News

Sanrio has announced that the role of Hello Kitty designer will pass from Yuko Yamaguchi, the third-generation designer, to a fourth-generation successor. Yamaguchi has led the character’s creation since 1980, making this the first designer change in 46 years.

Yamaguchi, who also serves as Sanrio’s Executive Director and Head of Character Creation, has been central to the development of Hello Kitty and other popular characters including Dear Daniel and Charmmy Kitty. She has actively engaged with fans through signings and collaborations with domestic and international artists, helping Hello Kitty become a beloved global icon.

The handover to the new...

Canada’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron claimed ice dance gold at the Milano Cortina Olympics on February 11, edging Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates in a story of reinvention less than a year after forming their partnership.

Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron, who became the first ice dancer to win back-to-back Olympic titles with different partners after Cizeron’s 2022 gold with Gabriella Papadakis, scored 135.64 in their free dance for a total of 225.82 points. Chock and Bates, three-time world champions undefeated this season, settled for silver with 224.39 points.

Canadian Team Achieves Milestone

Piper Gilles and Paul...

James Van Der Beek, the actor who rose to fame as Dawson Leery in the hit U.S. teen drama Dawson’s Creek, has died at the age of 48 following a battle with bowel cancer.

In a statement shared on his social media accounts, his family said:

«Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning. He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace.»

Van Der Beek, a father of six, was diagnosed with stage three colorectal cancer in the latter half of 2023. He made the diagnosis public in November...

An 18-year-old woman with a history of mental health interventions killed her mother and stepbrother before attacking her former school in western Canada.

The suspect, Jesse Van Rootselaar, died by suicide after the attack in Tumbler Ridge, a remote British Columbia town of about 2,400 people. Authorities revised the death toll to nine, including the suspect, down from an initial figure of 10.

Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Van Rootselaar had previously been detained under the province’s Mental Health Act. Police had responded to the family home several times in recent years...

Current World Champion Lando Norris began his title defence in style on February 11, topping the timesheets on the opening day of pre-season testing in Bahrain. As Formula 1 ushered in a radical new generation of regulations, it was a familiar battle at the front between McLaren and Red Bull.

The afternoon session took place under optimal conditions, with clear skies and temperatures hovering around 22 degrees Celsius before the floodlights illuminated the Sakhir circuit.

Champions set the pace

Norris, embarking on his eighth season in the sport, wasted little time getting to grips with his 2026 challenger...

Uzbekistan is pivoting its national strategy from natural resources to human capital. As of February 9, 2026, the government has invested $9.6 mln to reimburse international exam fees for 58,247 young people, according to Alisher Sadullaev, Director of the Youth Affairs Agency.

The initiative targets youth scoring 70%+ on exams to build a globally competitive workforce.

Key Data:

Formula 1’s new era began as pre-season testing for 2026 got underway at the Bahrain International Circuit. The first of six days of running across two weeks began with a busy four-hour morning session that offered the paddocka glimpse of radically revised machinery.

With teams limited to one car per day, drivers are sharing duties across the test. Four teams opted to run a single driver throughout Wednesday’s opening session, including Red Bull with Max Verstappen, Racing Bulls with rookie Arvid Lindblad, Aston Martin with Lance Stroll and Haas with Esteban Ocon.

Active aero and energy tactics

The...

A follow-up to the Formula 1 drama F1, starring Brad Pitt, is officially in development, producer Jerry Bruckheimer has confirmed to BBC.

Speaking to the BBC at the Academy Awards luncheon in Los Angeles, Bruckheimer said the team is «working on a sequel», ending months of speculation. He did not provide a production timeline or confirm whether Pitt, 62, will return as veteran driver Sonny Hayes, though he said he would be involved in casting decisions.

The original film, co-produced by seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, earned four Oscar nominations this year including best picture. Released last summer...

Viewers watching the figure skating on February 10 evening may have done a double take as French coach Benoit Richaud appeared rinkside wearing different national team jackets within minutes of each other.

The 38-year-old coach and choreographer is working with 16 skaters at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, representing 13 different countries. Seven of his athletes competed in the men’s short programme on February 10, although the official Olympic schedule listed him as coach for only four.

Quick Changes Between Competitors

Because he supports skaters from multiple nations competing in the same event, Richaud was seen swapping...

In his address, Kamchybek Tashiev said that his dismissal from office came as a «surprise» to him. The text was published on social media by his supporters.

According to Kamchybek Tashiev, he travelled abroad with the President’s permission for medical examinations following a previous operation. The decision to relieve him of his post, he noted, was unexpected. At the same time, Kamchybek Tashiev stressed that the decision of the head of state must be respected in any case.

«I served our state, the people and the President honestly and I am proud of this...

Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime performance, dubbed the «Benito Bowl» by fans, attracted an average of 128.2 mln viewers on February 8, according to Nielsen. That figure surpasses this year’s Super Bowl average of 124.9 mln viewers, but falls short of Kendrick Lamar’s record 133.5 mln viewers last year, which had overtaken Usher’s 2024 performance.

Social Media and Streaming Surge

The show also shattered social media records for the NFL. The top three most-viewed NFL posts ever came from Bad Bunny’s performance: his «Only Thing More Powerful Than Hate Is Love» clip garnered 181 mln Instagram views...

Kazakhstan intends to provide satellite internet to neighbouring countries using its Starlink infrastructure, Vlast.kz reports, citing Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development, Jaslan Madiev.

“Through the gateway stations that Starlink has built in Kazakhstan, neighbouring countries will be able to access satellite internet,” Madiev said during a government meeting.

Under the plan, Kazakhstan aims to connect Tajikistan to the internet in 2026, with future expansion to Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan.

Kazakhstan joined Starlink in mid-August last year, while Tajikistan gained access in early February. According to SpaceX, this year Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan are...

Pop icon Britney Spears, 44, has sold the rights to her entire music catalogue, the BBC reports. The deal with independent music publisher Primary Wave was completed on December 30 for an estimated $200 mln (£146 mln).

Spears, whose career and personal life were long shaped by a conservatorship, is known for hits including …Baby One More Time, Oops!… I Did It Again, Toxic and Gimme More.

Part of a Growing Trend

The sale follows a series of high-profile catalogue deals in the music industry. Artists including Bruce Springsteen, Justin Bieber, Justin Timberlake and Shakira have sold their...

South Korean company Lotte Tour Development has announced the launch of new tours across Central Asia, covering Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, Yonhap news agency reports.

Trips will run weekly from April through October 2026, with prices starting at 6.99 mln won per person, roughly $5,200. Each tour spans ten days and eight nights, offering a comprehensive regional experience.

Visitors will explore key Uzbek landmarks in Samarkand, including Registan Square, the Gur-Emir Mausoleum and the Bibi-Khanym Mosque. The itinerary also includes natural reserves in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, providing a mix of cultural and scenic experiences.

According to Uzbekistan’s State Committee...

Norwegian biathlete Sturla Holm Laegreid, who won bronze in the Winter Olympics biathlon on February 10, stunned fans by admitting he had cheated on his girlfriend and publicly asking for another chance.

«I realised this is the woman in my life, and I cannot live keeping it a secret from her. The only way to make things right is to be honest and hope she can still love me,» Laegreid told Norwegian newspaper VG.

He made the revelation to state broadcaster NRK shortly after the race, which was won by his compatriot Johan-Olav Botn, with...

Discord has shared details about its new age assurance measures, reassuring users that not everyone will need to complete a face scan or upload an ID to access the platform. The update comes in response to questions from the community about recent changes.

The vast majority of users can continue using Discord exactly as they do today without confirming their age. Age verification is only required to access age-restricted experiences, such as certain servers, channels, or safety settings.

For most adults, Discord can confirm age using information already held by the platform. Age prediction technology helps determine, with...

Online posts have misrepresented Spain’s 2019 rail export loans to Morocco and Uzbekistan as gifts, following a deadly train crash in southern Spain in January 2026 that killed 45 people and injured over 150.

The social media posts suggested the Spanish government «gave €247 mln» to other countries while domestic rail infrastructure collapsed. However, officials confirmed the funds were not donations but repayable loans approved under Spain’s Fund for the Internationalisation of Spanish Companies (FIEM).

The €247 mln funded the purchase of Spanish-made rail parts and rolling stock. A €190 mln loan supported Morocco’s Casablanca tram expansion, while...

Ten people, including the suspected shooter, have died following a mass shooting at a high school in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, on February 10.

The attack, one of Canada’s deadliest mass casualty events in recent memory, saw six people killed inside the school, two more found dead at a nearby residence, and another person dying while being transported to hospital. At least two others sustained life-threatening injuries, and around 25 more were treated for non-critical wounds.

Authorities confirmed the suspected shooter, a woman, died from a self-inflicted gunshot. Police said there are no other suspects and no ongoing threat...

Freedom Holding Corp. is aiming to create a fully fledged digital infrastructure in Kazakhstan that contributes to the country’s development. This was stated by Timur Turlov at the FRHC Board of Directors Summit, which took place on 25–29 January in Limassol, Cyprus.

The scale of a global corporation

The Freedom Holding Corp. (FRHC) ecosystem includes Freedom Broker, Freedom Bank Kazakhstan, Freedom Finance Europe, as well as the group’s insurance, technology and lifestyle companies.

Revenue of Freedom Holding Corp. for the nine months of the 2026 financial year (ended 31 December 2025) approached $1.7 bn. Net...

The President of Kyrgyzstan, Sadyr Japarov, dismissed Kamchybek Tashiev from the post of Chairman of the State Committee for National Security and, at the same time, dismantled the management vertical he had built. Tashiev’s deputies followed him, and the committee’s structure underwent radical changes. And all of this happened in one day.

Not only Tashiev

The decisions were formalised through a series of presidential decrees and came into force on the day of their official publication. The First Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for National Security, Kurvanbek Avazov, the Deputy Chairman and Director of the Cybersecurity...

France claimed its first gold medal of the 2026 Winter Olympics on Sunday, February 8, with a dominant victory in the mixed biathlon relay at the Antholz–Anterselva Biathlon Arena.

The French quartet of Eric Perrot, Quentin Fillon Maillet, Lou Jeanmonnot and Julia Simon delivered a controlled performance throughout the race, never dropping outside the top five. The decisive move came during Jeanmonnot’s leg, when she broke away from Italy’s Dorothea Wierer on the climb before the standing shoot.

Anchoring the relay, Julia Simon sealed the victory with a flawless shooting performance, hitting all 10 targets to secure the...

Kamchybek Tashiev has been relieved of his duties as head of Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security (GKNB), the presidential administration confirmed.

Jumgalbek Shabdanbekov has been appointed as acting chief. His nomination for the permanent role will be considered by the Kyrgyz parliament.

Tashiev, born on September 27, 1968 in Jalal-Abad region, initially worked in business and entrepreneurship before entering politics in the early 2000s. He was elected to the Kyrgyz parliament and later became a prominent political figure.

In autumn 2020, Tashiev was appointed head of the GKNB, where he oversaw national security and anti-corruption initiatives. Some political...

F1 ACADEMY has confirmed that Chinese driver Shi Wei, also known as ‘Tie Dou’, will return as the first Wild Card entry of the 2026 season.

Shi made history last year as the first Chinese driver to compete in F1 ACADEMY. She will now race on home soil during Round 1 of the 2026 season in Shanghai, where the series runs as a support event for the Chinese Grand Prix from March 13. Shi joins the grid after winning the F4 Chinese Masters, marking the first F4 race victory by a Chinese female driver and a milestone for motorsport...

Ahead of Valentine’s Day, Time Out analysed responses from a survey of 18,500 people living in major cities worldwide, asking how often they had sex. Cities were ranked by the proportion of locals reporting sexual activity at least once a week.

Cities leading the way

Topping the list in a joint first place, with 67% of residents having sex weekly, were Macau on China’s south coast and Krakow, Poland’s second city. Close behind, in second place, were Guadalajara, Sao Paulo and Luxembourg, where 66% of respondents reported weekly intimacy. Porto, Portugal followed in third place with 64%.

Overall...