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According to the latest World Happiness Report, Kazakhstan placed 33rd among 147 surveyed countries, climbing 10 notches from last year and marking its best result to date. The report was conducted by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford in partnership with Gallup and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

Finland topped the ranking for the ninth consecutive year, followed by other Nordic countries — Iceland in second place and Denmark in third. The top 10 then includes Costa Rica (4th), Sweden (5th), Norway (6th), the Netherlands (7th), Israel (8th...

The International Energy Agency (IEA) outlined a set of measures to ease pressure on consumers from rising energy prices, including working from home and limiting air travel, Reuters reported.

The recommendations come amid a surge in global energy costs linked to the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, which has raised concerns about inflation worldwide.

According to the IEA, the proposed steps are actions that governments, businesses and households can take to reduce oil demand and help offset the impact of higher prices. Suggested measures include working remotely where possible, lowering highway speed limits, and choosing less fuel-intensive forms of...

On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump compared recent American strikes on Iran to Japan’s 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Washington, Reuters reported.

At the White House, Trump highlighted the importance of surprise in military strategy and said Japan would understand, referring to the attack that brought the U.S. into World War II. He made the remarks after being asked why allies were not informed in advance of the strikes on Iran.

Takaichi, who sat next to Trump during the meeting, appeared visibly uncomfortable as he made the comparison. The...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s teenage daughter was shown driving a tank during a public inspection, according to Reuters.

The girl, believed to be about 13 years old and often called Kim Ju Ae, was photographed looking out of the tank’s driver’s hatch.

She has appeared with her father more often in recent months, leading some observers to speculate that she may be getting prepared for a future leadership role. North Korean authorities have not officially confirmed her name or age.

Earlier in March, she took part in military activities, such as aiming a rifle at...

The World Boxing Executive Board approved the applications of nine national boxing federations to join the organization. Now, 168 countries hold membership, including Russia and Belarus, accepted under particular conditions.

World Boxing, headed by Gennadiy Golovkin, officially confirmed the endorsement of new members from Europe, Africa, and Oceania.

«The Executive Board of World Boxing has endorsed nine new applications to join the organization from the National Federations for boxing in Belarus, Cyprus, Mozambique, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Russia, Tanzania, Tonga and Zambia. The endorsements mean that World Boxing now has 168 member...

Significant shifts have occurred in the leading causes of death in Kazakhstan, according to the Bureau of National Statistics. Deaths from diseases of the nervous system now exceed those caused by cancer.

Circulatory diseases remain No. 1

In 2025, diseases of the circulatory system remained the leading cause of death, accounting for 22.5% of all fatalities.

Diseases of the nervous system ranked second, making up 17.8% of deaths.

Cancer falls to third place

Neoplasms, or cancer — traditionally considered one of the most serious health threats — ranked third, accounting for...

Kazakhstani travel content creator Dastan Mukhamedrakhim came into the spotlight of the global film industry, as Tom Holland, star of the «Spider-Man» film series, noticed and liked his post.

Mukhamedrakhim became an official partner of Sony Pictures and Marvel in a global promotional campaign for the new film «Spider-Man: Brand New Day.» The culmination of the collaboration was Tom Holland’s personal video message.

Prior to the release...

An Astana resident allegedly promised 13 people a Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca but instead collected money under false pretenses, according to Polisia.kz.

Authorities said the suspect, who worked for a travel company, claimed he would arrange visas and airline tickets. However, he never organized the trip.

Read also: A pilgrimage on wheels: Kazakh man cycles 8,000 km to Medina.

Police have launched a pretrial investigation and detained the suspect, a 27-year-old travel company employee.

«Currently, 13 incidents have been identified. The total financial damage amounts to...

On March 20, BTS, the globally recognized K-pop band, returned with the long-anticipated album «Arirang,» announced on Jan. 4, marking the group’s first full-length album since «Be» was released in 2020.

The album’s 14 tracks, led by the single «SWIM,» are already available on major streaming services, including Apple Music and Spotify. Prominent producers were involved in the album’s production, including Diplo, Kevin Parker of Tame Impala, Mike WiLL Made-It and Ryan Tedder.

However, the hype is set to continue on March 21 with the BTS The Comeback...

Kazakhstan is seeing its largest influx of immigrants from China in eight years. In 2025, about 2,600 people from China relocated to the country for permanent residence, a 29% increase year-on-year, according to the DataHub Telegram channel, citing the Bureau of National Statistics.

Ethnic Kazakhs dominate arrivals

Nearly all, about 99%, of those arriving from China are ethnic Kazakhs. However, most are choosing not to apply for official «kandas» status.

Read also: High demand for Kazakhstani citizenship after Ukraine war: What’s the cost?

That designation, which is intended for ethnic Kazakh...

A member of Kazakhstan’s lower house of Parliament, Abutalip Mutali, has raised concerns about the environmental impact of packaging used by large online marketplaces. He outlined the issue in a parliamentary inquiry addressed to Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov.

Read also: E-commerce marketplaces begin to phase out sellers.

Mutali said the growing volume of deliveries has led to increased use of non-eco-friendly materials, creating additional strain on the environment.

Rising waste and emissions

According to the lawmaker, large amounts of plastic, film and cardboard used in packaging are often discarded immediately after delivery, contributing...

Halyk Bank, Kazakhstan’s largest bank by assets, has not completed its planned acquisition of a 49% stake in Uzbek payment service Click within the expected timeframe, according to materials prepared for the bank’s upcoming annual general meeting of shareholders scheduled for April 23.

Deal terms and timeline

The bank announced the transaction in summer 2025 as part of its expansion into Uzbekistan’s financial sector. The agreement included plans for Halyk Bank to acquire a 49% stake in Click for $176.4 million, while also selling a 49% stake in its Uzbek subsidiary, Tenge Bank, to...

Scientists in Kazakhstan are working on a low-cost dietary supplement derived from tomatoes, aimed at supporting cancer prevention. The project also incorporates pumpkin seed powder and safflower oil, according to the Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture.

The research is being conducted by the Kazakh Research Institute of Processing and Food Industry.

Focus on affordability and prevention

The team’s goal is to produce an accessible supplement with strong antioxidant properties that may help reduce the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Read also: Can we truly end cancer as we know it?

An individual was arrested after entering the enclosure of well-known pygmy hippo Moo Deng, which went viral on social media in 2024, at Khao Kheow Open Zoo, the Bangkok Post reported.

The incident occurred on March 17. The man, later identified as a Thai national, entered the enclosure of Moo Deng and her mother Jona while holding a tablet. He remained there briefly before being noticed by zoo staff.

According to a statement posted by the zoo on Facebook, the intruder used a restricted staff-only area while employees were busy with animal...

A moderate-to-strong geomagnetic storm, classified as G2 to G3, is expected today, according to astronomers at the Laboratory of X-Ray Astronomy of the Sun.

The forecast follows confirmation that a plasma cloud from an M-class solar flare on March 16 is approaching Earth.

Understanding storm intensity

Geomagnetic storms are measured on a five-level scale. A G1 storm is considered minor, G2 is moderate, and G3 is strong. Higher-level storms can disrupt communications, navigation systems, and power infrastructure.

Potential health effects

Experts note that people who are sensitive to changes in weather or geomagnetic conditions may experience discomfort during...

OpenClaw, a new open-source AI agent, has quickly gained popularity in China. People of all ages, from students to retirees, are using it, according to a Reuters report.

Created by Austrian developer Peter Steinberger, the tool was first introduced in November under a different name before being renamed OpenClaw. It allows users to connect different software and hardware systems and learn from data with limited human input, and has since become one of the fastest-growing projects on GitHub.

In China, users often refer to their AI agents as «lobsters» and use the tool to organize information, build applications...

Starting July 11, a new international flight connecting Vietnam, the Czech Republic and Kazakhstan will be launched, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Transport press service reported.

Vietnamese carrier VietJet Air is set to launch the service on the Hanoi -Almaty-Prague route, to be operated twice a week using Airbus A330 aircraft.

This is a significant development for Kazakhstan, as it marks the first direct flights between Prague and Almaty.

The route will operate under the Open Skies regime, which facilitates the entry of foreign carriers into the market and the launch of new routes.

Cuba’s national power grid collapsed Monday, leaving nearly the entire population of about 11 million people without electricity. The outage underscored the island’s worsening energy crisis, driven by aging infrastructure and fuel shortages.

Much of Cuba’s electricity system depends on oil-fired plants, many of them outdated. Disruptions tied to U.S. restrictions on fuel imports have contributed to recurring breakdowns and widespread outages. The situation has triggered rare violent protests, Tangle reported.

Trump weighs stronger action

Amid the turmoil, Donald Trump has publicly floated the idea of taking control of what he described as a...

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the U.S. auto safety regulator, is taking a closer look at Tesla’s driver-assistance technology after several crashes, one of which was fatal, Reuters reported.

The investigation now includes about 3.2 million Tesla vehicles, which is nearly every car sold by the company in the U.S. If a safety problem is found, this review could lead to a recall or other legal action.

The main focus of the investigation is Tesla’s «degradation detection» feature. This tool is supposed to spot poor visibility and tell drivers to take control of the car.

The regulator...

A famous story of human kindness from a decade ago has been cast in metal, with a new art installation built over the riverbed of the Big Almaty River, which flows into the Sayran reservoir.

The sculptural composition recreates the moment of a dog rescue that touched millions of social media users in 2016, when a dog fell into the reservoir and a young man climbed down to reach it but could climb back up the steep revetment. Bystanders formed a human chain by linking arms and managing to pull out both the dog and the man.

A video of...

Four-time Grand Slam champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus revealed the composition of her team, which includes her fiancé, Brazilian entrepreneur Georgios Frangulis, and her puppy Ash, in a short interview with the Miami Open.

«I have a huge team. I have two coaches, a fitness coach, a hitting partner, a manager, agents. I have a statistics guy. I have a physio, of course. …no mental coach, my whole team is my mental coach and I’m a coach for them. So that’s how we get stronger,» the World No...

The U.S. government registered the domain aliens.gov on Wednesday, sparking speculation about its intended purpose. While it could be tied to immigration enforcement, that explanation appears unlikely, according to reporting by 404 Media.

The domain is not yet linked to an active website. Its registration follows remarks made about a month earlier by Donald Trump, who said he planned to push for the release of government records related to extraterrestrial life and UFOs.

Read also: Trump has a ‘handsome double’ living in the Urals.

Reports of UFOs — now...

Visitors to the Eiffel Tower can now experience a new perspective of the landmark through a recently opened suspension bridge installed between its east and west pillars, as reported by Euronews.

The attraction, known as «The Vertigo of the Tower,» spans 40 meters and is located nearly 60 meters above the ground on the monument’s first floor. The structure is fully enclosed in mesh and constructed with more than 25,000 panels.

Access to the bridge is included with any Eiffel Tower ticket. Visitors must scan a QR code on-site to reserve a time slot for up to 60 minutes...

Cybersecurity researchers from Lookout, iVerify and Google have identified a sophisticated spyware tool, named «Darksword,» capable of infiltrating Apple iPhones and stealing sensitive data, including cryptocurrency wallet information, Reuters reported.

The finding follows another recent iPhone spyware case, highlighting a growing market for advanced hacking tools targeting Apple devices. Earlier this month, Google and iVerify reported a separate spyware tool called «Coruna,» with Darksword later found on the same servers.

According to Google, Darksword has been used in multiple campaigns by commercial vendors and suspected state-linked actors, targeting users in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Malaysia and Ukraine.

Researchers said...