Minister pointed out that Belarusian meat and dairy companies always work to make products with a higher added value, retool manufacturing facilities, modernize refrigerating facilities, certify their merchandise, introduce ISO 22000 food safety management standards in compliance with ISO 9001 and HACCP requirements.
In the last few years Belarusian meat and dairy companies regularly won product quality awards during national and international contests such as Best Products of the Republic of Belarus, Golden Autumn, Prodexpo, World Food, Superior Taste Award and other ones.
On July 13, TASS also informed that the India-EEU free trade zone agreement could be signed not earlier than 2017.
The agreement on a free trade zone between India and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) may be signed not earlier than 2017, Russia's First Deputy Economic Development Minister Alexei Likhachev told reporters.
"I think it will be next year, not earlier," he said.
"A joint research group has been working for more than a year. The Eurasian Union and Indian formed such groups to define the content of the agreement. Our work will soon be completed but it turned out that the Indian side was moving in that direction not as fast as we would want it to," First Deputy Economic Development Minister said.
According to Likhachev, Russia wants the provisions of the agreement cover not only goods, but also a number of other parameters.
"This process (agreement on a free trade zone - TASS) becomes especially important in connection with India's entering the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. In this sense, big Eurasia, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke about, based within the EAEU countries and the boundaries of the Shanghai Organization of Cooperation, is very important for us," he said.
Russia expects India to join the SCO within a year, Likhachev said and expressed the hope that India will speed up the work on signing of the free trade zone agreement with EAEU.
The Treaty on the establishment of the Eurasian Economic Union was signed by the presidents of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan on May 29, 2014 in Astana.
The agreement is the basic document defining the accords between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan for creating the Eurasian Economic Union for the free movement of goods, services, capital and workforce and conducting coordinated, agreed or common policies in key sectors of the economy, such as energy, industry, agriculture and transport.
The agreement stipulates the transition of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan to the next stage of integration after the Customs Union and the common economic space. Kyrgyzstan and Armenia also joined the EAEU.
On July 14, referring to TASS Kazinform reported that Kyrgyzstan's president called to step up cooperation between the EU and the Eurasian Economic Union.
Kyrgyzstan supports expanding cooperation between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and European Union (EU), Kyrgyzstan's President Almazbek Atambayev said on July 14.
"It is necessary to step up cooperation between EU and the Eurasian Economic Union," Atambayev said after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He reminded that a similar agreements between EU and Armenia is being prepared. "Such document was earlier signed between the European Union and Kazakhstan. I really hope that similar agreement will be made with Kyrgyzstan in the future," he noted.
Eurasian Economic Union
The Treaty on the establishment of the Eurasian Economic Union was signed by the presidents of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan on May 29, 2014 in Astana.
The agreement is the basic document defining the accords between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan for creating the Eurasian Economic Union for the free movement of goods, services, capital and workforce and conducting coordinated, agreed or common policies in key sectors of the economy, such as energy, industry, agriculture and transport.
The agreement stipulates the transition of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan to the next stage of integration after the Customs Union and the common economic space. Kyrgyzstan and Armenia also joined the EAEU.
Similar news came from the 11th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM11) summit in Mongolia's capital on July 15, when the Russian Prime Minister expressed his hopes for full-fledged EU-EEU dialogue.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said he hoped that Europe would build up a full-fledged dialogue between the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union.
"I am certain that the future will see a common economic space from the Atlantic to the Pacific. And as a first step a full-fledged dialogue between the Eurasian Economic Union and the EU could be initiated. We hope that within the European community a positive consensus will be formed on this issue," Medvedev said at the 11th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM11) summit that started in Mongolia's capital on Thursday.
The Russian prime minister said that the EEU is open for cooperation with partners from other unions and singled out China as one of the EEU's leading partners.
"We have started negotiations on the preparations of an agreements on trade and economic cooperation in the format the Eurasian Economic Union - China. Work has been launched on the formation of the so-called broad economic partnership on the basis of the Eurasian [Economic] Union and the Chinese initiative of the economic belt of the Silk Road," Medvedev said.
The EEU is an economic association founded by Russia and also including Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
In May 2015, Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping signed a joint declaration "on cooperation in coordinating the development of the Eurasian Economic Union project and the Silk Road Economic Belt."
The Silk Road Economic Belt is the Chinese government's economic development framework announced in 2013 for primarily integrating trade and investment in Eurasia on favorable conditions.
Then on July 21, BelTA learned from the press service of the CIS Executive Committee that the draft statement of heads of state about the 25th anniversary of the CIS was approved in Minsk.
An additional session of the expert group to discuss the remarks and proposals of the CIS member states regarding the draft statement of the CIS heads of state about the 25th anniversary of the organization took place at the CIS Executive Committee in Minsk.
Taking into account the remarks and proposals of the CIS member states which were received in the in the process of voting in these states, CIS experts have finalized and harmonized the draft statement and asked the CIS Executive Committee to submit the document to the CIS Council of Heads of State for consideration.

The press release of the press service reads that the materials of the session of the expert group were handed over to the CIS member states.
On the next day, BelTA informed that the Belarus-Kazakhstan joint action plan for 2017-2018 was determined.
Belarus and Kazakhstan initialed the roadmap meant to guide the development of bilateral cooperation in 2017-2018. The procedure was part of the latest session of the Belarusian-Kazakh intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation.
According to First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Vasily Matyushevsky, the sides are satisfied with the content of the action plan for the next two years. "We are sincerely glad that Belarus and Kazakhstan have a large number of areas of joint work. Today alone we've managed to discuss over 20 items concerning economic and social affairs," he said.
First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Bakytzhan Sagintayev remarked that the roadmap pays close attention to agribusiness, in particular, the establishment and operation of joint ventures. "Kazakhstan is ready to provide all kinds of support, including with finance and infrastructure, to joint ventures specializing in agriculture," he stressed.
During the session the sides also discussed matters of cooperation in transport and logistics, designing and construction, space industry and power engineering, science and technologies, education, sport, and tourism. The meeting resulted in signing the minutes of the commission's session and a program on cooperation in physical training and sport between the Belarusian and Kazakh ministries of sport and tourism. The sides decided to convene for the next session of the commission in Kazakhstan in 2017.
At present there are 13 joint ventures in Kazakhstan that assemble mining machines, tractors, grain harvesters, balers, elevators, and towed agricultural machines. Kazakhstan occupies the third position in the CIS states in terms of the volume of Belarusian export. In 2015 Belarus-Kazakhstan trade totaled $576.3 million.
Given the activity of the Eurasian Economic Union this July, it is no surprise that BelTA informed about the talks between the EEC and the African Union on July 23.
The Eurasian Economic Commission established contacts with the African Union, BelTA learned from the press service of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC).
An EEC delegation led by Member of the Board (the Minister) on Integration and Macroeconomics Tatyana Volovaya conducted the negotiations with the Commission of the African Union in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. "It was the first ever meeting between representatives of the EEC and the African Union. The parties had a constructive dialogue on the development of integration within the framework of the associations. The parties noted the interest in establishing closer and systemic contacts between the EEC and the Commission of the African Union, primarily with a view to sharing the integration experiences in the areas of mutual interest," the press service noted.

During the visit to Addis Ababa the EEC held a presentation of the Eurasian Economic Union in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia. Minister Tatyana Volovaya held talks with Alemayehu Gujo, State Minister of Ministry of Finance and Economic Development of Ethiopia. The parties noted the mutual interest in establishing contacts and developing cooperation.

The African Union is an international intergovernmental organization, which unites 54 states of Africa. The Commission of the African Union is its executive authority based in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
The Eurasian Economic Union continued to draw interest from all over the world as Minister of Communication and Information Technology Mahmoud Vaezi planned to arrive in Astrakhan in Russia, IRNA news portal reported on July 23.
Minister of Communication and Information Technology Mahmoud Vaezi was to meet with Trade Minister of Eurasian Economic Union Veronika Nikishina as well as ministers of Communication, Mass Media and Industry, Trade and Energy.
Vaezi was to arrive in Astrakhan on Tuesday and he was going to attend joint economic meeting of Iran-Russia and deliver speech as the Iran's Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanaei was expected to deliver speech as well.
On Wednesday, Vaezi planned to meet with Veronika Nikishina and discuss expansion of cooperation and considering negotiations trend for free trade convention between Iran and Eurasia Union.
The Eurasian Economic Union includes five countries of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia with more than 180 million populations, which is a big close market for Iranian exporting goods.
Vaezi was to meet and discuss issues of mutual interest with Minister of Communication and Mass Media of Russia Nikolai Nikiforov, Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov and Minister of Energy Alexander Novak, who is Russian head of permanent commission of economic cooperation between Iran and Russia, which Vaezi is the head of the Iranian side.
Iran's Ambassador to Russian Mehdi Sanaei was accompanying the minister in all meetings.
BelTA information portal was actively delivering news about the EEU in July, as it informed that Belarus called for more active development of Eurasian transport corridors on July 28.
More effort should be made to develop the international transport corridors in Eurasia, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Tajikistan Oleg Ivanov said in his speech at a conference on the role of transport and transit corridors in ensuring sustainable development, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"Oleg Ivanov also emphasized Belarus' role as an important transport hub and stressed the country's active participation in the Silk Road Economic Belt initiative," the press service said.
The conference was organized by the UN Office in Tajikistan and the government of this country,

In July Kazakhstan found itself in the spotlight of many mass media because of undefeated Kazakhstani middleweight boxer and ambassador of the Expo2017 Gennady Golovkin. Golovkin's team pulled off the shocker by signing a deal for the next big fight not with British middleweight Chris Eubank Jr. as everyone expected, but with his fellow countryman Kell Brook.
In early July AFP published the article in which it announced the Golovkin vs. Brook fight in September. According to AFP, welterweight world champion Brook will move up two weight divisions to challenge Kazakhstan's pound-for-pound sensation Gennady Golovkin rather than defend his title.
Brook, who is unbeaten in 36 bouts with 25 inside the distance, had been expected to put his IBF crown on the line against WBO welterweight holder Jessie Vargas. However, Brook decided to move up to middleweight to face the Kazakh champion Golovkin, who has 32 knockouts to his credit in his 35 victories, in London on September 10.
"This is the fight and the moment I have been waiting for for some time," said 30-year-old Brook. "We've tried and tried to lure the best to come and fight me and now we've got the best of the best - the number one pound for pound fighter in the world is coming to the UK."
Brook, who will not be stripped of his IBF title which he has defended three times, said he hadn't hesitated when the bout with the 34-year-old Golovkin was offered, AFP wrote.
"When this fight got offered to me I accepted within minutes and I can't wait," he said. "Everyone knows I'm a huge welterweight and I know I will carry my speed and accuracy and even more power through the weights. This is the ultimate fight, one of the biggest international fights the country has seen in many years. You have seen some huge names run from GGG but I'm running to him. I'm a special fighter and I will show the world on September 10, Brook was quoted as saying by AFP.
Bob Velin of USA Today said that Brook's promoter Eddie Hearn was ‘very creative' in suggesting matchup. It was Hearn, the promoter for both Chris Eubank Jr. and Kell Brook, who suggested that Brook could and would fight Golovkin when talks with Eubank broke down in early July.
According to USA Today, Loeffler, director of K2 Promotions and promoter of GGG, said he thought things were going along smoothly for a Golovkin-Eubank Jr. matchup, and figured they would close the deal soon, until he received a call from Hearn.
"He said they hit some roadblocks in closing the deal and didn't think it was going to happen," Loeffler said. "And then he suggested he would call Kell Brook because Brook in the past has said he would move up to fight Gennady.
According to Bob Velin, a few hours later Eddie called Loeffler up and said Brook will take the fight under the same conditions he offered the fight to Eubank. So it's the same date, the same venue, it's on Sky Box Office over there in London at the O2 Arena and it'll be on HBO over here in the states. It will be a career-high payday for Brook and they closed the deal in two days after they got the verbal commitment from Brook.
Loeffler praised his colleague Eddie Hearn saying that that situation shows that if two fighters want to fight it's easy to make the fight. "If one fighter wants to fight and the other one doesn't it's impossible to make the fight. We give Brook a lot of credit and also Eddie Hearn was very creative in coming up with that suggestion," he added.
Hearn told Sky Sports in London that Eubank and his father made impossible demands. After working three weeks on that fight, negotiating with the Eubanks, Hearn was sure everything was ready. Eubank Jr. was offered the same pay-per-view deal as Anthony Joshua, Carl Froch and the one that Kell Brook accepted.
"Unfortunately they (the Eubanks) made the deal impossible. The things they wanted were just a complete no-go. They were given a deadline and they chose not to take the fight."
But, according to the USA Today, Eubank Jr. said on Twitter Friday he was never offered a contract to sign.
Loeffler is not sure what happened, but said that "if Eddie tells me he can't make the fight I have to go by what he's saying."
Loeffler agreed this could be a dangerous fight for Golovkin, considering he has little to gain by beating a man moving up two weight classes, and much to lose if he is defeated by the smaller fighter. But GGG's promoter suggests, however, that the size difference is not that great.
"It's one of those where it's high risk, high reward for Brook. If he wins, he's considered the best middleweight in the world. All of a sudden Kell Brook makes history," Loeffler said. "He's undefeated, a big welterweight (36-0), he's got good power and Gennady's a small middleweight. So on paper it might seem like a big difference, but when he stands next to Gennady, Brook is 5-9, and Gennady is 5-10. So if they stand next to each other at the press conference or the weigh-in, physically it's not going to be a big difference."
Bob Vein wrote that Loeffler was quick to say that this fight is nothing like Canelo-Khan in May 2016, which ended with Canelo knocking out Khan, who moved up two weight classes.
"The difference here is that Brook has never lost before, never been stopped, and he's got the speed and he's also got the power at welterweight," Loeffler told the USA Today. "Knowledgeable fans know we tried to get bigger fighters in the ring to fight Gennady. The Canelo fight wasn't going to happen. We tried to get Billy Joe Saunders to unify the titles, that fight wouldn't happen. The Eubank fight, Eddie couldn't close that deal, so it's a big difference with Kell Brook taking the fight."
"He gets a lot of credit for moving up," Loeffler lauded the Brit. " It's a high profile fight not only for him but also for Gennady. There's not a lot of multiple title world champions at the top of their division that are willing to go fight internationally in the other fighter's hometown."
"So even though Brook is moving up in weight, Gennady is going to his country and Brook has the home-crowd advantage. It's the biggest fight of Kell Brook's career for sure and it's very rare for a guy like Gennady, who's the best in his division and who has multiple world titles to go over and fight in someone else's home country."
As for GGG-Canelo, Loeffler said, "We would've like to make that fight as soon as possible, but Canelo moved down in weight and gave up the WBC middleweight title. And that was Gennady's goal to get that title.
"We have a good relationship with Golden Boy, so whenever is the soonest possible we can make that fight, we'll do everything from our side. My guess is that fight will happen next year and most likely in September of 2017. But you never know what happens between now and then," Loeffler was quoted as saying by the USA Today.
Robby Kalland of CBSSPORTS wrote after the announcement of the Golovkin vs. Brook fight that the choice of Golovkin's next opponent stunned many people in and outside the world of boxing.
Like many Kalland expected Golovkin to finalize negotiations with Chris Eubank Jr., but after the latter turned down the fight, the middleweight star turned his attention to Brook.
Kalland says the fight announcement came out of nowhere, but it's a welcome surprise to see two talented fighters come to an agreement to meet in the ring.
Brook will look to avoid the same fate that fellow British welterweight star Amir Khan faced when he jumped up in weight to face Canelo Alvarez in May 2016, ending with Khan being floored by one of the knockouts of the year. Brook is ranked as one of the top two welterweights in the world.

No matter the outcome of September's bout with Golovkin, Kalland believes that Brook will retain his IBF title at 147 pounds and, despite having never fought above 147 pounds, Brook thinks that as a naturally bigger welterweight, he will be able to make the 13-pound leap to 160 pounds.

Kalland wrote that Golovkin and Brook have both hoped for big fights only to see the best in their respective divisions pass on bouts, so the matchup makes sense. Golovkin gets his wish of fighting on a big stage, making his London debut at the massive O2 Arena, and also was able to convince Brook to take the fight at the full middleweight limit of 160 pounds, something that Canelo's camp balked at.

Kalland says boxing fans should be thrilled by the news of this fight. While it's not Canelo-GGG, it is a massive fight with two of the best in the sport facing each other in their primes, one of the ultimate rarities in boxing.

The Guardian also wrote about the upcoming Golovkin vs. Brook fight in early July, saying the Brook, the unbeaten Sheffield fighter, will take on the man ranked third in the world, pound-for-pound by Ring magazine.
According to the Guardian, the Kazakh champion has won all 35 of his professional fights - 32 by knockout. Brook's record stands up in comparison - the Sheffield fighter is undefeated in 36 fights, having won 25 by knockout.
"I'm very excited to be fighting in front of the great British boxing fans and promise another ‘big drama show' against Kell Brook," The Guardian quoted Golovkin as saying after the announcement came.
In early July the Los Angeles Times said that Gennady Golovkin is making his way across the pond. Lance Pugmire of the LAT wrote Gennady Golovkin is scheduled to defend his three middleweight belts against welterweight world champion Kell Brook of England at O2 Arena in London on September 10.
According to Pugmire, HBO is set to televise the 160-pound bout, a week before the network airs a pay-per-view headlined by the man Golovkin (35-0, 32 knockouts) is supposed to fight next year, Canelo Alvarez.
The surprise switch to the 30-year-old, 147-pound Brook, Pugmire wrote, came about because middleweight Chris Eubank stalled in signing a contract that was presented to him, according to Loeffler.
"This is something that happens to us often," Loeffler said of Golovkin, who has posted 22 consecutive knockouts and won 16 straight middleweight title fights. "Opponents say they want to fight Gennady, but when it comes to signing ... Eddie Hearn had a problem closing with Eubank. Kell Brook accepted the fight in one day."
Golovkin said of Brook in a prepared statement: "I give him much respect for taking this fight."
According to the article, Brook has posted three consecutive technical knockouts against obscure foes in Britain after winning the International Boxing Federation belt from recent welterweight title challenger Shawn Porter by majority decision in a 2014 bout at StubHub Center.
Brook had been in a deal to fight World Boxing Organization champion Jessie Vargas, but that collapsed. Golovkin's efforts to get WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders also went nowhere.
"Brook's had a problem getting fights at welterweight as we have at middleweight, so it's a perfect match ... a throwback fight," Loeffler said.
Loeffler defended the selection compared by many to a similar pairing between Alvarez and welterweight Amir Khan.
Given Golovkin's dominance at middleweight, the choice of Brook provoked some outrage in the boxing community and on social media, Pugmire says.
"Overpay the little guy to put his life in his hands, [Brook] gets credit for being brave in a fight he can't win, and then when the inevitable happens, he has nothing to lose," said Lou DiBella, an East Coast promoter who handles Premier Boxing Champions fights. "It's good business, but anyone who thinks it's good for the sport is out of their minds. ... I can't believe it or fathom it.
"This is not a super-fight, [Golovkin] should be fighting a true middleweight."
Golovkin sought to fight Alvarez in September, but the popular Mexican fighter relinquished his World Boxing Council middleweight belt to Golovkin instead and accepted a Sept. 17 fight against little-known 154-pound champion Liam Smith of England.
"Gennady's been disappointed by Saunders, disappointed that Eubank wouldn't commit," Loeffler said.
According to Pugmire, Loeffler said he made the best of the situation, taking a fight that will expand Golovkin's name brand in a pay-per-view bout in Europe while potentially allowing him to boast he's sold out Madison Square Garden, the Forum and O2 Arena in succession.
"Kell Brook was the first to not only talk about the fight, but make it happen," Loeffler said. "If he wins, he makes boxing history. Kell Brook had the intestinal fortitude to challenge himself and challenge Gennady.
"There's a lot of differences between this fight and Canelo-Khan. Kell Brook has great power as a welterweight and a great chin.
"And it keeps the Canelo storyline going."
Golovkin has averaged more than 1.3 million viewers on HBO in three of his last four bouts aired by the network, and an overseas bout against Martin Murray shown in the afternoon in the U.S. in 2015 drew more than 800,000 viewers, the network reported.
Gareth A. Davies of Telegraph called the upcoming Golovkin vs. Brook fight a showstopper match-up.
In the article Davies says that the IBF welterweight champion will have to fight the world's heaviest pound for pound puncher Gennady Golovkin, two weight divisions above him, a devastating knockout artist, unbeaten and feared.
Although Davies sees some parallels with Amir Khan versus Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez, nonetheless he thinks it is a huge challenge for Brook, yet without the 20 pounds weight differential which saw Khan physically dominated by Canelo's power and knocked out in the fifth round. Brook has always been a very large welterweight, and moving from 147 to 160 pounds may be a relief to his body.
According to Davies, Golovkin will step into the ring as a defending champion for the 16th time and look to keep up his incredible knockout percentage - with 32 of his previous 35 fights ending early, including every world title outing.
In the article Davies praises Golovkin for most recently selling out famed venues in the United States, Madison Square Garden in New York City and The Fabulous Forum in Los Angeles.
On October 17, 2015 Golovkin knocked out IBF middleweight world Champion David Lemieux at Madison Square Garden in front of 20,548. Most recently, Golovkin stopped undefeated mandatory challenger Dominic Wade on April 23, 2016 in the second round at the sold-out Fabulous Forum before a crowd of 16,353.
Davies reminds that Golovkin has beaten two British fighters already in his career in Matthew Macklin and Martin Murray, but Brook will be out to take his mantel as the world's most feared fighter.
Brook will have to live up to his ring sobriquet of ‘The Special One' moves up from welterweight where he holds the IBF title that he took from Shawn Porter in August 2014, defending it three times since then with stoppage victories in all three, though there have been calls for him too step up the opposition.
Davies notes that Brook, 30, will retain his status as IBF welterweight champion regardless of the outcome, but has been hunting a major fight since landing the world crown. Victory as the underdog would propel him towards major stardom in the sport.
"We look forward to working with Eddie and the Matchroom Boxing team on this huge international fight on September 10," Telegraph quoted Loeffler as saying.
Hearn added: "I cannot tell you how excited I am for this mega fight. I've worked hard with Tom over the years to bring GGG to the UK and now we do it as the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Right here you have the number one Welterweight in the world against the number one Middleweight in the world - 36-0 vs. 35-0, two of the best on the planet, it's what big time boxing is all about."
"I couldn't be happier for Kell," added Hearn. "We have pushed for that big name for a long time with many reluctant to step into the ring with him and now this is the ultimate challenge, the biggest fight of 2016 and I can't tell you how happy I am to bring it to the UK. September 10 is going to be an incredible night at The O2 - it's a special night for British sport and we will provide a packed show with multiple World title fights and some of the biggest names in British boxing."
BBC News also released an article dedicated to the much-anticipated Brook vs. Golovkin in July, lauding Brook for challenging the undisputed world middleweight champion from Kazakhstan.
According to the British media outlet, both Brook and Golovkin have been hunting huge-money fights in recent years but have been repeatedly frustrated.
Jack de Menezes of Independent also dedicated his article to the Golovkin vs. Brook showdown.
While Brook is ever-so-slightly more experienced, having not tasted defeat in his 36-bout career, Golovkin is widely regarded as the best boxer on the planet current still fighting, following Floyd Mayweather's retirement last year, Menezes wrote.
He adds that Golovkin was called out by Saul ‘Canelo' Alvarez after the Mexican knocked out Britain's Amir Khan in May, but talks never reached an agreement and Canelo has already agreed to fight another Briton in WBO light middleweight champion Liam Smith.
That left Golovkin looking for his next opponent, and despite Chris Eubank Jr pushing hard to face the Kazakh boxer, Matchroom Boxing confirmed that Brook will face Golovkin in London in what is an incredibly dangerous fight to take for 30-year-old Brook.
According to Joe Nguyen of Denver Post, Gennady Golovkin was searching for someone to fight him for the middleweight title. Kell Brook, Nguyen says, was more than eager to step up for the challenge. So, the choice was obvious.
Brook got the fight after negotiations with middleweight Chris Eubank Jr. broke down. The two sides quickly came to a deal, on the same terms that Eubank rejected, Nguyen wrote.
"When you have 22 knockouts in a row it's a big problem to get fighters in the ring," Loeffler was quoted by Denver Post as saying. "Kell Brooks has had problems finding welterweights to fight him, so it's actually a good solution."
Golovkin had hoped to get Mexico's Canelo Alvarez in a middleweight showdown, but turned elsewhere after Alvarez gave up his piece of the 160-pound title rather than meet him in September. Golovkin wanted to fight in London, so getting a British opponent was a priority.
Brook, according to Denver Post, is more than just an opponent, having won all 36 of his fights while capturing a piece of the 147-pound title. But his first test as a middleweight will be a big one against the increasingly popular Triple G.
"He's actually not much smaller. Kell is a very big welterweight, and Gennady is a small middleweight," Loeffler said. "It's not going to look like he's a much bigger fighter. The real test is not how physically big he is but how big his heart is, and Kell has proven to have a big heart."
Take away the weight difference, and the matchup is an intriguing one. The two fighters have 71 fights between them, and 71 wins.
Just as importantly, both can bang, with Golovkin scoring 32 knockouts in his 35 fights, and Brooks 25 in 36 fights.
Brook has fought almost exclusively in England, though he traveled to Los Angeles in 2014 to win the 147-pound title from Shawn Porter. He has defended it three times, Nguyen adds.
Yahoo Sport called Brook a high-end opponent for Gennady Golovkin whom he found after negotiations with Canelo and Eubank Jr. stalled.
But, according to Yahoo Sport, the choice of Brook requires some explanation.
Canelo Alvarez, the linear middleweight champion, decided last month that he still isn't comfortable at the weight and wants to wait until the fall of 2017 to fight Golovkin.
Golovkin promoter Tom Loeffler thought he had a deal with British promoter Eddie Hearn for a bout with Chris Eubank Jr., but Hearn couldn't finalize a deal with Eubank.
But Hearn suggested that unbeaten welterweight champion Kell Brook might take the fight. Loeffler told him to try and two days later, the sides reached a contract.
So on September 10 at the O2 Arena in London, Golovkin will defend his IBF, WBA, WBC middleweight belts against Brook.
According to Yahoo Sport, Brook deserves huge credit for stepping up to the challenge of the hard-hitting Golovkin, who is one of the elite fighters in the world. He was willing to do what Alvarez, who has been competing as at least a super welterweight since 2010, was not.
Loeffler is often frustrated by having to explain why Golovkin ends up fighting less than world-class opposition. There is no question in this event that Brook is world-class, but he's smaller and moving up for the first time.
"True boxing fans realize we reach out to the biggest names and the most competitive fights for Gennady," Yahoo Sport quoted Loeffler sa saying. "At the end of the day, I can't force someone to get into the ring if they don't want to. We've tried to make a fight with Carl Froch in the U.K. He talked about fighting Gennady, but never signed the contract. We talked with [WBO middleweight champion] Billy Joe Saunders. He talked about fighting Gennady, but never signed the contract.
"We tried to make a fight with [Julio Cesar] Chavez Jr., and he never signed the contract. And of course everyone knows how hard we've tried to get a fight with Canelo. I think the fans realize what's happening. If there was a guy at middleweight someone could point to and say, ‘Here's the guy that Gennady is avoiding,' that would be one thing. But we've talked to everyone."
Alvarez is one of the sport's biggest stars, but his star is unquestionably going to dim quite a bit over his failure to fight Golovkin.
Plus the fact that now he's signed to face the lightly regarded Liam Smith in a pay-per-view bout on September 17, the week after Golovkin fights Brook.
Loeffler's maneuvering winds up giving fans a far better fight - Golovkin versus Brook - that is free on HBO rather than having to pay $75 to watch Alvarez in a mismatch that exactly no one outside the Smith household was hoping to see.
Yahoo Sport thinks that the biggest winner in the upcoming fight, of course, is Brook, because if he somehow overcomes the odds and beats Golovkin, he would become a major star in the sport. If he loses, he still has his welterweight title and he will have earned respect for stepping up to a massive challenge.
The loser, according to Yahoo Sport, is once again Alvarez, whose moves make him look like he's running from the Big Bad Wolf. It's hardly a way to push a guy his promoter calls the sport's top draw.
Nick Parkinson of ESPN criticized Chris Eubank Sr. for making crazy demands during the negotiations on Golovkin vs. Eubank Jr. fight.

Hearn revealed that Chris Eubank Sr.'s "crazy demands" cost his son a £3 million fight against Golovkin.
Golovkin , according to Parkinson had agreed terms to face Eubank Jr. (23-1, 18 KOs), but the Brighton boxer stalled on signing the contract and Hearn instead offered the fight to Brook (, who jumped at the opportunity.
Hearn blames Eubank Sr., the former world champion, for his son not landing the fight against Kazakhstan's California-based knockout specialist Golovkin, which included demands on which television commentator would work on the fight and how much tickets would cost.
"I believe Eubank Jr. genuinely wanted the fight and we worked solidly for three weeks trying to make the fight," Hearn told ESPN. "We had several meetings and contracts went back in forth. We sent them a final contract on Tuesday and said you have 24 hours and they never came back to us. We just ran out of time, so I offered it to Kell.
"It was so frustrating. It was the crazy demands that meant the fight could not happen for Eubank Jr. against Golovkin. They think it's negotiations but it's not a bluff when I say it's 24 hours to sign the contract. They were given a deadline and they chose not to take the fight," Hearn said.
"They wanted full operational control of the promotion. They were even asking things from Sky Sports like 'We want these commentators', which is ridiculous. I feel for Eubank Jr. because I don't think he knows what's going on and he was going to earn three or five million pounds. They have to understand that it's not playing a game," ESPN quoted Hearn as saying.
"Chris Eubank Jr. hasn't made one decision, he doesn't breathe without his dad's say so. All the negotiations were done with Chris Eubank Sr. and the lawyer. They sent through their suggestion for ticket prices and I would have got publicly lynched if I had agreed to that," the promoter added.
According to ESPN, it is the big fight Brook has been craving since winning his IBF belt nearly two years ago, having since made three low-key defences. He had been training in the Canary Islands before Hearn made the offer to fight Golovkin.
Parkinson says in the article that it will be the biggest pay day of Brook's career and Hearn has hailed Golovkin's UK visit as the biggest by an overseas boxer in years.
"Kell doesn't have to give up his IBF welterweight title and that was the defining decision if you like for him taking the fight because he has got nothing to lose and we believe he can beat Golovkin," Hearn said. "If you are talking about fighters in their prime, when Mike Tyson and Kostya Tyszu came over they were past it, but Golovkin is very much in his prime."
Brian Mazique of Forbes doesn't think that Brook was the obvious choice for Golovkin, on the contrary, he sees the fight as a repeat of Canelo vs. Khan .
Brook is a bigger puncher than Khan, but not as quick. Unfortunately for Brook, most would say Golovkin is an even more dangerous puncher than Canelo. The Kazakh crusher will work the body with his sledgehammer-like shots. No opponent has gone the distance with him since 2008, a span of 22 fights, according to Mazique.
In the article Mazique asks the burning question: Golovkin systematically and demonstratively breaks down middleweights-what will he do to an overblown welterweight? The height difference isn't significant, but the disparity is in the width of the shoulders and the lower base.
GGG's body is built to carry as much as 175 pounds while Brook's ideal capacity is probably 154. The fight will take place at 160 pounds.
According o Mazique, no one should blame Brook for taking the challenge. He's stepping up to potentially lose his undefeated record while taking an epic beating in the process. That's the type of challenge most fans employ the champions of the sport to chase.
Golovkin on the other hand is in a situation similar to Canelo when he fought Khan. Almost everyone is expecting him to smash through the smaller opponent. If he does, he'll get little praise for his efforts, the author believes.
If he loses, his stock takes a big hit. Not only will he have taken his first professional loss and dropped his aura of invincibility, but he'll have had it snatched away from him by a smaller man. That would be a disaster.
Thankfully for him, that won't happen. Mazique is 100% confident that Golovkin will beat Brook. But we still won't know if he's as great as HBO and his growing legion of supporters believe, until he beats a good fighter in his own weight class, he adds.
Unlike Mazique, WBC cruiserweight title holder Tony Bellew thinks that Brook can gain shock win against Gennady Golovkin.
Bellew told BBC News that Kell Brook will show devastating power against middleweight champion Golovkin.
"Kell Brook at 11 stone will be an absolute wrecking machine," he said. "A lot of people are scared of Golovkin's power but Brook's stepped up and should only be commended.
"Do not write him off. These are two men who can land big punches and it can end at any time but Kell Brook is a serious athlete and deserves massive credit for taking this fight," Bellew said.
"Everyone showed respect to Khan when he stepped up to face Canelo," added Bellew in an interview with BBC Sport. "Brook should receive the same recognition for taking on the most feared middleweight anyone has seen since Marvin Hagler."
David Coldwell, Brook's former trainer, told BBC Sport this fight will be the pinnacle of the Sheffield fighter's career.
"Kell always dreamed of the big fights and was saying stuff like 'one day, I want to fight Floyd Mayweather'. It's always been his dream to fight elite level fighters - now he's stepping up against Golovkin - the baddest man on the planet.
"But at 11 stone, Kell can smash anybody up. It's a tough task against Golovkin but Kell can do damage at that weight."
"Anybody who beats Golovkin has beaten the king of boxing but to step up a couple of weights to do that is a serious achievement," Coldwell added.
Johnny Nelson agrees that Kell Brook's task to beat Gennady Golovkin isn't impossible.
Nelson believes he can upset the odds against Gennady Golovkin. It's another Amir Khan-Canelo Alvarez shocker, isn't it? Kell, an unbeaten welterweight world champion, wants to risk it all like Khan did.
"People said Kell hadn't fought anybody then, boom, he's fighting one of the most ferocious punchers out there. He's stepped up two weights to do it," Nelson told Sky Sport.
He added, "this isn't an impossible task. He has to stick to a game-plan. Kell is, without a doubt, the better technical fighter, Golovkin is clearly the bigger puncher. It's a hard slog for Kell but it's a possibility."
According to Nelson, Brook is very strong at middleweight, people don't realise that, and that's why he's so successful at welterweight. Probably, this will be a gradual progression for him to step up the weights because he could do that pretty easily.
Nelson noted that Brook needs a fight that captures his imagination, puts him on fire, and gives him the 'hunted' mentality rather than the 'hunter' mentality.
"Without a doubt he has more to gain than to lose. Brook will still have his IBF welterweight title. He loses his undefeated record if he does lose but what could he gain? Go back in history and look at fighters that have stepped up these weight divisions - Thomas Hearns and Sugar Ray Leonard. Kell can punch, Kell can box, Kell can move, Kell is hungry. Anybody that fights Kell will tell you his punches are like a stun gun," Nelson added.
"I believe Kell has the punching power, the speed and the boxing ability.The people around Kell know he needs somebody that will set him on fire and give him a fear factor. Kell jumped at the opportunity.If Kell pulls this off, he will be rated pound-for-pound among the best because he will have pulled off a feat that nobody else has done," Nelson said in conclusion.
Amir Khan was one o the boxers who approved of the upcoming Golovkin vs. Brook fight. He told BoxingNews24 he likes the idea that IBF welterweight champion Kell "Special K" Brook (36-0, 25 KOs) is moving up in weight two divisions to take on unbeaten IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady "GGG" Golovkin (35-0, 32 KOs) in two months from now on September 10 at the O2 Arena in London, England.
Khan said on his social media site that he sees Brook's move as a similar one that he made recently when he too moved up in weight to face Canelo in May 2016.
According to BoxingNews24, Khan fought well for five rounds, but was knocked unconscious in the 6th. However, Khan gained a great deal of respect in the boxing world for taking on such a dangerous opponent. What made it more impressive for Khan to take the challenge was his lighter weight. He's a fighter that started his career out as a lightweight, and hasn't been fighting at welterweight for very long.
Brook is more of a junior middleweight than a welterweight. He's just able to cut weight to get to fight at 147 to gain a weight edge against true welterweights.
"Behind you 100% @SpecialKBrook glad you took a leaf out of my book, tough ask but anything can happen, just don't pull out," said Khan on his social media site. "British fighters running the sport of boxing right now, so many fighters willing to fight the best and taking chances. He tweeted: "Great work Eddie [Hearn], preferred to have seen Chris Eubank Jr fight GGG Boxing with his style but fair play," said Khan.
Recall that after Khan signed for a fight against Canelo earlier this year, Brook said this to IFL TV: "Get me Golovkin at 155 pounds.
Brook's promoter Eddie Hearn said that Brook spoke to him at that time and told him that he wanted GGG. "I started laughing," Hearn said to IFL TV after Brook told him to make the Golovkin fight. "And he said, ‘I'm serious.' I actually spoke to [Golovkin's promoter] Tom Loeffler."
It was nice to see Khan let go of the issues he has with Brook to give him some encouragement. It's going to be a tough fight for Brook, because he's probably even more over-matched against Golovkin than Khan was against Canelo. At least with Khan, had a guy with slow feet, poor stamina, and history of being out-boxed by clever fighters in Canelo. Brook is facing an almost perfect fighter with no real flaws to speak of other than not having blazing hand speed.
According to BoxingNews 24, Golovkin is bigger than Brook, stronger than him, and a better boxer. There aren't any noticeable flaws in Golovkin's game that Brook can capitalize on in this fight like there were for Khan in his bout against Canelo. The one thing that Brook has going for him against Golovkin is the fact that the two of them are close to the same weight.
With Brook really being a junior middleweight rather than a welterweight, he's going to be at around the same weight as Golovkin. The reason for that is because Golovkin is a small middleweight who could easily fight at junior middleweight if he wanted to. Golovkin chooses to fight at middleweight because he doesn't believe in cutting a lot of weight to fight in weight classes below him.
If Brook can upset Golovkin, it would put him in position for fights against Canelo Alvarez, Khan and perhaps a rematch against Golovkin. The sky would be the limit for Brook if he can unseat Golovkin and take his IBF, IBO, WBA and WBC middleweight titles from him. Brook wouldn't need to move back down to welterweight because he will have proven himself that he belongs at middleweight.
Not everyone in the world of boxing was impressed with the announcement of the Golovkin vs. Brook fight. For instance, Bob Arum, the promoter for WBO welterweight champion Jessie Vargas, was totally shocked at hearing the news of IBF, IBO, WBA and WBC middleweight champion Golovkin signing for the fight against Kell Brook.
According to BoxingNews24, Arum thinks the Golovkin-Brook fight is a joke, because it makes no sense at all to him due to the size difference between the two of them. Arum told the media outlet that he felt the Golovkin vs. Chris Eubank Jr. fight would have made a lot more sense than Golovkin facing a welterweight like Brook.
The basic problem that Brook has is he's facing a guy that is destroying all the fighters his own size at middleweight. Golovkin is obliterating everyone he faces nowadays. Arum thinks that Brook is a good welterweight, but he's not a middleweight, and his fighting style is made to order for Golovkin because he likes to engage with his opponents.
"I don't believe that. That's crazy. I mean, Golovkin is fighting a welterweight?" said Arum to RingTV.com. "I'm a little shocked. Is that even a fight? (GGG vs. Chris Eubank Jr.) makes sense. At least Eubank is a middleweight. It's not a bad fight. But Gennady Golovkin against a welterweight? Give me a break," said Arum.
Earlier it was mentioned that Arum's fighter Vargas was the one to be facing Brook next, but Brook's promoter Hearn abandoned the negotiations with him when the Golovkin fight opportunity came up.
BoxingNews24 reporter said that he sees that as a move that Hearn will eventually regret after Golovkin turns into the incredible hulk against Brook and smashes him to bits on September 10 in their fight at the O2 Arena in London, England. It doesn't matter that Brook will be fighting in front of his own fans in the UK. Golovkin is going to dissemble Brook in lightning fashion for all to see, and there's nothing his fans can do about it. Brook is a decent welterweight, but he sure as heck isn't a middleweight.
WBA World junior middleweight champion Erislandy Lara (23-2-2, 13 KOs) trashed Gennady Golovkin for choosing to fight Kell Brook. He obviously wasn't happy to learn the news after he himself challenged Golovkin.
"Actions speak louder than words. Triple G will fight a 147-pound guy, but wouldn't fight me, whose six pounds away," said Lara to Fighthype.com about Golovkin choosing to fight welterweight Brook rather than him. "As far as I'm concerned, Canelo and Triple G are twin brothers; typical business first and not old school throwback fighters."
According to Dan Ambrose of BoxingNews24, Lara also tweeted a message saying maybe he'll fight a lightweight next. This was Lara's way of taking a shot at Golovkin for fighting welterweight rather than a middleweight or a junior middleweight like him.
Golovkin is facing Brook because there's money in the UK in the pay-per-view market with Sky Box Office pay-per-view. Golovkin vs. Brook is a PPV fight in the UK, and there's a lot of money that Brook can make from that fight otherwise he wouldn't be taking it. Unfortunately for Lara, there isn't any money to be made in a Golovkin vs. Lara fight in the U.S.
Ambrose wrote that GGG vs. Lara wouldn't be a PPV fight, because Lara isn't a big star and neither is Golovkin yet. The only way between them could make money is if it were put on PPV, and HBO probably would never agree to putting that fight on PPV because it would likely bomb badly.
"Golovkin have seen my fight, and the times I've fought and called him out," said Lara. "Let's sit down and negotiate. Let's make the fight and give the fans a good show. The fighters I want is Canelo and Golovkin," said Lara.
Lara, 33, has made it known for a while now that he would like to fight Golovkin. Lara says he would move up to middleweight to fight Triple G. However, there is no interest on the part of Golovkin and his management. According to Golovkin's trainer Abel Sanchez, there isn't enough money in a fight against Lara to make it worthwhile.
Chris Eubank Jr. also made harsh comments about the Golovkin vs. Brook fight after failing to sign the deal with the Kazakh boxer. He told Sky Sports that the upcoming fight is a ‘joke' and criticised Gennady Golovkin's decision to overlook him in favour of Brook.
According to Sky Sports, Eubank Jr. denied that his negotiations thwarted a deal to fight the WBA Super, WBC and IBF world middleweight champion Golovkin.
"I haven't been shown one contract since my fight with GGG was announced," he announced on social media. "I'm still ready & waiting to sign. Fighting Brook is a joke #2Small."
Kelsey McCarson of Bleacher Report believes that Gennady Golovkin is too big and brutal to be tested by Kell Brook and it will be a pointless fight.
The reporter doesn't even believe that the fight is going to happen. Is this really happening again so soon? Is a middleweight champ really taking on a welterweight who has never competed in the division? Do weight classes even exist anymore?
These questions are what he pondered after the press release was sent out announcing Gennady Golovkin's upcoming middleweight title defense against Kell Brook on September 10. It was followed, of course, by that eerie, all-too-familiar feeling of dread once again embracing the boxing world.
McCarson asks: "Is it really too much these days to ask a middleweight champ to defend his claim-alphabet, lineal or otherwise-against someone who is at minimum a tad bit larger than a 147-pound welterweight?"
According to him, Gennady Golovkin - an undefeated middleweight monster, one of the hardest punchers in the sport and possibly the scariest fighter since Mike Tyson, Sonny Liston or even Jack Dempsey - is set to defend his various middleweight alphabet titles, as well as his universal acceptance as the best 160-pounder in the world against Brook, a welterweight titleholder from London who has done virtually nothing in his career to deserve it.
McCarson says that Brook is a heck of a welterweight, quite possibly even the best 147-pounder in the world today. But we don't really know it yet. One doesn't lay claim to being a division's best, especially one as stacked as 147, by defeating a list of notables that starts and ends with Shawn Porter.
He notes that the fight is a pointless encounter between two fighters who should be facing others that night - a bout with a pretty much predetermined outcome.
Like Canelo-Khan in May, Golovkin-Brook is a pointless, unwanted and totally unnecessary clash between two fighters who have no competitive reason to be in the ring together. Let's hope this kind of nonsense isn't the new normal, McCarson adds.
Dan Radael of ESPN thinks that Golovkin and Brook had to fight each other because others wouldn't fight them. Despite criticism and shock the fight produced, the tickets for the event at the O2 Arena in London sold out in 11 minutes.
According to Radael, most expect Golovkin, perhaps boxing's most fearsome puncher, to stop Brook. But Brook, who walks around in the 180-pound vicinity, said he is ready for the challenge and is aiming to make the kind of history two of his boxing idols did by winning welterweight and middleweight world titles.
"I've looked down in history and see what the greats did, Sugar Ray Leonard and Sugar Ray Robinson," Brook said. "It's going to be a very hard fight. We're going to go through hell in this training camp. I want to give back to the fans and give them the best fights possible. I'm ready for the challenge Gennady Golovkin brings and ready to win the fight."
Said Dominic Ingle, Brook's trainer: "Kell Brook is going into this fight as a massive underdog for the first time in a long time. He's moving up two weight classes to fight the most feared man in boxing. We're relishing the challenge. Kell Brook has plenty of ambition. Beating Gennady Golovkin is the greatest challenge."
"We have to give Kell Brook a lot of credit for taking the fight," Loeffler was quotes by ESPN as saying. "Eddie is in a similar position in regards to lining up opponents. Fights happen if both fighters want to fight, and that's why this fight came together so quickly. This fight is truly the best fighting the best. The best welterweight versus the best middleweight."
Hearn has put on many of the biggest fights in the U.K. over the past several years and views this as one of the biggest. "Tom Loeffler faced the same struggles as I," Hearn said. "I'm so glad we were able to put together this fight in such an efficient manner. Great Britain right now is the epicenter of world boxing; we have 13 world champions. Kell Brook is the best pound-for-pound fighter among them.
"Kell Brook was one of the first fighters I signed as a promoter. We've been waiting for a night like this for a long, long time. We've offered numerous champions and challengers millions of dollars to fight Kell Brook, and all we've received has been silence and bluster.
"To be a great, you have to do something great - and just like Kell Brook's heroes, Sugar Ray Leonard and Sugar Ray Robinson, who moved up from welterweight to win middleweight titles, Kell Brook is a great fighter. This is 71-0 -- 36-0 versus 35-0, two of the very best fighters in the world."
Like many others, former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis doubts that welterweight Kell Brook can make the jump to middleweight to beat Gennady GGG Golovkin.
Lewis told BoxingNews24 he believes that the weight classes were designed for a reason, and he thinks there's not too many fighters that can move up two divisions at a time and find success.
Lewis says he thinks Chris Eubank Jr. would have beaten Triple G if he'd fought him. But, according to Dan Ambrose of BoxingNews 24, the problem is, Eubank Jr. and/or his father Chris Eubank Sr. failed to agree to a fight against Golovkin when it was offered to them.
"What I'm saying is that the weight classes are for a reason," said Lewis to the Mirror. "When you try to jump two weight classes, very few people can do that and I don't think Kell Brook is one of them."
"With Brook, it's two divisions and I don't agree with that. I look at the Amir Khan situation with Saul Alvarez and I'm like, ‘Nobody, does that, that's why we have different weight classes," said Lewis. "If you'd asked me about Golovkin-Eubank, I would have probably gone for Eubank," Lewis was quoted as saying.
Ambrose adds that even Eubank Jr. would be over his head against Golovkin. The best guy that Eubank Jr. has faced during his career is Billy Joe Saunders, and he lost to him. Saunders would be little more than a speed bump for Golovkin. The Kazakhstani fighter would walk Saunders down and take him out with big power shots. Eubank Jr's other toughest opponents have been Gary "Spike" O'Sullivan and Dmitry Chudinov. Those weren't each fights for Eubank Jr., and neither of them are anywhere close to being as good as Golovkin. If Eubank Jr. is better than Golovkin, then he's going to need to prove it if he ever gets another chance to fight him. If he lets his father take over the negotiations and kill the deal, then a fight between him and Golovkin will probably never take place.
Voice Online web portal posted an article in mid July saying that the tickets for Golovkin vs. Brook unification blockbuster sold out in a matter of minutes.
According to the portal, the tickets for Golovkin vs. Brook sold out in just 11 minutes at The O2 box-office on July 16.
Fight fans snapped up the tickets in a heartbeat to see pound-for-pound star Golovkin box in the UK for the first time against the unbeaten IBF World Welterweight champion.
Saul ‘Canelo' Alvarez also resurfaced after the Golovkin vs. Brook fight in London was announced. He told Gilbert Manzano of Las Vegas Review Journal that he wants time to negotiate before facing the Kazakhstani boxer.
Alvarez told Manzano the fight with Golovkin will eventually happen but a matchup of this caliber needed time for negotiations.
"For me, I'm already going to fight (Golovkin), but this is the type of fight that needs to take time with negotiations, and many other things relating to that," Alvarez said. "We all want that fight, but like I said, negotiations take time for this type of fight and we're trying to fix everything to make it happen."
It's been reported that Alvarez's camp came to a verbal agreement with Golovkin's people to hold the mega fight for next fall.
Alvarez also told Josh Katzowitz of Forbes he wants to fight Golovkin, at some point.
"There's always going to be critics out there that criticize everything," Alvarez told RingTV.com. "So we're just focusing on fighting for September 17 (against Liam Smith). We're focused on my career and taking the next step and moving forward and eventually that fight's going to happen (with Golovkin). It's going to happen. It will happen."

According to Katzowitz, Alvarez has received plenty of criticism for not taking the Golovkin matchup, especially since he was so forceful about meeting him in the minutes after the Khan fight. And considering Alvarez is moving down a weight class to not fight Golovkin strikes many as strange.
Katzowitz is not sure whether Golovkin and Alvarez will fight and thinks it's all talk for now. But he tried to stay optimistic and added that maybe one day the fans will see that matchup.
Meanwhile, Brook's fellow countryman and former Golovkin's opponent Martin Murray warned the Brit in an interview with Bad Left Hook that every Golovkin's shot hurts. Murray told Wil Esco of Bad Left Hook that Kell Brook moving up to face Gennady Golovkin is a tough ask.
According to Esco, Murray, who has firsthand experience with Golovkin, believes Kell Brook should know what he's in for on fight night, warning his fellow compatriot of Golovkin's reputable power.
"Every shot Golovkin throws kind of hurts you," Murray exclusively told World Boxing News. "He's got so many good shots and he can take a shot too. Gives you non-stop pressure and just does everything well. That's the thing with him - everything it takes to be a top fighter, Golovkin does it well."
So when asked about the chance he gives Brook to be able to pull off a massive upset, Murray gives a concise response: "I can't see anyone beating him at middleweight so Kell going up two weights is a tough ask."
Murray's words of wisdom here aren't exactly a surprise to anyone who follows the sport - Golovkin certainly has a fearsome reputation for a reason. And when you combine that reputation with an upcoming fight against a career welterweight, well, let's just say you'll be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn't think the results of this fight is a foregone conclusion.
At the end of July BoxingNews24 revealed that IBF, IBO, WBA and WBC middleweight champion Gennady "GGG" Golovkin was hard at work in training camp in Big Bear Lake, California with trainer Abel Sanchez to get ready for his September 10 fight against Kell Brook at the O2 Arena in London, England.
According to Chris Williams of BoxingNews 24, the fight is very likely to do well on Sky Box Office PPV. Golovkin has been adopted by many of the American fans despite the fact that he's not from the U.S.
Williams says the fight presents some difficulties for GGG despite him being the favorite to win. He's going to need to deal with a faster, more mobile fighter than the guys that he's been fighting. Brook like to move around the ring, land jabs, and tie up his opponents. He also has good punching power. Brook is a very different type of fighter compared to the guys that Golovkin has been fighting during his career.
Brook, according to Williams, is capable of doing a lot of different things inside the ring. Brook usually focuses on his punching power to get his opponents out of there. If he can't bang them out, he'll look to box and keep his opponent guessing. Golovkin will need to be smart for him to deal with the constantly changing looks that Brook gives him in this fight, because his usual aggressive style of fighting may not work for him in this contest.
Golovkin, 34, will be looking to increase his star power by destroying Brook to win his 23rd consecutive fight by a knockout. Golovkin's knockout streak has made him highly popular in America, as he gives fans pure action in his fights without the running and time wasting moves from many of the pretenders in the sport.
Williams is confident that Brook has a really tough test in Golovkin, because he is a fighter that likely would have knocked out every guy that Brook has faced in his career. It's safe to say that if Golovkin had fought the same guys that Brook had fought, his record would be 36-0 with 36 knockouts.
Williams can't say the same thing about Brook. He would have a very tough time trying to beat past Golovkin opponents like David Lemieux, Curtis Stevens, Willie Monroe Jr, Gabriel Rosado, Daniel Geale, Matthew Macklin, and Martin Murray. Could Brook have beaten all of those guys? Possibly, but it wouldn't be easy. Brook would take some serious lumps against Stevens, Monroe, Rosado, Macklin and Murray. Those guys would give Brook a lot of problems.

Williams believes that Brook can work to shut one part of Golovkin's offense down, but he's not going to be able to shut him down completely. If Brook uses movement, he's still going to get forced up against the ropes a number of times in each round, and he'll need to be able to fight during those occasions. That's going to be difficult for Brook because he's not a skilled in fighter. It's too late in the game for him to learn how to fight on the inside in one camp.
According to Williams, Brook will need to figure out how he's going to be able to fight Golovkin because survivalist tactics will not work for 12 rounds.
Williams praises Golovkin for coming into the fight with Brook with a 91.4% KO ratio, and there's never been anyone better in the history of the 160lb division. Brook is going to need to prove that he can take Golovkin's power for 12 rounds to avoid becoming another knockout victim. Golovkin will no doubt be looking to score his 23rd straight knockout, because with each KO he records, he becomes more popular in the U.S and worldwide.
Brook is going to need to have a good chin for him to be able to handle the fire power from Golovkin. It's hard to know how well Brook can take punishment, because he's faced largely weak opposition during his career due to the match-making done for him by his promoters.
Williams reminds that Vyacheslav Senchenko and Carson Jones both had Brook hurt. He was able to win both fights, but he was hurt nonetheless, and these guys aren't known to be huge punchers. Porter was held too much by Brook to know what he would have done. Brook made sure he held him every chance he could get, and the fight was not a traditional fight in the sense of punches being thrown. It was more of a wrestling match for 12 rounds.
Golovkin will be looking to turn Brook into a statistic in this fight, and it's going to be up to Brook to show that he can fight back to prevent that from happening. Just looking to survive likely won't work this time for Brook. He must try to win because if he just spoils, he'll likely get knocked out and made to look bad.
According to Williams, a lot has been made of Brook moving up two weight divisions to fight Golovkin. The truth of the matter is that Brook is really moving up just one weight division. He's been a junior middleweight fighting at welterweight for many years now.
Williams believes that Brook won't likely have the weight advantage against Golovkin though, and this could present a huge problem for Brook. When you become accustomed to being the bully against lighter guys than yourself during your career, it's a shocking experience to suddenly be fighting someone that is actually bigger than you.
Brook is coming into this fight against Golovkin with recent wins over Kevin Bizier, Frankie Gavin, Jo Joe San and Shawn Porter. Those are obviously not the kind of opposition that you'd like to be fighting to get you ready for a fight against Golovkin. The type of guys Brook has been fighting are the type of fighters you face to get you ready to fight someone like Robert Guerrero, Sammy Vasquez Jr and Devon Alexander, but definitely not Golovkin. Brook has been facing largely fringe level guys since his win over Porter.
In late July the Los Angeles Times named the potential heir to the pound-for-pound throne after Floyd Mayweather Jr. had announced his retirement. The web portal based their rankings on talent, charisma, skills and popularity of the boxers.

And, of course, Kazakhstani middleweight champ Gennady Golovkin was topped the rankings. Described by the Los Angeles Times as the dominant 160-pounder, with 22 consecutive knockouts and 16 consecutive WBA title victories, Golovkin has proven that everyday contenders like Dominic Wade - a second-round knockout victim in April - don't stand a chance.
Coming in at №2 of the rankings is Roman "Chocolatilo" Gonzalez. The Los Angeles Times ranked Russian Sergey Kovalev and American Andre Ward third and fourth respectively.
British former professional boxer Ricky Hatton also shared his thoughts on the Brook vs. Golovkin fight with the Los Angeles Times.
"I understand why Kell took the fight - one's for the payday," Hatton told the Los Angeles Times. "Two, he won the title, you want routine defenses to put pennies in the bank to help yourself and family in the future. He's done that now. Now, he wants to test himself against the best."
Hatton said that Brook, the unbeaten International Boxing Federation welterweight champion, suffered from "watching the parade go by" as other welterweights Amir Khan and Manny Pacquiao opted for other opponents.
"You want to fight the best," Hatton said. "Along comes Golovkin ... "
The increase in weight reminded Hatton of his choice to move up from a junior-welterweight title to meet Floyd Mayweather and Pacquiao.
"Didn't enjoy it," Hatton was quoted as saying by the Los Angeles Times. "I'm not surprised Kell's taking this test. As champions, that's what we want to do."
"He'll have his successes," Hatton said of Brook. "He's a good boxer. I'm sure he'll have a few good rounds. "But you have to fear that weight is going to come into it, and, technically, Golovkin is sound, as well. So we'll have to keep our fingers crossed," he added.
Jeff Mayweather talked about the upcoming Gennady Golovkin vs. Brook fight with BoxingNews24 in late July as well.
He told Dan Ambrose he thinks that welterweight Brook could give middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin some problems with his size early in their fight on September 10. Jeff said that he met with Brook previously and he was surprised at how big he was for a welterweight.
Jeff described Brook as being ‘huge' when stood next to him. But with that being said, Jeff still sees Golovkin breaking the 30-year-old Brook down before stopping him in the later rounds in their fight.
"I think Kell Brook is going to do a little better than everybody thinks because even though Kell Brook is a welterweight, I remember when he came out here to Vegas and I met him and I'm standing next to this guy, he had to be at least about 160-something pounds," Mayweather told Fighthype.com. "He has the frame to carry that weight."
Jeff says that he doesn't think Brook will be able to go back down to welterweight after this fight because he feels that he's outgrown the 147lb division. "I don't think Brook likes the idea of fighting against guys that are more or less the same size as him at junior middleweight. By fighting at welterweight, Brook is basically doing the same thing that middleweight Saul "Canelo" Alvarez has been doing by fighting smaller guys at him from the 154 and 147lb divisions and enjoying a huge weight advantage over them.
"Brook being a junior middleweight or even a middleweight in size doesn't mean much because Golovkin has been breezing through the middleweight contenders like they're nothing during his career. Brook is just another small middleweight that Golovkin has beaten many times before," Mayweather told Ambrose.
Jeff thinks that Golovkin has found a market in the UK for him to fight and make a lot of money for matches that he will surely win. After the Brook fight in September, Jeff Mayweather sees GGG taking on the highly ranked №2 WBA, №2 WBA middleweight contender Chris Eubank Jr. in his next fight, and then beating him too.
"I think Kell Brook is going to do decent, but I think he will get stopped late. And I think the same for Eubank if they fight; I think the same thing will happen to him," said Jeff of the potential fight between Golovkin and Eubank Jr.
If Golovkin can get Eubank Jr. to fight him after Brook, it would make for an excellent fight in December. According to Ambrose, it's hard to picture Eubank Sr. being able to hammer out a deal in working with Eubank Jr's promoter Eddie Hearn. It might be a really difficult fight to put together if the Eubanks negotiate hard, as if their the A-side in the negotiations rather than just another one of the many contenders that Golovkin has faced during his time as the middleweight champion.
Ambrose believes that Brook will be problems for GGG as long as he's not standing in front of him and punching. If Brook chooses to trade with Golovkin, then the fight will very likely end quickly. Brook's only chance is to muddy the waters by using spoiling tactics to keep Golovkin from getting his shots off. This means that Brook will need to move, hold and not use a variety of angles to keep from being an easy to hit target. Since Golovkin knocks out most of his opponents with head shots, it would be in Brook's best interest to use head movement when he is standing in range of his punches. Golovkin is also dangerous with his body punching.
Unlike Jeff Mayweather, British professional boxer Anthony Ogogo backed Kell Brook to trouble KO king Gennady Golovkin in London.
The odds are heavily stacked against him but Ogogo reckons his fellow Brit has the tools to trouble the WBC, IBF and WBA Super title-holder.
He told Gavin Glicksman of The Sun: "Full credit to Kell for stepping up two weights from welterweight to take the challenge.
"He's a really good fighter and I think he's going to give Golovkin some problems on the night. It's a massive task, but it's not mission impossible," Ogogo added.
Perhaps one of the best article dedicated by the foreign mass media to Gennady Golovkin in July was the one written by Robert Jackson for Boxing 247. Jackson believes that Gennady Golovkin should fight Floyd mayweather Jr., because the American champion is the only boxer who can really test Golovkin.
Nobody wants to see Mayweather in a rematch against Manny Pacquiao or in any other fights.
According to Jackson, there's only one guy that people will pay to see Floyd fight and that's IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO middleweight champion Gennady "GGG" Golovkin. Now Floyd Sr. and the rest of the Mayweather/TMT clan say that Floyd is too small for GGG. Jackson agrees to that, but being too small never stopped Roy Jones Jr. from facing John Ruiz, never stopped Bernard Hopkins from facing Antonio Tarver and certainly never stopped Michael Spinks from facing the Easton Assassin-Larry Holmes twice.
Another sports event that drew attention of the foreign mass media to Kazakhstan, and Astana in particular, was the first-leg match of the third- qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League between FC Astana and Celtic.
Many British and Scottish mass media wrote about the forthcoming match, its possible results and what they would mean for the two teams.
Ahead of the match scheduled for July 27, The Scotsman wrote that Celtic has no
According to the media outlet, Celtic midfielder Callum McGregor said preparation is everything as they get set to continue their Champions League qualifying bid in Kazakhstan.

Although they have previously gone through against Shakhter Karagandy, who played at Astana's stadium, and Qarabag of Azerbaijan, Celtic did not score a goal in either away leg.
The Scotsman praised Astana for making history last year by becoming the first team from their country to reach the Champions League group stages and they were unbeaten at home throughout their campaign.
So McGregor knows Celtic can leave nothing to chance when they fly out on Monday ahead of Wednesday's first leg of the third qualifying round.
The 23-year-old said: "I know they got to the Champions League last year and by all accounts they did well. We know they are going to be a tough opponent. Teams in that sort of area are getting better and obviously they proved that last year by getting to the Champions League."
"Obviously it's far to travel and it's a plastic pitch, so we just need to make sure we are ready for that test. We are travelling a couple of days early so we can get there and get a feel for the place. You need to try to be ready for everything that comes your way, on the preparation side and the training pitch. Everything needs to be spot-on. There is not much room for error in these qualifiers so we need to do everything we can to be ready for them, " McGregor said of the upcoming match.
Celtic's preparation saw them host Leicester in the International Champions Cup, and McGregor believed the test against the English champions was an ideal warm-up.
"You want to keep testing yourself as a player and the more quality opposition that we play against, then the better it will be for us at the stage we are at. You want to improve as a player all the time so to play against the best players is the way to do that," he said.
Former Aberdeen and Dundee United player Stuart Duff warned Celtic ahead of their trip to Astana in an interview with Dailyrecord.co.uk that the game might be a nightmare. Duff surely knew what he was talking about after he spent two seasons in Kazakhstan and watched Shakhtar Karagandy beat Neil Lennon's men 2-0 in the Astana Arena three years ago.

He stressed that ‘Astana are BETTER than Karagandy' and added that the challenge will be totally different both in terms of quality and style.

"Astana are on a different level, they have better players and are much more capable of getting the ball down and playing. Technically they are much better than Karagandy so it's a completely different test for Celtic this time round. Karagandy got the ball forward quickly, but Astana will try to play a lot more. Astana are able to do both sides of it, they can play but they're also very strong physically," said Duff, describing the Astana based club.

"This is probably the toughest draw Celtic could have had at this stage of the competition. I'm sure they would have wanted someone much closer to home because it will be a step into the unknown. It's a really, really hard draw. In the middle of the park they have Roger Canas who actually played against Celtic the last time and really stood out. He played really well that night and got his move to Astana on the back of it. He is their main man in midfield and up top the have Patrick Twumasi, who is a goal machine and scores all the time," Duff continued.
"Their team is full of internationals, from Kazakhstan, Russia and other places. My friend Mark Gorman plays right-back for them so I will be speaking to him before it and finding out what they're thinking. But they will be confident, they have good players and have already experienced the Champions League so will be desperate to get back there," Duff added.

He also said: "If anyone thinks Celtic should be beating a team from Kazakhstan no problem they are naïve. Astana are very strong at home but Brendan Rodgers will be doing his homework and have them prepared."
According to Duff, there has been loads of investment in Kazakhstani football, they have sorted out the infrastructure properly and put a lot of money into it. They are bringing through players and spending money on their first-teams. Kazakhstani football is able to attract big-money signings that plenty of other leagues wouldn't be able to get.
"The Champions League is where they want their teams to be and they've been backed to achieve it. Kairat have come close in the last few years and Astana were there last season. That shows the football is improving all the time and the structure there is set up for that to continue. Astana have been Kazak champions for the last two or three years and they are getting better and better in Europe all the time. They still have the core of their squad and have really high quality," Duff stressed.
Duff added that Astana were the face of Kazak football, the whole thing is geared up for them to be in the Champions League. "Their role is to get to the highest level they can and promote football in the country, so the whole of Kazakhstan will be behind them. They have the best stadium, the best players and the best backing. They will be funded much better than all of the other teams in the country," Duff said in conclusion.
Meanwhile, Celtic assistant boss Chris Davies told BBC News that the club will have ‘no excuses' if they fail to overcome FC Astana in the upcoming Champions League qualifier.
Manager Brendan Rodgers highlighted the lengthy flight, different time zone, high temperatures and plastic pitch awaiting them in the first leg.
But Davies insisted a "less than ideal" draw will not hamper their prospects, saying: "There are no excuses for us. We know we are a big team and have got to go there and do a big job. Regardless of where it is, we are looking forward to it. No doubt Astana are a good team, they have got some quality. They were in the Champions League [group stages] last season, and they got points off Atletico Madrid, Benfica and Galatasaray so we know the challenge. But we are confident we can go there, do a job and bring them home and finish the job here."
Celtic was expected to make the 3,000-mile journey to Central Asia ahead of the match.
"We always have a plan when we go on these long journeys - the diet, the sleep, the travel, the whole process - every minute is taken care of. The players are brilliant, they don't look for excuses. They will get on with it and get ready for the game. It is less than ideal but we are looking forward to it. We want to create a positive environment. Whatever obstacles come our way, we will move past them," Davies said.
Herald Scotland revealed that Brendan Rodgers warned Celtic players he would accept no excuses if they fail to perform against Astana in Kazakhstan.
Rodgers also stressed he had confidence in Eoghan O'Connell, the 20-year-old Irish centre half who had never been involved in a European fixture before, being able to handle the first leg of the third qualifying round.
The Scottish champions suffered a setback ahead of this difficult away tie in Asia when Erik Sviatchenko, their first choice centre back, was ruled out as a result of the groin strain he suffered in training. The loss of Sviatchenko presented his manager with a selection dilemma - Dedryck Boyata and Jozo Simunovic were both unavailable due to injury while Kolo Toure was short of fitness and had not travelled.
Rodgers revealed that Toure, the former Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool player was set to be registered with UEFA as a wildcard and could feature in the second leg in Glasgow in early August.
"We have to cope. It was always going to be a difficult time with the qualifiers and the injuries. However, the players who have come in have been great. Young Eoghan has been excellent. He reads the game really well. When I see a young player and I feel he has the temperament, then I always look at that. You saw that at the weekend against Leicester. He's only 20 but he has an in-built brain for football. He understands the game, he wants to defend and he passes it well. We also have players like Mikael Lustig, who was outstanding. I have been really impressed with him. He's an experienced player. But the strength of us will always be the team anyway," Rogers spoke about the most promising Celtic players.
"The players have realised over the last few weeks that I always concentrate on the team. Whoever is asked to come in and play will work well. They have to take that chance. We are ready. We have injuries and what not but the players are working hard and have been fantastic. We are looking forward to it.
"I am confident over the two games, like the last round. You want to leave Kazakhstan with the second leg set up for us to go for it at Celtic Park. It will be a totally different game at home - the intensity and the pressure will be huge."
"If Celtic lose to Astana and fail to qualify for the Champions League group stages for the third season running it would, be the latest blow that Scottish football has suffered this summer," Rogers stressed.
However, Rodgers was positive his side can prevail and will refuse to use their extensive injury list, the synthetic surface the game is being played on, the temperature and humidity and time zone as excuses for a bad performance and result.
Dailyrecord.co.uk revealed that Brendan Rodgers' medical and sports science experts had worked on keeping the squad's body-clocks on UK time as they looked to stave-off the effects of the five-hour time difference going east.

However, according to Dailyrecord.co.uk the Kazakhs face a trickier challenge going west. With kick-off in Glasgow 7.45pm in seven days time, FC Astana body-clocks face the prospect of a game starting at 12.45am.
By full-time at Parkhead, it'll be the equivalent of 2.35am for the Kazakhs, around the time James Forrest scored his last-gasp winner three years ago to put out Shakhter Karagandy.

According to Herald Scotland, Chris Davies said ahead of the tie in Astana that the artificial pitch at the Astana Arena would suit Celtic's natural attacking game.

The Scottish champions suffered one of the most embarrassing defeats in their history in the first leg of the second qualifying round against Lincoln Red Imps on a synthetic surface in Gibraltar.
Brendan Rodgers's side lost 1-0 to their semi-professional opponents - many of whom only played part-time - in what was the former Swansea City and Liverpool manager's first competitive match in charge earlier this month.
The meeting with Astana will be played on plastic grass at the 30,000-capacity Astana Arena. Celtic lost 2-0 to Shakhter Karagandy when they played there in the first leg of the Champions League play-off when Neil Lennon was manager three years ago.
Herald Scotland wrote that Davies believed the pitch in Astana would actually suit the Scottish champions.
FC Astana coach Stanimir Stoilov, in turn, insisted that Celtic were the favorites to win their Champions League qualifier in Kazakhstan.
Evening Times also revealed that Stoilov's team will approach the game defensively.
"Tomorrow is going to be a very hard game for us and a very important game," he said of the upcoming match in late July. "We are going to play a defensive game. We are preparing very well, but we have problems. Our captain had surgery and he will not play for one month. We will try to do our best."
"I know about Celtic. I have enough information. I know the players, I know the coach, I know the history of this club. I know enough about the Scottish champions. Tomorrow we will see what happens. To be honest, I know that Celtic play very well and are a very strong team. I know that Celtic are favourites, but we will try as much as we can and we will see what the result is tomorrow," Stoilov stressed
"They are favourites because they have big history at the club. They become champions of Scotland many times and they have very many trophies," he noted.
Stoilov added: "The main thing for us is discipline. We have to be disciplined tomorrow. We have to play with brave hearts and strong minds. The last thing is the key to success."
"I can't say anything about Brendan Rodgers. He has worked with the best teams in the world and he has built a smart team and a complete team," Stoilov praised the Irishman.
According to Evening Times, Stoilov, the former Bulgarian manager who had been in charge of Astana for the last two years, claimed the Glasgow club have a strong enough squad to cope with their injuries and dismissed the Red Imps loss as a freak result.
"I saw many friendly games of Celtic and they have very good defenders. I think that one of the defenders is injured, but it's not a very big loss, it's not a big problem, because their squad is full of good players.
"I think that tomorrow's match is very important for Celtic. There other matches against Leicester and Barcelona are just friendlies.
"There was a big difference in class between Celtic and Lincoln Red Imps and, in the first leg, they just underestimated their opponents," Stoilov said
Stoilov also revealed that his players, whose season got underway back in March, were tired after they had edged out Zalgiris Vilnius of Lithuania in the last round with a goal in the second minute of injury-time.
He believed the home supporters in the Astana Arena, a futuristic 30,000-capacity stadium with a retractable roof, would be important.
"We feel pressure," he said. "I can't say anything about Celtic. I know that tomorrow we are going to be supported by our fans. That is an important thing.
"We took a rest for one week. We were playing for more than six months. I can only say about our physical condition after the game. Our main advantage is our fans. I don't think our players are going to think about how tired they are."
Perhaps, Stoilov was right when he said that his players were tired after six months of playing football non-stop as the match against Celtic ended in 1-1 draw.
After the match, according to Belfast Newsletter, Brendan Rodgers hailed the resilience of the Celtic players for coming from behind to earn the crucial draw against Astana.
Although Astana defender Yuri Logvinenko headed the home side ahead from a corner in the 19th minute of the Champions League third qualifying round at the noisy Astana Arena.
In the 78th minute, Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths drilled in a shot from the edge of the box to stun the Kazakhstan champions, a fightback that pleased the former Liverpool manager no end ahead of the second leg next week.
Rodgers said: "It was an outstanding result for us. Collectively the mentality was the most pleasing thing. I think we were all written off before the game, everyone pretty clear in their opinion of the game, that we would do well to come back with anything other than a loss, but the players deserve an immense amount of credit, to fight and show spirit and passion in the game.
"The resilience and strength that we have built up over the course of the pre-season came into effect. I was disappointed with the goal, it is nothing new, but we showed a wonderful mentality to keep fighting and in the second half we restricted them to not so many clear chances and ended up scoring a fantastic goal," Rogers said at the press conference after the match.
According to the Scotsman web portal, Rodgers was also delighted with 20-year-old Irish centre back Eoghan O'Connell, who was making his European debut.
"I thought he was outstanding. For a young player... coming into that environment, under pressure, he had very few mistakes. You would expect him to make some as a young player but he coped in a very difficult situation," Rogers said.
Astana coach Stanimir Stoilov, in turn, said his side would have to improve if they were to survive the tie.
The Bulgarian said: "We will try our best when we go to Glasgow and hopefully we will have a very good spirit over there. We will have to double our efforts to get what we want."
Brendan Rodgers told Dailyrecord.co.uk he was thrilled at the way his team, who were missing a raft of key defenders, dug deep to carve out a result.
He said: "It doesn't feel like a win, but what it is is a very, very good result. It's only half time, but a huge amount of credit must go to the players. I think we were written off before the game, everyone was pretty clear that we would do well to come back with anything other than a loss.
"The most pleasing thing about the game? The mentality in terms of how we came back," Rodgers added.
"They deserve a lot of credit. It was a wonderful goal. We know the significance of the goal," Rodger said of Logvinenko's first-half goal.
"But we are not getting carried away we have another game against a very good side. It's only half time but it's a very important result for us. We will go away and reflect on it. It's a new game, a tough game, but it was very, very important to get the away goal. We will reflect on the game we still have a bit of work to do and we will pick the best 11 for the game," he shared the plans for the next game.
Dailyrecord.co.uk said that Astana boss Stoilov was deflated and said: "Obviously we have certain things to improve. We had to score two or three more goals, but if you make a mistake in European football teams can score immediately we will try our best when we go to Glasgow. Hopefully we will have very good spirit over there."
The second-leg match of the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions Leagues is only days away. We would like to wish FC Astana good luck in Glasgow. Let's see if they can earn away points.
It should be noted that Kazakhstan is renowned not only for its boxing champions and football clubs. Our tennis players occasionally make the headlines of newspapers and online mass media. For instance, Yaroslava Shvedova and her doubles partner Timea Babos from Hungary surprised tennis lovers at the 2016 Wimbledon in early July.
Shvedova and Babos shocked top seeds Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza in the quarterfinals of the women's doubles event, according to DNA India. The fifth-seeded Kazakh-Hungarian pair stunned Hingis and Mirza in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 in only 68 minutes.
According to the web portal, the Mirza-Hingis pair were broken in the third game and then in the seventh game as the fifth seeds won the first set 6-2.
If the first set was an easy affair for Babos and Shvedova, the second set virtually became a cakewalk as they opened up an unassailable 5-1 lead with a double break.
However, DNA India praised Mirza and Hingis for an attempt to claw their way back by winning one break back, making it 4-5 before the winners held their serve in the 10th game to enter the last four stage.
After the quarterfinal shocker, Shvedova and Babos reached the Wimbledon final where they faced the Williams sisters.
According to Reuters, the reigning Olympic champions vanquished Babos and Shvedova 6-3 6-4 on Centre Court - hours after Serena claimed a record-equalling 22nd grand slam singles title by defeating Germany's Angelique Kerber 7-5 6-3. It was the sixth doubles crown for the sisters.
"It's unbelievable," said Serena after the victory. "It's a feat even I couldn't have thought would have happened. It's amazing."
"It's a privilege, it's an honor," added Venus. "When you enter the doubles draw, you dream of winning. Then we enter the singles, we dream of winning.
The Williams sisters are now 22-1 in all doubles finals they have played together.
In late July Kazakhstani basketball fans were disappointed after Team Kazakhstan was defeated by junior Iranian basketball players in their second encounter at FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship. According to MEHR News Agency, Iran overwhelmed the Kazakh side 90-59.
According to the Iranian news agency, the Iranian team offered awe-inspiring athletic performance against Kazakhstan at Azadi Sport Complex. It is worth mentioning that Iran eventually won the final downing Team Japan 71-65.
The abovementioned articles published by foreign mass media illustrate the fact that Kazakhstan is universally acclaimed not only for its global peaceful initiatives, but also for its sports achievements.
We are confident that success of Gennady Golovkin in the U.S. and across the pond as well as FC Astana stint in the UEFA Champions League will draw more Kazakhstani children to the gyms and football pitches and promote sport and healthy lifestyle in Kazakhstan.
The Summer Olympic Games 2016 in Rio de Janeiro which are only days away will closely be followed in Kazakhstan since over 100 athletes will represent the country there. Business Insider revealed that Kazakhstan may take up the 12th spot in the overall medal tally at the Rio Olympics and haul seven gold medals. Let's keep our fingers crossed!