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The widely recommended target of 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week — about 22 minutes a day — was associated with an 8% to 9% lower risk of cardiovascular events, according to a new study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

The researchers found that people who exercised for roughly 1.5 hours a day, or 560 to 610 minutes per week, had more than a 30% lower risk of cardiovascular events.

Read also: Do you really need 10,000 steps? The surprising truth about daily goals.

Researchers from...

British oil and gas company Nostrum Oil & Gas announced on the Astana International Exchange (AIX) that it is in talks to sell its Kazakhstan business, with all of the company’s assets located in the country. The company said it has received interest from a potential buyer.

According to Nostrum Oil & Gas, the potential buyer and the company are conducting due diligence, including a review of the business’s financial condition and assets, while discussing potential terms of the transaction.

In recent years, Nostrum Oil & Gas has held talks with several potential buyers of its...

Nine industry-specific and 20 regional atlases of emerging professions have been compiled in Kazakhstan, Sayasat Nurbek, minister of science and higher education, said at a recent government meeting.

The updated industry atlases for mechanical engineering and logistics, along with those for the Kostanay and Karaganda regions, for the first time cover the full technological cycle — from the initial design of components to the expanding network of electric vehicle charging stations.

Read also: Kazakhstan’s guide to jobs that still need a human touch.

The transformation is expected to create 31 entirely new professions...

Kazakhstan’s 17-year-old footballer Dastan Satpayev scored his first goal for Chelsea as Xabi Alonso‘s side beat Western Sydney Wanderers 6-4 in the opening exhibition match of the club’s Australia and Asia tour.

Chelsea’s starting lineup for its first preseason friendly, aside from the training-ground friendlies, could be considered experimental. The coaching staff decided to give the new signings a look. Former FC Kairat player Dastan Satpayev started on the left side of midfield wearing No. 36, though he frequently drifted into central areas during the match.

Friendly

July 28

Western Sydney Wanderers...

As Almaty prepares to welcome Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, for his Ye Tour 2026 show, concert organizers have shared details of the preparations. Kursiv LifeStyle takes a look at what spectators can expect.

Aituar Alibekov, director of concert project development at First Media Group, said that more than 100 tons of technical equipment is already on its way to Almaty. Around 15 trucks carrying stage structures, lighting and sound equipment are headed to the city. According to him, residents and visitors will get to see the full-scale world-class show rather than a shortened or adapted version.

A Kazakhstani game developer is preparing to release a horror visual novel, «Five-Star Courier and the Fog That Reeks of Death,» on Steam. The story unfolds in a mystically transformed version of Almaty. Kursiv LifeStyle takes a look at what is known about the project.

The game’s protagonist is Alan, a 22-year-old delivery worker with just two days left to repay his loan. At the same time, a mysterious fog carrying the stench of death engulfs Almaty, erasing the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead. To pay off his debt and earn a five-star rating in...

Kyrgyzstan has introduced a ban on overbooking by all airlines operating flights through the country’s airports, Kaktus.media reported.

Kyrgyzstan’s State Civil Aviation Agency introduced the measure to protect passengers’ rights and prevent situations in which ticket holders are denied seats.

Changes for passengers

Overbooking is the practice of selling more tickets than there are seats on an aircraft. Some airlines use this method on the assumption that a certain number of passengers will not show up for their flight. However, it can result in passengers with confirmed tickets being left at the airport, waiting for...

According to Kazakhstan’s Financial Monitoring Agency (FMA), law enforcement officials have dismantled an illegal gold mining operation involving more than 30 people, including several Chinese citizens.

The illegal mining took place on a 30-hectare site in the Markakol district near the village of Akbulak in eastern Kazakhstan. Although the suspects did not have permits to mine gold, they used heavy machinery and industrial-scale processing equipment.

After inspecting the site, authorities said the operation had caused significant environmental damage. The fertile topsoil was destroyed, the natural landscape was disrupted and the riverbed was altered.

«More than...

Astana continues to welcome some of the world’s top esports athletes. According to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports, star teams Xtreme Gaming and Vici Gaming have arrived in the capital to compete for the top prize in the Dota 2 tournament at the Games of the Future 2026 (GOTF 2026), powered by Samruk-Kazyna.

Who’s arrived?

Xtreme Gaming is considered one of the tournament’s main favorites. The team has arrived in Kazakhstan as the defending Games of the Future champion. Its roster features genuine stars of the Dota 2 scene — Ame, NothingToSay, Xxs, fy and xNova. The team...

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports has approved uniform requirements for tour guides. Under the new rules, foreigners will no longer be permitted to lead tours in Kazakhstan.

Read also: Why tourism in Kazakhstan can be surprisingly costly.

To work as a guide or tourism instructor, individuals must be Kazakhstani citizens and submit a notification to the relevant authorities through eLicense.kz. Tourism professionals will be able to choose their preferred form of employment and, in the future, may also register as self-employed.

The agency has also developed a state electronic registry...

Kazakhstan’s government plans to reduce the shadow economy to 13.8% of GDP by 2028. To identify businesses operating outside the formal economy, the country is launching an AI-powered digital monitoring platform.

The platform will combine data from government agencies to identify and help prevent risks associated with the shadow economy before they result in losses to the state budget.

«The comprehensive plan includes 53 measures aimed at increasing economic transparency and digitalizing sectors where the risks of the shadow economy are highest,» the government said.

High-risk sectors

The sectors identified as particularly...

The reliability of an electric vehicle is typically judged not by its interior or performance, but by its battery. As the most expensive component in an EV, the battery is also a major factor in determining how long the vehicle can operate without significant additional investment.

Experts from the industry portal Bike-EV analyzed real-world battery degradation data and compiled a ranking of the most reliable EV brands for 2026.

Unlike internal combustion engine vehicles, EVs have fewer mechanical components but are more dependent on battery chemistry, architecture and charging patterns. Higher thermal loads and frequent use of fast...

Astronomers say night-sky enthusiasts will be treated to three major celestial events on Aug. 12, 2026: a six-planet alignment, a total solar eclipse during the day and the peak of the Perseid meteor shower.

In many locations, the day will begin with a planetary alignment before sunrise and end with Perseid meteors streaking across the sky after sunset.

A rare sunset eclipse

The total solar eclipse will be the main event. It will be the first total solar eclipse visible in many locations in 27 years. The eclipse will occur late in the day, when the sun...

Kazakhstan currently has nine billionaires, according to Forbes. Below is an updated infographic highlighting Kazakhstan’s richest people and their key assets.

The visual was compiled by Nurasyl Abdrazakuly, a Kazakh data scientist and frequent collaborator on our infographics.

As in the previous infographic, each billionaire is shown alongside the logo of the company they are most closely associated with. While many of these individuals control multiple businesses, the visualization highlights the brand most commonly associated with each person, helping readers connect the names with familiar companies.

The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) has resumed oil shipments after previously suspending loadings at its marine terminal near Novorossiysk, Russia, following attacks by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) on tankers, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy said.

The Energy Ministry confirmed that the CPC resumed operations.

“The Caspian Pipeline Consortium has resumed oil intake from shippers and loading operations through its marine terminal at the port of Novorossiysk. Tankers SEAMAJESTY and MILOS are currently being loaded at the CPC’s two single-point moorings. Both vessels are taking on oil from Tengizchevroil LLP,” the ministry said...

Spain and France are racing to contain major wildfires before a new heatwave pushes temperatures close to 40°C, threatening to complicate firefighting efforts and fuel further blazes, The Guardian reported.

Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska called Monday and Tuesday «decisive» for containing the fires before temperatures rise again. Around 3,000 emergency workers are battling the blaze near Madrid, where the fire’s advance slowed overnight but remains active and out of control, authorities said. Officials identified three active fronts, the most dangerous located north of the San Juan Reservoir.

Francisco Martín, the Spanish government’s representative in the Madrid region, said...

Zeekr will change how its vehicle protection system operates after the owner of a new Zeekr 9X SUV from China was automatically locked out of several vehicle functions while driving through Kazakhstan, CarNewsChina reported.

Why some of the car’s functions were disabled

The SUV’s electronic system detected what it identified as an unauthorized vehicle export and disabled several functions for more than 30 hours. As a result, navigation, the electronic fuel filler door release, glove box access and other features were unavailable in the luxury SUV, which costs about $76,000.

The...

According to Olzhas Baidildinov, a member of the Samruk-Kazyna Public Council and author of the Baidildinov. Oil Telegram channel, Kazakhstan could exchange its claim to the 2.356 trillion tenge environmental fine imposed on the Kashagan operator, NCOC, for shares in its shareholder companies.

The expert believes that global oil companies are less affected by external threats than the countries where they produce oil. Amid cuts in oil supplies from Kazakhstan and the Persian Gulf, oil prices rose significantly, sending the shares of major oil companies soaring.

«I always follow the shares of oil companies operating in...

Kazakh mixed martial artist Shavkat Rakhmonov will not be able to compete in the UFC until the end of 2026. According to his coach, Eduard Bazrov, Rakhmonov is not expected to be ready to return before February 2027.

Rakhmonov is still recovering from a leg injury and is training once a day. His training is currently limited to physical conditioning and boxing.

“Right now, Shavkat is recovering from his leg injury and training once a day. We’re focusing on physical conditioning and boxing — doing what he can handle for now,” Bazrov...

Memory chipmaker CXMT has become the most valuable company listed on a mainland Chinese stock exchange after its shares soared in their Shanghai trading debut, The Associated Press reported.

The company raised at least $8.6 billion in its initial public offering, pricing shares at $1.3 on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s STAR Market. The listing ranks as mainland China’s second-largest IPO, behind Agricultural Bank of China’s $22.1 billion offering in Shanghai and Hong Kong in 2010.

Founded in 2016 in Hefei, CXMT is one of the world’s largest producers of DRAM chips used in AI servers, automobiles, smartphones and...

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Healthcare and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) are set to launch a study in several regions of Kazakhstan to examine the impact of extreme heat on pregnant women and newborns. The announcement was made during a meeting between Healthcare Minister Akmaral Alnazarova and representatives of the fund.

“The parties discussed conducting a joint study with UNFPA to examine the impact of extreme heat on the health of pregnant women and newborns. The study will be conducted in the country’s hottest regions — the Kyzylorda, Turkestan and Mangystau regions,” the statement said.

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations is nearing completion of the process to include canned saiga meat in the state emergency reserve. Saiga stew would be used alongside beef.

Read also: Bizarre foods of the steppe: Is saiga antelope actually edible?

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defense and the National Security Committee are considering adding saiga meat to the diets and rations of military personnel.

The Ministry of Emergency Situations told Kursiv.media that saiga meat is not currently included in dietary standards for military personnel and cadets. To address this, government agencies are preparing regulatory...

The long-held belief that putting women in charge will automatically clean up “dirty” politics may be more myth than reality. An analysis of two decades of local elections suggests that female leaders are no more or less likely to engage in graft than their male counterparts once they take the oath of office, according to a new study published by the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).

Read also: Why Japan’s first female prime minister might be a setback for women.

Researchers analyzed thousands of close, mixed-gender mayoral races in...

Russia’s book market has undergone a dramatic transformation since 2021, driven by tighter government censorship, the departure of foreign rights holders and sharply rising production costs. An investigation by Novaya Gazeta analyzed more than 10,000 bestselling titles from major retailers and publishers, finding that many once-popular authors have disappeared from bookstore shelves, replaced by domestic fiction and books wrapped in opaque plastic to comply with government regulations.

Books wrapped to comply with censorship rules

One of the most visible changes in Russian bookstores is the widespread enforcement of laws targeting what authorities describe as “LGBT propaganda” and...