Okean Art: school for children with unlimited possibilities

ASTANA – Okean Art is relatively a small school which opens a whole new dimension that can change lives. Thirteen years ago, the school started as a...


Local Kazakh foundation expands public access for people with limited mobility

ASTANA – Beginning in January, the Tandau Foundation’s Dostupnyi (Accessible) Pavlodar project aimed at making public spaces accessible for those with limited mobility will expand throughout the...


Kazakh animator and graphic designer creates art with purpose

ASTANA – Kazakh animator and graphic designer Erden Zikibay tries to amalgamate culture, history and politics to create art with purpose. An Almaty native, graduate of George...


Astana Hub to make smart city technologies country’s calling card, says Astana Hub CEO

ASTANA – Astana Hub is a concept designed to create a system for start-up development, including interaction with local businesses and government. It seeks to find and...


Ministry of Culture and Sport presents Notre Dame de Paris in Kazakh capital

ASTANA – Twenty years ago, the world saw the legendary Notre Dame de Paris musical for the very first time. As part of the commemoration of the...


Air Astana adds new generation fuel-efficient aircraft to fleet

ASTANA – Air Astana recently added the Embraer E-Jet E2, one of the world’s most fuel-efficient planes, to its fleet. The aircraft also features an image on...


Model UN programme provides unique opportunity for personal development of Kazakh students

On the eve of the 27th anniversary of our independence, Kazakh children tried themselves in diplomatic shoes. Two months ago, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched the...


Kazakh government takes measures to reduce utility costs

ASTANA – Utility costs will be reduced in all regions beginning Jan. 1, said Vice Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin at a Dec. 20 press conference...


Modernisation in Central Asia should consider political, economic and social context, says Almaty Club experts

ASTANA – Kazakhstan is taking the lead in Central Asia on comprehensive modernisation, said regional experts at a recent gathering in Astana to discuss the latest findings...


Kazakh National Tourism Award to stimulate development of tourism in the country

ASTANA – The Kazakh National Tourism Award was introduced this year to encourage tourism organisations, travel bloggers and other involved parties to improve their services accordingly in...


Mangystau region has steady growth, will develop manufacturing

ASTANA – The Mangystau region’s gross regional product increased from 98.6 percent to 103.4 percent compared to the previous year, announced Akim (Governor) Yeraly Tugzhanov at a...


New bridge to reduce traffic load between right and left banks of Astana

ASTANA – City officials will begin the two-year construction in 2019 of an automobile bridge across the Yessil River to reduce traffic between the city’s left and...


Female Kazakh driver to race in W Series 2019 Qualifiers, promote female F1 drivers

ASTANA – Kazakh racer Lyubov Andreyeva will compete against 60 women to participate in the single-seater racing championship W Series 2019. Formula 1 (F1) has long been...


Kazakh junior hockey team prepares for group stage of 2019 World Junior Championship

ASTANA – The Kazakh junior hockey team will compete in Group B of the 2019 World Junior Championship, to be held from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5...


Kazakhstan seeks peace, international prosperity in year of turmoil

The last 12 months have been another disappointing year for all who want to see peace, prosperity and co-operation in our world. We must hope future historians,...


Kazakh President points to improved quality of life at Independence Day gala

ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev congratulated his fellow citizens on their Independence Day and summed up Kazakhstan’s progress as a sovereign state at a Dec. 14...


Kazakh boxer Kanat Islam to return to ring in March

ASTANA – Prominent Kazakh boxer Kanat Islam (25-0, 20 knockouts) will return to ring in March next year. Islam is an ethnic Kazakh born in Xinjiang, China,...


Ambassadors Spouses Association raises, distributes $100,000 for charity

ASTANA – The Ambassadors Spouses Association (ASA) recently distributed the 2018 Christmas Charity Bazaar’s fund among 40 charity organisations, several individuals and bought equipment for a clinic...


Kazakhstan exports to 110 countries, continues developing manufacturing industry

ASTANA – Kazakhstan exports products to 110 countries, said President Nursultan Nazarbayev during a Dec. 11 national teleconference in the capital. He spoke with 28 enterprises from...


Gharysh Sapary to supply drones to National Guard

ASTANA – Gharysh Sapary will produce unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), more commonly known as drones, for the National Guard, said National Guard Commander-in-Chief Ruslan Zhaksylykov in a...


Kazakhstan launches first PPP transport digitisation project

ASTANA – E-freight, Kazakhstan’s first public-private partnership (PPP) to digitise transport, was launched as an online trial Dec. 11 in the capital. Formally known as Implementation and...


Kazakhstan’s latest armoured military vehicle stands up to country’s harsh winter weather

ASTANA – Kazakhstan Paramount Engineering’s (KPE) latest armoured wheeled vehicle, the Barys 6×6, recently showed it can stand up to even the harshest Kazakh winter conditions. Barys,...


ADB forecasts 4 percent growth for Kazakhstan in 2018, prompts improved Central Asian outlook

ASTANA – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) set a 4 percent growth projection for Kazakhstan in its Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2018 Supplement report, released Dec. 11....


Kazakh students stage energy themed model UN as Jas Diplomat project ends

ASTANA­ – Students from seven Astana schools and representatives from seven diplomatic missions gathered Dec. 13 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to finish preparations for the...


Demolition work delays Astana’s small ring road construction

ASTANA – The capital akimat (city administration) estimates building a small ring road in the city will be finished no earlier than 2020 and might be extended...


KTZ will notify passengers about train delays

ASTANA – Beginning Jan. 1, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) will notify passengers about train delays of more than three hours, said Asset Asavbayev, chair of the Ministry...


Kazakhstan’s 2018 socioeconomic development yields positive results, says prime minister

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s ministers reviewed the country’s socioeconomic development for the past year at a Dec. 11 government meeting, receiving positive assessment from Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev....


Kazakhstan incorporates UNDP recommendations to protect agriculture from climate change

ASTANA – The United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) new report “Climate Change Adaptation in Europe and Central Asia: Adapting to a Changing Climate for Resilient Development,” which...


Discrepancies in Kazakh foreign trade statistics need to be corrected, senator stresses

ASTANA – Underestimating import data indicates corruption in customs and leads to illegal business, said Senator Dariga Nazarbayeva at the body’s Dec. 6 plenary session. This also...


Domestic violence prevention laws should be more detailed, say Central Asian experts

ASTANA – The laws on domestic violence prevention in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan need to be developed and completed with more detailed prevention and protection mechanisms, according...