Articles by Assel Satubaldina

NUR-SULTAN – As the hunt for a COVID-19 vaccine continues worldwide, the Kazakh Research Institute for Biological Safety Problems has announced a start date for human trials on the COVID-19 vaccine developed by institute researchers for September. Forty-four volunteers will be recruited for the study.  Preclinical trials will be completed Aug. 20 and the results…

NUR-SULTAN – The “More Than Music” project became a country champion in the British Council’s global Creative Spark Big Idea Challenge. Martebe Abidilda, the author of “More than Music,” seeks to familiarise her fellow citizens with Kazakh folk music. The project was proposed by Almaty-based Kurmangazy National Conservatory and the Kazakh British Technical University in…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan has passed the peak of COVID-19 infection, said Kazakh Healthcare Minister Alexey Tsoy at an Aug. 3 press briefing.  “We can say for a fact that the coronavirus situation in Kazakhstan has stabilized. You can probably see it yourself. The peak has passed and our goal is to safeguard what we have…

NUR-SULTAN – The global tourism industry has suffered significantly since the COVID-19 outbreak and according to the latest data from the World Tourism Organization, international tourism numbers have collapsed by 98 percent compared to 2019. Kazakhstan has been no exception, but the pandemic could also be an opportunity to develop local destinations, said Kazakh Tourism…

NUR-SULTAN – The Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan (ACBK) launched the SOS Goitered Gazelle project to preserve endangered goitered gazelles in the country’s south.  Goitered gazelles are the only type of gazelles living in Kazakhstan, primarily in the country’s desert regions. The population of goitered gazelles has decreased by nearly 90 percent over…

NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh government and the National Bank have adopted a new plan that includes measures to support the economy in case the social and economic situation continues to worsen, said Kazakh Minister of National Economy Ruslan Dalenov at a July 29 press briefing. The plan goes in line with instructions from Kazakh President…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan has decided to extend its coronavirus quarantine through mid-August and only consider easing the restrictions afterward, said Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev July 29, reported Akorda press service.  The decision, which was announced during a meeting with Prime Minister Askar Mamin and Healthcare Minister Alexey Tsoy that focused on the epidemiological situation, is…

NUR-SULTAN – Adilkhan Yerzhanov’s “Yellow Cat” will compete at the 77th Venice International Film Festival, reported Kazakh Film Studio press service. The festival, which will kick off Sept. 2 and last through Sept. 12, will be the first major international film festival to not be held virtually after the COVID-19 outbreak – although with some…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh Healthcare Minister Alexey Tsoy spoke about how Kazakhstan plans to lift lockdown restrictions from Aug. 3 during a July 28 government meeting, reported Kazakh Prime Minister’s press service.  Kazakhstan has been in a one-month lockdown since July 5, which it had to enforce following the surge in the number of coronavirus cases…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan plans to include the Caspian seal in its Red Book of Endangered Species, reported the press service of the Kazakh Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources. The decision was made during the meeting of an interdepartmental zoological commission on fisheries and the Institute of Hydrobiology and Ecology and the Central Asian…

NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh capital of Nur-Sultan just got another upgrade. New murals and an art space have transformed the city landscape and given life to some of its public areas. A mural named Mangilik, which translates to “eternity” in Kazakh, now brightens the facade of the house located near the futuristic EXPO district. Meanwhile,…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan will continue to render humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, according to a July 20 government decree.  According to the document, Kazakhstan will send 500 sleeping bags, 50 winter tents, 500 beds, blankets, jackets, trousers, 400 hats and bed linen to Afghanistan and 600 tons of flour, 250 tons of buckwheat, 100,000…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan’s economic growth will probably shrink by three percent in 2020 for the first time since the late 1990s and will recover by 2.5 percent in 2021, said the World Bank in its latest “Kazakhstan Economic Update, Summer 2020: Navigating the Crisis” report.  The country’s economic update features a thorough analysis of the…

NUR-SULTAN – People in Kazakhstan now have more options to listen to music, as Spotify, the world’s most popular audio streaming service with 286 million users, recently became available in Kazakhstan.  Spotify users will have access to 50 million tracks, 4 billion playlists, and localized music personalization features. To mark their arrival, Spotify introduced 200…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan will create a national pharmaceutical reserve to ensure the country’s 18 million population has sufficient access to medicines amid the pandemic, said Kazakh Healthcare Minister Alexey Tsoy at a July 21 government meeting. The so-called stabilization fund will be implemented by SK Pharmacy company, a state-owned company tasked with the public procurement…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh health officials are optimistic, as the number of COVID-19 cases appears to be stabilizing. The daily increase in coronavirus cases halved from 4 percent to 2.1 percent reaching nearly 1,600 cases daily, said Kazakh Healthcare Minister Alexey Tsoy at a July 21 government meeting.  The officials said that the measures the country…

NUR-SULTAN – The youth movement of Kazakhstan’s Assembly of People launched a nationwide social campaign over the weekend to encourage people to comply with quarantine measures and wear masks, reported the assembly’s press service.  As part of the campaign rallied under the hashtag #MaskaTagynyz (#WearMask), the youth activists created graffiti on roads and house facades…

NUR-SULTAN – The European Union launched July 20 the Central Asia COVID-19 Crisis Response Program (CACCR), a 3 million euro (US$3.4 million) package meant to help the region fight the COVID-19 pandemic with Kazakhstan being a major beneficiary of the program, reported the EU Delegation to Kazakhstan press service.  “The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi participated July 16 in the first Central Asia – China high-level meeting that gathered foreign ministers of China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, reported the Kazakh Foreign Ministry press service. All sides agreed to launch a Central Asia – China format in an effort to “promote mutually beneficial…

NUR-SULTAN  – Kazakhstan reaffirmed its commitment to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreement during the July 15 meeting of the OPEC Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) meeting that meets every month to review the developments in the global oil market and consider the level of cuts, said the Kazakh Energy Ministry in a press…

NUR-SULTAN –  The Kazakh government and the National Bank will adopt a plan to help restart economic growth following the fallout of COVID-19, said Kazakh Minister of National Economy Ruslan Dalenov during a July 14 government meeting.  “First of all, following the instruction of the head of the state to develop a package of additional…

NUR-SULTAN  – While Kazakh officials have been actively urging their fellow citizens to observe social distancing and other essential precautions amid the pandemic, people’s continued negligence of these strict rules has raised concerns, said Caroline Clarinval, head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Country Office in an interview to the United Nations News Service.  As…

NUR-SULTAN  – Kazakhstan will begin exporting horse meat to Japan, according to the Kazakh Agriculture Ministry’s press service.  “A huge amount of preparatory work made it possible for Kazakh horse meat to enter a new market. To boost export potential, in 2018, the ministry’s veterinary control and supervision committee sent the first request to foreign…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan will extend its initial two-week lockdown by two weeks through Aug. 2 in an effort to slow down the spread of the coronavirus infection, said Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on his Twitter.  Kazakhstan introduced its second coronavirus lockdown July 5, after the nation witnessed a surge in the number of coronavirus cases.…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan mourns the citizens who died of the coronavirus infection. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared July 13 as a day of national mourning in his July 9 televised address, noting that “each death has personally touched his heart.” Flags on government buildings as well as diplomatic missions are lowered to half-staff to honor…