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South Korea will now let Google transfer its high-precision map data to servers outside the country. This is a major change after years of rejecting similar requests, according to Reuters.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport says the approval comes with strict security rules. Google must blur military bases and other sensitive locations. In addition, it cannot show exact coordinates for South Korean sites on Google Maps or Google Earth.

Google also has to process map data on servers inside South Korea. It can only send navigation and direction data abroad if the government approves it first.

Authorities...

The goal of walking 10,000 steps a day has long been built into smartwatches and fitness trackers. But contrary to popular belief, the number is not a medical standard. It originated as a marketing benchmark — and modern research shows health benefits begin well before that point.

Where the 10,000-step goal came from

The 10,000-step target first appeared in Japan in the 1960s, when a pedometer manufacturer introduced a device called the manpokei, which translates to «10,000 steps meter.» The figure was intended to encourage people to walk more.

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Aktau International Airport in Kazakhstan has obtained Regulated Agent Third Country (RA3) security compliance status within the EU aviation security regime, confirming the airport’s air cargo security system complies with European Union aviation security requirements for the handling of export cargo.

The security validation was conducted by an EU authorized validator, after which the airport was included in the Union database and assigned the RA3 registration number KZ/RA3/00006-01.

Obtaining this status enables the airport to handle direct cargo shipments to EU Member States without additional security screening, accelerating throughput, streamlining logistics and reducing costs for industry...

Kazakhstan may begin supplying horse meat to Japan later this year, according to Zhanibek Kenzhebayev, chairman of the Turan Livestock Association and owner of a farm with 3,000 horses.

«We plan to begin supplying horse meat to Japan, possibly in May or June 2026, if direct flights are available,» Kenzhebayev told Kursiv.media. «They have foreign currency, so the price is attractive. I think it will be at least $15 per kilogram.»

Air shipments seen as most likely option

Kenzhebayev said the most likely export route would involve shipping freshly chilled...

A strange fitness trend is gaining traction on Scandinavian TikTok. Athletes are mixing skyr — a thick, high-protein yogurt — with a popular sugar-free energy drink. It may sound questionable at first, but many users swear by the result, calling it «delicious» and «perfect for fitness.»

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

Skyr has long been popular among athletes because of its high protein content and relatively low calorie count. A 100-gram serving typically contains about 10 to 11 grams of protein, just...

A discussion is gaining traction on social media over an unusual apartment in Almaty that the listing’s author, a realtor, described as a true «work of art.»

Read also: How photographers saved Almaty’s fleeting street art.

The property is located at the intersection of Panfilov and Tole Bi streets in a well-known building constructed in 1955 and recognized locally for its tower-like silhouette. Built in the Stalinist Empire architectural style, the building is now designated as an architectural monument.

Apartment with rare private terrace

According to the listing, the...

Most people know it’s smart to maintain a financial cushion. Yet as soon as a paycheck hits the bank account, spending quickly follows. Why does this happen?

The answer often lies in psychology. Emotions — not math — are usually the biggest threat to a healthy budget.

Here are several common psychological traps that undermine savings, along with practical ways to regain control of your money.

Trap No. 1: Mental accounting

People tend to assign different emotional value to different sources of money, even though all money is objectively the same.

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Efforts to change public perceptions of people with developmental disabilities are increasingly being supported not only by advocacy and charitable organizations but also by major fashion publications.

Late last year, German fashion, culture and art magazine KALTBLUT featured two young women from Kazakhstan with Down syndrome, highlighting issues of visibility and inclusion.

Kazakh women featured in international publication

The article — titled “We Are Here Too!” — profiled Natalie Vrublevskaya and Zhansaya (Nonna) Mukhamedzhanova. The young women participated in a photo shoot and interview in which they spoke about their lives, interests and sources of joy.

Kazakhstanis born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s — commonly known as Generation Z — already account for about a quarter of the country’s workforce.

According to Arman Shokparov, an HR expert at Qazaq Expert Club, Gen Z workers made up just 13% of the workforce in 2018. Over the next three to five years, their share could rise to 45% to 50% of the economically active population.

Changing attitudes toward work

Shokparov said younger employees are often criticized for job-hopping or lacking diligence, but his professional experience suggests otherwise.

«Gen Z employees are...

Wildlife camera traps in the Almaty State Nature Reserve captured rare footage of snow leopard cubs. The video shows them playing together, running through the snow and mimicking their mother’s movements.

For the cubs, these games are not just a form of play but a way to learn essential skills for hunting and survival in the wild.

The snow leopard is on Kazakhstan’s Red List and considered...

Zero Carbon Charge, a company based in Cape Town, South Africa, has begun developing solar-powered charging hubs for heavy-duty electric trucks along the main highway between Johannesburg and Durban.

This follows a pilot project in which the company fully charged two heavy-duty electric trucks supplied by China’s SANY Trucks at the same time as four passenger EVs powered solely by solar energy, the Associated Press reported.

The project along the 570-kilometer N3 route is supported by a $6.2 million investment from the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA). Once completed, off-grid charging stations will be built every...

On Feb. 25, Kazakhstani figure skater Mikhail Shaidorov, who won gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics, and his coaching team met with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the Akorda, the official presidential residence.

The president praised the athlete’s achievement and described the victory as historically significant, stating that it continues the legacy of late Denis Ten, a figure skater widely recognized for putting Kazakhstan on the global stage and popularizing the sport in the country.

«This is a historic award that the Kazakhstani people have...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the U.S. and North Korea could «get along» if Washington recognizes Pyongyang’s status as a nuclear power, the BBC reported.

Speaking to delegates at the Ninth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea in Pyongyang, Kim urged the U.S. to respect North Korea’s nuclear status and abandon its «hostile policy.» He said the future of relations «depends entirely on the U.S. attitude» and that North Korea is ready for either «peaceful coexistence or permanent confrontation.»

Kim also rejected any prospect of improved relations with South Korea, calling it the North’s «most hostile...

Pope Leo XIV spoke out against the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the preparation of homilies. He made this statement during a meeting with the clergy of the Roman diocese.

As he noted, sermons should be a matter of careful reflection, not the work of neural networks.

«All muscles of the body, if we do not use them, they die. The brain must also be exercised, so our intellect needs some practice,» the pontiff said.

The Pope emphasized that no chatbot can replace a living priest, because faith cannot be spread via algorithms.

U.S. technology companies, including Google, OpenAI and Anthropic, have reported an increase in so-called «model extraction» or «distillation» attacks, which they say are being used by Chinese AI firms to replicate their systems, Euronews reported.

Distillation is a method in which a smaller AI model learns from the outputs of a more advanced model. AI developers often use this technique to make their own systems more efficient. However, companies like Anthropic warn that others can misuse this approach by collecting large numbers of responses to train cheaper, competing models.

Anthropic claims that Chinese companies DeepSeek, Moonshot AI and...

Discord, a messaging and voice chat platform for gamers, has issued a statement after user criticism over the previously announced «teen-by-default» setting for everyone and the age verification rollout planned for March 2026.

Discord Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder Stanislav Vishnevskiy wrote in a blog post acknowledging that the team failed to explain the changes clearly.

The company decided to postpone the rollout of the age verification checks until the second half of 2026. Vishnevskiy noted that «over 90% of users will never need to verify their age to continue using Discord exactly as they do...

An investigative court in Almaty has authorized the two-month pretrial detention of former Kazakh clergyman Iakov Vorontsov, his lawyer, Galym Nurpeissov, said.

Vorontsov faces charges of organizing a drug den and possessing illegal substances. The Almaty City Court’s press service declined to comment, citing investigative secrecy.

Background and public profile

Vorontsov gained national attention in February 2022 after signing an open letter calling for peace in Ukraine alongside other Orthodox clergy.

Read also: Preaching Doomsday? In Kazakhstan, that’ll cost you.

He was suspended from ministry in...

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy supports a proposal to abolish incentives for renewable energy development projects, Deputy Energy Minister Sungat Yessimkhanov said.

Shift from support to market parity

Yessimkhanov said government incentives were justified during the early stages of renewable energy development but may no longer be necessary.

By the end of 2025, renewable energy sources accounted for about 7% of Kazakhstan’s total electricity generation, a level that reflects a mature sector rather than one still in development, he said.

«As a result, we will gradually move toward equal conditions for all energy...

The United Kingdom has expanded its anti-Russian sanctions list, adding 240 companies, seven individuals and 50 ships, including three entities linked to Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom and two employees of its subsidiaries.

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

The updated sanctions list includes Rosatom Energy Projects, REIN Engineering and Rusatom Overseas, as well as Rosatom Energy Projects CEO Andrey Rozhdestvin and Rusatom Overseas President Ilya Vergizayev.

Sanctions tied to overseas nuclear projects

According to a statement from the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth...

Kazakh lawmaker Askhat Rakhimzhanov has called for an investigation into possible contacts between Kazakh officials and Jeffrey Epstein, as well as an assessment of potential national security risks.

Read also: Twisted artifacts found in Epstein files: Russian lullaby & Bill Clinton in drag.

According to Rakhimzhanov, publication of the so-called «Epstein files» has triggered international scrutiny. He said the released documents reference members of Kazakhstan’s political elite associated with what is often described as «Old Kazakhstan.»

Concerns over national reputation

The MP said ignoring the issue would...

Andorra could become a partner of the Eurasian Mountain Resorts Alliance in the future, and cooperation with Grandvalira Resorts may be established.

For now, the development remains an preliminary: the parties have signed a memorandum of cooperation expressing their readiness to discuss joint projects and share expertise. No specific timelines or cooperation models have been announced.

A reciprocal skiing program is in effect among resorts in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Russia within the alliance. Season pass holders receive benefits at partner resorts, subject to accommodation requirements.

If cooperation with Grandvalira develops, the alliance’s geography may expand beyond its initial borders.

An entire village in Belarus has been listed for sale, the local outlet Minskaya Pravda reported.

The village of Veselukha in the northwest of the country was listed for sale for 30,000 Belarusian rubles (roughly $10,463), and is located 20 kilometers from the Lithuanian border and five kilometers from the town of Pastavy.

Although the settlement consists of only three houses, it is considered a separate administrative unit. The closest village, with 55 residents, is called Savichi and is 1 kilometer away.

The lot is connected to electricity and features a well and stove heating, but...

American streetwear brand Supreme has unveiled its Spring/Summer 2026 collection, led by a leather jacket and matching shorts featuring Spider-Man emblems.

Spider-Man collaboration takes center stage

The standout piece is a leather jacket emblazoned with the Spider-Man insignia. Rather than a simple print, the design features a bold graphic composition in vivid red and blue with racing-inspired details.

The jacket was created in collaboration with American leather...

Rompetrol Rafinare, a subsidiary of KMG International, will carry out scheduled maintenance at two refineries in Romania. To ensure all contracted deliveries are met on time, KMG International will rely on its oil reserves, according to a statement from KazMunayGas (KMG), Kazakhstan’s national oil company and the parent company of KMG International.

The planned maintenance will take place at Petromidia Refinery in Năvodari and Vega Refinery in Ploiești. Both facilities will be shut down for approximately 20 days.

The work will include inspecting and recertifying production units, cleaning equipment and replacing components such as catalysts. The company said these...