News

Poorly made animated film «Niu Lai» (English: «Here Comes the Cow») has unexpectedly emerged as one of the main phenomena in Chinese cinema distribution. Following its failed debut, viewers began actively discussing the movie on social media, boosting its box office from several thousand yuan to millions within a few days. Kursiv LifeStyle takes a look at how a low-quality animation turned an unknown cartoon into a viral hit.

«Niu Lai» was released in Chinese cinemas on Aug. 5. During the first few days of screenings, the film did not seem likely to succeed, as over...

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations has installed special containers equipped with emergency supplies in case tourists get stranded or encounter emergencies in the highlands.

The emergency supply boxes, labeled in three languages, are located near new orange observation posts. The boxes contain a first-aid kit, matches and cooking supplies, including self-heating meals, stew, porridge, rusks, a bundle of firewood and 10 liters of water.

Tourists who get lost may use the contents to survive until help arrives or contact with family members is restored. The ministry noted that installing such boxes improves safety in the highlands.

For early-career workers, securing a lucrative starting salary is only one part of the economic equation. A recent ranking by World Population Review highlights how factors such as housing costs, tax rates and career advancement shape what young professionals can realistically achieve. Today, the most appealing job markets are those that successfully merge professional opportunity with long-term stability.

Traditional career strongholds

Switzerland remains a premier European destination by successfully combining high pay with an exceptional quality of life. Swiss cities like Zurich and Basel offer highly competitive compensation in sectors such as biotechnology, banking and pharmaceuticals...

Johnny Depp could return as Captain Jack Sparrow in the sixth installment of «Pirates of the Caribbean.» Producer Jerry Bruckheimer confirmed that the filmmakers are in talks with the actor. At the same time, the project is still at the script stage. Kursiv LifeStyle explores why the sixth «Pirates of the Caribbean» film has yet to enter production stage after nearly 10 years.

If Johnny Depp returns, his Jack Sparrow is expected to be a side character. The main story is anticipated to focus on Margot Robbie’s protagonist.

«We’re talking with Johnny...

Freedom Insurance has grown nearly tenfold in five years, offset billions in auto insurance losses through digitalization and is now preparing to launch an insurance marketplace. In an interview with Kursiv.media, Freedom Insurance CEO Azamat Kerimbayev explained why auto insurance rates are set to rise by more than 40% for half of Kazakhstan’s drivers and how artificial intelligence (AI) assesses vehicle damage from photos.

– In February, you said Freedom Insurance’s goal was to capture 25% of the market by 2030. Are you still on track?

– We doubled our annual growth through 2025 and currently hold about...

The Kazakh government has allocated 40.7 billion tenge (around $88 million) for geological exploration and the search for promising mineral deposits. The work is planned for 2026-2028 and will focus on gold, copper, lithium, rare earth elements and other strategically important resources, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Industry and Construction reported.

The country continues to expand its geological and geophysical coverage. By the end of 2026, the area covered by geological and geophysical surveys is expected to reach 2.2 million square kilometers. In addition, authorities plan to complete work surveys at 25 sites. One of the key areas will be a transition...

Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Operating Company (KEGOC) significantly improved its financial performance in the first half of 2026, reporting a 59.4% year-on-year increase in net profit to 54.6 billion tenge. In the second quarter alone, net profit rose 35.3% to 21.3 billion tenge.

Overall, KEGOC’s revenue from January to June increased 31.1% to 240.1 billion tenge. Gross profit jumped 70.5% to 87.5 billion tenge, while operating profit rose 58.7% to 72 billion tenge. Profit before tax reached 68.4 billion tenge, up 62% year-on-year.

The company also posted growth across all key financial metrics in the second quarter. Revenue rose...

American actress Hayden Panettiere, known for her roles in the TV series «Heroes» and «Nashville,» has died at the age of 36. Kursiv LifeStyle explores what is known about the actress’s death and her career.

The actress’s father, Skip Panettiere, was the first to announce her death. The family has not yet disclosed the cause of death. In a statement, her relatives described Hayden as someone who brought love and joy to her loved ones and to millions of viewers who knew her through her work on screen.

Panettiere began her acting career as a child. In the 1990s, she...

UAE investors, including Emirates Global Education Investment Group, Mazrui International and SABIS Holding, have opened a new educational facility in Astana — SABIS International School – Astana.

The $30 million project was implemented at the request of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev following his visit to the UAE and with support from KAZAKH INVEST and Astana’s education authorities. Investors ultimately plan to allocate up to $45 million to the school, which occupies a 9-hectare site and can accommodate 3,400 students.

In addition to the main academic building, the school will feature a performing arts theater, a semi-Olympic swimming pool, sports facilities and...

Starting May 1, Kazakhstan has been supplying crude oil to Germany via alternative routes. Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry told TASS, a Russian news agency, under what terms and conditions a return to the previous arrangement would be possible.

«At present, supplies of Kazakhstani crude oil to Germany via the Atyrau-Samara-Druzhba pipeline route have been temporarily suspended due to infrastructure-related technical limitations on the transit side. If these infrastructure limitations are removed, supplies may be resumed in accordance with the established procedure, subject to the relevant agreements between all interested parties,» the ministry said...

Kazakhstan’s government external debt has risen 36% over the past decade to $17 billion, but remains at a highly safe level of just 6% of gross domestic product, according to an analysis by Kursiv Research.

Read also: Kazakhstan’s external debt in 2025 and budget for 2026 visualized.

The Ministry of Finance has successfully executed a long-term strategy shifting its primary borrowing focus toward the deep domestic market. Ten years ago, the sovereign debt portfolio was split evenly between domestic and foreign liabilities. Today, domestic debt — mainly treasury bonds of varying...

Starting Sept. 1, 2026, Kazakhstan will introduce mandatory digital labeling for beer and beer-based beverages sold in glass bottles, according to the State Revenue Committee of the Ministry of Finance.

Ban on unlabeled beer

Beer and beer-based beverages produced or imported on or after Sept. 1 must carry a Data Matrix labeling code.

The labeling requirement is being introduced in stages:

«Going forward, full...

State-level crackdowns on online pornography are hitting a digital wall, as millions of users easily bypass restrictions or simply migrate to alternative platforms to access restricted content, according to a study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).

A massive shift in digital traffic

Beginning with Louisiana in early 2023, 25 U.S. states have passed laws requiring adult websites to verify users’ ages through government-issued identification or credit card details. In response, several dominant platforms, including the world’s largest adult website, chose to block local access entirely rather than implement the verification systems. However...

Research over the past 15 years has expanded scientists’ understanding of how dietary interventions may affect neurological health. One area of interest is the potential role of ketone bodies as an alternative source of energy when brain cells have difficulty using glucose, a problem that can occur in some neurodegenerative conditions.

A review published in Translational Neurodegeneration examines evidence on ketogenic diets and their potential effects in conditions including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis. While early findings are promising, the diet has not been established as a treatment that can reverse or stop the...

British company And Vinyly offers customers a way to turn a portion of their cremated remains into a playable vinyl record.

The company has been in business since 2009 and was founded by musician and vinyl collector Jason Leach. He said the idea began as a joke among a small group of friends but unexpectedly attracted interest and eventually developed into a full-fledged business.

Turning memories into sound

Leach believes sound can be a powerful way to bring back memories. After cremation, a portion of the ashes is incorporated into the material used to make the record...

Kazakhstan’s commercial banking sector experienced a massive surge in client funding in June, yet escalating credit risks and the accounting impact of state aid repayments have dampened overall industry profitability.

While banks absorbed 1.8 trillion tenge in corporate and retail deposits during June, the sector’s cumulative first-half net profit declined by 13.3% year-over-year to 1.19 trillion tenge.

Government aid exit triggers sharp loss

The half-year reporting period’s most dramatic shift involved Alatau City Bank. The lender saw its first-half net income plummet by 95.6% to 4.5 billion tenge, down from 101.3 billion tenge during the same period last...

In one of Kursiv.media’s latest articles about Ye’s (Kanye West) concert in Kazakhstan, scheduled for today, we wrote that «if it’s meant to be, he’ll perform in Almaty.» It turns out it wasn’t meant to be. The concert has been postponed to Aug. 15 at 9 p.m.

The announcement was made at Almaty Central Stadium in front of the assembled audience.

Power outage and bad weather

A few hours earlier, Almaty experienced a massive power outage, the likes of which had not occurred in the city in a long time, bringing parts...

It was in 1930 that John Maynard Keynes envisioned a future where, thanks to technology, people in developed countries would work as little as 15 hours each week. By the time his prediction was supposed to have become reality, however, the shorter workweek had not materialized. Keynes was broadly right about rising living standards, but not about the shift toward dramatically more leisure.

Technologically, such a transformation was possible. But productivity gains did not automatically translate into fewer working hours.

As the late anthropologist David Graeber pointed out, technology has actually given rise to new kinds...

World-renowned Kazakh singer Dimash Qudaibergen will headline a Miner’s Day concert in Karaganda.

The performance will be a pleasant gift for residents and visitors to Karaganda, the mining region. It will mark the artist’s final concert in Kazakhstan ahead of a world tour set to begin in the fall.

The event will take place on Aug. 29 at 6 p.m. at a new square on Ashimov St. Admission is free...

For the first time, the Research Institute of Cardiology and Internal Diseases (RICID) has performed four procedures using bioresorbable magnesium scaffolds. Unlike conventional stents, the new scaffold temporarily supports the artery before completely dissolving. All four procedures were successfully performed under the Compulsory Social Medical Insurance system and were provided free of charge.

According to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Healthcare, all four procedures were performed as part of a workshop with Dr. Stylianos Pyxaras, a German specialist in interventional cardiology, participating as an invited expert.

A magnesium scaffold is a temporary vascular scaffold implanted in a narrowed...

Sadyr Japarov initially did not want to run in Kyrgyzstan’s 2027 presidential election and planned to make Kamchybek Tashiev, the former chairman of the State Committee for National Security, president instead, Kaktus Media reported, citing an interview with journalist Ali Toktakunov.

Read also: The ‘two suns’ problem: Why political tandems always fail.

Japarov said Tashiev was aware of the plan.

«If Kamchy is up for it, I’m out of the 2027 race. He gets the presidency, I get retirement. I personally gave him...

The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) has added digital assets to the list of eligible investment instruments under its Investment Tax Residency Programme (ITRP). Foreign investors can now qualify for a long-term investor visa and tax residency in Kazakhstan by investing in digital assets through AIFC-licensed platforms.

Previously, participants in the program could invest in shares, participation interests, units in funds registered with the AIFC, securities listed on the Astana International Exchange (AIX) and the share capital of companies registered within the AIFC. Participants must maintain a minimum investment of $60,000 in these instruments.

Digital assets...

Freedom Yatırım Menkul Değerler A.Ş., part of Freedom Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: FRHC), which operates more than 200 offices across over 20 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, has received its operating license from the Capital Markets Board of Türkiye (CMB), becoming the first foreign brokerage firm with broad authorization to receive an operating license in Türkiye in 34 years. The license marks an important step in bringing Freedom Holding Corp.’s core brokerage business and international capital markets network to Türkiye.

Freedom Holding Corp. has grown into an international financial services group with USD 14 billion in total assets as...

Kazakhstan’s national messenger Aitu plans to expand the capabilities of family chats, including the ability to send relatives traditional transfers such as korimdik (a gift given to congratulate someone on a significant event), suyinshi (a gift given in response to good news) and asar (a practice of coming together to help a family or community member).

Read also: Kazakhstan migrates entire government to a single super app.

At a recent government meeting, Maksat Nuridenuly, CEO of BTS Digital, which developed the messenger, said 6.8 million users had registered on Aitu. The...