The FBK editorial office has received reports from residents of the Aktobe region concerned about the condition of the Ilek River. According to them, new quarries for the extraction of sand and sand-and-gravel mixtures are actively appearing along the floodplain. People fear that interference with the riverbed and floodplain system could have consequences not only for the ecology but also for the region's water supply.
The Ministry of Ecology stated that CCTV cameras to combat illegal dumping have been deemed "impractical", as waste is supposedly stored outside populated areas. However, data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, media publications and FBRK investigations show that dumping sites were recorded within cities too, and the government bodies themselves had previously reported on the effectiveness of cameras and digital monitoring.
The Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan has introduced mandatory registration of transport documents in the ESUTD system from 1 June 2026. Users are reporting a lack of verification during platform registration and the public disclosure of personal data in an open chat. The editorial board of the FBRE has decided to look into all the shortcomings of the system.
After the FBRC publication about the conflict at the A.I. Barayev Grain Farming Research and Production Centre, our editorial team sent inquiries to state bodies. The Ministry of Agriculture reported that a special group was working to examine the arguments of the complainants, while the Ministry of Labour explained the reasons for refusing to conduct an inspection into one of the appeals.
In Kazakhstan, the diagnosis of brucellosis has become a true administrative privilege. Testing can now only be obtained in a state laboratory. Alexey Balas, Director of Development and Innovation at the Olimp Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory, told FBK how a simple decision turned accessible diagnostics into a monopoly.
At the end of December 2024, a mass die-off of chickens occurred at the poultry farm of the A.K.A.S. Agrofirm LLP in the Baikonyz rural district of the Bayterek district, West Kazakhstan Region.
On 23 January, a major road traffic collision involving 19 vehicles occurred on a section of the «Yekaterinburg–Almaty» highway under reconstruction, in the direction from Balkhash to Karaganda. The day before, traffic on the route had been restricted due to a heavy blizzard.
Details have emerged in the criminal case of former head of the investigative department of the Karaganda region police department, Rustam Kulkeyev, who is suspected of stealing a piece of evidence - mining equipment.