Mongolia courts Kazakhstan, seeks path between China and Russia

Good news! Better relationships between Central Asian/Stan countries?

"For a country that sends nearly all of its exports to China and depends almost entirely on Russia for fuel imports, finding a third direction has never been straightforward, but Mongolia is looking west to Kazakhstan. ..."

Mongolia courts Kazakhstan, seeks path between China and Russia - Nikkei Asia (behind paywall) "President makes first state visit to Astana in 20 years, setting in motion raft of deals"

Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, right, met with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Astana last week, in the first state visit from a leader of the country to Kazakhstan in 20 years.

Couple Arrested for Using Spy Gear in Australian Casino and winning over A$1 million

I guess, this couple tried too hard otherwise the couple may not have been caught!

It looks like you can win some money at Casinos when using such gear. The days of loaded dice and marked cards are long over.

"A couple from Kazakhstan has landed in an Australian jail after allegedly using spy gear and winning over A$1 million at a Sydney casino. ...

Casino staff noticed a small camera concealed in the stitching of 36-year-old Dilnoza Israilova’s Mickey Mouse T-shirt, leading to the arrest of her and her husband, Alisherykhoja Israilov, 44.

When searched, police found magnetized probes and a phone mirror attachment in the possession of the couple. Further searches, including the pair’s hotel room, revealed earpieces used for receiving tips on when to bet on card games.

The Israilovas applied for casino membership on the same day they arrived in Sydney from Kazakhstan in October and raised suspicion by winning approximately A$1.2 million over several visits. ..."

Monday, December 1, 2025 - Join The Flyover

Kazakh pair accused of using spycam and earpieces to win A$1.2m in casino

The high roller couple

Trump confirms Kazakhstan has become first country to join Abraham Accords in second term

Good news! President Trump, peacemaker and bridge builder!

Trump confirms Kazakhstan has become first country to join Abraham Accords in second term | Just The News ""This is a major step forward in building bridges across the World," Trump posted on Truth Social. "Today, more Nations are lining up to embrace Peace and Prosperity through my Abraham Accords.""

The alien lands once hidden beneath the ocean in Kazakhstan

Recommendable! Beautiful landscapes, canyons etc. As someone living in Arizona, I am getting a little envious! 😊

Trump announces $4B railroad deal with Kazakhstan

Good news! The Art of the Deal! But why does a US president have to be involved in this foreign government procurement/private business deal?

"President Donald Trump on Monday announced that he had reached an agreement with the Kazakh government for a $4 billion purchase of railroad equipment.

"I just concluded a wonderful call with the Highly Respected President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev," Trump posted on Truth Social. "They have signed the largest Railroad Equipment Purchase in History, $4 Billion Dollars Worth of United States Locomotives and Rail Equipment." ..."

Trump announces $4B railroad deal with Kazakhstan | Just The News "Kazakhstan is the largest country in Central Asia and borders both Russia and China."

Kazakhstan is the Latest Central Asian Nation to Ban Niqab with Molly Gambhir

Good news! But what about women who voluntarily wear a Niqab or similar clothes?

Why is Switzerland on this list?

The terrible Legacy of Nuclear Testing by the former Soviet Union in Kazakhstan

Communist regimes don't treat humans very kindly!

"From 1949 to 1989, the Soviet Union detonated 456 nuclear weapons at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in Kazakhstan, exposing 1.5 million people to radioactive fallout.

Generations of people in the region now suffer high rates of cancer, fertility problems, heart disease, and genetic birth defects.

Researchers have found the radiation nearly doubled inherited gene mutation risks.

Ongoing Struggle: Despite persistent health issues, neither Russia or Kazakhstan has offered long-term, large-scale aid. ..."

Global Health NOW: Argentina’s Health System Overhaul; The Legacy of Nuclear Testing in Kazakhstan; and Novel Mental Health Care in an L.A. Jail

Atomic bombs destroyed their lives – now they want Russia to pay "Amid calls to restart nuclear testing, families are still suffering from mutations passed down through the generations"

The Atomic Lake in eastern Kazakhstan was formed by a nuclear bomb 10 times as powerful as the one that destroyed Hiroshima

Just one example of many. Abilmansur Erzhanov, 7, was born unable to hear as a result of his grandmother and mother being exposed to radiation

Kazakhstan marks 30 years of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan

Recommendable!

Kasachstan: Mann rettet Flughafen-Angestellte vor Messerangriff

Unglaublich! Bravo! Grossartig gemacht! Ein wahrer Held!

What remains of the dried-out Aral Sea, a man-made ecological disaster?

Recommendable! Meet e.g. a brine shrimp farmer.

Focus on Central Asia as ‘Middle Corridor’ grows

Recommendable!

Kazakhstan's tightrope between Russia, Ukraine and Europe

Recommendable!

Russia’s Axis of Sanctions Evasion by Michael Rubin

Recommendable! Explains why the Western sanctions against Russia were largely ineffective!

Turkey, a NATO member, is part of these sanctions evasion! Turkey's President Erdogan is acting like an Osman sultan! Very dubious!

"... The answer is Russia’s axis of evasion. Absent Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan’s assistance in laundering Russian oil and gas exports and facilitating the Kremlin’s sanctions circumvention, Russia’s economy might be a shadow of its current self. ..."

Russia’s Axis of Sanctions Evasion | American Enterprise Institute - AEI

Xi Jinping backs Kazakhstan joining BRICS

BRICS expanding! Kazakhstan is the 14th largest country of the world! I believe, it is also fairly unexplored.

Xi Jinping meets Russia's Putin, backs Kazakhstan joining BRICS - Nikkei Asia Chinese president in Astana for regional SCO summit as tensions with West simmer

Comrades in arms

Central Asia's First 3D Printed House Designed to Withstand 7.0 Earthquakes costs about 25,000 Euros and the walls were printed in 5 days

Amazing stuff! I am afraid government regulations in many Western countries would not allow to build such a home. Hopefully, change is coming!

Looks like 3D printed home construction is taking hold in Kazakhstan of all places!

Key points:

"

• BM Partners [a first of its kind 3D construction printing company in Kazakhstan] completes Central Asia's first 3D printed house in Almaty, Kazakhstan, adhering to strict seismic regulations.
• Using extra strong concrete normally used for highly loaded structures like skyscrapers and bridges, and other seismic precautions, the house is made to withstand earthquakes of 7 on the Richter scale.
• The entire building, featuring 100 m2 (1076 SF), was constructed in less than two months, with the walls printed in just five days.
• To cope with the extreme temperature variations in Kazakhstan the building also contains expanded polystyrene concrete for insulation.

"

"... Marat Oshakhtiev, CEO of BM Partners [founded 2022], shared the vision driving the project: “Embracing modern technologies is essential in today's world. Our company is committed to staying at the forefront of technological advancements with 3D construction printing within our country. With this project, our company has confidently stepped into the future, addressing Kazakhstan’s urgent need for earthquake resistant modernized, efficient and resilient housing solutions“. ..."

Central Asia's First 3D Printed House Designed to Withstand 7.0 Earthquakes

COBOD International A/S (Nordhavn, Denmark)

Credits: Dieses 3D-Druck-Haus kostet 20.500 Euro und übersteht Erdbeben der Stufe 7

Moscow’s Plan For Splitting Up Kazakhstan Is Most Probably Already Working

Is Kazakhstan next after Ukraine? However, China appears to be opposed.

Is Russia trying to conquer Kazakhstan by opening general consulates in every region of this country?

"... Indeed, in the last year the most consistent barrage of Russian threats has targeted Kazakhstan in Central Asia as a possible candidate for Moscow’s territorial aggrandizement and invasion. Presumably such threats are directed at least at Kazakhstan’s northern territory that adjoins the Russian Federation and which many Russian nationalists, not least Aleksandr’ Solzhenitsyn, claim should be or is actually part of Russia proper”. ...
Then it was announced that Russia decided to open a general consulate in Aktau (the Mangystau province of Western Kazakhstan) – in addition to the four existing ones in Astana (Northern Kazakhstan), in Almaty (Southern Kazakhstan), in Oskemen (Eastern Kazakhstan), and in Oral (Western Kazakhstan). This will be the second Russian general consulate in Western Kazakhstan. This is even though the number of ethnic Russians in Western Kazakhstan is very much less than in the other three regions ..."

"... These threats regularly appear on Russian media and enjoy support from high-ranking members of the Russian government, particularly Dmitri Medvedev, former President and Deputy Chairman of the Security Council, and Nikolai Patrushev, widely regarded as the No. 2 man in the regime and Head of the Council. These threats revolve around certain key points. Kazakhstan’s statehood is allegedly a “gift” from Russia since it never had a state before. Medvedev went further and stated that it was the Russians who settled (i.e colonized) Kazakhstan before the Kazakhs did. Moreover, Kazakhstan’s recent resettlement programs amount to a form of genocide of the Russians. ...
On the other hand, to judge from the public record, China has contemplated this option when Russia started making threats against Kazakhstan in 2022. As a result, and in view of his publicly expressed esteem for Sino-Kazakh relations in 2022, President Xi Jinping went out of his way in 2022 to warn against just such a scenario. ..."

Moscow’s Plan For Splitting Up Kazakhstan Is Most Probably Already Working, But Very Few People Notice – OpEd

Is Kazakhstan Russia’s Next Target?

Ethno-Folk Ensemble Turan from Kazakhstan Pop-Up Performance

Enjoy! What's happening in my neighborhood! These musicians are jamming!

Russia's influence over former Soviet republics is starting to fade

Recommendable! Putin the Terrible miscalculated in so many ways!

Bitcoin mining was once, not long ago, booming in Kazakhstan. Then the government stepped in

A cautionary tale!

"Over the past few years, dozens of bitcoin mining operations have sprung up in the city of Ekibastuz in Kazakhstan and its surrounding area, drawn by the country’s cheap power, limitless land and a surfeit of unused buildings that mines. By the summer of 2021, Kazakhstan had risen to be a bitcoin mining superpower. 

But the gold rush was doomed from the start. Kazakhstan’s miners eventually overloaded the country’s energy grid, causing localized blackouts, and exacerbating existing tensions. In January 2022, these issues boiled over into mass protests. 

Within weeks, the government effectively cut miners off from the national grid, bringing the boom to an abrupt end.  ..."

Bitcoin mining was booming in Kazakhstan. Then it was gone. | MIT Technology Review

The prehistoric origins of the Silk Road

Very recommendable! After the collapse of the former Soviet Union archaeology became one of the neglected sciences in the then independent republics for many years. It was also mentioned there were significant warm periods some 20-40,000 years ago (long before the preindustrial age)!