Instruction tuning in low-resource languages remains underexplored due to limited text data, particularly in government and cultural domains. To address this, we introduce and open-source a large-scale (10,600 samples) instruction-following (IFT) dataset, covering key institutional and cultural knowledge relevant to Kazakhstan. Our dataset enhances LLMs' understanding of procedural, legal, and structural governance topics. We employ LLM-assisted data generation, comparing open-weight and closed-weight models for dataset construction, and select GPT-4o as the backbone. Each entity of our dataset undergoes full manual verification to ensure high quality. We also show that fine-tuning Qwen, Falcon, and Gemma on our dataset leads to consistent performance improvements in both multiple-choice and generative tasks, demonstrating the potential of LLM-assisted instruction tuning for low-resource languages.

Probabilistic techniques are central to data analysis, but different approaches can be challenging to apply, combine, and compare. This paper introduces composable generative population models (CGPMs), a computational abstraction that extends directed graphical models and can be used to describe and compose a broad class of probabilistic data analysis techniques. Examples include discriminative machine learning, hierarchical Bayesian models, multivariate kernel methods, clustering algorithms, and arbitrary probabilistic programs. We demonstrate the integration of CGPMs into BayesDB, a probabilistic programming platform that can express data analysis tasks using a modeling definition language and structured query language. The practical value is illustrated in two ways. First, the paper describes an analysis on a database of Earth satellites, which identifies records that probably violate Kepler's Third Law by composing causal probabilistic programs with nonparametric Bayes in 50 lines of probabilistic code. Second, it reports the lines of code and accuracy of CGPMs compared with baseline solutions from standard machine learning libraries.

NASA has issued a fierce condemnation of the Russian space agency after three cosmonauts displayed anti-Ukraine propaganda aboard the International Space Station. The trio were seen holding flags of the Luhansk People's Republic and the Donetsk People's Republic -- two Russian-backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine that are only recognised as independent states by Moscow and Syria. They also said the capture of the region was'a liberation day to celebrate both on Earth and in space.' In response to the pictures, posted by Russia's state space corporation Roscosmos, NASA said it'strongly rebukes Russia using the International Space Station for political purposes to support its war against Ukraine.' Press secretary Jackie McGuinness added that it was'fundamentally inconsistent with the station's primary function among the 15 international participating countries to advance science and develop technology for peaceful purposes.' Rebuked: NASA has condemned the Russian space agency after three cosmonauts displayed anti-Ukraine propaganda on the International Space Station.

Russia's long-delayed lab module successfully docked with the International Space Station on Thursday, eight days after it was launched from the Russian space launch facility in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The 20-metric-ton (22-ton) Nauka module, also called the Multipurpose Laboratory Module, docked with the orbiting outpost in an automatic mode after a long journey and a series of manoeuvres. Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, confirmed the module's contact with the International Space Station at 13:29 GMT. It carried with it the European Robotic Arm (ERA) payload, which can handle components up to 8000 kilograms and transport astronauts. The launch of Nauka, which is intended to provide more room for scientific experiments and space for the crew, had been repeatedly delayed because of technical problems.

A Proton rocket launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan today, taking the European Robotic Arm (ERA) payload to the International Space Station. The 11-meter long robot has been folded and attached to the Multipurpose Laboratory Module, also called'Nauka', that will be its home base when it reaches the ISS. The rocket put Nauka and the ERA into orbit at 16:08pm GMT, ten minutes after liftoff, at an altitude of nearly 200 kilometres above the Earth. The ISS already has two robotic arms, which are used to berth spacecraft and transfer payloads and astronauts, but neither arm can each the Russian segment, the European Space Agency said. Instead, the ERA will'walk' around the Russian parts of the orbital complex, handling components up to 8000 kilograms, and transport astronauts when it eventually reaches the station.

Russia is launching a new module for the International Space Station (ISS), after more than a decade of delays. The Nauka module is set to lift off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on top of a Proton-M rocket at around 1500 GMT today, along with a new robotic arm for the station created by the European Space Agency. The ISS is composed of modules and equipment from different space agencies including Europe, Japan and Canada, but the bulk of the station is composed of two main sections, a Russian segment and a US segment. At 13 metres long and weighing more than 20 tonnes, Nauka, also called the Multipurpose Laboratory Module, will be among the largest in Russia's half. After launch, Nauka will take eight days to reach the ISS.

A Russian cargo ship on its way to the International Space Station (ISS) will come perilously close to colliding with one of SpaceX's satellites, according to the country's space agency Roscosmos. The Progress 78 spacecraft, which blasted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, will also narrowly miss a Falcon 9 rocket fragment left in orbit from 2020. Preliminary calculations suggest the Starlink 1691 satellite will come within 0.9 miles (1.5km) of hitting Progress at 17:32 ET (22:32 BST) tonight, while the booster is expected to miss by 0.3 miles (500m) three minutes later. Near-miss: Russian cargo ship Progress 78 (similar to the one pictured) will come very close to colliding with one of SpaceX's satellites, according to the country's space agency Roscosmos Starlink 1691 was launched in September last year but is understood to have been lowered out of operational orbit at 340 miles in April. This artist's impression shows a Starlink satellite The close approach will take place just three-and-a-half hours before the spacecraft is set to dock with the ISS at 21:02 ET (02:02 BST) on July 2. Roscosmos said: 'Preliminary data show the Starlink 1691 satellite approach the Progress MS-17 spacecraft at 21:32 UTC at a distance of about 1.5 km.

Five astronauts living in space are preparing to welcome a new shipment of supplies after a successful evening launch from Kazakhstan of an uncrewed Russian Progress cargo vehicle.The mission, dubbed Progress 76, blasted off on a Russian Soyuz rocket today (July 23) from Russia's workhorse launch site, Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan at 7:26 p.m. local time (10:26 a.m. EDT, 1426 GMT). The capsule carried 2.7 tons (2,500 kilograms) of supplies for the two Russian cosmonauts and three NASA astronauts currently working on the International Space Station."The Progress is now in its preliminary orbit, having completed a flawless climb to orbit following an on-time launch," NASA spokesperson Rob Navias said during a live broadcast of the launch. "Everything went by the book in this morning's launch of the Progress to the International Space Station."Related: How Russia's Progress spaceships work (infographic) Image 1 of 9 A Russian Soyuz rocket carrying an uncrewed Progress cargo spacecraft packed with supplies blasted off from Kazakhstan on July 23, 2020.

Nasa has been forced to delay the launch of its newest and most ambitious Mars rover – leading to fears it might miss its launch window entirely. The Perseverance rover and its associated mission will cost about $3 billion. It will look for signs of Martian life in the past, as well as gathering materials from the surface that will one day be returned to Earth.

Russia on Thursday launched an unmanned rocket carrying a life-size humanoid robot that will spend 10 days learning to assist astronauts on the International Space Station. Named Fedor, short for Final Experimental Demonstration Object Research, the robot is the first ever sent up by Russia. Fedor blasted off in a Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft at 6:38 am Moscow time (0338 GMT) from Russia's Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz is set to dock with the space station on Saturday and stay till September 7. Soyuz ships are normally manned on such trips, but on Thursday no humans are travelling in order to test a new emergency rescue system. Instead of cosmonauts, Fedor, also known as Skybot F850, was strapped into a specially adapted pilot's seat, with a small Russian flag in hand.