New bell for Kazakhstan

A new bell has arrived at the Holy Ascension Cathedral in Kazakhstan's former capital, Almaty, just in time for Easter midnight mass.

Kazakh Khabar TV showed the bell being installed at the entrance to the cathedral, where it will hang until it is moved to its permanent position in the belfry in May, during the Ascension Day holiday when the cathedral marks its centenary.

The bell was cast in Moscow and took six months to make

It weighs 1,648 kg and was paid for by voluntary contributions

After arriving by plane from Moscow on Good Friday, the bell is installed in front of the cathedral

A priest blesses the bell after it is hauled into position

The congregation gather round to touch the new bell

The bell's new home, Holy Ascension Cathedral in Almaty

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.