ALMATY, 12 Jan 2005 (IRIN) - Selling apples is Slava Kim's life. "The apples here are famous. The best in Kazakhstan," the 26-year-old boasted outside Taldikorgan's fruit and vegetable market, provincial capital of Kazakhstan's southeastern Almaty province, which takes its name from the fruit.Full report

ANKARA, 10 Jan 2005 (IRIN) - Nearly 900 people stranded on the roads in central and northern Kazakhstan following heavy snowfall have been rescued, according to the country's emergency ministry. Full report

ALMATY, 10 Jan 2005 (IRIN) - The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), in collaboration with the Kazakh government, aims to reduce the level of maternal mortality in Central Asia's largest nation, where rates over the past decade reveal little sign of significant progress. Full report

ANKARA, 6 Jan 2005 (IRIN) - Warm weather caused the Syrdarya river to burst its banks in southern Kazakhstan on Tuesday, although no settlements in the area were affected, the emergency agency of Kazakhstan said on Thursday. Full report

ALMATY, 4 Jan 2005 (IRIN) - Raising HIV awareness is no easy task, particularly amongst Kazakhstan's largely closeted gay community. But in a campaign aimed at doing just that, one local NGO is looking towards the Internet to reach members of the MSM community (men who have sex with men). Full report

ANKARA, 30 Dec 2004 (IRIN) - A branch of the Soros Foundation in Kazakhstan has strongly denied charges of tax evasion by the authorities, describing the allegations as politically motivated. Full report

ALMATY, 22 Dec 2004 (IRIN) - As part of its efforts to reduce the number of institutionalised children in Central Asia, the United Nation's Children's Fund (UNICEF) hopes to introduce social work as a profession in the region. Full report

ALMATY, 15 Dec 2004 (IRIN) - A new report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) revealed that education in Kazakhstan, a nation of 15 million, was in need of reform. Full report

ALMATY, 13 Dec 2004 (IRIN) - Kazakhstan's Chechen community marked the 10th anniversary of the start of the first Chechen war with an appeal to the international community to resolve their plight both at home and abroad. Full report

ALMATY, 9 Dec 2004 (IRIN) - In a major initiative to increase the use of alternative energy sources in Kazakhstan, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Kazakh government have launched a three-year programme to develop the country’s wind sector. Full report

KAZAKHSTAN: Interview with UN Resident Coordinator, Yuriko Shoji

KAZAKHSTAN: Interview on Almaty earthquake preparedness

KAZAKHSTAN: Interview with new opposition leader

KAZAKHSTAN: Interview with participant at controversial Euroasian Media Forum

KAZAKHSTAN: Focus on new immigration law