Kazakh communist party nominates Zhambyl Akhmetbekov to run for president
NUR-SULTAN – Communist People’s Party of Kazakhstan (CCPK) unanimously nominated April 26 CCPK Central Committee Secretary and Mazhilis (lower house of Parliament) Deputy Zhambyl Akhmetbekov as the party’s candidate for Kazakhstan’s June 9 presidential election. “Thank you to the congress for placing your confidence in me. I must justify it,” said Akhmetbekov at the 14th…
Nur-Sultan launches effort to attract another year of record foreign direct investment, says city administration
NUR-SULTAN – The Nur-Sultan Akimat (city administration) aims to build last year’s record amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) this year, reports its press service. Nur-Sultan attracted more than three trillion tenge (US$7.91 billion) in FDI last year, a record amount for the city. “Investment growth was achieved through construction [last year],” said Nur-Sultan Akim…
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Astana Comic Con!
NUR-SULTAN – The first Comic Con in Central Asia will gather creators and fans of the vast comic book universe in the capital’s EXPO 2017 Congress Centre May 31-June 2, reports the city akimat (administration). “Comic Con is an annual pop culture festival adored worldwide. These will be three fun days of plunging into the…
Kazakh trade union federation nominates Amangeldy Taspikhov to run for president
NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh Federation of Trade Unions (KFTU) nominated April 24 Chairman of the Territorial Association of the West Kazakhstan Region’s Trade Unions Amangeldy Taspikhov as its candidate for Kazakhstan’s June 9 presidential election, reported its official website. The KFTU Executive Committee put forward Taspikhov and KFTU Deputy Chairman Mukhtar Tinikeyev as potential nominees…
Golovkin returns to ring June 8 at Madison Square Garden against Rolls
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh professional boxer Gennady Golovkin (GGG) will meet Canadian Steve Rolls at New York City’s Madison Square Garden June 8 to kick off his six-fight deal with subscription video streaming service DAZN, reported DAZN. The 12-round fight will be at a contract weight of 164 pounds. Golovkin, 37, with a 38-1-1 (34 by…
Belgian travel company offers insights, experiences beyond clichés
NUR-SULTAN – The Caravanistan travel company is often the first stop for first-time and experienced travelers seeking visa, transportation, tour, lodging and attractions information about Central Asia. The company provides well-rounded information on all aspects of travel in Kazakhstan and other Central Asian nations. Visitors to their website www.caravanistan.com can also find local tour operators…
Almaty’s Esentai Mall seeks to go tax-free for tourists
NUR-SULTAN – Almaty’s Esentai Mall will be offering a system for value-added tax (VAT) refunds on purchases made by foreign citizens, said marketing director Olga Komissar at an April 15 meeting with journalists, reported Forbes.kz. Kazakhstan’s VAT rate is 12 percent and applies to revenues derived from the sale of goods and services within the…
Key Kazakh sectors see first-quarter growth
NUR-SULTAN – Construction and trade were among the key sectors in Kazakhstan which experienced first-quarter growth, said Kazakh Minister of National Economy Ruslan Dalenov at an April 16 government meeting. January through March, growth was 8.9 percent in construction, 7.2 percent in trade, 4.4 percent in transport, 3.6 percent in agriculture, 3.2 percent in industry…
Athletes to run for charity in annual BI Marathon May 26
NUR-SULTAN – Professional and amateur athletes will run for charity in the capital’s annual BI Marathon May 26, reports the Nur-Sultan Akimat (city administration) press service. The event aims to develop sports in the country, familiarise people with physical education, popularise a healthy lifestyle and support charity and social responsibility. Funds raised from the event…
Content creators to share their experiences at festivals in Nur-Sultan, Aktobe, Shymkent
NUR-SULTAN – The festival The Art of Content will gather storytellers and their audiences at the capital’s Astana Hub April 24-25, Aktobe’s Capital Plaza April 26 and Shymkent’s co-working space Scrum April 27. Every year, online magazine Vlast.kz delivers an event in which audiences are exposed to diverse, high-quality content from leaders in the media…
Television series on Kazakh boxer Bekzat Sattarkhanov to air this spring
NUR-SULTAN – Khabar Agency’s biographical television series “Bekzat,” commemorating the late Kazakh professional boxer Bekzat Sattarkhanov, will air this spring, reports the National Olympic Committee. Filming of the six-episode series recently wrapped up. Its plot centres on the 2000 Summer Olympic Games, and its characters are former International Boxing Association Vice President Beket Makhmutov, former…
Astana Art Show 2019 to kick off June 7
NUR-SULTAN – The capital will once more become a hub for contemporary art during Astana Art Show 2019 at the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation and Palace of Independence June 7-Aug. 10, reports the city akimat (administration) press service. To mark the Year of Youth in Kazakhstan, young artists will attend master classes, meet artists…
Kazakh government to spend nearly $250 million for targeted social assistance in 2019
NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh Government has provided social assistance for 282,000 people totaling 9.3 billion tenge (US$24.44 million) this year and plans to spend another 83 billion tenge (US$218.12 million) to assist 821,000 more people by year’s end, said Kazakh Minister of Labour and Social Protection Berdybek Saparbayev at an April 9 government meeting. Since…
Nur-Sultan Akimat officials available for prompt responses on social media
NUR-SULTAN – The Nur-Sultan Akimat (city administration) recently published the phone numbers and social media accounts of akims (mayors) of districts and the city akimat’s department heads on its official website so that they may be more accessible to the public. Nur-Sultan Akim (Mayor) Bakhyt Sultanov instructed akims of districts and the city akimat’s department…
Golovkin to make his DAZN debut June 8, opponent to be set
NUR-SULTAN – American professional boxer and “The Contender” winner Brandon Adams chose to fight American professional boxer Jermall Charlo over an offer to face Kazakh professional boxer Gennady Golovkin, reports ESPN.com. Adams and Charlo will fight on American television network Showtime in Houston, Texas June 15. Thirty-six-year-old Golovkin has 38 wins, 34 wins by knockout,…
National aerospace competition opens registration for young innovators
ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s secondary school students will soon face off in the national aerospace-themed competition Nazarbayev Fund Schools Challenge – 2019 organised by Air Astana, Cranfield University, the Foundation of the First President, the Ministry of Justice, National Institute of Intellectual Property, Nazarbayev University (NU) and Samruk Kazyna Trust Social Projects Development Fund, reports the…
Astana road mortality rate twice as low in 2018 as in 2017
ASTANA – The capital’s roads are the country’s safest, reports the Astana Akimat (city administration). According to a 2015 World Health Organisation Global Status Report on Road Safety, Kazakhstan’s road mortality rate per 100,000 people per year was 23.2. The rate was 11.5 per 100,000 people per year in 2018, said Astana Akimat Department for…
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 National Olympic Committee Secretary General Saken Mussaibekov and UNESCO Almaty Cluster Office Head for Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan Krista Pikkat at a recent meeting in Almaty’s National…
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 six-fight deal between GGG Promotions and subscription video streaming service DAZN, reports DAZN’s press service. No longer appearing on pay-per-view, the former middleweight world champion’s fights will be…
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 monumental art first caught his eye. Keen, who spoke about the country and its art in an interview with The Astana Times, was just three years old when…
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 Development’s Civil Aviation Committee press service. The countries’ aviation authorities and representatives from airlines Air Astana, SCAT Airlines, Tajik Air and Somon Air recently signed a protocol and…
Municipal solid waste recycling may partially meet Astana’s energy needs, say Nazarbayev University researchers
ASTANA – Thirty percent of municipal solid waste in the capital has the potential to be recycled and another 10 percent has the potential to be sorted to derive solid fuel for the city’s energy needs, reports the Nazarbayev University press service. Researchers at Nazarbayev University’s School of Engineering and National Laboratory Astana’s Laboratory of…
Galysheva wins gold in moguls at Freestyle Ski World Cup in Almaty
ASTANA – Kazakh professional freestyle skier Yulia Galysheva won a gold medal March 2 in moguls at the 2018-2019 International Ski Federation (FIS, Fédération Internationale de Ski) Freestyle Ski World Cup stage in Almaty, reports the National Olympic Committee press service. She earned first place in the moguls final stage with 79.69 points, followed by…
Nomad Fortress serves as filming location, unique tourist attraction
ASTANA – Nomad Fortress, a medieval-looking site built on the Ili River bank for the 2005 Kazakh historical epic film “Koshpendiler” (Nomad: The Warrior), indulges tourists’ imaginations of a bygone era of steppe warriors. The fortress, located approximately 30 kilometres from Kapchagai city, is not a historic site but, walking through it, visitors feel as…
Documentary screening commemorates Nevada-Semipalatinsk anti-nuclear movement anniversary
ASTANA – Achieving the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) remains a global priority 22 years after its introduction, said speakers at the Feb. 26 film screening and discussion of André Singer’s documentary “Where the Wind Blew” that commemorated the Feb. 28 anniversary of the Nevada-Semipalatinsk International Anti-Nuclear Movement. “Where the Wind…
