Articles by Dana Omirgazy

Kazakh President meets with 100 New Faces project participants

ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev met Dec. 1 with the participants in the 100 New Faces project. The project includes 102 exemplary individuals from all over the country, whose sustained efforts could inspire other citizens of modern Kazakhstan. “I have read your stories, your life. You live in this society, you work and you…

Kazakhstan Railways: more comfort, better safety, bigger opportunities in light of Silk Road’s reincarnation

ASTANA – In an exclusive interview with The Astana Times, Kazakhstan Railways (KTZ) Chairman of the Management Board Kanat Alpysbayev spoke about the national logistic operator’s priorities, its development within the Digital Kazakhstan programme and the ways to make Kazakhstan more attractive for transit cargo traffic, an area that has seen remarkable changes as Kazakhstan’s…

Kazakh poet and anti-nuclear activist awarded Japan’s Order of the Rising Sun

ASTANA – Kazakh poet and founder of the Nevada-Semey international anti-nuclear movement Olzhas Suleimenov received Nov. 28 the Order of the Rising Sun, one of Japan’s most distinguished national decorations. Ambassador of Japan to Kazakhstan Ichiro Kawabata congratulated and thanked Suleimenov for helping enhance the relationship between Japan and Kazakhstan in their common quest for…

Karaganda rehabilitation centre uses dog therapy for children with special needs

ASTANA – Dogs have long been known to have a positive effect on a person’s mental and physical health. Karaganda-based Lapa Pomoshchi (Paw of Help) canine therapy centre uses that understanding to provide rehabilitation procedures for families raising a child with limited abilities. The centre, featuring new and unusual procedures, was opened in 2008 by…

New rules for vehicle registration come into force

ASTANA – Amendments to Kazakh vehicle registration procedures were introduced Nov. 27, tengrinews.kz reports. According to the Kazakh Ministry of Internal Affairs, amendments and additions were introduced to the rules of state registration and registration of certain types of vehicles according to identification number approved by the Ministry Dec. 2, 2014. According to the changes,…

Kazakh film director completes black comedy crime caper debut

ASTANA – Young Kazakh film director Olzhas Akhmetov is set to release his debut work “Nedelimoe” (“Undividable”), shot in famed US director Quentin Tarantino’s style, Dec. 14. The shooting of the movie lasted only two weeks, though work on the script took almost half a year, informburo.kz reports. Akhmetov’s first film is a darkly funny…

Kazakhstan to deliver 1,000 tonnes of fuel oil as humanitarian aid to Tajikistan

ASTANA – Kazakhstan is intending to supply Tajikistan with 1,000 tonnes of fuel oil as humanitarian aid. The 128.68 million tenge (US$387,712) in assistance will be allocated from an emergency reserve in the 2017 government budget, according to a Kazakh Ministry of Defence and Aerospace Industry press release. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is instructed…

Charity Bazaar to extend goodwill ahead of Christmas holidays

ASTANA – The Diplomatic Christmas Charity Bazaar, initiated by the Ambassadors’ Spouses Association (ASA), will gather the capital diplomatic community and city residents Dec. 3 from 11 a.m. till 6 p.m. for a shared moment of goodwill benefitting those in need through entrance fees, raffle tickets and sales. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the event has…

Sundet Baigozhin becomes Teatro dell’Opera di Roma’s newest soloist

ASTANA –Astana Opera House principal soloist and Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan Sundet Baigozhin will soon be signing a contract with the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, reported the theatre’s press service. The well-known opera singer underwent a rigorous audition process and will become the first Kazakh soloist to perform in one of Europe’s most famous opera…

Turgai geoglyphs to host pilgrim tourism int’l forum in 2018

ASTANA – An international forum on developing Kazakh pilgrim tourism and popularising sacred places is planned for next year near the Turgai geoglyphs, said deputy head of Kostanai regional department of entrepreneurship and industrial-innovative development Roza Goryannaya. “At the Kostanai Invest 2017 Regional Investment Forum held in September, the Ministry of Culture and Sports supported…

Kazakhstan, China discuss improving controls at Khorgos border trading centre

ASTANA – Kazakh and Chinese customs authorities agreed during Nov. 6-8 meetings in Beijing to launch a platform to better control vehicles, goods and individuals on the Kazakh side of the Khorgos centre of cross-border trade, inform.kz reports. The platform was introduced June 1 on the Chinese side of the border. The parties discussed challenges…

49-year-old bas-relief unveiled in Arman movie theatre

ASTANA – A bas-relief masterpiece created 49 years ago was recently unveiled in the Arman Cinema in Almaty. The work of art was discovered by theatre director Baurzhan Shukenov when he watched a black and white video about the theatre’s opening. After replaying the video many times, he realised the bas-relief was hidden behind the…

Preschool education promotes early childhood literacy

ASTANA – Early age education and preschool programmes affect a child’s future academic performance and health. The number of children’s centres and kindergartens in Kazakhstan is growing every year and the government continuously encourages businesspeople to open new kindergartens and support them financially. The capital offers numerous public and private preschool institutions for children ages…

Kazakhstan, Korea open Friendship Garden in Astana

ASTANA – The Kazakh and Korean Friendship Garden opened recently in the capital signifies the harmonious cooperation and long friendship between the countries. The project was initiated by President Nursultan Nazarbayev during then-Korean President Park Geun-hye’s visit to Kazakhstan in 2014. The Korean government invested $1.7 million to build the park. City Akim (Mayor) Asset…

Kazakh government meeting addresses State Industrial and Innovative Development Programme, Astana development

ASTANA – Eighteen additional industrial projects worth 399 billion tenge (US$1.19 billion) are expected to be launched in a Dec. 6 teleconference involving President Nursultan Nazarbayev. They are the result of the State Industrial and Innovative Development Programme for 2015-2019, said Minister for Investments and Development Zhenis Kassymbek during an Oct. 31 government meeting. “The…

Konstantin Khabensky: we need to make charity an integral part of everyone’s life

ASTANA – Konstantin Khabensky, a popular Russian actor who is known for his kind heart and his unsuccessful fight to save his wife’s life from cancer, shared his message of giving Oct. 21 with charitable organisations and leading Kazakh figures. He joined with the Samruk Kazyna Trust Social Development Foundation at a meeting in Astana to share…

Astana’s Gorky Russian Drama Theatre takes spotlight at international festival

ASTANA – The Gorky State Academic Russian Drama Theatre presented “Mankurt. Eternal slave,” one of the best plays in its repertoire, at the Synergy World Theatre Festival 2017 in Serbia. The play by famous Kyrgyz writer Chinghiz Aitmatov, directed by honoured artist of Tajikistan Barzu Abdurazakov and performed by the Astana theatre troupe under the…

Mother’s House gives hope to single mothers

ASTANA – ANA UYI (Mother’s House), a social project sponsored by Kazakh businesspersons, helps single mothers overcome difficulties to prevent leaving children in orphanages. Pregnant women or those with newborns abandoned by their boyfriends or lacking families receive support and find understanding and compassion in these warm places. “It all started with the question of…

Education Minister reports on State Programme for Education and Science Development

ASTANA – Kazakh Minister of Education and Science Yerlan Sagadiyev reported on the status of the State Programme of Education and Science Development (SPESD) for 2016-2019 during an Oct. 17 government meeting chaired by Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev. Sagadiyev reviewed the programme results for 2016, noting the positive assessment from President Nursultan Nazarbayev. “The state programme will undergo significant changes in…

Twenty Kazakh remedial schools receive modern equipment

ASTANA – Twenty schools for children with hearing, vision and intellectual impairments in the Almaty, Mangistau and Pavlodar regions and Astana were equipped with special devices this year, reported tengrinews.kz. The nation has 100 remedial schools which train more than 15,000 children. The equipment was last updated in 2005 and all schools will receive new…

Investments in Kazakh livestock sector grow

ASTANA – The focus of investment interest in agriculture is increasingly shifting towards livestock, as the investment growth rate in cultivating seasonal crops has slowed compared to the previous year, reported finprom.kz. Investment in livestock has hiked almost 15 billion tenge (US$44.49 million), or 51 percent, since January. “Over eight months of this year, 162.4…

Five new public gardens, one park to open in Astana by end of year

ASTANA – Five new public gardens and one park will be created in Astana by the end of the year. At least 962.5 million tenge (US$2.82 million) was allocated this year for the construction of parks, boulevards and public gardens in Astana, according to representative of the city Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management…

ATOM Project Honorary Ambassador congratulates ICAN for Nobel Prize win

ASTANA – The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), having played a key role in bringing to approval by 122 countries of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, was awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize on Oct. 6. As part of the coalition of organisations forming the ICAN, ATOM Project Honorary Ambassador…

UNICEF highlights Kazakh government commitment to improve children’s well-being

ASTANA – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Oct. 5 roundtable focused on the challenges of providing access to social assistance and special social services for Kazakh families with children. Representatives of a number of ministries, as well as non-governmental and research organisations, raised important questions about providing such access to families and children who…

Almaty hosts I’m a Singer international music contest

ASTANA – I’m a Singer, an international vocal competition, is being hosted this fall by the Almaty Akimat (city administration) and Channel 31. The project, aimed at promoting modern Kazakh culture abroad and increasing the city’s tourist draw, is part of the Ruhani Zhangyru (Modernisation of Kazakhstan’s Identity) programme, and, in particular, its Contemporary Kazakhstan Culture…