Kazakhstan seeks UN backing on water as Almaty tests taxi tech and archaeologists find golden bear

Anadolu Agency: Kazakhstan proposes UN-backed international water organization at COP31

Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov urged countries to back Kazakhstan’s water proposal. He spoke at the UN climate conference in Antalya on November 11, Anadolu Agency reports.

Bektenov pointed to shrinking glaciers and growing water shortages across Central Asia. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed creating an international organization to coordinate the UN’s work on water.

Prime Minister also outlined how Kazakhstan plans to meet its renewable energy target. Renewables now supply 8% of the country’s electricity, four times their share six years ago. Kazakhstan aims to reach 15% by 2030.

The Times of Central Asia: National Bank of Kazakhstan sells its first tokenized notes

Kazakhstan’s central bank sold its first short-term notes in digital token form on November 9. They accounted for one-fifth of the auction, The Times of Central Asia reports.

The Kazakhstan Stock Exchange offered 50 billion tenge in notes. The digital portion had a face value of 10 billion tenge. Selling both versions together let the bank test its digital platform under identical pricing rules.

Investors bid for 70.2 billion tenge, about 40% more than the bank offered. The 91-day notes carried an average annual yield of 15.72%. The central bank will repay holders of both versions.

Gulf Business: Yango Group advances driverless taxi testing and drone delivery plans in Kazakhstan

A Yandex Qazaqstan test vehicle is mapping Almaty’s streets for future driverless taxis, Gulf Business reports.

The car must cover several thousand kilometers before it can carry paying passengers. Kazakhstan expects commercial driverless taxi rides to begin in 2027.

The company also plans to test grocery deliveries at one Almaty residential complex. Residents would order groceries through the app. A drone would fly each order to a designated landing spot inside the complex. A courier would carry the groceries to the customer’s door. Flights still require permits.

Phys.org: From Romania to Kazakhstan, summer droughts linked to less winter ice in two rapidly warming seas

Winter ice in two Arctic seas may offer an early warning of summer drought. The pattern stretches from eastern Romania to western Kazakhstan, Phys.org reports.

Researchers compared winter ice cover in the Barents and Kara seas with summer weather records. They accounted for long-term warming when testing the link.

“If we have a winter with much less sea ice than usual, we have an early clue that drought is more likely in these regions the following summer,” said lead author Petru C. Vaideanu of the University of Bucharest.

Changes in high-altitude winds may explain how Arctic ice affects weather so far inland. These winds can bring warm, dry air into the region, where it can linger. Researchers also observed fewer clouds, allowing more sunlight to heat the ground.

Live Science: 2,200-year-old gold bear figurine and surprising number of bones found in massive burial mound in Kazakhstan

Ancient looters dug three meters into a burial mound at Almaty’s Karagaily cemetery. They left behind a small golden bear, Live Science reports.

The bear stands on its hind legs, holding a small vessel between its paws. Holes at its base suggest someone sewed it onto a headdress. Archaeologists date the burial to the Saka period, around 2,200 years ago.

“The sculpted bear figurine is unique to Kazakhstan. No similar finds have been discovered previously,” said Lyazzat Sagyndykova, director of the Almaty Museums Association.

The bones suggest the mound may have held four adults and three children. Marat Mugalovich Nurpeisov, a senior researcher at the association, explained why that number stood out.

“As a rule, burial mounds of a comparable size were intended for the burial of one or two people.”

The team plans to work with anthropologists to confirm how many people the mound held.

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