Kazakhstan held snap parliamentary elections on Sunday, March 19. The elections further strengthen President Kassyim-Jomart Tokayev’s leadership and power since he assumed a new term of presidency late last year. The elections come as part of Tokayev’s ambitious plan to modernize Kazakhstan and turn it into a “model nation” for Central Asia called New Kazakhstan. The snap polls are the first step in his five-year program, which includes constitutional reforms, economic development, and social reforms. Tokayev has chosen not to lead the ruling party, the rebranded Amanat, but it is certain to form the core of his support base in the legislature.
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6 workers presumed dead after Baltimore bridge collapse
A cargo ship lost power and rammed into a major bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday, destroying the span in a matter of seconds and plunging it into the river in a terrifying collapse that could disrupt a vital shipping port for months. Six people were missing and presumed dead, and the search for them was suspended until Wednesday morning.
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Rescue teams still hearing voices from under the rubble
Rescue teams in southern Turkey say they are still hearing voices from under the rubble more than a week after a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake, offering a glimmer of hope of finding more survivors. According to state broadcaster TRT Haber, emergency workers saved a 35-year-old woman who was believed to have been buried for around 205 hours in the same region.
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To save a dying man, surgeons perform second pig heart transplant
Surgeons have transplanted a pig’s heart into a dying man in a bid to prolong his life – only the second patient to ever undergo such an experimental feat. Two days later, the man was cracking jokes and able to sit in a chair.
