News

The deadline to nominate candidates for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize is Jan. 31 at midnight CET.

All living individuals and active organizations or institutions are eligible for the prize. However, only certain categories of people are authorized to submit nominations.

Who can nominate

Eligible nominators include members of national legislatures and national governments of sovereign states, current heads of state, university professors, and past recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize. Nominations are preferably submitted through an online form.

Neither the names of nominators nor nominees may be disclosed for 50 years, in accordance with Nobel...

France plans to roll out Visio, its own video conferencing platform, across all government departments by 2027, replacing Microsoft Teams and Zoom. The move is part of a broader effort to reduce reliance on foreign software, especially from the U.S., Euronews reported.

The French government said the decision aims to strengthen control over critical digital infrastructure and improve the security and confidentiality of official communications. According to Minister for the Civil Service and State Reform David Amiel, the goal is to end the use of non-European solutions and rely on a sovereign technology platform. The government also said that...

Kazakhstani startup GoFish has reinvented fishing. Its concept allows users to fish without leaving home — a smartphone and an internet connection are enough.

The idea is that a user launches the app, connects to a camera, and controls an actual fishing rod located on the shore of a real body of water. The bobber, water and fish bites are streamed to the user’s screen.

The project currently covers one location — a lake near Almaty — where an intelligent rod equipped with cameras and remote control has been installed. In the future, the team plans...

On March 20, 2026, Kazakhstan’s international excursion train, Jibek Joly (Silk Way), is set to embark on a new tour, this time covering Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and, for the first time, Tajikistan.

The tour will run from March 20 to 25 and pass through key cities of the Great Silk Road — Turkestan, Samarkand, Dushanbe and Tashkent — starting and ending in Almaty. The package includes a train ticket, guided excursions, site entry tickets and transfers. The tour costs around $618 for adults and $500 for children under 15.

The project is timed to coincide with the Nauryz holiday, the traditional...

Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov said WhatsApp is not secure, making the claim in a post on the social media platform X.

According to Durov, the Meta-owned messaging service contains numerous vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers. He said his team identified several potential weaknesses while analyzing WhatsApp’s encryption system.

In his post, Durov used harsh language to describe people («braindead») who believe WhatsApp remains secure in 2026.

Lawsuit against Meta adds context

Durov’s comments followed a lawsuit filed against Meta by an international group of plaintiffs, who accuse the company of misleading...

Energia Semirechya, a company with predominantly Chinese ownership that operates the Shelek-1 wind farm in the Almaty region, southern Kazakhstan, reported a net loss of 3.28 billion tenge ($7 million) in 2024.

Losses widen despite growing revenue

The wind farm was launched in 2022, but the company has failed to turn a profit in the three years since operations began. Losses widened sharply year-on-year, rising 3.6 times from 899 million tenge in 2023 to 3.28 billion tenge in 2024. In its first year of operation, the company recorded a total loss of 6.8 billion tenge.

At the...

A café with an intriguing concept has been established in Astana. Instead of a typical childrens’ play area, the venue features a large sandbox with RC construction equipment, including excavators, bulldozers and dump trucks, as well as a separate race circuit with RC cars.

Users on social media describe the concept as a good mixture of café and entertainment. Technically, the facility is meant for kids, but commenters joke that the activity brings more joy to their fathers. Grown-ups grab the remote controls with no less enthusiasm and build small «projects» or dig pits.

The resumption of operations at the CPC Black Sea terminal and the expected restart of oil production at Tengiz have pushed oil prices lower. Positive news about the recovery of Kazakh oil supplies was strong enough to overshadow concerns over the winter storm that hit a large swath of the U.S., Bloomberg reported.

What’s happening to prices

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) slipped after a 2.9% jump on Friday — its largest gain in two weeks — settling below $61 per barrel.

The decline was driven by the reopening of a key Black Sea export terminal that handles...

One of the most disturbing crimes in Kazakhstan’s modern history — as unsettling as the plot of «True Detective» — came to light earlier this year. The unexplained disappearance of four members of the same family in Zhangeldin village of the Atyrau region for several months raised alarm and drew nationwide attention.

Bodies found, others still missing

In early January, the bodies of an elderly couple, Maksot Karabalin and Nassip Uteshkaliyeva, were discovered buried about three feet underground in an outbuilding on their property. Their adult children, daughter Meiramgul and son Nauryz, who lived with their parents...

According to Bloomberg, shareholders of the Karachaganak oil and gas project have lost an international arbitration dispute with the Kazakh government, meaning they may be obliged to pay $2 to $4 billion in compensation to the country.

The court sided with the Kazakh government, which argued that the Karachaganak project partners had been reimbursed part of the expenses that were not subject to compensation under the production sharing agreement (PSA).

Even though the final settlement amount has yet to be determined, independent lawyers estimate it could reach up to $4 billion. The decision may still be appealed.

In December...

On Jan. 26, U.S. President Donald Trump announced an increase in import tariffs from 15% to 25% on South Korean products, including cars, lumber and pharmaceuticals, in a post on Truth Social.

In the post, the president said the move was due to delays by the country’s legislative authorities in enacting the agreement reached on July 30, 2025, under which South Korea agreed to invest $350 billion in the U.S. in return for cutting tariffs on its exports.

According to Yonhap, the presidential office called for a joint...

You don’t need to leave Kazakhstan to see real North American bison. The rare animals live in Buiratau National Park, about a three-hour drive from Astana, Kazakhstan’s capital.

The bison were brought to the park from Canada in 2020. Just 10 animals were introduced at first, but they quickly adapted to the local climate and began to reproduce. Today, the herd has grown to 24 bison roaming freely across more than 1,000 acres of protected land.

American rock climber Alex Honnold climbed to the very top of the 101-story skyscraper — Taipei 101 in Taiwan — without a harness.

It took Honnold 91 minutes to ascend from the ground to the peak of the building. According to the BBC, the only other person to climb the tower before Honnold was Frenchman Alain Robert, who did so in 2004 using safety gear.

The ascent was broadcast live on Netflix. On his way up, Honnold greeted people inside, who in turn took photos of him. The tower houses offices of international companies as well...

Stephen King is an active presence on the social media platform Threads, where he frequently shares sharp criticism of U.S. President Donald Trump. In multiple posts, the bestselling author has taken aim at Trump’s leadership and rhetoric.

When Trump began his second term, King wrote,

«Trump voters: You elected a blithering idiot. What happens now is on you.»

King vs. Trump

More recently, King delivered another pointed rebuke.

«Trump has lost his mind,» he wrote. He went on to describe Trump’s speeches as «insane, misspelled ravings about the...

A greenhouse in the village of Yntymak in the Turkestan region is growing Cavendish bananas. Moreover, work is underway to adapt papaya, lemon, orange, mandarin and coffee, according to the regional governor’s office.

In 2019, local entrepreneur Shams Tursynbayev brought Cavendish banana plantlets from Turkey and adapted them to the specific conditions of the Saryagash district. The greenhouse, which produces exotic fruits for Kazakhstan, covers an area of 1,000 square meters.

At the initial stage, the bananas struggled to adapt to the new conditions; however, the entrepreneur managed to acclimate them. As of now, the plants...

Gold prices rose above $5,000 an ounce for the first time, continuing a historic rally that has pushed the metal up more than 60% in 2025, according to the BBC.

This surge is occurring amid growing geopolitical and financial uncertainty, driven by tensions over Greenland and concerns about U.S. trade policy, fueled by President Donald Trump’s threats to impose a 100% tariff on Canada if it makes a trade deal with China.

In such an environment, for thousands of investors worldwide, buying gold and other precious metals is one of the most popular ways to weather the global...

Australian authorities have issued heatwave warnings across most of the country as millions celebrate Australia Day, which marks the arrival of Britain’s First Fleet on Jan. 26, 1788, an event that began the era of colonization, the BBC reported.

According to Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology, temperatures in Victoria and South Australia could surpass 40 degrees Celsius. Authorities have urged people to stay cool indoors when possible and to keep heat out of homes by closing windows and curtains. South Australia recorded a high of 48.5 degrees Celsius on Sunday, prompting fire danger warnings.

Some Australia Day events, including a...

Kazakhstan’s top-ranked tennis player Elena Rybakina (World No. 5) defeated Belgium’s Elise Mertens (21) with 6-1, 6-3 to advance to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open 2026. Her possible opponent in the next round is the world’s second-ranked player, Poland’s Iga Świątek. 

Mertens’s head-to-head record against Rybakina (1-6) did not bode well for the Belgian, and the match confirmed that. The first set was nearly a bagel, with Rybakina dropping just one game.

In the second set, Mertens tried to fight back, but Rybakina overpowered her with aces (10-3) and precise baseline shots. Rybakina sealed the...

Chinese cars confidently entering European markets is not a surprise. However, the success of the Jaecoo 7 in the U.K. is unexpected. In December 2025, the SUV, dubbed the «Temu Range Rover,» emerged as one of the country’s top-selling cars, surpassing the Mini Cooper, Tesla Model 3 and Nissan Juke, Carscoops reported.

Sudden success

In 2025, Chery’s sub-brand sold around 28,000 cars in the U.K., capturing 1.4% of the market and surpassing carmakers such as Honda, Citroën and Porsche. Chinese car sales in the U.K. doubled over the year, resulting in every tenth new car...

January frosts often bring frequent weather reports of blizzards and snowdrifts. They also mark one of the most active seasons for photography and video, capturing the striking beauty of landscapes transformed by snow.

In Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, temperatures fell to minus 17 degrees Celsius last week. Still, one user on Threads was undeterred, stepping outside to film what he described as a magical video postcard.

A strong winter storm moved through much of the eastern U.S. on Sunday, bringing heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain. Cold air from the Arctic disrupted travel, put pressure on power systems and led to emergency declarations in several states, according to Reuters.

Winter storm warnings were in place for much of the eastern third of the country, affecting about 118 million people. Another 157 million were told to prepare for dangerous cold, with temperatures dropping below zero near the Canadian border and below freezing as far south as the Gulf Coast.

Some areas in Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri...

In China, a father quit his job and moved nearly 600 miles for one reason: to make sure his daughter could eat good food.

His daughter, a college sophomore, regularly complained that the meals at her university cafeteria were bland, questionable in quality and nothing like home cooking. Instead of dismissing her concerns, the father decided to act.

From barbecue worker to campus cook

The man had been working at a small barbecue restaurant. He left that job and opened a fried rice stand just outside his daughter’s campus.

Business was slow at first. On opening day...

The European Commission is preparing to compel all EU member states to eliminate Chinese telecom firms Huawei Technologies and ZTE from their national mobile networks under a newly proposed cybersecurity law, according to a report by the South China Morning Post. The initiative represents a significant escalation in the bloc’s approach to safeguarding digital infrastructure.

From recommendation to legal obligation

Since 2020, Brussels has urged member states to phase out equipment from Huawei and ZTE in 5G networks, warning that their presence could pose security vulnerabilities. Despite these recommendations, only 13 of the EU’s 27 countries have...

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy confirmed that the third single-point mooring (SPM-3) at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s (CPC) Marine Terminal has been successfully put into service.

Repair work

The repair work on SPM-3 have been completed. All restoration and technical measures, as well as testing, have been carried out. The system is ready for safe operations.

«The commissioning of SPM-3 allows oil deliveries to be carried out simultaneously from two single-point mooring locations,» the ministry’s press service emphasized.

The development increases the terminal’s reliability, expands planning opportunities and ensures exports of Kazakh oil in line...