Flydubai to Service Astana, Increases Flights to Central Asian Destinations
ASTANA – United Arab Emirates (UAE) airline Flydubai will increase the number of its flights to the Central Asian region. The Dubai-based airline will be Kazakhstan’s first two-flight-per-week UAE carrier, according to a Nov. 2 company press release. “It has been a year since the start of our operations in Kazakhstan and we are pleased…
FC Astana Fights to Second Consecutive Kazakhstan Championship, Beats Aktobe at Home 1:0
ASTANA – The Astana Football Club (FC) beat Aktobe 1:0 on Nov. 8 to win its second consecutive national championship in Astana. FC Astana bombarded Aktobe with attacks from the first minutes of the game in front of the 8,200-person home crowd in a one-sided match, but managed to get only one past Aktobe goal…
Online Registration Opens for Almaty Marathon
ASTANA – The Almaty Marathon, the annual charity marathon, which is to be held in Almaty Nov. 21 starting from the Park of the First President and finishing at the Central Stadium, has opened online registration at almaty-marathon.kz, Tengrinews.kz reported. The event is a 42-kilometre and 195-metre marathon. “Healthy lifestyle enthusiasts of any age or…
Kazakhstan Hopes to Send 100 Athletes to 2016 Rio Summer Olympics
ASTANA – More than 100 Kazakh athletes will represent their country during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Vice Minister of Sports and Culture Saken Mussaibekov said during a briefing at the Central Communications Services on Oct. 30. “Our main goal in the near future is the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro,” he said during…
Tricks of the Trade: How Astana Restaurateurs Try to Improve Service Sector
ASTANA – It is no secret that city restaurants have been slow to reach the level of five-star service. Many patrons have experienced poor service in the young capital, at some places even rude and ignorant staff. The list of spots where customers are not adequately appreciated could be a long one, and knowing the…
Astana Marriott Hosts ‘Day of Spiritual Harmony’ for Special Needs Children
ASTANA – A Day of Spiritual Harmony was held at the Astana Marriott hotel on Oct. 18 to highlight a moratorium on conflicts and clashes. This is the day of reconciliation, mercy and help, Astana Marriott’s press release noted. Children were greeted with funny memes accompanied by a magic bubble show; later, they worked on…
Atlético Madrid Beats Astana 4:0 to Claim Top Spot in Group C
ASTANA – Atlético Madrid thrashed Football Club (FC) Astana in front of a home crowd Oct. 21 to claim the top spot in Group C alongside Benfica, who lost to Galatasaray 1:2 the same night. Both teams now have six points and are at the top of the table; however, Atlético beat Benfica on goals…
Golovkin Continues KO Streak by Stopping Lemieux in Eighth Round
ASTANA – Gennady “GGG” Golovkin stopped David Lemieux (34-3, 31 KOs) in the eighth round, Oct. 17, in front of a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden (MSG) in New York City. The win improved his record to 34-0-0 with 31 knockouts, 21 in a row. If there are two words to describe Golovkin’s fights,…
Kazakh TV Director Hopeful of Medium’s Future in Face of Mobile Tech, Economic Challenges
ASTANA – On the threshold of Kazakh TV’s 13th anniversary on Oct. 23, The Astana Times had an opportunity to interview its director, Andrei Tarakov, to learn about the channel, its content and future plans. The channel has become a link between the numerous ethno-cultural associations abroad and those at home by promoting the cultural…
Nation’s Charitable Organisations Attempt to Boost Philanthropic Culture
ASTANA – There are thousands of charity funds in Kazakhstan, but none is receiving enough aid from those who are prosperous. To encourage citizens to share, a new bill was drafted in March which stipulates a tax decrease for those who give to charities, but charity organisations are not too hopeful about its ramifications. “The new…
Kazakhstan Loses to Netherlands, Beats Latvia in Euro 2016 Qualifiers
ASTANA – After trailing 0:2 to the Dutch during their game on Astana Arena on Oct. 10, the Kazakhs managed to score in the last minute of added time to have a consolation goal. The game started in an aggressive manner right from the first minute as Yuri Logvinenko was shown a yellow card in…
Kazakhstan Loses to Netherlands in Euro 2016 Qualifier at Home
ASTANA – After trailing 0:2 to the Dutch during their game at Astana Arena on Oct. 10, the Kazakhs managed to score in the last minute of added time to have a consolation goal. The game started in an aggressive manner, as Yuri Logvinenko was shown a yellow card in the first minute for a…
Experts Discuss Challenges of Introducing Trilingual Education System in Schools
ASTANA – Experts discussed the introduction of a trilingual (Kazakh, Russian and English) system of education in schools during roundtable talks by the analytical group, the Club Institute of Political Decisions (CIPD), reported Tengrinews. The specialists believe such a programme would grant children access to a wider scope of available information and technologies. Some experts, however,…
Kazakh Rising Star Elizabet Tursynbayeva Ready to Continue Country’s Figure Skating Legacy
ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s winter sports popularity continues despite recently losing the chance to host the Winter Olympics in Almaty in 2022 by only a few votes. After the country’s Sochi 2014 Olympics figure skating success, where Kazakh trailblazer Denis Ten took the first-ever Olympic figure skating bronze for his country, the nation’s aspirations have been…
Kazakh Students Provide Eight Senegalese Villages with Water
ASTANA, Oct. 2 – Graduates of the Kazakh-Turkish Lyceum in Astana have financially supported the drilling of water wells in Senegal to help the inhabitants of eight small villages in the African nation. One of the graduates, Askhat Bobey, wrote on his Facebook account about the project. “Some may wonder: Why Africa? We don’t have…
FC Astana Brings Football Frenzy to Capital, Draws with Galatasaray in Champions League Encounter
ASTANA – Football Club (FC) Astana inspired the entire nation Sept. 30 in a home game against Turkish Galatasaray, when the team unexpectedly drew 2:2 in the last minute of the nail-biting match after trailing by one goal throughout the game. The roller-coaster of a match started somewhat slow, relative to early predictions by fans…
Notary, Banking and Tax System Among Doing Business Challenges in Kazakhstan
ASTANA – Running a private business can be a challenge itself, while running a business in a foreign country doubles or even triples the pressure. The Astana Times decided to take a deeper look into some of the challenges of running a business in Kazakhstan and interviewed one successful entrepreneur in Astana – Ben Godwin,…
Annual National Cuisine and Culture Festival Kicks Off in Almaty
ASTANA – The third annual Festival of Kazakh National Cuisine and Traditions and Cultures of the Peoples of Kazakhstan called Toi Kazan was held recently at Almaty’s Alatau Skiing and Biathlon Complex. The festival was dedicated to the 550th anniversary of the Kazakh Khanate, the 20th anniversary of the Constitution of Kazakhstan and the 20th…
Successful Italian Restaurateur Sees “Enormous Potential” for Business in Kazakhstan
ASTANA – The mentality of the people and the enormous potential were the two big reasons that compelled Enrico Nappini to do something he has not regretted: to found the Italian restaurant Pane & Vino in Astana, which turned out to be one of the best and most frequented among others. “I started my career…
Astana’s Ark of Taste Conference Seeks to Preserve National Dishes
ASTANA – In today’s fast-paced world, having a quick bite has become a regular thing. Food courts are overpopulated with fast-food outlets and people often pay little attention to what they eat while on the go. A recent conference, however, reminded city residents of their favourite traditional foods. “The Ark of Taste in Kazakhstan” was…
Ski Federation Eager to Start Season under New Management
ASTANA – The winter season is right around the corner and unfortunate as it may seem for some, winter sports lovers are surely excited. For Ski Federation of Kazakhstan (SFK) President Vladimir Smirnov, who has spent his whole life on skis, this just means setting new goals for the organisation and preparing to popularise the…
Kazakhstan Draws with Iceland 0:0, Loses to Czech Republic 1:2 in Group A UEFA EURO 2016 Qualifier
ASTANA – Iceland recently drew with Kazakhstan and advanced to the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) EURO 2016 with two games still remaining in Group A. Kazakhstan withstood 12 attempts on the net from Iceland, but managed to stand strong in a lopsided game. In three of Kazakhstan’s own attempts, they saw no result.…
China, Kazakhstan to Intensify Bilateral Collaboration
ASTANA – China and Kazakhstan agreed during a recent state visit by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev to Beijing to launch 45 new projects, including 23 projects worth $23 billion, according to Akorda.kz. Nazarbayev also noted that such high-level meetings between the two nations will improve bilateral relations. “I consider this visit a turning point in…
Nationwide Effort to Improve Local Policing to Begin in January 2016
ASTANA – A nationwide effort to improve local policing throughout the country will begin Jan. 1, 2016, Chairman of the Committee of Administrative Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan Igor Lepekha said at a recent briefing at the Central Communications Services. “It is assumed, or rather, we have been tasked to assure…
ATOM Project, Judo Veterans of Astana Hold Minute of Silence for Victims of Nuclear Tests
ASTANA – The ATOM Project team jointly with the Federation of Judo Veterans of Astana held a minute of silence and released 500 white balloons to commemorate the victims of nuclear tests on UN International Day Against Nuclear Testing Aug. 29 in front of the Alau Sports Palace Alau where the Judo World Championship was…
