Articles by ASSEL SATUBALDINA

ASTANA – A seven-man expedition led by experienced Kazakh alpinist Vassiliy Pivtsov has set out from Askole, a Pakistani village near the city of Skardu, to climb K2. Located in the same country, the world’s second highest mountain after Mount Everest rises 8,611 metres above sea level. The expedition will last 60 days. The expedition includes…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan does not plan to lag behind in the global digitisation trend and the Kazakh government is taking an active approach to developing electronic government services, planning to digitise 90 percent of those by 2020. The United Nations E-Government Survey in 2018 examined how digital technologies affect public services across its member states,…

ASTANA – Students studying in Kazakh universities are now able to receive bachelor’s degrees with 100 percent of their credits received through distance learning. “There will be a completely different system. Currently, to receive a certain bachelor’s degree, students are required to complete a programme totalling 7,000 hours. Earlier, students studying off campus completed only…

ASTANA – The Kazakh junior hockey team retained its place in the top division at World Juniors after defeating Denmark 4-0 Jan. 4 in Vancouver, Canada. Team captain Sayan Daniyar and David Makutskiy scored first-period goals and Artur Gatiyatov scored a pair of empty-net goals during the last minutes of the game. The loss relegated…

ASTANA – The Kazakh government plans to increase the nation’s irrigated land area from the current 7 percent to 16 percent by 2028, said First Vice Minister of Agriculture Arman Yevniyev at a recent government meeting. The plan is to put back into operation 600,000 hectares of irrigated land and add an additional 1.5 million…

ASTANA – Kazakh animator and graphic designer Erden Zikibay tries to amalgamate culture, history and politics to create art with purpose. An Almaty native, graduate of George Mason University and former instructor at Zhurgenov Kazakh National Academy of Arts, Zikibay has vast experience in graphic design and animation. His works, including static art, animations and…

ASTANA – Prominent Kazakh boxer Kanat Islam (25-0, 20 knockouts) will return to ring in March next year. Islam is an ethnic Kazakh born in Xinjiang, China, where he started his boxing career as an amateur in 1997. He won bronze medals at the Summer Olympics in 2004 and 2008, at the Asian Games in…

ASTANA – The Mangistau region, located in south western Kazakhstan, is known for a myriad of historical sites. Though the region is better known for its vast oil and gas onshore and offshore reserves, it is also known among locals as the land of 362 saints attracting pilgrims. Located east of the Caspian Sea, bordering…

ASTANA – Almaty residents and guests will have a chance to immerse in the TED Talk experience, famous for its “ideas worth spreading” mission, as the city will host TEDxAbayStWomen Dec. 2. The day will present speakers an opportunity to share unique stories and ideas about the role of women and girls in Kazakhstan, their…

ASTANA – Nazarbayev University’s Fab Lab (fabrication laboratory), is a place where innovative solutions are nurtured with the help of engineering and fabrications tools. The lab, part of the Nazarbayev University Research and Innovation System cluster, is intended to contribute to the innovative and technical potential of the country, Fab Lab manager Asselya Bizhanova told…

In an exclusive interview with this newspaper, Akim (Governor) of the recently created Turkestan Oblast Zhanseit Tuimebayev discusses the significance of the step and the impressive prospects for the development of a strategically located region known for its cultural heritage, density of population, economic potential and entrepreneurial spirit. What is the vision for developing the region…

ASTANA – The Zhurekten Zhurekke (From Heart to Heart) charity fund promotes charitable culture in Atyrau and beyond by helping children diagnosed with severe diseases, people with disabilities and low-income families. Founder Aigerim Doskaliyeva is among the country’s 100 New Faces. The project includes 102 exemplary individuals from around the country, whose sustained efforts could…

ASTANA – Urban Forum Kazakhstan recently gathered experts to discuss the Almaty renovation plan scheduled for next year. The project envisions reconstructing the Esentai and Malaya Almatinka embankments and Dostyk, Gogol, Kazybek Bi, Tole Bi and Zhibek Zholy streets. The meeting included architects, ecologists, businesspersons, sustainable transport experts, urban professionals and specialists focusing on historical…

ASTANA – The National Boxing Championship recently concluded in Aktau, naming the country’s 20 best boxers and forming the national boxing team. Boxers from the Turkestan region won two gold, three silver and two bronze medals, followed by the Mangistau region with one gold, three silver and four bronze and the Zhambyl region with one…

ASTANA – Travelling is a life changing experience. For Almaty native and experienced alpinist Magzhan Sagimbayev, the first Kazakh to travel the world on a solo bicycle trip, it is a natural freedom. Sagimbayev, also project manager at Kazakh Geographic Society, is among the country’s 100 New Faces, representing exemplary individuals throughout the country whose…

ASTANA – “Polish Advocates of Freedom – Saint John Paul II and Blessed Father Władysław Bukowiński,” a photo exhibition recently opened in the capital, pays tribute to two significant religious figures both in their historical homeland Poland and in the world. “We brought 12 stands; of those, 10 are devoted to St. John Paul II…

ASTANA – The Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA) region demonstrated a dynamic and remarkable 4.1-percent economic growth in 2017 over the 2.5-percent increase in 2016 and the latest Regional Economic Outlook for the CCA released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts growth to stabilise at 4 percent in 2018-2019 and approximately 4.1 percent in…

ASTANA – Astana Club, a platform to debate public issues based on Chatham House rules, kicked off its fourth annual meeting Nov. 12. The meeting focused on challenges facing the Eurasian region and the building of Eurasian strategic architecture. The meeting gathered 50 leading experts, politicians and diplomats from 33 countries. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are studying the possibility of creating a joint oil and gas enterprise, said Kazakh Minister of Energy Kanat Bozumbayev and Azerbaijani Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov during their meeting in Astana. “We are now considering the opportunity of setting up a joint enterprise in the oil and gas industry because…

ASTANA – Investments in housing construction have grown 31.5 percent compared to 2017, reaching 818.9 billion tenge (US$2.2 billion), reported Kazakh Minister for Investments and Development Zhenis Kassymbek. Increased construction financing by private developers (53 percent) and the population (43.2 percent) underpinned the growth. “Per one tenge of state investments, there are eight tenge of…

ASTANA – Five young and successful Kazakh women won a TechWomen seed grant for their Uki.kz project. The award ceremony at Twitter headquarters in San Francisco concluded an intensive five-week programme meant to empower and support emerging women leaders in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). The Kazakh team included Zhanargul Izimova, Sberbank retail managing…

ASTANA – Kazakh athlete Abzal Azhgaliyev finished second in the 500 metres at the season-opening World Cup Short Track Nov. 2-4 in Calgary, Canada. Finishing the race in 40.136 seconds, Azhgaliyev placed second after Wu Dajing, China’s 24-year-old champion and gold medal winner at the Winter Olympics in South Korea, whose result was 39.915 seconds.…

ASTANA – Kazakh developers Timur Ryspekov, Vladislav Polonski and Anastasiya Kletscheva won Best Use of Hardware award at the recent Space Apps Challenge competition finals organised by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in New York. This year’s competition brought 25,000 participants from more than 70 countries. The Space App Challenge is an international 48-hour…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s employment and mass entrepreneurship programme seeks to recruit 571,000 citizens through state support mechanisms by the end of 2018, said Kazakh Minister of Labour and Social Protection Madina Abylkassymova. The programme primarily seeks to improve the qualifications of the labour force, develop mass entrepreneurship and involve the self-employed and unemployed population in the…

ASTANA – The city hosted the Smart Service hackathon Oct. 27-28, where 160 participants had the chance to suggest their solutions to make the capital more innovative, attractive and comfortable. The teams had 48 hours to develop a product that would meet the city’s needs as tasked by Astana Innovations and its partners, including ARTA…