«Interstellar» and «Miss Sloane» star Jessica Chastain unexpectedly drew the attention of Kazakhstani social media users after posting a video to Instagram using the track «GO!» by Kazakh rapper Alikhat Tanatarov, who performs under the name hatikoali.
In the video, the actress poses in a gown while the song plays in the background. The post was dedicated to Chastain’s styling team. «Shout out glam team for doing the lord’s work,» she wrote.
The fleet of electric vehicles continues to grow in Kazakhstan. Currently, more than 21,000 EVs are registered in the country. In the last year alone, their number increased significantly, 24KZ reported, citing Kazakhstan’s Bureau of National Statistics.
According to the latest data, the number of electric cars in Kazakhstan increased by roughly 80% over the past year. Several years ago, even in major cities, electric vehicles were a rare sight, but interest in them is now steadily growing.
Experts note that since 2019, Kazakhstan imported around 1,000 EVs annually...
Abiqua Falls, a popular Oregon waterfall, may soon become public land after state lawmakers agreed to fund its purchase from a private nonprofit, The Associated Press reported.
The 28-meter waterfall is located about 30 miles east of Salem and 50 miles south of Portland. It can be reached by driving along an unpaved road and then hiking a steep trail. Mount Angel Abbey purchased the site in 1908, and in 2002, it was transferred to the Abbey Foundation of Oregon, a nonprofit that supports the Benedictine monastery.
Although the organization had long allowed visitors to access the landmark...
Kazakh economist Rassul Rysmambetov said the tenge could remain in the range of 490-510 per U.S. dollar if global oil prices stay above $100 per barrel amid the ongoing conflict involving Iran.
Read also: How $100 oil could pay for Kazakhstan’s nuclear future.
According to Rysmambetov, Iran has previously signaled that it would welcome oil prices rising as high as $200 per barrel — a scenario that, from a purely economic perspective, could benefit oil-exporting countries such as Kazakhstan.
«At the policy level, Astana could...
“Scream 7” has set a franchise record at the box office. Kursiv LifeStyle takes a look at how much the new installment of the iconic slasher has grossed.
According to Paramount, the global box office has reached $176.9 million, allowing the latest movie to surpass the franchise’s previous record holders. “Scream” (1996) generated $173 million and “Scream 2” (1997) earned $172 million, not adjusted for inflation.
Of the total, $106.5 million came from domestic box office sales in the U.S., with $70.4 million earned internationally. According to the online ticketing platform Freedom Ticketon, the movie earned...
U.S. President Donald Trump has urged other countries to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, but key allies, including Japan and Australia, say they have no plans to deploy naval vessels to the region, Reuters reported.
Trump said countries that rely on energy supplies from the Persian Gulf should help protect the narrow shipping route, which carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil shipments. His request comes as tensions in the Middle East remain high amid the ongoing conflict involving the U.S., Israel and Iran.
On Sunday, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that the U.S. has...
Paul Thomas Anderson’s film «One Battle After Another,» starring Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role, won best picture at the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday. It is the director’s first Oscar after many years of critical acclaim, the Associated Press reported.
The film, which tells a multi-generational American story about political resistance, won six awards overall. These included best director and best adapted screenplay for Anderson, best supporting actor for Sean Penn and the Academy’s first award for best casting. DiCaprio, despite playing the film’s lead role, did not win any awards this time.
Michael B. Jordan won best...
Kazakhstan’s Central Election Commission has announced preliminary results from the referendum on the new Constitution — 87.1% of voters supported the proposed amendments, committee chairman Nurlan Abdirov stated.
At the same time, 898,099 citizens voted against the amendments.
Overall, 9,127,192 people participated in the referendum, with 7,954,667 voting in favor of the new Constitution.
On March 16, 2026, representatives of the CIS Observer Mission and heads of delegations of the central election authorities of foreign countries, who monitored the voting process at the referendum, will speak at the Central Election Commission.
According to an exit poll by the...
Overall, 86.7% of Kazakh citizens supported the adoption of a new constitution in the national referendum, according to an exit poll conducted by the Institute of Eurasian Integration. The institute reported voter turnout at 75.3%.
A separate exit poll by the Amanat Party’s Institute of Public Policy found that 88.6% of voters backed the new constitution.
Tokayev meets with youth activists
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met Sunday with representatives of youth organizations who actively participated in the referendum campaign.
The president emphasized the significance of what he called a historic day and expressed gratitude to the young people for...
Kazakhstanis continue to draw attention with creative appearances at polling stations during the March 15 referendum on the new Constitution. Across the country, some voters arrived in unusual costumes, turning the voting process into a colorful spectacle.
Read also: Meet Constitution: The unusual Kazakh names reflecting a nation in transition.
In Astana, a young woman came to vote wearing a white robe and slippers and brought along a robotic dog. The mechanical companion accompanied her through the entire process, from registration to casting her ballot.
In Uralsk, a local resident appeared...
The Chinese company Xiamen Tungsten Co., Ltd. has established a subsidiary in the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) — Xiamen Tungsten Hanyuan Resources Co., Ltd. — according to Finmentor.kz author Arman Batayev.
Previously, Xiamen Tungsten sought to gain control of the largest tungsten deposit in Kazakhstan’s Karaganda region.
The company specializes in the production of tungsten and molybdenum. Registered on March 12, the new subsidiary will oversee the activities of Xiamen Tungsten’s affiliated companies in Kazakhstan in the mining and metallurgical sectors.
The company’s charter capital is...
A new trend among Gen Z and millennials is turning routine tasks into a social event. The format is known as «Admin Night.»
The idea is simple: friends get together — but not for a loud party. Instead, they bring their laptops and phones, order food or pour a glass of wine, and focus on everyday adult responsibilities.
Read also: Growth over loyalty: Why Gen Z won’t wait for a promotion.
During these meetups, people pay bills, deal with taxes, clear out hundreds of emails, update their résumés, schedule appointments, and...
It appears that Kyrgyz rap is being taken seriously not only by listeners but also at the state level. Kyrgyz Minister of Culture, Information, Sports and Youth Policy Mirbek Mambetaliev met with artists from the local hip-hop scene to discuss the genre’s future in the country.
Well-known local performers, including Begish, Freeman 996, Bakr and Bayastan, were invited. The rappers explained how the scene is developing today, shared the difficulties young musicians face and discussed what could help the genre grow.
The talks focused not only on supporting the artists but also on how the music scene could develop in...
Female infertility is discussed more often than male infertility. However, in about 50% of cases, difficulties with conception are linked to men’s health.
Male infertility is most often associated with changes in sperm quality, including a low sperm count, reduced motility (movement), or abnormal sperm structure. In some cases, the problem is not with the sperm cells themselves but with a disruption in how they are transported.
There can be many underlying causes, including:
Varicocele (enlarged veins in the testicles). Hormonal imbalances. Infections or inflammatory diseases. Genetic factors. Complications from injuries or surgeries...
Yerbol Khamitov, a Kazakhstani Paralympic cross-country skier and biathlete, won gold in the men’s 4.5-kilometer biathlon pursuit at the 2026 Paralympic Games in Italy.
Khamitov completed the race in 9:39.0, with one miss at the second shooting stage. Taras Rad of Ukraine took the silver medal, finishing 21.5 seconds behind the Kazakh athlete, while China’s Liu Zixu claimed bronze (+32.5 seconds).
Two other Kazakhstani biathletes — Yuriy Berezin and Sergey Usoltsev — finished the race in 19th place (two misses, +3:30.4) and 23rd place (five misses, +4:43.9), respectively.
Earlier, on March 10, Khamitov won Kazakhstan’s first medal of the...
Aircraft are becoming a safer means of travel, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Kursiv LifeStyle explains how air accident statistics are changing.
According to the latest report, 51 air accidents occurred in 38.7 million flights in 2025, down from 54 incidents in 2024. On average, such accidents occur once every 759,000 flights.
At the same time, eight accidents were fatal, resulting in 394 deaths, compared with 244 fatalities in 2024, when seven fatal accidents were reported.
IATA Director General Willie Walsh stated that, despite individual accidents, aviation remains one of the safest ways to travel.
Volkswagen has started mass production of the ID.UNYX 08, its first model developed jointly with Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng, as the German automaker seeks to strengthen its position in the Chinese market, Reuters reported.
The full-size electric SUV is part of Volkswagen’s broader push into new energy vehicles in China, where it faces growing competition from local manufacturers such as BYD and Geely. The model is expected to go on sale in the first half of the year.
The vehicle reflects Volkswagen’s strategy of focusing on local development in China to accelerate production. According to the company, its...
The house in the Austrian town of Braunau am Inn where Adolf Hitler was born will soon be converted into a police station. Authorities hope the move will prevent the building from becoming a gathering point for neo-Nazis and Hitler admirers and strip it of symbolic significance, the German magazine Der Spiegel reported.
The transformation of the building into a police station is nearly finished. According to Austria’s Interior Ministry, police are expected to move into the facility in the second quarter of 2026.
The 17th-century structure was originally...
Seven days before the release of the long-anticipated album “Arirang” by the globally recognized K-pop band BTS, the group released an animated trailer, building even more excitement among waiting fans.
The animation opens with seven young men winding up a phonograph, and the melody of the Korean folk song “Arirang” — which shares its title with the album — begins to play. The scene is set in 1896 and in the next sequence, the young people take a ferry across the Pacific Ocean, singing along to the motif and later performing it for an audience. The...
The U.S. is moving parts of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system from South Korea to the Middle East, according to the BBC.
The move comes nearly two weeks into the conflict involving the U.S., Israel and Iran. Following strikes on Tehran and other sites across the country, Iran has launched hundreds of drones and ballistic missiles targeting Israeli and U.S. military facilities in the region, raising concerns about regional security and increasing the demand for air defense systems.
The U.S. operates eight THAAD batteries worldwide. Each battery can intercept short- and medium-range ballistic missiles at...
To curb rising oil prices amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, the U.S. will release 172 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced.
In a statement, Wright said that 32 member countries of the International Energy Agency (IEA) had previously agreed unanimously to a request by Donald Trump to reduce energy prices through a coordinated release of 400 million barrels of oil and petroleum products from their strategic reserves.
Read also: Kazakhstan’s...
China’s auto market recorded its biggest decline in two years in February, with vehicle shipments — including both domestic sales and exports — falling 15.4%, Carscoops reported, citing the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
The domestic market took the hardest hit, with passenger car sales in China dropping by about 34% from 2025 levels, totaling around 950,000 vehicles.
Some experts believe the figures were affected by the Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations in February. However, analysts say there are likely deeper factors behind the decline.
In recent months, several...
An unprecedented joint Israeli-U.S. military campaign against Iran has delivered a severe blow to China’s broader strategy in the Middle East. The crisis threatens Beijing’s energy security, undermines its defense export ambitions and disrupts key elements of its Belt and Road Initiative, according to reporting by Chinaobservers.eu.
The turmoil in Iran represents the collapse of the final pillar in what analysts describe as a «triple shock» to China’s shadow energy network.
China had relied heavily on discounted oil from countries facing Western sanctions. But that network has steadily unraveled. Venezuelan crude...
Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, jointly with the World Bank, has developed the second phase of the project to restore the Aral Sea. The reconstruction of the Kokaral Dike is planned within the project to raise the water level to 44 meters according to the Baltic Normal Height System.
The project is expected to increase the water body area to 3,900 square kilometers and the water volume to 34 billion cubic meters.
The ministry is also developing over 160 design specifications and cost estimates to upgrade and automate irrigation systems in the Aral-Syrdarya basin in the Turkestan and...