An Unfortunate Nickname

It seems the people who live in the capitol city of Kazakhstan, Astana, have a habit of giving buildings nicknames. Since the capitol was moved there in 1997, many new buildings have been erected using large amounts of the oil revenues they have. One building that houses the Economic Ministry is called The Dollar, a huge residential building near the river is called The Titanic and a tower with an egg on top (don't ask me, they say it represents the nation's prosperity) has been dubbed The Lollipop. The building that houses the Ministries of industry, communications and information was given the unfortunate nickname of The Cigarette Lighter because of it's shape. Why unfortunate, you ask?

Because it turned out to be rather flammable.

Flames and smoke could be seen pouring out of the top of the 38-story building which houses the ministries of industry, information and communications in the capital Astana's government quarter.

There were no official reports of injuries and there was no immediate word on the cause of the blaze. Firemen at the scene said all those inside the building had been evacuated.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev moved the capital of his Central Asian state 1,000 km (600 miles) to the north from leafy Almaty to Astana in 1997. Billions of Kazakhstan's oil revenues have been spent on new buildings.

One can't help but wishing the residents of The Titanic better luck with their nickname.