1. Astana: The world's weirdest capital city

In 1997 Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev moved the capital from Almaty in the southeast of the country to the newly-named Astana,which was then an empty patch of land by the Ishim River best known as a former gulag prison camp for the wives of Soviet traitors. Little surrounds the city for 1,200 kilometers, save a handful of provincial towns dotted across the world's largest steppe, a flat, empty expanse of grassland. Today the bulging, science fiction-like skyline has started to earn the country some international recognition. City is becoming known for striking modern architecture. The newest of these is the Norman Foster-designed Khan Shatyr, a shopping mall that doubles as the world's largest tent. Foster was also the architect behind the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, a 60-meter-tall glass pyramid. The shape of the Central Concert Hall was purposefully made to resemble a traditional Kazakh instrument, known as a dombra, which from above looks like a budding flower. There's also a flying saucer-shaped circus, a presidential palace designed to replicate the White House, and Baiterek, a 100-meter-tall tower that has drawn comparisons to a giant lollipop. One of Nazarbayev's strongest supporters has come in the unlikely form of Jonathan Aitken, a former British politician, who wrote a recently published biography of the president based on 23 hours of personal interview, and a retrospective of the country. "While I'm sure (Nazarbayev) does have a large ego, it's more of an 'I love the country'-centred ego, not an I-centred ego," says Aitken. Aitken equates Nazarbeyev with the type of patrons that dominated 18th century Europe, in particular, Louise XIV. "Just as Versailles and parts of Paris were all created by one man's vision, so too was Astana," he says. The city's futuristic design shows Kazakhstan's ambition and desire to distance itself from the Soviet legacy that has marred many of the surrounding Central Asian nations.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Astana became capital of Kazakhstan in 1997

• City is becoming known for striking modern architecture with a mass of strangely futuristic structures.

• President of Kazakhstan has played large role in shaping the capital and the city’s design shows Kazakhstan's ambition and desire to distance itself from the Soviet legacy.

2. Mexican police arrest officer suspected in airport shooting

Mexican authorities Sunday arrested a suspect connected with the killing of three federal police officers in a shootout last month at the Mexico City airport. A tip led police to Bogard Felipe Lugo de Leon, said head of a regional unit for Mexico's federal police agency. Lugo de Leon was the supervisor of two federal police officers accused of opening fire on three of their colleagues during a drug bust at Mexico City's Benito Juarez International Airport, authorities said. Security camera footage showed him leaving the airport after the shooting, police said. Authorities have not provided additional details about his alleged involvement. The two officers accused in the shooting, Daniel Cruz Garcia and Zeferino Morales Franco, remain at large. Authorities are offering a 5 million peso ($376,100) reward for information leading to their capture. The June 25 shooting sent passengers scrambling and left shattered glass on the ground near a food court at the airport. Officials allege that Cruz and Morales opened fire on their fellow officers, who were attempting to arrest them after an investigation showed they had ties to a drug trafficking cell. Cruz and Morales told Proceso magazine earlier this month that they had no connection with drug trafficking, and were being targeted because they had threatened to denounce drug ties within airport police ranks.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• A tip leads police to a suspect they say is connected with an airport shooting

• Two other suspects, police officers accused of killing fellow officers, remain at large

• Authorities say the officers opened fire after fellow officers tried to arrest them in a drug investigation