New Kazakh capital hit by snow storms

A meeting to elect a regional governor in the new Kazakh capital of Akmola has been postponed till tomorrow, Saturdaybecause of extreme temperatures and snow storms.

President Nursultan Nazarbayev -- who was to attend the meeting -- could not land at the new capital's airport yesterday and diverted his plane to the town of Kokchetav, three-hundred-kilometers from Akmola, continuing the journey by car.

All schools in Akmola have been closed for the last three days, with temperatures reaching as low as minus thirty-five degrees Celsius.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service