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Despite the body positivity movement — and society’s stated embrace of «natural» beauty — attractive people continue to achieve greater career success. Why does appearance remain an unspoken requirement for employers? And why hasn’t remote work reduced the pressure to look good?

Read also: Big boy summer: Why larger men are 2026’s biggest trend.

As Business Insider reports, corporate culture rarely acknowledges the role of appearance in career advancement. Still, numerous studies show that attractive people are more likely to be trusted, hired and promoted more quickly.

The rise of the...

A Hungarian national named Daniel was rescued from a life-threatening situation during a trip in Kazakhstan, as his journey took an unexpected turn and nearly ended in hypothermia on a deserted road, Polisia.kz reported. The incident occurred at the 231st kilometer of the Shetpe-Say-Otes highway near the Manat Pass.

Help at the Manat Pass

The lone traveler was spotted by highway patrol officers walking under heavy rain toward Aktau. Traveling on foot in this area is a risky venture, so Captains Yerbol Zhalgassov and Abish Taimanov pulled up immediately.

As it turned out, Daniel decided...

Cheng Li-wun, chair of Taiwan’s opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party, is set to travel to China this week, describing the visit as a «peace mission.» Meanwhile, Beijing is intensifying efforts to promote what it calls «reunification,» and it remains unclear whether Cheng will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, Reuters reported.

China, which considers Taiwan its territory, calls the island’s current government «separatists» and continues to mount military pressure in the region. In turn, the KMT is trying to ease tensions with its powerful neighbor. It has effectively delayed a government proposal for $40 billion in additional defense spending, a move...

Kazakhstan ranks first among Central Asian countries in per capita military spending. According to the 2026 Global Firepower findings cited by Energyprom, the figure stands at $288.10 per person annually, outpacing its regional neighbors.

By comparison, Turkmenistan spends $254.7 per capita, Uzbekistan $170, while Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan trail with $106 and $43.3, respectively.

Globally, military expenditures continue to rise. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reports that the world’s defense budget has surpassed $2.6 trillion, increasing steadily amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.

When measured per capita, countries with a strong focus on defense top the ranking...

Ringo Starr, the 85-year-old former member of legendary British rock band The Beatles, has shared a surprisingly simple tip for staying energetic: eat more broccoli, Euronews reports.

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, he joked that many of his good qualities come down to the vegetable, adding his own twist to his famous phrase: «peace and love and broccoli.»

The vegetable is widely praised for being rich in calcium, vitamin K and fiber while remaining low in calories. These qualities support bone health, digestion and overall metabolism.

For many longtime Beatles fans, Starr’s advice may...

A video has gone viral showing a person in white socks and a white hoodie — not looking like a shepherd — walking into a body of water to help a foal reach the shore. According to the caption, the incident occurred along the Bayanaul-Pavlodar highway.

In the comment section, users praised the man’s actions and thanked him for his empathy.

“A herd grazing freely? Where are the shepherds? Bravo to the man! After all, an unfamiliar mare protecting her foal could easily kick. What a brave guy,” a Threads user commented.

Bioparque Buinzoo, a private zoo in Santiago, Chile, held an annual «Easter egg» hunt for its animals on Easter Sunday, April 5, The Associated Press reported.

The event serves both as entertainment for visitors and environmental enrichment for the animals, encouraging them to engage in natural hunting and foraging behavior.

The «Easter eggs» were packages decorated to look like eggs and filled with food appropriate to each species. They were also placed in ways designed to trigger natural behaviors. For instance, treats for felines were hung from tree branches to encourage climbing...

Chinese blogger Tao Mingxiu, known online as Tao Tao, has been awarded Kazakhstan’s Dostyk Order, 2nd Class, for promoting the country abroad.

The award was presented by Aida Balayeva, Kazakhstan’s deputy prime minister and minister of culture and information.

Tao Mingxiu received the honor for promoting Kazakhstan in the Chinese media space, showcasing its cultural heritage and tourism potential, and strengthening humanitarian ties between Kazakhstan and China.

Read also: China’s panda diplomacy meets its Kazakh twin — ‘Saiga diplomacy.’

Balayeva highlighted the significance of the blogger’s work, saying the...

Kazakhstan has delivered its first batch of halal-certified products to Saudi Arabia after receiving official accreditation, becoming the first country in Central Asia to obtain such certification from the kingdom.

Access to a demanding market

Saudi Arabia is one of the most stringent markets for halal products, according to KazStandard. Gaining certification opens the door not only to the Saudi market but also to broader opportunities across the Persian Gulf region.

Read also: How Ramadan is reshaping global retail.

In November 2025, the Kazakhstan Institute of Standardization and Metrology...

Kyrgyz authorities are considering putting the construction of a nuclear power plant to a nationwide referendum, according to local media reports.

Preparatory phase underway

Bishkek is not yet launching the project itself but is focusing on preliminary steps, including infrastructure development and workforce training.

Read also: Why Russia’s Rosatom is the undisputed pick for Kazakhstan’s first nuclear plant.

Negotiations are ongoing with Rosatom on building necessary infrastructure and preparing specialists. The cabinet said only after these discussions are completed will the issue of actual construction be considered.

Public vote planned

Authorities...

World champion Magnus Carlsen drew mixed reactions after a brief incident involving Kazakh player Alua Nurman at the Grenke Chess Festival in Germany.

Pre-match selfie sparks dispute

Before their face-to-face game, Nurman took out her phone and asked Carlsen for a selfie. He agreed and smiled for the photo. Shortly afterward, however, he approached tournament arbiters and requested that her phone be confiscated, World Chess reported. Officials removed the device, and Carlsen went on to win the match.

A hydrocarbon field comparable in scale to the Kashagan oil field could be discovered at significant depths on the Zhylyoi platform, according to Kurmangazy Iskaziyev, first deputy CEO of KazMunayGas (KMG), Kazakhstan’s national oil and gas company.

Exploration is expected to target depths of between 5 and 9 kilometers.

Large-scale resource potential

Iskaziyev said the company’s strategic focus is the Zhylyoi carbonate platform and the broader carbonate basin, including Karaton, Kazhygali and Zhylyoi.

He estimated the total resource potential of the massif at about 4.7 billion tons of hydrocarbons, noting that its geological potential is...

On April 3, the skies over Antalya, Turkey, turned orange due to a powerful dust storm. The phenomenon was most noticeable in Alanya, where the city looked as if it were in the desert, Antalya Hakkinda reported.

The phenomenon was caused by dust from North Africa, carried across the Mediterranean Sea by strong winds. Earlier, the same dust cloud reached Crete and parts of Greece, where the sky also turned red.

@antalyahakkindaresmi Antalya’nın Alanya ilçesinde çöl tozu etkili oluyor. #antalya

A man in Uzbekistan bought his wife a solid-gold toilet as a present, but the gift didn’t win her admiration. The product weighs around 29 kilograms and is made of 999 fine gold.

Since the reception wasn’t what he’d hoped for, the man decided to sell it to a pawnshop.

A video spreading across social media shows the man bringing the toilet to gold buyers, where they reveal its weight and fineness. The pawn shop estimated the product at roughly $4.5 million.

Toyota, Japan’s largest automaker, is set to sell its U.S.-manufactured Tundra and Highlander models in Japan, having already started with Tokyo, the company said in a press release.

Sales of the Tundra pickup truck and the Highlander SUV began in Tokyo on April 2, with planned expansion across Japan in the summer of 2026. The pickup is produced at Toyota’s plant in Texas, and the Highlander is manufactured in Indiana.

The development became possible due to a new system, effective since Feb. 16, 2026, that allows vehicles manufactured in the U.S. to be sold in Japan...

Kazakhstan’s service sector showed signs of recovery in March, as the headline Freedom Holding Corp. PMI Business Activity Index rose from 48.0 in February to 49.2. This indicates a softer and only slight decline in output across the sector.

Recovering demand and new clients

The milder decline in service sector output was supported by a marginal but renewed increase in new business. Following a moderate contraction in the previous survey period, new orders expanded in March. Respondents attributed the increase to new client acquisitions and improving underlying demand conditions.

Although the upturn was only slight, growth has now been recorded...

A furry «employee» – a cat wearing a collar and tie – has recently appeared at a hotel in Tashkent.

The whiskered «manager» has quickly become a local attraction. Visitors say he comes out into the lobby in the evenings to greet guests. Commenters joke that the cat can handle almost any request like a true manager — as long as payment comes in the form of treats.

«It seems the cat is even eligible for a loan,» «He looks like a real boss — so handsome,» «Now I have to fly to Tashkent just...

LEGO has released an ad timed to the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup, featuring football’s biggest stars.

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Jr. appear in the video alongside their LEGO mini-figure counterparts.

In the video, the footballers sit around a table, building the World Cup trophy, each attempting to place his mini-figure on top. At the end, a teenager steps in, puts his figure on top and completes the assembly.

A Kazakhstani citizen, Timur Kalin, has appealed to the Constitutional Court of Kazakhstan seeking permission to use marijuana at home, arguing that it is a private matter. The court declined to consider his claim.

Read also: Cannabis whiplash: As Thailand bans pot, Kazakhstan bets on industrial cultivation.

The case began after Kalin was fined and placed under medical supervision for cannabis use. He disputed the penalty and said he would challenge it publicly.

The man argued that he had not used marijuana in a public place, had not disturbed...

A court in Astana has heard a case filed by a citizen seeking to change his recorded ethnicity to that of his grandmother in order to participate in Germany’s resettlement program.

The man attempted to change his ethnicity from Italian to German but was denied, as his father is ethnically Italian and his mother is Russian. In Kazakhstan, ethnicity is typically determined based on parental background. As a result, he appealed the decision in court.

During the hearing, the plaintiff stated that his paternal grandmother is of German origin and argued that Kazakhstani law allows for changes in ethnicity under...

Kazakh highway operator KazAvtoZhol has started equipping toll roads with laser systems designed to reduce nighttime accident rates and help drivers traveling on long, monotonous journeys.

‘Safety light’ locations

The installation is underway on 22 sections of major highways, including:

and other heavily used routes.

How it works

Special equipment projects bright lines of light onto the road ahead of the vehicle. This is more than just decoration: lasers create clear visual cues where road markings may be difficult to see in low-light conditions, fog or snow.

The technology’s...

Murat Abenov, a member of the Mazhilis, the lower house of Kazakhstan’s parliament, has criticized an initiative to soften punishment for Kazakh citizens who fought in foreign wars as mercenaries. He described the proposal as a threat to national security.

«A mercenary is a professional killer. He does not act out of a sense of duty to his homeland, but leaves the country and may later serve hostile forces or terrorist groups that pose a threat to us,» the MP said.

What will happen when mercenaries return?

According to Abenov, individuals who fought abroad...

Pseudo-religious figures on social media are undermining national values and threatening social stability, Kazakh lawmaker Yermurat Bapi has warned in a parliamentary inquiry addressed to the prosecutor general of Kazakhstan.

Concerns over online religious content

Bapi said cases of propaganda linked to what he described as destructive religious movements are becoming more frequent.

He cited a recent online podcast in which a man, not affiliated with official religious institutions and identifying himself as an imam, claimed to have multiple wives and said he had «given» one of them to a student.

According to Bapi, such...

Menopause is a natural stage in a woman’s life, yet it remains surrounded by misconceptions and unnecessary fears. Here’s what you need to know — and what to ignore.

What happens during menopause

Menopause marks the end of menstrual cycles. During this time, the ovaries reduce production of estrogen and progesterone, leading to hormonal changes that can affect the menstrual cycle, body temperature, mood, sleep, skin and bone health.

Myth 1: Menopause starts suddenly

In reality, menopause is preceded by a transitional phase known as perimenopause, which can last several years. During this period, cycles may...