Wireless service providers to be prevented from imposing unnecessary services
ASTANA – The Kazakh Ministry of Information and Communications recently announced plans to change the rules regulating telecommunication services to prevent wireless communications services from imposing unnecessary services for users. “The ministry is making changes in the rules. We believe that the amendments are designed to solve many problems that cellular communication subscribers have faced…
Almaty resident invents Kazakh-style Game of Thrones board game
Almaty resident Kobylanda Zhanabekuly has brought “Game of Thrones” to his own country as the inventor of the board game Kazakh Khanate. It has been patented and is unique to the nation. Kazakh Khanate has 40 different tribes across a field representing the three zhuzes (the three largest conglomerations of tribes in the Kazakh nation)…
Kazakh government adopts bill to reduce transactions in foreign currency
The Kazakh government has adopted a bill developed by the National Bank of Kazakhstan to reduce transactions in the country in foreign currency. “The bill is designed to expand the coverage of statistical monitoring of foreign exchange transactions and reduce the use of foreign currency in Kazakhstan,” said bank chair Daniyar Akishev, presenting the bill…
Kazakh freestyle skier Dmitry Reiherd wins silver at World Cup
Kazakh freestyle skier Dmitry Reiherd took the silver in moguls at the World Cup stage in Deer Valley, Utah (USA). He scored 83.66 points, second only to Canadian Mikael Kingsbury (88.80), whose victory was his 13th in a row at the World Cup stages. Australian Matt Graham (82.37) closed the top three. The showing…
Team Astana completes Peruvian stages of Dakar Rally
ASTANA – The final stage of the Dakar 2018 rally on the sandy paths of Peru ended Jan. 10. The route of the fifth stage of the marathon brought racers to the city of Arequipa. For the next stage, the caravan of Dakar racers will travel to Bolivia for routes over 3,000 meters high. According…
Kazakh motor pool is aging
ASTANA – Kazakh vehicles are aging, with the largest share more than 20 years old, according to the 2017 report on vehicle registration dynamics. Two thirds (66 percent) of vehicles re-registered last year were more than 10 years old, while the largest share of registered vehicles (36.2 percent or 398,152 units) is more than 20…
Real estate prices to hold steady, experts say
ASTANA – Representatives of the United Association of Realtors of Kazakhstan said prices for real estate in the country will not show significant changes in 2018, according to inform.kz. “There were no seasonal price changes for several years. The price changes depend on the economic factors of demand. When considering the trends in these factors,…
Internet service providers: parents can control children’s Internet access
ASTANA – The Internet opens wide possibilities for children, however, free access to all websites can pose hazards. While it is technically impossible to make sure a child surfs the web safely, Internet service providers can block access to sites at the request of parents, said Vice Minister of Information and Communications Alan Azhibayev during…
Club of Rome report paints dire picture of future of fossil fuels
ASTANA – The end of the fossil fuel era is inevitable, and will likely arrive sooner than previously predicted. The cost of clean energy, like solar and wind energy, decreases every year, and its production is increasing. Growth in demand for oil will stop by 2020, and if Stanford researcher Tony Seba is right, the…
Kazakh government tests GPS tracking of state-owned vehicles
ASTANA – The Information and Registration Centre is testing a system that would use GPS to track government vehicles, Inform.kz reports. The project will include the use of electronic maps from the www.gosreestr.kz project, which protect the database of information about the movement of vehicles. “If the attempt turns out to be successful, it is…
World Bank names conference hall in Washington after bank’s first female Kazakh employee
ASTANA – The World Bank recently named a conference hall in its Washington offices after the first Kazakh woman hired by the bank. The conference hall was named after Alma Ourazalinova who died in 2015 after battling an illness and who worked for the World Bank for more than two decades. Ourazalinova held a degree…
More than 500,000 Kazakh residents are on travel ban list due to unpaid debts
ASTANA – More than 500,000 Kazakh residents cannot travel overseas because of unpaid debts. As of December 13, 690,529 temporary restrictions have been imposed on travel outside the country, including 164,972 temporary restrictions in 2016 and 229,656 this year, noted a statement released by the Ministry of Justice. According to the law “On enforcement proceedings…
All Kazakh regional centres to be covered with 4G by end of 2017
ASTANA – Deputy Chairman of the State Control Committee in the field of Communications, Informatisation and Mass Media of Kazakhstan Mikhail Komissarov recently announced Kazakhstan hopes to cover all regional centres with 4G by the end of 2017. “The coverage of the population by 3G services amounted to 86.8 percent in 2016. 4G mobile services…
Bank Islam issues bank cards corresponding with Sharia law
ASTANA – Bank Islam recently presented its first cards conforming to the principles and norms of the Sharia law, to the Kazakhstan retail market. The Islamic card is distinguished by the absence of a prohibited percentage – riba, – that is, a ban on the calculation of interest on the balance of funds on the…
TV films to be produced about 100 New Faces
ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s 100 New Faces will become recognisable visages. An equal number of TV films will be made about the programme’s participants and the country’s new heroes will deliver motivational speeches at schools, colleges, universities and youth meetings, said Minister of Information and Communications Dauren Abayev at a public council meeting dedicated to promoting…
Multiple arrests made in suspected laundering of more than $50 million
ASTANA – The interdepartmental investigative and operational group of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the National Security Committee apprehended Nov. 13 in Almaty Iskander Yerimbetov, Vasilina Sokolenko, Dmitriy Pestov and Mikhail Zorov on suspicion of embezzlement and money laundering. The Anti-Corruption Bureau reports that pre-trial investigations were requested by BTA Bank officials about the involvement…
Kazakh ban on anonymous web comments explained
ASTANA – The bill on Amendments and Additions to Some Legislative Acts on Information and Communications prohibiting anonymous Internet comments was explained recently by Minister of Information and Communications Dauren Abayev. The ban is necessary to control statements that incite interethnic discord or negative comments that offend citizens. “We plan to make it possible for…
Nazarbayev discusses energy projects with Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron management
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev recently discussed the status of energy projects in Kazakhstan, including the Karachaganak and Kashagan fields, with Chief Executive Director of the Royal Dutch Shell Ben van Berden and Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Chevron John Watson. Van Buren noted that Nov. 18 marked the 20th…
National Chamber of Entrepreneurs head calls for limiting tax increases
ASTANA – Increases in social taxes could provoke businesses to turn to the black market to avoid payment, Chairman of Presidium of Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs Timur Kulibayev said at the Nov. 29 meeting of the presidium. “The government keeps raising some payments. So we have more than 40 percent of the so-called pressure,…
President Nazarbayev to meet with 100 new faces project participants
ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev will meet with the participants in the 100 new faces project, said Minister of Information and Communications Dauren Abayev at an international parliamentary conference devoted to the Day of First President of Kazakhstan. “We have completed the first stage of the project, choosing 102 persons throughout the country. The…
Kazakhstan exports more than 800 goods to 113 countries
ASTANA – Kazakhstan exports more than 800 manufactured products to 113 countries, ranking 52nd among the largest exporting countries, said Minister for Investment and Development Zhenis Kassymbek. The government plans to increase the nation’s non-oil exports by 50 percent by 2025. “Today, Kazakhstan ranks 52nd among the largest exporting countries; in total, we export over…
Mazhilis reviews draft bill on repeated debt restructuring
ASTANA – Deputies of the Mazhilis, the lower house of the Kazakh Parliament, recently reviewed the draft bill on repeated restructuring of the debt owed by the Georgian government. Majilis chair Nurlan Nigmatullin urged the nation’s Ministry of Finance to advance the negotiations on similar debts involving other countries. Georgia took the $27.774-million loan in…
International journalists tour major Kazakh cities
ASTANA – More than 20 foreign journalists toured around Astana, Almaty, Shymkent and Turkestan as part of a week-long press tour initiated by Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Culture and Sports. The press tour aimed to help the journalists get a broad view of Kazakhstan’s cultural diversity and potential. “The Kazakh Foreign Ministry arranges press…
Kazakh Agency for Civil Service and Anti-Corruption reports on 2017 activities
ASTANA – Chairman of the Agency for Civil Service and Anti-Corruption Kairat Kozhamzharov briefed Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev on the agency’s activities for the last 10 months, including efforts to carry out anticorruption policies, according to Akorda’s press service. Kozhamzharov also mentioned international commendation for Kazakhstan’s efforts “For 10 months of the current year, 3,400…
Central Asian nation leaders to be invited to Kazakh capital for Nauryz celebration
ASTANA – Heads of Central Asian countries are to be invited to Astana for the Nauryz celebrations in March, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Kairat Abdrakhmanov said during the Nov. 27 international parliamentary conference dedicated to the Day of the First President of Kazakhstan. “We will work with all our neighbours to put into…
