Nazarbayev University graduates develop device to lower cost of electricity delivery
ASTANA – Nazarbayev University graduates have developed a device to extend the working capacity of transformers, the press service of the city administration reported recently. The project, named Remote Monitoring of Transformers, implies a cloud system with registered algorithms on the servers. According to manager and member of the start-up team Adlet Zaurenbek, data from…
413,000 people find jobs in 2017 through national employment programme
ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s national Employment 2020 Programme helped 413,000 citizens get a job over the last 12 months. Of those, 279,000 were permanently employed, Kazakh Minister of Labour and Social Protection Tamara Duissenova said during a Dec. 20 government meeting. The programme includes 527,000 participants so far. More than 50 percent are inhabitants of rural…
UNESCO includes traditional Kazakh game on Intangible Cultural Heritage list
ASTANA – UNESCO recently included the traditional Kazakh game Asyk Atu on the organisation’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of Humanity. The inclusion came during the 12th session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the ICH on Jeju Island, South Korea. The session featured an exhibition dedicated to the…
Paralympic athlete aims to change perception of people with limited abilities
ASTANA – Almaty resident and Paralympic athlete Serik Yesmatov, 19, is one of Kazakhstan’s 100 New Faces. Despite his young age, he has already achieved numerous victories and has great plans for the future. As a member of the National Paralympic Volleyball Team, Yesmatov participates in the Paralympic movement and studies at Kazakh Academy of…
National volunteering strategy presented in Astana
ASTANA – The Kazakhstan volunteering concept was presented at a Dec. 5 first national forum in the capital devoted to International Volunteer Day. The event was held under the Youth Corps Development Project implemented by the Kazakh Ministry of Education and Science and the World Bank, reported tengrinews.kz. The forum was part of the Ruhani…
French representative presents Kazakh Invest opportunities abroad
ASTANA – Speaking at the recent Kazakhstan Global Investment Roundtable, Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev reiterated the importance of the Kazakh Invest national company for boosting foreign direct investment (FDI) in the national economy. Having overseas agents is an important idea, noted company representative for France François Marque. “I think that the way Kazakh Invest was…
Kazakh PM stresses commitment to attracting foreign investment
ASTANA – Eleven agreements and memoranda worth more than $3 billion were signed at the Dec. 5 Kazakhstan Global Investment Roundtable, which gathered investors from more than 30 countries in advance of Industrialisation Day in the Kazakh capital. In particular, agreements were reached on the Big Almaty Ring Motor Road and public-private partnership (PPP) project…
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…
