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A bright, white smile is a goal for many people, which is why teeth whitening remains one of the most popular cosmetic dental procedures. In an interview with Kursiv Health, dentist Aralbek Tasbulatov discussed the mechanics of teeth whitening, its primary disadvantage, and possible alternatives.

— Manufacturers often claim whitening results can last up to two years. Is that true?

— Dental product manufacturers often state that whitening results can last up to two years, and some even claim up to six years. In practice, however, that is not always the case.

— How does the...

Just a few hours before showtime at Almaty Arena, the venue is nearly empty. Behind the scenes of Cirque du Soleil’s OVO, however, preparations are already in full swing. While some performers warm up before taking the stage, others apply makeup. Costume specialists inspect hundreds of wardrobe pieces, and musicians prepare for the live performance.

On the day of the premiere, Cirque du Soleil’s international team gave journalists rare behind-the-scenes access to the production. Kursiv LifeStyle got a firsthand look at what happens before audiences see the first acrobatic acts.

A global production...

As the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicked off in Mexico City, the tournament has already been overshadowed by a wave of scandals involving logistical failures, safety concerns and unprecedented costs. Novaya Gazeta Europe reports that the event faces a potential “catastrophe” due to issues ranging from the interrogation of players at borders to the exclusion of high-ranking officials.

Sky-high costs for fans

This tournament is set to be the most expensive ever for spectators. Under FIFA’s new dynamic pricing system, top-tier tickets for the final in New Jersey have skyrocketed to $33,000, while some resale...

Ulba-TVS, a producer of fuel assemblies (FAs) used as final nuclear fuel for Chinese nuclear power plants (NPPs), reported a profit of 11.83 billion tenge ($22 million) in 2025, compared with a loss of 16.06 billion tenge in 2024, according to the company’s financial statements.

Revenue and profitability improve

Gross profit totaled 17.64 billion tenge in 2025, up from 13.54 billion tenge a year earlier. Other operating expenses declined sharply to 820.2 million tenge from 34.2 billion tenge in 2024.

Read also: Kazakhstan eyes Russian finance, Chinese fuel for...

Chinese auto giant Changan has launched an unusual promotional campaign for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The company has tied the promotion of its Deepal electric vehicles to the performance of one of the most popular national teams. Under certain conditions, participants in the campaign will be able to use a car for a year, according to CarNewsChina.

Portugal’s goal equals a car

The campaign comes as part of a partnership between Changan and Portugal’s national football team.

Under the campaign’s conditions, each goal by the Portugal national team in normal time adds a car...

Aktobe students who built a portrait of renowned Kazakh singer Dimash Qudaibergen from 3,000 LEGO bricks met their idol in person. As a sign of gratitude, the artist gifted the children vouchers for stays at the Shugyla children’s camp.  

Students of School No. 82 prepared an unusual project for International Children’s Day. Five fourth-grade students worked on a 1.5-meter-by-2.5-meter portrait for nearly a week under the guidance of robotics club instructor Zhanaly Makat.

According to the instructor, the idea to dedicate the project to Dimash stemmed from the fact that he was born in Aktobe.

World Boxing President Gennadiy Golovkin has been officially inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. The ceremony took place in Canastota, New York, The Ring reported.

Golovkin was inducted in the Men’s Modern Category, together with former world champions Antonio Tarver and Nigel Benn.

At the ceremony, Golovkin stated that boxing became his life’s work and called the Hall of Fame induction one of the main honors of his career.

«Boxing is my life … I’m truly honored to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The...

An Osaka-based startup Valar Intelligence has developed a non-traditional process-based AI tool designed to determine whether text was written by a human, generated by AI or AI-assisted, Kyodo News reported.

According to the tool’s website, the platform, which is aimed primarily at universities, requires users to type and submit text within the system. It tracks typing speed, edits, paste actions, and other writing behaviors in the background for analysis. For instance, pasting AI-generated text would significantly reduce writing time, potentially triggering an AI-related flag.

The software was tested at Kyushu University. According...

A Mexican man has publicly apologized and lost a leadership role after being filmed making a racist gesture toward a South Korean content creator during a World Cup match in Guadalajara, according to the BBC.

Ulises Fernando Bernal Miramontes was caught on camera pulling the corners of his eyes — a gesture widely considered offensive to East Asian people — while seated behind South Korean content creator Yoon Su-jin during South Korea’s match against the Czech Republic last Friday.

Kazakhstan has selected Russia’s advanced VVER-1200 design for its first nuclear power plant (NPP). Yernat Berdigulov, CEO of Kazakhstan Nuclear Power Plants LLP, noted that the cost of an NPP depends on a wide range of factors, making direct comparisons between projects in different countries inappropriate.

Berdigulov noted that the cost of an NPP is shaped by a variety of factors and that projects in different countries have unique characteristics. The price may depend on the reactor technology, power unit configuration, legislative and regulatory requirements, as well as engineering, geological and climatic conditions.

Deliveries from sex shops have emerged as the fastest-growing business segment for Glovo in Kazakhstan, according to Ruslan Gamayev, the company’s general manager in the country.

Read also: Toys ‘are’ us: Kazakh journalist featured on the Guardian cover for sex toy advocacy.

Speaking at the New Vision Forum 2026, Gamzaev said demand for such orders is particularly strong during nighttime hours.

Beyond food delivery

Gamzaev noted that many consumers still view Glovo primarily as a food delivery platform, but the company has increasingly expanded into other categories.

According to him...

The U.S. and Iran have reached an agreement aimed at ending their military confrontation and are expected to formally sign the deal during a ceremony in Switzerland on Friday, according to a statement posted by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on social media early Monday, Reuters reported.

Shortly afterward, U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to confirm the development, writing on his Truth Social platform that an agreement with Iran had been completed.

Details remain limited

The full terms of the accord were not immediately disclosed. Sharif said the agreement provides for an immediate and permanent...

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Finance expects to generate about 50 billion tenge (about $100 million) in additional budget revenue by legalizing and licensing the hookah industry, Finance Minister Madi Takiyev said on the sidelines of a recent parliamentary session.

His comments came as the government signaled support for easing plans for a comprehensive ban on the industry in favor of a regulated framework.

Government favors regulation over prohibition

According to Takiyev, the ministry’s position is based on practical considerations. He argued that existing restrictions on hookah smoking in public venues have proven ineffective and that tighter regulation would...

In May, Altynay Jakisheva, daughter of Mukhtar Dzhakishev, the former head of Kazakhstan’s state uranium company Kazatomprom, married Karl Obi, an investment banker. After sharing wedding photos on social media, she faced a wave of criticism from some Kazakh internet users over her decision to marry a foreigner.

Read also: Groom’s mother addresses racist remarks over mixed-race marriage in Kazakhstan.

Delegates at the 26th Congress of Kazakhstan’s ruling Amanat party in Astana voted today to merge the party with the newly established Adilet party.

According to congress organizers, the proposal was approved unanimously, with no votes against and no abstentions.

Party officials said the merger is intended to combine the organizations’ experience, personnel and public support in pursuit of Kazakhstan’s long-term development goals and the creation of what they described as a fair and progressive state.

Adilet emerges as successor

The Adilet party, established just over a month ago, is led by Aibek Dadebay, former...

The case was brought before a court in Kazakhstan after a lawsuit was filed by a locomotive driver. He was dismissed following a bribery conviction and challenged the decision, arguing that the regulation violated his constitutional right to freedom of labor.

Constitutional Court limits scope of dismissal rules

The Constitutional Court ruled that mandatory termination of employment contracts at an employer’s initiative applies only to individuals authorized to perform government functions or those in equivalent positions.

“The extension of the contested regulation to all employees of the quasi-public sector, without regard...

Kazakhstan’s Minister of Energy Yerlan Akkenzhenov held a meeting on the implementation of a gas processing plant project at the Kashagan oil field with an annual capacity of 2.5 billion cubic meters of gas. He said the project has already entered the implementation phase, according to the Ministry of Energy.

Representatives of QazaqGaz, PSA and shareholders of NCOC — the consortium developing the Kashagan oil field — discussed the project status, coordination between participants and measures to ensure timely completion. Another gas processing plant with an annual capacity of 1 billion cubic meters is currently under...

On June 12, the other two co-hosts will play their first games at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Canada will face Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto, while the U.S. will play against Paraguay in Los Angeles.

2026 FIFA World Cup

Group B, Round 1, June 12, Toronto, BMO Field

Canada vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina

Coaches: Jesse Marsch (the U.S.) / Sergej Barbarez

Referee: Facundo Tello (Argentina)

Prior to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina had never faced each other. Canada had previously appeared at the World Cup in 1986 and...

In Shymkent, a local oncology center successfully performed the first laparoscopic pancreatoduodenal surgery on a patient with a malignant pancreatic tumor. This means that city residents will now be able to receive high-tech medical care without having to travel to other regions.

According to the Ministry of Health, this type of surgery is one of the most complex and high-tech interventions in oncological treatment. Therefore, experienced oncology surgeons from the National Scientific Medical Center in Astana came to Shymkent to share their expertise with local specialists. They held a master class for local surgeons.

A sign language video dictionary called e-Ymdau has been released in Kazakhstan. The project aims to expand opportunities for people with hearing impairments to study, communicate, and participate in society.

How it works

The dictionary takes the form of a database where words and concepts are demonstrated through gestures. An automated search system allows users to quickly find the needed word and view its correct sign language representation.

The video dictionary is available in Kazakh and Russian and covers 21 vocabulary topics. The app is available on the App Store and on the National Scientific and Practical Center for...

In April and May 2026, Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee (KNB) investigated dozens of terrorism- and extremism-related cases, resulting in prison sentences for 13 individuals.

In one case, a resident of Astana used social media to promote terrorist ideology and encourage people to join armed conflicts abroad. He was sentenced to eight years in prison.

In another case in Shymkent, a local resident allegedly called on his associates to establish a theocratic state in Kazakhstan in which religious leaders would hold political power. He was also accused of spreading terrorist ideology and was sentenced to seven years in prison.

A separate...

On June 12, the inaugural meeting of the South Korea-Kyrgyzstan trade and investment cooperation committee was held in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources.

Kyrgyz Deputy Minister of Economy and Commerce Mederbek Tumanov and South Korea’s Director General for International Trade Relations at the ministry Bae Jun-hyoung discussed prospects for cooperation in critical minerals, bilateral trade, investment and industry, as well as Kyrgyzstan’s efforts to digitalize transport infrastructure and develop its textile industry, Yonhap reported.

Notably, trade turnover between South Korea and Kyrgyzstan totaled...

Thailand’s Princess Bajrakitiyabha has died at the age of 47 after spending nearly four years in a coma, The Guardian reported.

The eldest child of King Maha Vajiralongkorn was hospitalized in December 2022 after suffering severe health complications related to a heart condition. Since then, the palace released only limited updates on her condition. In May, officials reported that her health had deteriorated due to multiple infections affecting several organs and that doctors had been unable to stabilize her heart rhythm.

Princess Bajrakitiyabha was born in 1978 and earned several academic degrees, including a doctorate from Cornell University...

Another foreign air carrier has entered Kazakhstan’s market. Starting June 12, 2026, FlyOne Armenia launches direct scheduled passenger flights to the country, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Transport said in a statement.

The airline operates the Yerevan-Almaty route. According to the schedule, two flights are operated per week — on Mondays and Fridays.

«The Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan is continuing efforts to expand the country’s flight network and increase the number of international air services. Starting June 12, FlyOne Armenia, an Armenian carrier, is entering Kazakhstan’s aviation market,» the statement read.

With...