News

Kazakhstan is considering revising its regulations on hookahs, shifting from restrictions toward full legalization and formal oversight of the industry. An early draft of amendments obtained by Kursiv.media outlines plans to bring the business out of the shadows rather than impose additional bans.

Long-standing ban widely ignored

Hookahs have been effectively banned in Kazakhstan for more than a decade. Smoking in public places was prohibited in 2013, with further restrictions later incorporated into the country’s Public Health Code.

Read also: Vapes out, hookahs in? Kazakh police draw the line on smoking.

Joe Kent, the director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center and a longtime supporter of President Donald Trump, has resigned in protest over America’s role in the war with Iran, the BBC reported.

In a letter posted on X, Kent argued that Iran posed no imminent threat to the U.S. and claimed the conflict was initiated under pressure from Israel and its American supporters. He urged the president to change course.

The White House rejected Kent’s claims, stating that Trump had strong evidence Iran was preparing an attack. Officials also dismissed the suggestion that outside influence shaped the...

Georgia has declared national mourning following the death of Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II, the spiritual leader of the Georgian Orthodox Church. Georgian media reported the news, citing the Patriarchate.

Ilia II died in Tbilisi at age 93. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in modern Georgian history and a defining spiritual leader in the country’s recent decades.

Read also: Uzbekistan affirms secularism in new religious policy.

In recent days, the patriarch had been hospitalized as his health deteriorated. He was initially admitted to Chapidze Clinic in Tbilisi...

Researchers at Harvard Medical School have identified a striking link between major music releases and fatal traffic crashes in the U.S., according to a recent study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Titled «Smartphones, Online Music Streaming, and Traffic Fatalities,» the study suggests that the release of highly anticipated albums — which drive surges in mobile device use — is associated with a significant increase in deadly motor vehicle collisions.

Streaming surges, fatalities rise

Analyzing data from the 10 most-streamed albums between 2017 and 2022, including releases by artists such as Taylor Swift and...

Yaks, an unusual sight, have started appearing in the foothills in Almaty more often. Kursiv LifeStyle looks at recent encounters with the animals and explains how to behave correctly around them.

A post on Threads by an Almaty resident recently went viral, showing a photo of the bovines walking down the road from the Medeu skating complex toward the city. Adult yaks with calves quickly became the subject of discussion, garnering thousands of views.

The herd was presumably on grazing or had decided to descend closer to the city — the animals do this when sensing approaching precipitation.

Renovating an apartment or house is almost always expensive. Prices for building materials continue to rise faster than wages, and skilled contractors often charge a premium. For most people, that leaves two options: save over time or take out a loan.

Here’s how to decide which approach makes sense.

Can you afford a loan?

Loans are a common financial tool, but it’s important to avoid taking on more debt than you can handle.

Read also: Why emotions sabotage your savings — and how to take back control.

Financial experts generally recommend spending no...

Shigeaki Mori, a Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor embraced by former U.S. President Barack Obama during his 2016 visit, has died, Reuters reported.

Mori was eight when the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945. The blast destroyed the city and left him unconscious.

He became widely known after meeting Obama at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, where their emotional embrace defined the visit — the first by a sitting U.S. president.

Decades later, Mori worked to identify victims cremated at his former school. His research helped identify 12 Americans killed in the bombing.

Mori was...

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has formally signed the new Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan at a solemn event held in Astana, the Akorda reported.

The president also signed a decree on measures to implement the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan adopted on March 15, 2026. Following the signing, Tokayev addressed attendees, stating that the Constitution will come into effect on July 1.

The president also said that the state holiday marking the adoption — Constitution Day — will be celebrated annually on March 15.

The president expressed gratitude to citizens who took part in the referendum, noting residents...

Overnight Israeli airstrikes targeting senior Iranian officials have killed Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani and Basij militia leader Gholamreza Soleimani, Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said, according to Reuters.

If confirmed, Larijani would be the highest-ranking Iranian official killed since Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei died on Feb. 28 during the first day of joint Israeli-U.S. airstrikes.

The conflict, involving the three countries, has lasted three weeks and has already killed at least 2,000 people. The active exchange of strikes, as well as missile and drone attacks by Iran on Gulf nations has also caused disruptions to shipping...

International ride-hailing service inDrive acquired Pakistani quick-commerce startup Krave Mart in an all-stock deal, TechCrunch reported.

TechCrunch said the deal was agreed to in 2025 and approved by Pakistan’s Competition Commission. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The acquisition supports inDrive’s strategy to become a SuperApp as it expands beyond ride-hailing into grocery delivery and other services.

inDrive partnered with Krave Mart to expand its grocery delivery service to Pakistan in January 2026, after launching the service in Kazakhstan in September 2025.

In November 2023, inDrive launched its venture arm and invested in...

In September 2025, Kaspi.kz sold Portmone Group, the owner of the payment service of the same name in Ukraine, which Kaspi had acquired in 2021. Although no details of the deal were disclosed, it is known that the Kazakh fintech company did not earn much from the sale. This information was disclosed in Kaspi’s 2025 annual report.

According to Kaspi.kz, Portmone’s net assets approximated the fair value of the consideration received, meaning the deal was neither profitable nor unprofitable.

In 2021, Forbes Ukraine reported that the acquisition of Portmone could have cost Kaspi.kz approximately $15 million.

At...

Following the release of the Galaxy Z TriFold in December, Samsung has reportedly suspended sales of its foldable device in South Korea, Yonhap reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

According to the sources, the move reflects the high manufacturing cost of the smartphone, even though demand was strong. They also said that rising global memory chip prices further complicated the situation.

Yonhap further quoted other insiders, saying that the device served more as a showcase of Samsung’s technological competitiveness than as a mass-market product.

The device, launched in South Korea on Dec. 12 with...

Flightradar24, a popular flight-tracking service founded by Swedes Mikael Robertsson and Olov Lindberg, began as a small experiment in 2006. Although it has long been popular, the conflict involving the U.S., Israel and Iran, which caused flight disruptions across the Middle East, has turned it into a necessity, Euronews reported.

Temporary air travel restrictions have been introduced by several countries in the region, as Iran began launching missiles and drones at U.S. allies, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia, in response to missile attacks on its territory and the killing of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The new Constitution of Kazakhstan, approved in a March 15, 2026 referendum, has been adopted, Central Election Commission Chairman Nurlan Abdirov stated during a session in Astana on March 17 announcing the results. These results are identical to preliminary data reported by the commission on March 16.

A majority of voters, 87.1%, approved the proposed amendments in the referendum, while 898,099 citizens voted against them. The total number of voters was 9.1 million, with 7.9 million voting «yes.» Separately, 127,868 ballots were recognized as spoiled.

«Therefore, the referendum results have been declared...

A popular mobile app designed to help people overcome pornography addiction exposed the sensitive data of more than 600,000 users due to a basic security flaw, according to a report by 404 Media.

The compromised data includes highly personal information about users’ sexual habits. Among those affected are more than 100,000 minors, whose private disclosures about pornography use and masturbation could be at risk of exposure.

Simple flaw enabled access

The vulnerability allowed virtually anyone to access the database by simply «authorizing» themselves — without the need for advanced tools or hacking expertise.

King Felipe VI of Spain has acknowledged abuses committed during the country’s colonial era, though the Spanish monarchy has never formally apologized to former colonies, Reuters reported.

During a visit to Madrid’s Museum of Archaeology on Monday, the king addressed Spain’s colonial legacy. He discussed the gap between the aims of colonial laws and their outcomes, noting that while the laws «wanted to protect,» in practice, «things didn’t work out as they were originally intended and there was a lot of abuse.»

The remarks referred to Spain’s colonial period between the 16th and 18th centuries, when it ruled one...

Christian Berçaïts, the mayor of the French commune of Viodos-Abense-de-Bas in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, was found dead after losing the first round of municipal elections, according to Le Figaro.

Disappearance after results announced

Berçaïts reportedly disappeared on the evening of March 15, shortly after the election results were announced. According to first-round results, his opponent received 55.5% of the vote.

Read also: The human cost of NAFTA: New study links trade shocks to US deaths.

After learning of his loss, Berçaïts left the polling station and did not respond to calls...

Kazakhstan is experiencing a dynamic surge in food and beverage production. Government forecasts anticipate food production volume to hit a remarkable 4.7 trillion tenge (approx. $9.7 billion) by the end of 2026.

Beverage sector expansion

Coca-Cola Almaty Bottlers is poised to drive growth in the beverage sector. The company plans an ambitious increase in soft drink production — from 4.3 billion liters to 6.7 billion liters, marking a 55% surge.

The company is investing 42 billion tenge ($84 million) in a state-of-the-art plant in western Kazakhstan to power this expansion.

Coca-Cola Almaty Bottlers is owned...

After winter, some people complain of fatigue, dry skin, brittle hair and general weakness. Certain vitamin deficiencies may indeed be more common at the end of winter.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D deficiency is one of the most common worldwide. The vitamin is produced in the skin when it is exposed to sunlight, and ultraviolet radiation levels drop significantly in winter, especially in northern regions.

Read also: Curdled pre-workout? The science behind the viral energy drink yogurt hack.

Low vitamin D levels can cause fatigue, muscle weakness and bone pain.

About...

We hope that women will have a better chance than men of being elected UN secretary-general this year. At least for now, there are more female candidates in the race.

Three more nominees have joined the first two candidates we reported on earlier.

Argentina’s Virginia Gamba was formally nominated by the Republic of Maldives on March 11, 2026. A veteran strategist, Gamba recently served as the UN Under-Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (2017-2025) and previously led the OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism in Syria.

Her vision statement, “Rebuilding Credibility Through Action,” emphasizes transforming the UN...

Kazakhstan has not abandoned its neutral and peace-oriented stance regarding the conflict in the Middle East and views dual power as a dangerous factor that can undermine stability, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said March 15 during a briefing for domestic and international media following the national referendum on a draft new Constitution.

«We have always advocated that all conflicts be resolved through peaceful, diplomatic means. This position of ours remains unchanged,» Tokayev said.

He noted that the conflict in the Middle East has multiple causes and said he had recently...

A remarkable incident in China resembled news reporting from the future. Police had to intervene in a conflict between a human and a robot.

The incident took place in Macau, near a residential complex in the Patane district, according to the South China Morning Post. Authorities said an elderly woman was standing on a sidewalk, looking at her phone, when she suddenly noticed a humanoid robot behind her. It frightened the resident, and in response, she started shouting and waving a bag at the offender.

The woman can be seen arguing with the robot in a...

Kazakhstanis who attempt to sell their organs most often do so through social media platforms and messaging apps, the country’s Ministry of Internal Affairs said in response to an inquiry from Kursiv.media.

«Most cases involve attempts to illegally sell kidneys, since this organ is frequently in demand for transplant operations,» the ministry said.

Penalties for illegal organ trade

The agency noted that coercion to remove human organs or tissues, as well as their illegal removal, is a serious criminal offense under Article 116 of Kazakhstan’s Criminal Code.

Read also:

InDrive CEO Arsen Tomsky said the company’s revenue grew by 31% last year compared with 2024, reaching $601.6 million.

In an interview with Reuters, Tomsky said profitability per ride has improved after several years of rapid expansion. The privately held U.S.-based company is now seeking to expand its business in developing markets through new acquisitions. Over the past two years, InDrive has acquired online grocery delivery services in Pakistan and Kazakhstan, he added.

«Gradually, through these purchases, we are entering this new sphere,» Tomsky said.

Unlike Uber and Grab, InDrive allows drivers and passengers...