After Bek Air crash, survivors helped each other, locals rushed to offer aid
NUR-SULTAN – In face of chaos and tragedy immediately after a Bek Air plane crashed Dec. 27, survivors, locals and emergency services worked together to help those injured in the accident. “Our people once more showed their unity and readiness to help each other,” tweeted Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The crash took 12 lives, including…
Nur-Sultan ambulance to begin New Year with modern emergency vehicles, more effective contact centres
NUR-SULTAN – Akim (Mayor) Altai Kulginov and Healthcare Minister Yelzhan Birtanov reviewed the Capital Ambulance Station’s working conditions during a Dec. 25 business visit to the facility. The service will more than double the number of emergency cars by the New Year and enhance its contact centres with iKOMEK112 dispatch service. The station will increase…
Kazakh government approves new draft Ecology Code to toughen penalties for environmental offenses
NUR-SULTAN – The government approved a new draft Ecology Code during the Dec. 24 government meeting chaired by Prime Minister Askar Mamin. The Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources developed the draft considering the experience of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries and opinions from the Kazakh public and business community.…
Twelve dead after Bek Air plane crash near Almaty, Tokayev announces Dec. 28 national day of mourning
NUR-SULTAN – Twelve people died after Bek Air flight No. Z2100 from Almaty to the capital crashed during take-off, 7:22 a.m., Dec. 27, reported the Civil Aviation Committee press service. The Fokker 100 aircraft collided with a two-story apartment building in the Almaty Region, Talgar micro district, between the Guldal and Almerek settlements. According to…
Warm Winter student initiative provides needy children with winter clothes for sixth year
NUR-SULTAN – Since 2014, students at the capital’s Nazarbayev University (NU) have helped provide children from large, low-income families with winter clothing through the Warm Winter programme. The idea for Warm Winter developed out of another NU initiative, the Mentoring Programme, through which university student volunteers work with socially vulnerable fourth- and fifth-graders to help…
Nearly $94,000 raised at Christmas Charity Bazaar distributed to 32 social projects, individuals
NUR-SULTAN – The Ambassadors Spouses Astana (ASA) Association transferred funds raised through the annual Diplomatic Christmas Charity Bazaar to 32 social projects and individuals during a Dec. 12 ceremony in Nur-Sultan. The association raised more than 36 million tenge (US$93,713) at this year’s bazaar, held Dec. 1. The annual charity bazaar, now in…
Kazakhstan inks agreements with agribusiness giants Tyson Foods, Valmont Industries
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh Prime Minister Askar Mamin oversaw the signing of agreements with American agribusiness titans Tyson Foods and Valmont Industries Dec. 9 during his working visit to the United States. The companies will invest in a new meat processing plant and a new plant to produce irrigation systems in Kazakhstan. Tyson Foods, the largest…
Thousands of people visit annual diplomatic Christmas Charity Bazaar for cultural exchange, goodwill
NUR-SULTAN – “I am near Switzerland! Let’s meet in Iraq in ten minutes,” is a sentence that would make sense only if one could time travel or visit the 12th annual Diplomatic Christmas Charity Bazaar Dec. 1 at Radisson Hotel Astana in Nur-Sultan. The bazaar brought a little something from 53 countries represented by embassies…
Balandin wins gold, silver at US open swimming championship
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh Olympic champion Dmitriy Balandin won silver Dec. 9, finishing a 200-metre distance in 2 minutes, 09 seconds 71 hundredths at the men’s breaststroke final of 2019 U.S. Open Swimming Championship in Atlanta, reported olympic.kz. Cody Miller was .04 seconds ahead of Balandin. Andrew Wilson closed the top three finishing the 200 breaststroke…
Kazakh government plans to urbanise 62 percent of population by 2025
NUR-SULTAN – In the new State Programme for the Development of Regions for 2020-2025, the Kazakh government set the goal of urbanising 62 percent of the country’s population. This should improve social welfare, Minister of National Economy Ruslan Dalenov said during his report at a Dec. 3 government meeting. The next five-year programme prioritises developing…
Kazakhstan Paramount Engineering delivers new batch of armoured vehicles to defence ministry
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan Paramount Engineering (KPE) delivered a series of Arlan 4×4 mine-protected armoured wheeled vehicles (AWVs) Nov. 28 to the Ministry of Defence and Special Services Division. KPE is a joint venture of the Paramount Group, a global aerospace and technology company based in South Africa. In addition to the Arlan 4×4, the company…
ECO Networks offers Kazakh businesses a way to make recycling profitable
NUR-SULTAN – Discussions of environmental responsibility have now permeated Kazakh society and the one-year-old ECO Networks project aims to change how people dispose of waste, starting with the workplace. ECO Networks helps businesses create their own Eco Offices, where employees can sort waste for recycling, find companies to distribute their sorted waste – and thereby…
Akmola Region governor organises first investors’ hour to improve region’s investment climate
NUR-SULTAN – Akmola Region Akim (Governor) Yermek Marzhikpaev organised the first investor hour and personal entrepreneurs’ reception Nov. 27 at the Atameken Regional Chamber of Entrepreneurs. During the informal session, potential investors and entrepreneurs with investment initiatives presented nearly 20 tourism, agriculture and medicine projects and development plans and outlined problems they face in executing…
‘Ayka’ honoured at China’s Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers film festival
NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh-made and Oscar-shortlisted film “Ayka” continues to win the hearts of international audiences, this time in China, where the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers festival recognised “Ayka” lead actress Samal Yeslyamova with the Best Leading Actress in a Foreign Film Audience Award and “Ayka” director Sergey Dvortsevoy with the Best Foreign Director…
Kazakh social workers to start adaptation course for children returned from Iraq
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan’s humanitarian operation on Nov. 27 brought 14 children back to their homeland from an Iraqi prison, where they have been living for two years with their mothers. The life “after” will start for them with courses of rehabilitation at Pravo public fund’s regional centres. “There are six of them (mothers). They are…
Baiterek Holding creates favourable investment climate, suggests ways to minimise risks in Kazakh market
NUR-SULTAN – Baiterek National Managing Holding attracts investments by ensuring support to foreign investors from the initial stages of project development through implementation, Baiterek Chair Aidar Arifkhanov told The Astana Times in an exclusive interview. Baiterek is the Kazakh government’s key financial agent responsible for the country’s diversification and sustainable economic growth. It manages 11…
Nur-Sultan’s embassies donate baskets of national products as sponsors present gifts to Dec. 1 Christmas Charity Bazaar
NUR-SULTAN – The Ambassadors Spouses Astana (ASA) association presented baskets of products and goods donated by embassies and sponsors for the 12th Christmas Charity Bazaar at the Basket Day event in Nur-Sultan Nov. 25. Fifty-three embassies have donated baskets for the bazaar, which will be held Dec. 1 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in…
Nazarbayev’s book on Kazakhstan’s nuclear disarmament translated into Norwegian
NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh Embassy in Norway presented the Norwegian translation of First President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s book “The Epicentre of Peace” Nov. 21 at the House of Literature in Oslo. Norwegians will be able to get closer to the history of the closure of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site and Kazakhstan’s renunciation of nuclear weapons.…
Nur-Sultan’s new international composers contest discovers young talents
NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh capital drew 115 composers under 35 years old from 24 countries to compete in the first New Music Generation international composers’ competition in Zhambyl Zhabayev Hall at the Kazakh National University of Arts Nov. 15 to 19, according to the university. “Any competition of composers is a huge event in the…
Kazakh AVANGAR defeats Syman Gaming cyber athletes at WESG Central Asia, both qualify for WESG Asia
NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh AVANGAR cybersport club won Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), defeating Syman Gaming at the Nov. 16-17 World Electronic Sports Games (WESG) Central Asia 2019 in Almaty. Both finalists qualified for the Asian championship. Six teams from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan received one million tenge (US$ 2,584) and advanced to WESG…
Kazakh Senate ratifies extradition treaty between Kazakhstan, Ukraine
NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh Senate ratified the Law On Ratification of the Extradition Agreement between Kazakhstan and Ukraine Nov. 7. The new terms will allow the countries to exchange individuals suspected of crimes, as well as those who evade executing court decisions. The gradual withdrawal of Ukraine from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) increased…
Kazakh-Italian cooperation offers immense unexplored opportunities, says top Italian official
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan and Italy can offer each other huge opportunities for growth – it is just a matter of time until the two build stronger relations, said Italian Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Manlio Di Stefano in an exclusive interview for this story. Kazakhstan is seeking ways to diversify its oil-based economy,…
Fourth version of Kazakh Latin script will preserve language purity, linguists say
NUR-SULTAN – Scientists from the Baitursynov Institute of Linguistics and specialists involved in the working group on script transition presented the fourth version of the Kazakh alphabet in Latin script to the general public Nov. 6. The new version is another step in the country’s plan to transition to Latin script by 2025. The updated…
FameLab Kazakhstan accepts applications from talented science enthusiasts
NUR-SULTAN – FameLab Kazakhstan is looking for smart, creative and charismatic individuals who can explain seemingly complex scientific concepts in a clear and easy way in just three minutes. The national winner will represent the country at the FameLab International Final in the United Kingdom in June and be a step closer to global opportunities…
Nazarbayev proposes way to create Greater Eurasia
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan’s First President Nursultan Nazarbayev proposed specific ways to create a Greater Eurasia at the Nov. 12 at the fifth meeting of the Astana Club in the capital. “Pragmatic cooperation between the Eurasian Economic Union, the European Union, the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation), ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and the Belt and…
