Kazakhstan, France strengthen cooperation in solar energy ahead of Macron’s visit

ASTANA – Kazakh-French business cooperation in solar energy is being strengthened as the parties work on French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Kazakhstan scheduled for the second...


Khabar TV presents documentary about emerging boxing stars

ASTANA – Khabar TV previewed “Qazaq boks stıli” (Kazakh boxing style), a documentary directed by Kanat Beisekeyev, March 13 in the capital, reported the channel’s press service....


Air Astana’s low-cost airline recruits final employees ahead of launch

ASTANA – Air Astana has hired 90 staff members for its new low-cost airline FlyArystan and is seeking 60 more employees prior to its scheduled launch in...


Kazakh national social insurance fund accumulates $3.7 billion, envisions changes

ASTANA – As of January, the National Social Insurance Fund has accumulated 1.4 trillion tenge (US$3.7 billion) and is reaching 6.126 million citizens, or 70.3 percent of...


Spanish cinematographers to make film about Karlag labour camp

ASTANA – Spanish film and television production company called Plano a Plano is currently in negotiations with Kazakh Novyi Mir Production to make a movie about the...


National Olympic Committee, UNESCO strengthen cooperation to promote Olympic Movement

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s National Olympic Committee and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) will cooperate in promoting sport and physical education in the country, said...


Kazakhstan to introduce tax free system for foreign tourists

ASTANA – Foreign citizens making purchases in Kazakhstan will be exempt from value added tax (VAT) payments in a few years. The Ministry of Culture and Sports...


Kazakhstan begins meat exports to Iran

ASTANA – The Akmola Region meat supplier Agroproduct recently concluded Kazakhstan’s first contract to export meat to Iran. The first batch of meat has already arrived in...


Kazakh finance ministry amends draft budget plan, increases funds to social welfare

ASTANA – The Ministry of Finance proposed increasing the guaranteed transfer from the National Fund to 2.7 trillion tenge (US$7.13 billion) at a March 12 governmental meeting....


Nurly Zhol finishes first phase, as second phase to be presented in March

ASTANA –The first phase of the 2015-2019 Nurly Zhol programme, designed to upgrade infrastructure build-up throughout the country, will be completed this year. The plan for the...


Golovkin signs six-fight DAZN deal, plans to return to ring in June

ASTANA – For the next three years, Kazakh professional boxer Gennady Golovkin will fight twice a year exclusively on the world’s largest sports streaming platform in a...


Kazakh activist, accused of calling for ‘jihad,’ put under house arrest

ASTANA – A self-proclaimed Kazakh activist against Chinese treatment of Muslims in its north-western region has been put under house arrest by an Astana court decision on...


Kazakh grandmaster defeats Russian world vice-champion

ASTANA – Kazakh grandmaster Rinat Dzhumabayev defeated 2016 world vice-champion Sergey Karyakin during the fifth round of the 2019 World Team Chess Championship in the Kazakh capital....


Altyn Adam World exhibition tour continues, next stop Tatarstan

ASTANA – Kazakh National Museum will present the Great Steppe: History and Culture exhibition featuring Altyn Adam (Golden Man) March 15-April 15 in Kazan, Tatarstan. The display...


Kostanai Region seeks major industrial investments while focusing on recreational and hunting tourism, Akim says

ASTANA – As the series of exclusive interviews with the regional governors in Kazakhstan continues, Akim (Governor) of Kostanai region Arkhimed Mukhambetov describes the efforts of his...


Barys beats Torpedo to reach KHL semifinals

ASTANA – The Astana’s Barys Hockey Club beat Nizhny Novgorod’s Torpedo Hockey Club March 10 with a 3:2 score in the seventh game in a series of...


Business news in brief

Kazakhstan’s first national low-cost airline, Fly Arystan, will launch in the first half of the year, Kazakh Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development Roman Sklyar told a...


National News in Brief

Russian company 2GIS has launched a city information centre application for Atyrau, reports Kazinform. More than 9,000 social, cultural, residential and business facilities are included in the...


External News in Brief

Kazakhstan and Austria agreed to strengthen cooperation in energy efficiency and the green economy as part of broader efforts to boost bilateral trade during the recent visit...


Economic News in Brief

Investments in education increased 36.9 percent to 2.8 billion tenge (US$7.41 million) in January. Their share of total investments in equity was 0.4 percent. In 2018, against...


California native preserves Almaty’s Soviet monumental art through research, advocacy

ASTANA – California native and Kazakh TV’s Discovering Kazakhstan host Dennis Keen has lived in Almaty for six years. It was in his adopted city that Soviet...


Kazakhstan, Tajikistan to increase airline flight frequency

ASTANA – The number of flights between Kazakhstan and Tajikistan will increase from 18 to 32 per week this year, reports the Kazakh Ministry for Investment and...


Kazakhstan proud of gender equality efforts, continues to seek more equitable society

It is now well over four decades since the United Nations officially recognised March 8 as International Women’s Day. The annual event, which is marked around the...


Number of mortgage loans in Kazakhstan increased 19 percent in 2018

ASTANA – The number of home loans issued in Kazakhstan grew 18.9 percent in 2018 over 2017. The total portfolio of loans issued grew by 3 percent...


Kazakh football player is among 100 New Faces of Kazakhstan

ASTANA – The Union of European Football Associations’ player of the season Bauyrzhan Islamkhan has been named one of Kazakhstan’s 100 New Faces. Islamkhan has been playing...


Finnish companies to construct waste recycling plants in Kazakhstan

ASTANA – Finnish companies are interested in constructing waste treatment plants in Kazakhstan. The Kazakh Ministry of Energy plans to increase the waste recycling rate from the...


Peaceful sky, respect for each other unite us, says Bulgarian community leader

ASTANA – Olga Andriyevskaya, founder and chair of the Bulgarian Zlata Cultural Centre in the capital, represents the fourth generation of Bulgarians living in Kazakhstan. She feels...


More than 100 clinics and hospitals offer free healthcare in Almaty

ASTANA – Approximately 104 private organisations and 81 government organisations provide free government-sponsored healthcare to Almaty residents, said Social Health Insurance Fund director Tleukhan Abildayev at a...


Norwegian embarks on solo crossing of Balkhash Lake for first time in Kazakh history

ASTANA – Using skis and ice skates, Norwegian William Byholt is in the midst of crossing Balkhash Lake in central Kazakhstan for the first time in the...


Women play important role in Kazakh economy, says President

ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev met at the Akorda March 7 with Koktem Shuagy (Spring Light) women’s community representatives to congratulate the country’s female population on...