Articles by Zhazira Dyussembekova

ASTANA – Simon Hilditch, a 41-year-old buyer from Glasgow, Scotland, has been a fan of Kazakh football for nearly five years. His Twitter account @kazakh75, which promotes the country and its sport, has more than 2,000 followers. “I became a fan of the club [Kairat] in 2012 when Stuart Duff signed for the club. Duff…

ASTANA – “Travel Book. Kazakhstan,” a unique art project containing 700 of the most interesting facts about the country, was presented as a joint project Sept. 8 by the Foundation of the First President of Kazakhstan – the Leader of the Nation and Green Penguin Agency. Mass sales of the first book about Kazakhstan published…

ASTANA – Annual credit portfolio growth rates in the non-resource economy of Kazakhstan increased from 9 to 19 percent and amounted to 1.9 trillion tenge (US$5.73 billion) as of August, according to analytical service finprom.kz. The economy shows positive signs of recovery as the change has resulted in more loans issued by country’s banks. This…

ASTANA – Head Hunter, Kazakhstan’s leading recruitment website, completed a labour market review to reveal the country’s highest paying jobs. The mining, engineering, IT and agriculture fields top the list, according to the survey. “Today our database, which is the largest in Kazakhstan, has more than 1.2 million candidates and 35,000 employers. This shows that…

ASTANA – The team of the National Research Cardiac Surgery Centre performed Kazakhstan’s first successful lung transplantation on the night of Sept. 23-24, according to the centre’s press service. The operation lasted more than 10 hours. “The success of the transplantation is possible only with the participation of the society and the development of its…

ASTANA – Sultan Karimov, better known as Farleon, has signed a record deal with Don Diablo’s label Hexagon. His track “Fever” will be officially released Oct. 21 on the sub-label of Spinnin’ Records, the Dutch independent label, which will manage and promote the track. “The track will be available on all online platforms, including Spotify,”…

ASTANA – More than 120 films were shown at 20 different venues during this year’s Eurasia International Film Festival in Almaty, with viewings drawing more than 70 international guests to the Sept. 24–30 event.   This year’s festival was organised with the theme, “Love is the foundation of human life and a path for the…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan lost 11 positions in the 2016-2017 Global Competiveness Report issued by the World Economic Forum (WEF). The country was ranked 53rd among 138 nations between Rwanda (52) and Costa Rica (54). “The Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) shows, to date, progress in building an enabling environment for innovation and remains the advantage of…

ASTANA – Asyl Miras, the private foundation formed by Kazakh businessman and equity investor Bulat Utemuratov, opened the country’s fourth centre for children with autism Sept. 21 in Ust-Kamenogorsk, reported Forbes.kz. The other centres are in Almaty, Astana and Kyzylorda. “We want to help children with autism spectrum disorders to socialise and live fully. Our…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan has been ranked 52nd among 159 countries in the Economic Freedom of the World report published Sept. 15 by Fraser Institute. The report is based on 2014 data. “The index published in Economic Freedom of the World measures the degree to which the policies and institutions of countries are supportive of economic…

ASTANA – The Kazakh band Ninety One has topped the chart of Turkish Music Box, according to Tengrinews. Kazakh singer Ali Okapov is in 17th place and the group Kesh You is 20th in the same listing. The music channel’s top 20 chart includes artists from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Uzbekistan. Ninety One is leading…

ASTANA – Aktau Open Fest 2016, held Sept. 15-17, welcomed 100,000 visitors and around 300 athletes, artists and musicians. Organised for the fourth year, the festival was dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s independence. For the first time, the event took place at three different sites. Aktau Open Fest included an art festival, fashion…

ASTANA – Kazakh National Agency for Technological Development has allocated a 4 million tenge (US$11,788) grant to Biostem Company to develop a medicine based on bifidobacterium and lactobacillus, reported Kazinform on Sept. 14. The new drug claims to be a much cheaper probiotic than existing ones on the market. “At the moment the project is…

ASTANA – Diners Club International and Kazakhstan’s largest private bank, Kazkommertsbank, are launching the Diners Club Card business in Kazakhstan, according to a press statement issued Sept. 15. The deal represents a step toward Kazakhstan’s global economic integration, the bank said. “Our collaboration with Diners Club is another step toward the integration of Kazakhstan into…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan won one gold, one silver and placed 58th in total medals out of 168 countries at the Paralympics Games, which ended Sept. 18. Kazakh swimmer Zulfiya Gabidullina became Kazakhstan’s first ever athlete to win gold in the Paralympic Games. The fifty-one-year-old Paralympian set a new world record in the 100 metres freestyle…

ASTANA – S&P Global has affirmed Kazakhstan’s rating at ‘BBB-/A-3,’ according to a press release from Sept. 9. The outlook on long-term ratings remains negative. The agency also projects that the Kazakh economy will return to moderate growth rates in 2017. “We consider that the commodity-dependent economy of Kazakhstan continues to face pressures in an environment…

ASTANA – “Zhambyl. Poet of the Great Steppe,” a book by Eurasian National University Rector Yerlan Sydykov, was presented Aug. 22 in Belgrade. A memorial honouring the famous Kazakh poet and akyn (folksinger) was presented two days later in the same city. University of Belgrade Professor Olga Markovic translated the book, consisting of three sections,…

ASTANA – A rehabilitation centre assisting up to 40 patients with musculoskeletal system diseases will be opened in Pavlodar region, according to pavlodarnews.kz. The city administration indicated everything is nearly ready for the launch, which will be before the Dec. 16 Independence Day. The new centre will be opened within the district hospital in the…

ASTANA – Step into the Void, a glass-bottomed attraction in the Almaty Mountains, will be constructed in 2018-2020, said Almaty city’s tourism department head Timur Duisengaliyev during the Sept. 6 Medeu Invest Forum. “All Almaty residents know where the Shymbulak Ski Resort is located. There is a higher cableway and a black rock called Chkalov’s…

ASTANA – VelofriendsKZ is an open public platform designed to support and unite the cycling movement, as well as develop eco-tourism in Kazakhstan. Launched in the spring, the initiative has already attracted attention and now has several thousand members. “In May 2016, we organised a meet-up with like-minded people where the creation of our community…

ASTANA – Amal-Bio, a Kazakh agricultural company based in Almaty that uses the latest methods and technology in fruit cultivation, is offering Kazakhstan’s first agro tours. “First of all, our agro tours aim to show people how apples are being grown in orchards in Kazakhstan. People can see and touch these apples, to make sure…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan attracted $2.7 billion in foreign direct investment in the first quarter of 2016, according to the statement by Kaznex Invest Chairman Borisbiy Zhangurazov during a briefing at the Central Communications Service (CCS), reported Kapital.kz on Aug. 26. The number is expected to reach $10 billion by the end of the year. “In…

ASTANA – The 12th Eurasia International Film Festival will be held Sept. 24-30 in Almaty. More than 80 films will be shown and Arab films of different genres will be screened for the first time in the festival’s history. The festival will be held under the motto “Love as the basis of human life and…

ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev participated in Building a Nuclear-Free-World, an international conference held Aug. 29 in the capital’s Palace of Independence, where he highlighted Kazakhstan’s achievements and efforts in nuclear disarmament, urged other countries to follow and announced the Astana Peace Summit, which will take place in November. “For a quarter century, based…

ASTANA – More than 121,000 students graduated from high school this year across the country, some of whom will enrol in the capital’s universities. State and private, big and small, all the educational institutions are preparing for the new season. The following are the city’s best known universities. Nazarbayev University Opened in 2010 at the…