Articles by Aidana Yergaliyeva

Kazakhstan Deploys Second Group of Peacekeepers to UN Mission in Lebanon

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan deployed a second group of 60 peacekeepers on Aug. 20 from the Kapshagai garrison of the Almaty Region to serve as part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) mission on a rotational basis, the Kazakh Defense Ministry’s press service reported. This group is the second half of the fourth…

Kazakh Cellist Sandi Toka Nova Speaks About Work on Charity Concerts to Support Kazakhstan, Growing Popularity of Kazakh Music (Video)

NUR-SULTAN – Famous Kazakh cellist Sandi Tokanova also known as Sandi Toka Nova spoke to The Astana Times about her performances at charity concerts to support Kazakhstan during the pandemic in a music video featuring a medley of Kazakh songs on Charyn Canyon, and the appreciation of Kazakh melodies among European audiences. Born and raised…

Author of Viral ‘Koronavirus, Ket!’ Song to Perform in US Charity Concert After Pandemic

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh composer Marat Omarov has begun preparing for a post pandemic charity concert in the United States, part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal initiative, Omarov told Sputnik Kazakhstan news agency. Omarov has long been famous for his heartwarming song about mothers “Anasy bar adamdar, yeshkashan kartaimaidy (People who have mothers will never…

Kazakhstan To Launch New Electric Bus Plant in Karaganda Region

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan will launch a new plant to produce Yutong Chinese passenger buses in December in Saran, the Karaganda Region, the Kazakh Ministry of Industry and Infrastructural Development press service said. The plant will produce approximately 1,200 buses per year. “At the first stage, this will significantly influence the situation with the worn-out state…

Kazakh Foreign Ministry to Create Agency to Systematize KazAID

NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) plans to form an agency to systematize official development assistance (ODA) from Kazakhstan to Central Asian countries, the ministry explained during a Aug. 19 press briefing. Although Kazakhstan has been providing ODA through KazAID program for the last 20 years, the MFA has been administering the…

Kazakh Government to Provide 1.22 Million People With Jobs, Says Labor and Social Protection Minister

NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh government will provide jobs for 1.22 million people in total with the help of state programs by the end of the year, said Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population Birzhan Nurymbetov in a Aug. 18 government meeting, reported Kazakh Prime Minister’s press service. As of today, the Enbek…

Kazakh Diplomats Donate 150 Laptops to School Students To Ensure Access to Education During Extended Quarantine

NUR-SULTAN – The Association of Kazakh diplomats recently raised 26 million tenge (US$62,256.6) and purchased 150 personal computers for children from low-income families, reported the Kazakh Foreign Ministry’s press service. “In the face of an unprecedented global crisis, this charitable action by Kazakh diplomats aims to promote learning continuity, reduce digital inequality and ensure full…

Kazakhstan’s Quality of Life, Happiness Levels Enter Top 50th Spot in the World 

NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh Statistics Committee annually conducts an acceptance sampling of households to estimate the Quality of Life of the Population. As of Aug. 11, the committee found that 63.5 percent of respondents are satisfied with their lives in 2020. Over the past three years, the satisfaction with quality of life among Kazakhs has…

Kazakh Plant Launches Domestic Computer Production to Equip School Students With Laptops

NUR-SULTAN – A Kazakh plant will now be tasked with supplying domestic laptops named ZiK computers as part of the governmental goal to ensure all school goers with means to study. The Kirov plant in Petropavlovsk has launched production of the first 5,000 units of ZiK computers on Aug. 13, the Kazakhstan Engineering (KE) national…

More Than 600 Kazakh Medical Organizations Resume Routine Medical Services as Corona Situation Stabilizes

NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh Social Health Insurance Fund published a list of medical organizations that will be resuming their work with opening dates, the fund’s press service reported. The fund will constantly update the list. The national quarantine restrictions suspended the work of medical organizations providing routine medical care around the country. On Aug. 1,…

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev Congratulates Kazinform With 100-Years Anniversary of Reporting

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev congratulated the Kazinform state news agency on their 100th anniversary, reported inform.kz. The news agency started Aug. 13 in 1920 as the first telegraph agency in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic and became one of the largest Kazakh media holdings today. “The agency has come a long way along…

Central Asia to Cooperate With Japan to Modernize Economy

NUR-SULTAN – The heads of the foreign affairs agencies of Central Asia and Japan discussed prospects for cooperation to address the adverse effects of the pandemic on the Central Asian region during the Aug. 11 virtual extraordinary meeting of the Central Asia + Japan Dialogue. Japanese authorities were the first to initiate the Central Asia…

Abai’s Values Stand Test of Time, Says Kazakh President

NUR-SULTAN – As Kazakhstan celebrated the Day of Abai for the first time on Aug. 10 by commemorating the 175th anniversary of a Kazakh poet and philosopher Abai Kunanbayev, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev reaffirmed Abai’s modern day relevance and importance in uniting the country to withstand difficulties and develop as a nation in his “Abai…

Kazakh Defence Minister Reports on Work of Armed Forces, Military Medical Cooperation With Russia

NUR-SULTAN – Over the course of the pandemic, the Kazakh Armed Forces have been directly engaging the enemy in the fight against the coronavirus infection. Kazakh Defense Minister Nurlan Yermekbayev reported on the state of the armed forces, their accomplished work, as well as Russian-Kazakh military medical cooperation during the Aug. 7 meeting with Kazakh…

Kazakhstan and Turkey Discuss Flight Renewal After Abrupt Seizure Earlier in August

NUR-SULTAN – Following a presidential order, the Kazakh governmental delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Yeraly Tugzhanov arrived to resolve the issue of flight suspensions between Kazakhstan and Turkey on Aug. 7 in Ankara, Turkey, the Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ press service reported. On Aug. 5, Turkey decided to suspend flights with several countries…

Kazakh Talent Stuns American Audience With Series of Brilliant Performances

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh talents have been in the spotlight recently on popular U.S. televised talent shows in the last couple of years. Talent Recap, an independent talent show reviewer wrote a piece on how Kazakh stars took “America by Storm.” Talent Recap website provides analyzes of shows such as America’s Got Talent, The Voice, The…

Kazakhstan Fulfills OPEC+ Obligations, Goes Above and Beyond Expectation for July

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan has reduced its average oil production to 1.313 million barrels per day in July reaffirming its commitment to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreement, reported the Kazakh Energy Ministry. The ministry said Kazakhstan achieved 101 percent conformity to the agreement in July.  “(Kazakhstan’s) participation in OPEC + is aimed at…

Atyrau Resident Transfers His Collection of Ancient Sarmatian Exhibits to Local Museum

NUR-SULTAN – Atyrau resident Rauan Sabirov donated dozens of archaeological exhibits to the Khan Ordaly Saraishyk museum complex in the Atyrau Region. The rarest and most valuable of Sabirov’s finds are bronze arrowheads and a ceramic pot with characteristic recesses belonging to the Sarmatian Iranian-speaking nomadic tribes. This is, the finds date back to the…

Kazakh President Asks Lebanese Counterpart to Ensure Safety of Kazakh Citizens in Beirut

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev asked Lebanese President Michel Aoun to ensure the safety of more than 200 Kazakh citizens including Kazakh UN peacekeeping contingent and diplomats in Beirut during an Aug. 5 telephone conversation, Akorda press service reported. “Given that the explosion caused damage to the building of Kazakhstan’s Diplomatic Mission and slightly…

Kazakh Citizens Stay Safe After Beirut Blast, Embassy to Be Restored, Says Kazakh FM

NUR-SULTAN – The Beirut blast damaged the Kazakh Embassy Office in Lebanon and lightly injured Kazakh Consul Baglan Spabek on Aug. 4 at 6 p.m. at the Beirut seaport base, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ (MFA’s) press service reported. The blast damaged nearby buildings, wrecked cars located several kilometers from the epicenter. It also killed…

Kazakhstan Wins Multi-Million Lawsuit Against Canadian Mining Company at International Arbitration Tribunal

NUR-SULTAN – The International Arbitration Tribunal issued a unanimous decision on the immunity and dismissal of the case initiated in 2016 by Gold Pool, a Canadian junior mining company, against Kazakhstan on July 30, the Kazakh Ministry of Justice press service reported. The plaintiff claimed $917 million regarding the agreement on trust management of the…

Kazakh Government to Distribute 500,000 Computers to Children From Disadvantaged Families to Start New Academic Year

NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh government plans to prepare school students and teachers by Aug. 25 for them to start the 2020-2021 academic year in virtual classrooms. The government will ensure children from the most needy families are equipped with 500,000 personal computers, Kazakh Prime Minister Askar Mamin said during the Aug. 4 government meeting. For…

Kazakh Pop Sensation Dimash Kudaibergen’s Name Launched To Mars on NASA Rover Mission 

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh Popular Singer Dimash Kudaibergen’s name is on a microchip headed  to the red planet aboard the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) Mars Perseverance 2020 rover mission on July 30 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. “A boarding pass with the name of Dimash Kudaibergen was presented by different countries, including…

Kazakh Muslims Provide Over 80,000 Needy Families With Meat With Online Animal Sacrifice

NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh Spiritual Directorate of Muslims (KSDM) distributed sacrificial meat to 81,301 needy families, as well as the elderly, orphanages and hospitals across Kazakhstan, reported the directorate’s press service. The directorate amended the rituals around the annual Kurban Ait (Festival of the Sacrifice), which is known internationally as Eid Al-Adha, due to the…

Kazakh Expert: Abai Kunanbayev’s Philosophy Deserves Special Recognition As Universal School of Thought

NUR-SULTAN – Similar to Confucianism, Kazakh poet and philosopher Abai Kunanbayev’s works should serve as the foundation of an ethical philosophy and program of social values for contemporary Kazakhs and people all over the world, said Gultas Kurmanbay, the director at Ruhani Zhangyru (Modernisation of Kazakhstan’s Identity) culture center and a Kazakh language and literature…