2015 UCI Juniors Track Cycling World Championship Starts in Astana

ASTANA – Young cyclists from around the world will compete Aug. 19-23 at Astana’s Saryarka velodrome during the Union Cycliste Internationale Juniors Track Cycling World Championship. “I am very honoured...


Kazakh Red Crescent Supports Thousands of Families Affected by Recent Floods

ASTANA – More than 200 volunteers from the Kazakh Red Crescent were deployed in response to recent floods in Almaty, according to a press release from the International Federation...


Astana Leads Eurasian Cities in International Activity

ASTANA – A joint Eurasia Local Governments Congress and Eurasian branch of United Cities and Local Government (UCLG) project has shown Astana has the most international activity of any...


230,000 Square-Metre Transport, Logistics Hub to Be Built in Shymkent

ASTANA – The Kazakh government plans to build a 230,000-square-metre transport and logistics centre on 92 hectares in Shymkent to help coordinate transit between Shymkent International Airport, the Western...


Kazakhstan’s Deaf Population Works Toward Greater Integration

ASTANA – More than 150,000 people in Kazakhstan have impaired hearing and related disabilities. Approximately 5,000 reside in Almaty and many in Shymkent, although only about 500 adults and...


ISIS Violence not a Serious Threat to Central Asia, Region not in Midst of New Great Game, Says Expert

ASTANA – Violence being conducted under the names of ISIS or the Islamic State now being referred to as Daesh, is a concern, but not a serious threat to...


OSCE Trains Kazakh Law Enforcement on Use of Dogs

ASTANA – According to an Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Programme Office in Astana press release, a three-week advanced course in Almaty on the use of...


Semey Folk Ensemble to Perform in Paris

The Kerbez Kazakh folklore ensemble from Semey was recently selected through an online qualifying competition to perform in Paris at the International Festival of Nations of the World, reported...


Surgeons in Astana Master New Breakthrough Throat Surgery

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s success in healthcare has been recently marked by a series of rare and complicated surgeries. One such surgery was held at the capital’s hospital No. 2...


National Bank Issues New Commemorative, Anniversary Coins

ASTANA – The National Bank of Kazakhstan issued seven new coins on Aug. 7, the bank announced in a press release. Four commemorative coins mark places: “Taikazan” is a...


Kazakh Cosmonaut’s Flight Is Profitable for Country, Head of Kazcosmos Says

ASTANA – In a recent interview with KazTAG news agency, chairman of the aerospace committee (Kazcosmos) of the Kazakh Ministry of Investment and Development Talgat Mussabayev spoke about the...


Kazakh Tour Operator Bankruptcies Force Tighter Industry Regulations

ASTANA – The bankruptcies of Kazakhstan’s major tour operators, such as Travelsystem, GulnarTur and other smaller companies, terminated the existence of many small travel agencies across all regions of...


Customs Controls Removed on Kazakh-Kyrgyz Border, as Kyrgyzstan Joins EAEU

ASTANA – The presidents of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev and Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev participated Aug. 12 in the ceremony to remove customs controls on the nations’ border, reported the Akorda...


Norwegian Kazakhs Launch Association to Promote Kazakh Culture

ASTANA – The first Kazakhs apparently arrived in Norway as German prisoners of war during World War II, with some escapees able to join Norwegian guerrillas fighting the Nazi...


Timur Bekbosunov, A New Page in Kazakhstan’s Image Abroad

Kazakh-born glam-rock opera singer and interpreter of contemporary and cross-cultural music Timur Bekbosunov got his start in Kansas, United States, where he discovered opera, said pri.org. He has performed...


IMF Raises Kazakh GDP Growth Forecast to 3.25 Percent in 2016

ASTANA –The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article 4 consultationwith Kazakhstan on July 31, considering and endorsing the staff appraisal without a meeting. Real...


5,000 Historical Documents Brought to Kazakhstan Under State Cultural Heritage Programme

About 5,000 documents of historical value have been brought to Kazakhstan and about 160 volumes of books with a 350,000 copy print run have been released since the beginning...


International Seminar Concluded on Public Health for Specialists from Africa

ASTANA – The closing ceremony of an international seminar on public health was hosted in Nazarbayev University, reported the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) press service in Kazakhstan. The...


Reshuffle Brings Authority, Experience to EXPO 2017, Younger Talent to Almaty

ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev introduced new Almaty Akim (Mayor) Bauyrzhan Baibek during his working visit to Almaty Aug. 9, reported the press service of the Akorda presidential...


Kazakh National Special Olympics Team Exceeds Expectations at Los Angeles Games

The Kazakh national Special Olympics team won 125 medals and exceeded their targeted metal count by three times at the July 25 through Aug. 2 Special Olympics in Los...


Astana Pro Team Cyclists Take One-Two Finish at Vuelta a Burgos

ASTANA – Estonian Rein Taaramae of the Astana Pro Team and Italian Michele Scarponi finished first and second respectively in the overall standings at Vuelta a Burgos Lagunas de...


President Nazarbayev’s 100 Concrete Steps Lay Foundation for Stable and Enduring Modern Nation State

Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev has formulated a grand programme to create the pillars of a modern democratic state. The five broad areas of reform are the development of a...


Summer Eco-camp in Ust-Kamenogorsk Encourages Children to be Eco-Friendly

ASTANA – Krugozor Youth and Tourism Centre, a unique institution based in the most beautiful places of East Kazakhstan, is engaged not only in teaching children and young people,...


Kyrgyzstan Mobilises for Participation in EXPO 2017

Participation in EXPO 2017 is of great importance to Kyrgyzstan, said Deputy Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Valery Dil during a meeting on the preparations for Kyrgyzstan’s participation in the...


Kazakh Historical Documentary Presented in Washington

Within the celebration of the 550th anniversary of the Kazakh Khanate, the Kazakh Research Institute of Culture with the support of the Embassy of Kazakhstan to the United States held...


Ice Palace Opens in Astana as Hockey Tournament Cup of the President Begins

ASTANA – A new, multifunctional 12,000-seat and 86,000-square-metre Ice Palace was opened on Aug. 9 as the Cup of the President started in the capital. The complex will include...


Galymzhan Moldanazar, Break of Reality Offer Cross Cultural Musical Collaboration

ASTANA – American band Break of Reality (BoR) and Kazakh artist Galymzhan Moldanazar met in Almaty in February. The musicians rehearsed and gave two concerts together attended by hundreds...


Nurly Zhol Connects Continents

Kazakh transport workers celebrated their professional day on Aug. 2. On the eve of the big day, The Astana Times talked to Askar Mamin, chairman of the Kazlogistics transport...


Historical Reenactment Club Develops in Astana

ASTANA – Historical reenactment, focused on promoting and drawing attention to past events, is divided into sport and daily activities. The former emphasises fighting using ancient weapons and armour,...


EXPO 2017 to Benefit Economy Beyond Tourism, Say Experts

ASTANA – Experience shows that hosting large-scale events, such as EXPO 2017, helps develop not only the tourist industry but other areas of the economy, General Manager of the...


Astana Set for Maiden European Football Autumn, Kairat Also Progresses

ASTANA – FC Astana and HJK Helsinki produced a thriller previously unseen at the Astana Arena Aug. 5 in a return leg of the UEFA Champions League qualifications’ third...


The Unusual Partnership of Singapore and Kazakhstan

Singapore is small and resource poor. Kazakhstan is huge with vast reserves of natural resources. Yet the Kazakhs feel they have much to learn from the Singapore story, spurring...


Global, Concrete Action Can Still Help Reverse Climate Change

The United States is, by most measures, still the largest economy in the world. According to the World Bank, its carbon monoxide emissions per capita over the last five...


Kazakhstan Loosens Restrictions on Visiting Border-Area Tourist Attractions

ASTANA – Kazakhstan recently amended its regulations to allow foreign tourists to visit popular tourist attractions along its border without a special permit. The amendment was to 2014 government...


Upcoming Int’l Countering Violent Extremism Summit Discussed in Rome

Rome hosted the Counter Violent Extremism (CVE) Summit Process Senior Officials’ Check-In Meeting on July 28-29. Representatives from more than 65 countries, 10 multilateral bodies and other organisations gathered...


Kyrgyzstan Formally Enters EAEU, Customs Controls to be Removed

ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed the Kazakh law ratifying the accession of the Kyrgyz Republic into the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) Aug. 5. According to AKIpress, Russian...


48th Anniversary of ASEAN Celebrated in Astana

ASTANA – Heads of diplomatic corps accredited in Kazakhstan joined with Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Askar Mussinov in Astana Aug. 6 for the reception dedicated to the 48th anniversary of...


Ongoing Reforms Begin to Show Results

In the Plan of the Nation 100 Concrete Steps on the implementation of five institutional reforms, President Nursultan Nazarbayev primarily outlined the problems of the formation of modern professional...


Nation Commemorates 70th Anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Bombings

ASTANA – The people of Kazakhstan shared the pain of millions of Japanese who perished in the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings on Aug. 6 and 9, 1945 in an...


Kcell Returns Money to Customers Resulting from Competition Law Violation

ASTANA – Kcell, one of Kazakhstan’s biggest cellular operators, received an order to return more than 1.5 billion tenge (US$8 million) to its customers as a result of violations...


Capital’s Charity Fund Seeks Support to Open Private Senior Homecare, Break Stereotypes about Homecare in Kazakhstan

ASTANA – Whether affluent or underprivileged, black or white, the human clock has no mercy.What once excited the young spirit will tomorrow be a vague memory. The staff of...


The Way to Remember Hiroshima Is to Redouble Nuclear Disarmament Efforts

The dropping of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima 70 years ago this week was a terrible, seminal moment in human history. The justification for the decision including the...


National Research Centre for Maternal and Child Health Implements Cutting-Edge Technology

ASTANA – In the mid-1970s, the need existed to provide genetic services to the population by establishing medical-genetic consultations based on the Scientific Centre for Obstetrics and Gynecology as...


Trans-Caspian Rail Route Launched

BAKU – The trans-Caspian rail route was launched 65 kilometres from Baku in the city of Alyat, a new Azerbaijani seaport on the Caspian Sea, on Aug. 3. The...


‘The Road to School’ Charity Campaign to Help Low-Income Children Kicks Off

ASTANA – The eighth annual “The Road to School” charity campaign to help children in need is being held in Astana from the beginning of August until the end...


Almaty Enterpreneurs, Artists Raise Funds for Landslide Victims

Almaty entrepreneurs collected 1 million tenge (US$5,334) during a one-hour fundraising drive to assist victims of the landslide that struck the outskirts of Almaty on July 23, reported Tengrinews.kz,...


Kazakhstan accepted into UNESCO WCF Executive Council

UNESCO delegations from around the world reelected the organisation’s managerial staff and discussed its direction during UNESCO’s July 21-24 70th anniversary celebration in Beijing. Kazakhstan was also accepted to...


EXPO 2017 National Pavilion Construction One Third Completed

Kazakhstan has completed construction of one third of its national EXPO 2017 pavilion, expo officials announced during a media tour of the construction of expo facilities. “Thirty to 40...


Kazakhstan to Complete National Drug Formulary by End of Year

ASTANA – The Ministry of Healthcare and Social Development plans to complete a national healthcare formulary before the end of 2015 that will give all citizens access to medicines,...


Astana Exhibition Showcases Works of Nicholas Roerich

ASTANA – The Russian Centre for Science and Culture exhibition Heart of Asia in Astana is showcasing 25 works by artist and scientist Nicholas Roerich, which were inspired by...