Articles by Nadezhda Khamitova

Kazakhstan Paralympians Win Nine Medals So Far at Incheon 2014 Asian Para Games

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s paralympians won one gold, four silver and four bronze medals over two days at the Incheon 2014 Asian Para Games. On Oct. 20, Anuar Akhmetov of Astana set an Asian Para Games record in the 100 metre backstroke for athletes with visual impairments, with a time of 1:10.66. He also won the…

Kazakhstan’s Junior Para-Athletes Win 29 Medals at IWAS Games

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s para-athletes won 10 gold, nine silver and 10 bronze medals at the 10th International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) World Junior Games, which took place at the U.K.’s Stoke Mandeville Sports Stadium from Aug. 3-8. Three hundred fifty athletes under the age of 23 from 35 countries gathered in Stoke Mandeville…

Astana Hosts International Wheelchair Dance Competition

ASTANA – Around 30 participants from Russia, Belarus, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, and Kazakhstan competed on the parquet of the Palace of Independence July 26-27, hoping to dance their way to the top at the 2014 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Wheelchair Dance Sport (WDS) Kazakhstan Open. This WDS competition was the last…

Kazakhstan’s Young Para Athletes Earn 39 Medals in Malaysia

ASTANA, Nov. 11 – Kazakhstan’s Youth Paralympic team won 39 medals at the Asian Youth Para Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which took place from Oct. 26-30. Kazakhstan’s team was ranked ninth out of the 32 participating countries. The team’s best results were in swimming, where it took second place in the team standings with…

Paralympic Swimmer Zulfiya Gabidullina Wins Gold, Inspires Physically-Challenged Athletes

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s Paralympic Movement is still developing but the passion and will of its members has already bore fruit. Kazakhstan’s National Paralympic Team won 26 medals at the IWAS World Games in Holland in September, 13 of which are gold. And one of the most decorated members of the national paralympic team was Zulfiya…

Kazakhstan Physically-Challenged Athletes Win 26 Medals at World Games

ASTANA – Kazakhstan athletes won 13 gold, seven silver and six bronze medals at the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) World Games held Sept. 14–22 in Stadskanaal, Holland. Five hundred athletes from 35 countries, including 16 athletes from Kazakhstan, competed in a wide range of sports, including swimming and archery. Kazakhstan swimmers Mikhail…

New Astana Opera Hall Seeks World-Class Instruments

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s new opera hall, Astana Opera, announced on Aug. 13 that it would like companies to bid to sell the opera house the instruments it needs to put on world class performances. Astana Opera plans to purchase 11 pianos, five baby grand pianos, 11 concert grand pianos of various sizes, five string basses,…

Sightseers Cruise Astana in Double-Decker Buses

ASTANA – The Astana Bus Tours project has introduced two new double-decker sightseeing buses that will take visitors and locals past some of Astana’s most unique buildings and tourist attractions. The tour buses’ route starts at the Baiterek monument, then goes through the central square, the Palace of Students, the Zher Ana monument, the Nazarbayev…

Olympic Training Centre Construction Begins in Pavlodar

ASTANA – Construction officially began on Aug. 22 in Pavlodar on the Sports City Olympic Village, which will serve as a centre for the preparation and training of Kazakhstan’s Olympic athletes. The village will include an athletics arena, a palace of martial arts, an indoor soccer arena for 5,000 spectators, a 50-metre pool with diving…

Kazakhstan Issues Stamp Honoring International Day Against Nuclear Tests

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s national postal carrier KazPost and Ministry of Foreign Affairs introduced on August 28 a postage stamp commemorating the United Nations International Day Against Nuclear Tests, which takes place annually around the world on August 29. The UN International Day Against Nuclear Tests was established in recognition of the closing of the Semipalatinsk…

Almaty to Bid to Host 2022 Winter Olympics

Almaty will bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, Sport and Physical Education Agency Chairman Yerlan Kozhagapanov said on Aug. 18. The decision for Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city and its so called southern capital, to bid for the games was made on behalf of instructions from the President of Kazakhstan after a recent meeting…

Kazakhstan, Canada Expect to Sign Nuclear Power Agreement Before End of 2013

ASTANA – Kazakhstan and Canada are working to finalise a key agreement on the peaceful use of nuclear power before the end of 2013, which would give a major boost to bilateral cooperation in an area where the two countries already hold leading positions globally, Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to Canada Konstantin Zhigalov said. In an interview…

Unified National Health System Yielding Positive Results, Authorities Say

ASTANA – On July 18, Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Yerbol Orynbayev and Kazakhstan’s Minister of Healthcare Salidat Kairbekova visited the Karaganda region, where they monitored activity of local health centres and held a national conference on the outcome of the introduction of the Unified National Health System (UNHS) in the first half of 2013…

Kazakhstan Reduces Grain Export, Expects High Yield in 2013-2014

ASTANA – Kazakhstan, one of the world’s largest exporters of grain, saw a reduction of grain exports to 7.1 million tons in the 2012-2013 marketing year, Minister of Agriculture Assylzhan Mamytbekov announced in early July. “For this marketing year, which lasted from July to July, 7.1 million tons of grain were exported,” Mamytbekov said at…

11,000-Kilometre Central Asian Expedition Ends in Astana

ASTANA – Russian journalist, photographer and member of the Russian Geography Society Vlad Minin completed on July 15 an 11,000-kilometer car trip from Moscow’s Red Square to Kazakhstan’s capital meant to promote Russian accomplishments and boost national ties. Minin hoped the exhibition, called “From Russia,” would allow him to highlight Russia’s spiritual heritage and rich…

Government Develops Burabai Resort Infrastructure

ASTANA – The bright sun, pine forests and crystal clean water of the Burabai resort area make it a natural gem in the Akmola region, and one that the government is eager to attract tourists to. To ensure the use of resort’s potential in full, the government is working to create all the necessary conditions…

UK Prime Minister’s Visit Produces Multiple Agreements, Business Deals Worth $1.1 Billion

ASTANA – Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev on July 1 welcomed British Prime Minister David Cameron to the presidential Akorda residence as part of the first visit by a serving British Prime Minister to Kazakhstan since the two countries established relations more than 20 years ago. The two leaders discussed avenues to further strengthen bilateral relations…

Researcher examines Kazakhstan’s role in World War II

ASTANA – Kazakhstan sent many of its sons and daughters to fight and die on the front lines of World War II. It also supplied food and ammunition in the common effort against the advancing Nazis. But the country’s role in that historic effort has not been widely recorded. Few history books outside of Kazakhstan…

Kazakhstan Proposes Creating Eurasian Water Polo League

ASTANA – On June 13-14, during the Council on Physical Culture and Sports of the Agreement on Cooperation between CIS countries held in Astana, Kazakhstan put forward an idea of a water polo league within the CIS countries and the establishment of a Eurasian league in the future. “On the agenda of the meeting was…

Tashkent Visit Affirms Strong Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan Ties

President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan and President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan held talks in Tashkent on June 14 during President Nazarbayev’s official visit there which focused on bilateral ties but also on pressing regional issues such as managing water resources and ensuring the security in Central Asia after the international coalition withdrawal from Afghanistan. During…

Solar Bike Journey Highlights Sustainable Energy, EXPO 2017

ASTANA – On June 15, a trip from Savoy, France to Astana on solar-powered bicycles kicked off at the National Institute of Solar Energy, Savoy Technolac. On “The Sun Trip: On the road to Astana EXPO 2017,” 33 riders from Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, the Czech Republic and France, as well as Askar Syzbayev of Kazakhstan,…

Customs Union States Strengthen Economic Integration, As Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine Seek Closer Ties

ASTANA – The creation of the Customs Union (CU), the Common Economic Space (CES) and the Eurasian Economic Union remains a priority and offers great potential to move the region forward economically, the heads of state participating in last week’s sitting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Astana agreed. The presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan…

EU Commission President Barroso Begins First Official Visit to Astana

ASTANA, June 2 – On June 1, President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso arrived in Kazakhstan on his first official visit meant to advance both economic and political bilateral ties. On Sunday, June 2, Kazakhstan Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov met Jose Manuel Barroso, and the two officials discussed a wide range of topical…

Efforts to Create UN Regional Diplomacy Hub in Almaty Continue

ASTANA, May 27 – Kazakhstan is working with the United Nations on turning Almaty into a UN regional diplomacy hub, the country’s foreign minister announced last week in Astana drawing enthusiastic support from a visiting top level UN official. Speaking at a May 23 press conference during the Sixth Astana Economic Forum, Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister…

Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan Holds Anniversary Session

ASTANA – President Nursultan Nazarbayev addressed the 20th anniversary session of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan on the subject of “Kazakhstan 2050 Strategy: One Nation – One Country – One Destiny” in the Palace of Peace and Harmony on April 24. An important highlight of the session was the appointment of two new…