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Swimming World Cup

Astana Plays Host to the Swimming World Cup

More than 300 swimmers from 39 countries are competing in Astana for the final leg of the 2026 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup. This is Kazakhstan's first time hosting an event in the series, which will determine the overall men's and women's World Cup winners. The competition is taking place from October 15 to 17 at Barys Arena, concluding the three-stage Silk Road series, which began in Baku and continued in Tashkent. The World Cup is organized by World Aquatics, the international governing body for aquatic sports. Unlike the Olympic Games, swimmers compete in a 25- rather than a 50-meter pool, meaning races involve more turns. Competitors, whose ranks include Olympic and world champions, are vying for medals in freestyle, breaststroke, butterfly, and backstroke events over distances ranging from 50 to 1,500 meters. There are also individual medley and relay events. Athletes are also competing for overall standings points accumulated across the series' three legs. The series carries a $1.2 million prize fund. On the opening day, October 15, two Kazakh swimmers set national records. Aibat Myrzamuratov completed the men's 50-meter breaststroke in 26.50 seconds, while Sofia Spodarenko broke her own record in the women's 50-meter butterfly. Kazakhstan's Minister of Tourism and Sports, Yerbol Myrzabossynov, stressed the tournament's significance for local swimmers, who have an opportunity to compete against some of the world's leading athletes on home soil. Kazakhstan has entered 22 swimmers in the competition. Kazakhstan is expanding its calendar of international sporting events. According to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the country expects to host seven world championships across various disciplines in 2026 and 2027. These include the World Wrestling Championships, which will take place at Barys Arena from October 24 to November 1.

Podcast

Pannier and Hillard’s Spotlight on Central Asia: New Episode Out Now

As Managing Editor of The Times of Central Asia, I’m delighted that, in partnership with the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs, we are the home of the Spotlight on Central Asia podcast. Chaired by seasoned broadcasters Bruce Pannier of RFE/RL’s long-running Majlis podcast and Michael Hillard of The Red Line, each fortnightly instalment will take you on a deep dive into the latest news, developments, security issues, and social trends across an increasingly pivotal region. This week, the team looks at Kyrgyzstan unveiling plans that would require religious bloggers to be licensed and subjected to greater state oversight; further changes to the country's regional security leadership; one of the Central Asian states launching its first satellite into space; and a new round of CSTO military exercises in Russia that could have some troubling implications for the region. We'll also be looking at Turkmenistan marking 35 years of independence with a massive military parade showcasing a range of new weapons systems, as well as a week of blackouts hitting one of Central Asia's key cities. From there, we turn to our main story this week, where we'll be joined by two experts from the World Bank to discuss a major new report examining some of the biggest economic bottlenecks facing Central Asia, where those constraints are emerging, and what governments across the region will need to do to overcome them. Special guests: - Muneeza Alam (World Bank) - Luis Blancas (World Bank)

White Tigers

White Tiger Cubs Born at Ashgabat Zoo

Two white tiger cubs have been born at Ashgabat Zoo and will be shown to the public starting in the spring of next year, according to a Turkmen news report. Digital news outlet Takyk reported this week that the male and female cubs are under close veterinary monitoring alongside their mother at the zoo, whose formal name is the National Museum of Wildlife. The cubs were born to a tiger named Taymaz and a tigress named Narin, according to Takyk. Many people are drawn to the striking appearance of white tigers, but several international conservation groups have said the animals don’t serve any conservation purpose and are primarily bred for entertainment and profit. White tigers are believed to be extinct in the wild, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare group. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF), another conservation organization, has said that white tigers are not a separate subspecies of tiger and that those in captivity exist due to inbreeding. “The white tiger is a result of a rare genetic mutation and the most efficient way to breed them is by using two tigers who have the recessive genes needed to produce offspring with a white coat,” said the WWF, adding that white tigers suffer from significant health problems. The Ashgabat zoo encompasses about 40 hectares and is located on the slopes of the Kopet Dag Mountains, just west of the capital. The zoo opened in the city center in 1932 but conditions became cramped, prompting authorities to move it to the more spacious outskirts in 2010.

Small Businesses

Almaty Facade Renovations Leave Small Businesses in the Dust

When Gaukhar Osmonalieva rented a space in central Almaty for a pet grooming salon and coffee shop, renovations to the building’s facade were already underway. She was assured the work would be finished soon. Her business opened in August, but instead of a busy street and an outdoor terrace, she found herself surrounded by scaffolding, a torn-up sidewalk, and constant dust. By mid-October, construction was still underway, and the customers she had hoped to attract by choosing the location were coming less frequently. “At one point, the construction workers dug up the entire road, and foot traffic dropped noticeably. We chose this location because it was convenient and had heavy pedestrian traffic, but those are precisely the advantages we have now practically lost,” Osmonalieva told The Times of Central Asia. Almaty is Kazakhstan’s largest city and commercial hub. In 2026, the city launched a large-scale renovation of residential building facades, many dating back to the Soviet era. The original program covered 176 buildings in three central districts – Almaly, Bostandyk, and Medeu. More than 25.8 billion tenge (approximately $57 million) was allocated for the work. Many of the buildings house cafes, shops, and small businesses on their ground floors. [caption id="attachment_58399" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] Classes continue as normal at a language school on Abay Avenue as restoration goes on outside.[/caption] City officials promised to update the facades while preserving the buildings’ architectural features. But questions about how the work was organized emerged as early as spring. Local news outlet Vlast found that construction had begun at some sites in March, before public tenders were announced and contracts signed. Under the tender terms, renovating a single building was supposed to take three to five months. By August, only nine of the 178 buildings listed in updated district administration figures had been fully renovated. Authorities in Bostandyk expected to complete most of the work by September, while those in Almaty targeted October. Osmonalieva was initially told the renovations would take three weeks, then that they would be completed by September. After complaining via e-Otinish, Kazakhstan’s government complaints platform, she was given a new deadline: October 15. “But today is already October 12, and judging by the condition of the facade, I wouldn’t say even half the work has been done,” she said. According to Osmonalieva, there are often only three or four construction workers on the building. Tools are left near the entrance, while workers cut cladding materials beside the salon, filling the area with dust. [caption id="attachment_58396" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] A coffee shop on Kunaev Street, with construction materials stacked outside.[/caption] The coffee shop has suffered most. Osmonalieva had planned to open an outdoor terrace, a popular feature in Almaty, where warm weather lasts for several months. But scaffolding made it impossible to set up tables outside. “As a result, we missed the entire season. This had a significant impact on the coffee shop: demand was lower than expected, and we couldn’t reach our planned targets,” she said. The construction has created additional...

Safety Measures

Kyrgyzstan Road Safety Plan Proposed After 900 Traffic Deaths in 2025

Kyrgyzstan recorded 8,456 road accidents in 2025, leaving 900 people dead and 12,169 injured. Compared with the previous year, the number of accidents rose by 18.8%, while fatalities increased by 21.1%. In response, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has drafted a road safety program for 2027–2030 and opened it for public discussion on October 10. It identifies speeding, driving into oncoming traffic, drunk driving, and violations of rules at intersections and pedestrian crossings as major causes of accidents. Speeding alone resulted in 298 deaths last year. The ministry is proposing the installation of barriers, improving street lighting, creating safer pedestrian crossings, and expanding the network of bicycle lanes. Near schools, the plans include reducing speed limits to 30 km/h, additional traffic lights, and building sidewalks. The program also calls for expanding the network of automated traffic enforcement cameras and introducing digital traffic management systems, as well as developing new rules for using drones to detect traffic violations. Police already use drones for this purpose, but the ministry wants to formalize and expand their use. Separate changes would affect electric scooters and mopeds. In Bishkek, scooters frequently share sidewalks with pedestrians. The ministry proposes designating separate lanes or space along the edges of roads for these vehicles and separating their movement from pedestrians. The program also proposes gradually replacing rental electric scooters with bicycles. Kyrgyzstan is also overhauling its driver training system. Authorities have suspended the operations of private driving schools and transferred training to state institutions, while extending the duration of courses from two and a half months to ten months. The restrictions, introduced in January 2026, have been extended until December 31 as part of a trial program. Officials said the decision was intended to eliminate corruption in the issuance of driver's licenses and improve training standards. In its country profile, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated Kyrgyzstan's road traffic mortality rate at 13.3 deaths per 100,000 people in 2021, compared with 13.9 in Tajikistan, 12.2 in Kazakhstan, 9.3 in Uzbekistan, and 8.0 in Turkmenistan. In the European Union, meanwhile, the rate was 4.5.

Archaeology

Ancient Fortress and Rare Figurine Discovered at Kalzhyr Settlement in Kazakhstan

Fortress walls destroyed by fire, remains of ancient buildings, and a rare ceramic bird figurine with a rattle inside were discovered by Kazakh archaeologists during excavations at the Kalzhyr settlement in the country's east, near the border with China. Archaeological evidence and radiocarbon analysis date the site to the 6th–7th centuries CE, when the first Turkic states were emerging in Central Asia. An expedition from Al-Farabi Kazakh National University studied the settlement in the Zaysan Basin, between the villages of Kalzhyr and Boran. Researchers uncovered the remains of fortifications in the southern part of the 25-hectare site and found evidence that many had been destroyed by fire. The finds include plaster bearing traces of decorative patterns, ceramic vessels, and charred grains of wheat and legumes, giving us an insight into crops available to the settlement's inhabitants. According to the researchers, construction of the fortified settlement may date to the period of the First Turkic Khaganate. This state emerged in the mid-6th century and extended its influence across vast areas of Eurasia. Archaeologists also discovered a much older burial monument – a khirigsuur, a funerary and commemorative structure dating to the Late Bronze Age. Similar complexes are known primarily from Mongolia and Xinjiang in northwestern China. In studying the sites, archaeologists used aerial and thermal imaging alongside other surveying methods. Based on the data collected, they plan to develop three-dimensional models and a geographic information system for the region. The work is being carried out as part of a project studying the archaeological landscapes of the basin. The Times of Central Asia previously reported on the discovery of two rare bronze knives, believed to be associated with the early Saka, in Bayanaul National Park in the Pavlodar region. Other research conducted at the ancient Karakabak settlement in the Mangystau region has provided new evidence of trade links between East and West.