Astana enters top three May Day CIS travel destinations
ASTANA – Minsk, Baku and Astana were the most popular Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) travel destinations for the May Day holidays, according to Russian booking service Tvil.ru. The cities were followed by Yerevan (Armenia), Almaty, Tashkent (Uzbekistan), Chisinau (Moldova), Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), Dushanbe (Tajikistan) and Ashgabat (Turkmenistan) in the rating based on an April 29-May…
Seven-year-old Kazakh boy becomes world chess champion in relevant category
ASTANA – Seven-year-old Dinmukhamed Tulendinov from Kazakhstan came out on top in the under-seven category at the recent FIDE World School Chess Championship in Durres, Albania. The competition welcomed 387 participants from 40 countries competing in 12 categories from U7 to U17. Tulendinov is a student at the Zhansaya Abdumalik Chess Academy, one of the…
Kazakh President congratulates nation on May 1 holiday
ASTANA – President Nursultan Nazarbayev congratulated the nation May 1 on the Kazakh People’s Day of Unity. “This truly national celebration is a vivid symbol of our patriotism, love and devotion to our native land. Due to unity and harmony, we have achieved great success in building an independent state, having earned high prestige and…
Mazhilis meeting discusses Aral Sea protection in modern Central Asia
ASTANA – The Aral Sea problem and measures to mitigate the consequences of the drying sea were recently discussed at a meeting on the protection of water resources of trans-boundary rivers in the Mazhilis (lower house of Parliament) in Astana. The Central Asian countries intend to persuade Kyrgyzstan to unfreeze its participation in the International…
Mazhilis approves amendments to intellectual property rights legislation
ASTANA – Registration of intellectual property rights will soon be simplified as the Kazakh Mazhilis (lower house of Parliament) approved April 24 amendments on intellectual property legislation in the second reading during a plenary meeting. “Amendments to the draft law are made to create a basis for arranging social relations related to intellectual property rights…
Kazakhstan and South Korea to increase turnover
ASTANA – A Kazakh delegation met in Seoul with representatives of major South Korean business companies in conjunction with the April 17 agreement between the countries’ foreign ministers. They agreed to boost IT, investment, mining and building projects and increase trade turnover. The mission, led by Vice Minister for Investment and Development Arystan Kabikenov, negotiated…
Some electricity users in Kazakhstan to be charged more in 2018
ASTANA – Some electricity users in Kazakhstan might be shocked to learn that domestic electric power prices have recently increased. As of March, Kazakh citizens using electric stoves pay 1,216 tenge, 1,566 tenge and 1,903 tenge for 100 kilowatts per hour for consumption levels one, two and three respectively. Tariffs are differentiated into three levels…
World thought leaders to gather for new Astana Economic Forum
ASTANA – The former President of France and the former Secretary-General of the United Nations and other international thought leaders will gather in Astana May 17-19 for the 11th Astana Economic Forum (AEF). The name of the forum is being changed this year to the Global Challenges Summit (GCS) 2018, says a press release by…
Medical spending up 22 percent among Kazakh population, says report
ASTANA – A recent report revealed people in Kazakhstan increased their spending on treatment 22 percent, reported finprom.kz. Approximately 14 percent of the total volume of medical services were covered by patients themselves who paid 42.8 billion tenge (US$131.4 million) in total. Their spending hiked 22.4 percent within a year, indicating the biggest increase. Demand…
Inclusive design centre opens in Astana
ASTANA – Wheelchair user, blogger and Elaman Social Fund for Social Innovation Projects chairperson Almaz Yerzhan knows the challenges of getting around the capital. His project, an inclusive design centre to help wheelchair users find jobs and adapt socially, recently opened in the city. The fund received support from the capital administration to create a…
Kazakhstan resolves all Central Asian border issues, announces Kazakh President
ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s national borders with all bordering Central Asian nations have been legally delineated and all border issues have been resolved, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev announced after a recent meeting of five Central Asian nation presidents. “The key point is that Kazakhstan finally finished the agreement on demarcation of our borders. We started from…
Bollywood to shoot movie about Mangistau region
ASTANA – A Bollywood film company will shoot a movie about the Mangistau region famous for its historical sights, Akim (Governor) of the Mangistau region Yeraly Tugzhanov announced recently. “We made prior agreements with Bollywood on shooting a movie about the Mangistau region. I think it is a splendid place that has no analogues,” he…
Kazakh clothing manufacturers fail to meet national demand, says report
ASTANA – Kazakhstan needs to increase its domestic clothing production to meet national demand, reports Energyprom.kz. In January, domestic manufacturers matched 19.3 percent of national demand for hosiery and 16.9 percent for sportswear. Poor performance is observed in other segments, where production meets only 1-2 percent of the country’s demand. During the first two months…
Hiring US forensic experts in Tokmadi case was Yerkin Tatishev’s idea
ASTANA – Yerkin Tatishev, the brother of late BTA Bank chair Yerzhan Tatishev, who was killed during a winter hunt in 2004, told Forbes.kz he was the one who pushed to hire U.S. forensic and firearms experts to examine his brother’s death. “Hiring American experts on behalf of our family was my idea. To avoid…
Kazakhstan to build university hospitals in Almaty and Karaganda
ASTANA – The Kazakh government plans to build two university hospitals using public-private partnerships, Minister of the Healthcare Yelzhan Birtanov announced during a recent government meeting. The construction of a hospital with 300 beds will be linked to Asfendiyarov Kazakh National Medicine University (KazNMU) and an integrated clinic in Almaty will involve Karaganda Medicine University.…
Shymkent oil refinery reconstruction to end in May
ASTANA – The Shymkent oil processing plant (SOPP) reconstruction will last for one additional month and the interim shutdown will not affect the Kazakh fuel supply, said Vice Minister of Energy Makhambet Dosmukhambetov during the 2018-2020 draft budget presentation. “The reconstruction will proceed according to plan. It will not affect the budget or the fuel…
Kazakhstan has ‘zero tolerance’ policy on torture, officials tell European parliamentarians
ALMATY – Kazakh officials briefed European parliamentarians, representatives of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the media April 16 on the country’s effort to prevent domestic torture and protect citizens’ human rights, Almaty Internal Affairs Department reported. Senior representatives of the Kazakh ministries of internal affairs and foreign affairs, as well as Prosecutor General’s Office and National…
Kazakh Majilis approves foreign currency regulation bill
ASTANA – The Kazakh Majilis, the lower house of the nation’s Parliament, recently ratified the draft bill intended to strengthen foreign currency operations prone to withdrawing capital from the country. In presenting the bill to the Majilis deputies, Kazakh National Bank Chair Daniyar Akishev noted it identifies a list of capital outflow-related operations. “This includes…
Tatishev’s family publishes statement praising justice in Tokmadi case
ASTANA – The family of Yerzhan Tatishev, the chair of BTA Bank killed in 2004 by Muratkhan Tokmadi, published a statement in Forbes.kz April 5 thanking all those involved in the case for finally bringing it to justice. “Yerzhan lives in our hearts. Today, when the verdict entered into force and the criminals pleaded guilty,…
Foreign currency mortgages to be converted to tenge, older mortgages to receive payment support
ASTANA – The National Bank of Kazakhstan updated March 27 the nation’s mortgage loan refinancing programme to convert foreign currency mortgage loans to tenge and help ease the debt burden on mortgage loans issued between 2004 2009. “Amendments and additions to the programme consist of two blocks. The first one is meant to implement the…
Kazakh President briefed on Astana’s development progress, 20th anniversary preparations
ASTANA – As Astana prepares for its 20th anniversary, President Nursultan Nazarbayev was briefed on the progress of Astana infrastructure improvements and the development of amenities for the public during an April 3 visit to Astanagenplan, the scientific and research institute that is developing the general plan for the capital. The President was also briefed…
SCAT Airlines receives IOSA security certificate
ASTANA – SCAT Airlines has become a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the company’s press service announced March 24. The association represents the interests of the air transport industry in such areas as flight safety, flight operations, tariff policy, maintenance, aviation security and the development of international standards in conjunction with the…
Kazakh athletes with visual impairments to bike to Paris
ASTANA – Kazakh athletes with visual impairments plan to bike this year from Astana to Paris. The tour aims to highlight the problems of accessibility and popularise sports among those with disabilities. “We want to draw attention to the problems of sports accessibility for people with disabilities. Also, in our opinion, the exchange of experiences…
High water remains across Kazakhstan, as government continues to take preventive measures
ASTANA – Rescuers evacuated 97 people March 28 from Polkovnichiy Island in Semei in eastern Kazakhstan affected by heavy rainfall and intensive snow melting. Six others refused evacuation. The natural phenomenon has wreaked havoc across Kazakhstan since early March and high water still remains across Kazakhstan. Kazhydromet national weather service reported floods are expected in…
Kazakhstan completes establishment of diplomatic relations with all Latin American countries
ASTANA – Kazakhstan established diplomatic relations with Barbados March 27 during the ceremony of the exchange of documents in Ottawa. Barbados is 184th state globally and the last state of the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region to establish diplomatic relations with Kazakhstan, according to the press service of the Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs.…
