News

YouTube creator Jimmy Donaldson, known online as MrBeast, has acquired the teen-focused mobile banking app Step through his conglomerate, Beast Industries.

Donaldson announced the deal, stating that he intends to use the platform to provide young people with a financial education he lacked during his own childhood. The 27-year-old creator, who has more than 450 mln subscribers, said on social media that he wants to give mlns of users the “financial foundation” he never had.

I'm so excited to share that we are acquiring the financial services app, @step

Nobody taught me about investing, building credit...

Ferrari has released new teaser images of the Luce, its first fully electric sports car, placing the emphasis on interior design and driver interaction. While the exterior will not be revealed until May, the Italian carmaker is presenting the cockpit as central to how the Luce delivers performance in the electric era.

The interface follows clear organisational principles, grouping controls and displays by function and positioning the most critical information directly in front of the driver. Precision-engineered mechanical buttons, dials, toggles and switches are paired with multifunctional digital displays to retain tactile feedback.

Steering wheel, Manettino and torque...

Discord will soon require all users worldwide to verify their age with a face scan or ID if they want to access adult content. The platform, which allows users to create and join interest-based communities, has more than 200 mln monthly users.

The new safety measures are designed to protect users by placing everyone in a teen-appropriate environment “by default”. While Discord already enforces age checks in the UK and Australia to comply with local online safety laws, the global rollout begins in early March.

«Nowhere is our safety work more important than when it...

Pop singer Chappell Roan announced that she is no longer represented by the Wasserman Agency, led by Casey Wasserman, the chief of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Her decision comes after Wasserman faced scrutiny over flirtatious emails he exchanged with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell more than 20 years ago.

The emails, dating from 2003, were included in documents recently released by the U.S. Justice Department relating to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, Maxwell’s former boyfriend. Wasserman, who was married at the time, has apologised for the communications, saying the interactions occurred before Maxwell or Epstein’s crimes were publicly...

Canadian actress Catherine O’Hara died of a pulmonary embolism, her U.S. death certificate shows.

O’Hara passed away on January 30 at a Los Angeles hospital at the age of 71. The certificate also listed rectal cancer as a long-term contributing factor. She had been undergoing treatment for the cancer since March 2025.

Tributes poured in for the actress, who recently appeared in the Emmy-winning comedy The Studio and in The Last of Us.

Seth Rogen, creator of The Studio, described O’Hara as «hysterical, kind, intuitive, generous» and said he was devastated by her death.

«We’re...

Most highly liquid shares listed on the Republican Stock Exchange Toshkent (UzSE) recorded gains between January 30 and February 6, although the UCI stock index declined by 1.8% over the period.

Uzbekneftegaz shares posted the strongest increase, rising 14.74%. Preferred shares of SQB gained 12.09%, while shares of Uzbektelecom also advanced by 12.09%.

In contrast, Ipoteka Bank shares recorded the steepest weekly decline, falling 12.28%. Ordinary shares of SQB dropped 5.48%, while Uzbektelecom’s ordinary shares slipped 2.91%. Shares of Kashkadarya Technological Transport ended the week unchanged.

In terms of transaction volume, Chilonzor Buyum Savdo Kompleksi led the market with...

Online gaming platform Roblox has registered as a taxpayer in Uzbekistan, the press service of the Interregional Tax Inspectorate for Large Taxpayers reports.

On February 9, U.S.-based Roblox Corporation, which operates and develops the global Roblox gaming platform, was registered as a value added tax payer in the country.

Since the start of the year, six foreign companies have completed tax registration in Uzbekistan, including Switzerland’s FunPlus International AG and Epic Games Commerce GmbH, as well as Singapore-based Skywork AI Pte. Ltd.

Kursiv also reports that Uzbekistan collected a record UZS 181 bn ($15 mln) in digital services taxes last...

The United States women’s national ice hockey team delivered a commanding 5–0 victory over Switzerland women’s national ice hockey team in a preliminary-round matchup, pulling away with three goals in a dominant third period.

The shutout win sets up a highly anticipated rivalry clash against Canada women’s national ice hockey team on Tuesday, a game expected to shape the tone of the tournament. Canada was also in control of its opener, leading Czechia women’s national ice hockey team 5–0 with under 14 minutes remaining at the time of writing.

From economics and politics to business, technology and culture, Kursiv...

Organizers of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics said they are investigating reports that a small number of medals awarded during the Games have broken, after several athletes raised concerns following their victories.

Team USA skier Breezy Johnson, who won gold in the women’s downhill, revealed that her medal cracked while she was celebrating. «I was jumping in excitement and it broke,» Johnson said, adding that the damage was minor and likely fixable.

U.S. figure skater Alysa Liu, part of the gold-winning team event, also posted a video on social media showing her medal had detached from its ribbon...

Team USA’s Madison Chock and Evan Bates finished second in the rhythm dance at the opening ice dance competition, posting a score of 89.72 after a high-energy rock medley performance.

France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron lead the standings with 90.18, while Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier slipped to third after the Americans took the ice.

The rhythm dance does not award medals, but the top 20 teams advanced to Wednesday’s free dance, where final placements will be decided.

Three teams were eliminated following the opening segment: China’s Xinyu Liu and Shiyue Wang, South Korea’s Ye...

A group of survivors of Jeffrey Epstein appeared in a Super Bowl commercial on Sunday calling on the Department of Justice to release all remaining government files related to the late financier’s sex trafficking case.

The 40-second spot, produced by the anti-slavery group World Without Exploitation, shows eight women standing together with their mouths covered in black marker — a visual reference to the redactions in the files already made public.

Holding photographs of themselves as minors, the women say: «After years of being kept apart, we’re standing together. Because we all deserve...

Uzbekistan’s gold and foreign currency reserves reached $75 bn as of February 1, 2026, marking a monthly increase of 13.1%, according to official data.

More than $7.9 bn of the total was held in foreign currency, while precious metals accounted for $64.9 bn. Gold reserves increased from 12.6 mln to 12.8 mln troy ounces over the month.

Last year, 4,600 tonnes of precious metals were sold on the Uzbek Republican Commodity Exchange, an annual rise of 59%. Gold made up about 4,300 tonnes of the total, while silver sales exceeded 320 kg. Exchange data showed the average gold price...

Centrum Air will launch regular passenger flights from Tashkent to the Pakistani city of Lahore starting in April 2026, the airline’s press service told Kursiv Uzbekistan.

Flights between the two cities are expected to operate twice a week. It was also announced that cargo carrier My Freighter will begin operating freight services to Karachi.

Abdulaziz Abdurakhmanov, founder and chief executive of Centrum Holding, said the new routes are intended to go beyond expanding the airline’s network.

«Opening new routes is not just about extending our flight geography. It is about creating a sustainable air bridge that...

According to the National Statistics Committee, a total of 27,500 Spanish citizens visited Uzbekistan for tourism purposes in 2025.

This represents an increase of 3,900 visitors, or 16.6%, compared with the same period in 2024.

Breakdown of visits by purpose is as follows:

Leisure tourism accounted for the overwhelming majority of Spanish arrivals, reflecting growing interest in Uzbekistan as a travel destination.

Kursiv also reports that in 2025, the cost of museum tickets in Uzbekistan rose by 32.6%.

From...

Bad Bunny promised the world would dance in promotional material for the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show, and his vibrant, elaborate, unapologetic performance lived up to expectations. Joined by Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin and other stars, he delivered a medley of hits to more than 125 mln viewers, introducing both his music and himself to a wider audience.

Celebration of Puerto Rico and Latin culture

The show paid tribute to Latin America, particularly Bad Bunny’s native Puerto Rico. The set featured a mock sugar-cane field and a Puerto Rican vecindad, complete with a barber shop, liquor store...

President Donald Trump used social media during the Super Bowl to criticise Bad Bunny’s halftime performance.

«The Super Bowl Halftime Show is absolutely terrible, one of the worst, ever!» Trump wrote on Truth Social. «It makes no sense, is an affront to the Greatness of America, and doesn’t represent our standards of Success, Creativity or Excellence. Nobody understands a word this guy is saying, and the dancing is disgusting, especially for young children watching from across the U.S.A. and around the world. This ‘Show’ is just a ‘slap in the face’ to our country, which is...

TruScreen Group Ltd., a developer of AI technologies for cervical screening, has announced its first commercial agreement to supply equipment to Uzbekistan, Reuters reports.

Under the deal, TruScreen will provide AI-powered cervical screening devices for a pilot programme aimed at the early detection of cervical abnormalities. The programme plans to screen approximately 500 patients.

The agreement is part of TruScreen’s strategy to expand its presence in Central Asian markets and strengthen cooperation with healthcare institutions in countries with developing medical infrastructure.

From economics and politics to business, technology and culture, Kursiv Uzbekistan brings you key news and...

Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai was sentenced on Monday to 20 years in prison over national security charges, including two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one of publishing seditious material.

The sentence concludes Hong Kong’s most high-profile national security trial, a legal saga spanning nearly five years. Jimmy Lai, founder of the now-closed Apple Daily, was first arrested in August 2020 and convicted last year. His 20-year term falls within the harshest penalty range of 10 years to life and is the most severe under the city’s national security law.

Judges said Lai...

U.S. skiing icon Lindsey Vonn underwent surgery on a broken leg at an Italian hospital after her bold attempt to claim Olympic downhill gold ended in a frightening crash.

Vonn, 41, was taken by helicopter to Ca’ Foncello Hospital in Treviso following the high-speed accident on the Olimpia delle Tofane course in Cortina d’Ampezzo. The hospital said she had orthopaedic surgery later in the day to stabilise a fracture to her left leg. A source told Reuters she was being monitored in intensive care for privacy reasons and stressed her condition was not life-threatening.

How the incident unfolded

An 11-year-old Uzbek citizen, Amira Aminova, died after being struck by a school bus in New York, Uzbekistan’s Consulate General in the city said.

The fatal crash occurred on February 5 in the Bath Beach area of Brooklyn. Police said the girl was crossing Bath Avenue at 23rd Avenue in a marked pedestrian crossing when a school bus turned into her path and hit her. Surveillance footage shows Amira had the right of way at the time of the collision.

She was rushed to a local hospital, where she later died from her injuries.

Police said the 62-year-old...

Cadillac has revealed its first Formula 1 livery, using a Super Bowl advertisement to introduce the new team’s colours to a global audience.

The American marque, set to join the grid in 2026, unveiled the design during a fourth-quarter commercial in the NFL championship game between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots. The reveal followed a pre-season shakedown in Barcelona, where the car ran in a temporary blacked-out livery ahead of the official launch.

Design details

Cadillac’s yet-to-be-named challenger will feature a distinctive split design, with a grey-white finish on the left side and black on the...

Team USA enjoyed a strong but dramatic second day at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, securing its first gold medals of the Games as competition intensified across northern Italy.

The United States, which is sending a record 232 athletes to the 2026 Winter Games, opened its gold medal tally thanks to skier Breezy Johnson, who captured gold in the women’s downhill. American figure skaters also topped the podium in the team event, led by a standout performance from Ilia Malinin, widely known as the «Quad God» for his technically demanding jumps.

After the opening ceremony on Friday, Team...

In 2025, the cost of museum tickets in Uzbekistan rose by 32.6%, according to data from the National Statistics Committee.

Price growth was also recorded in other areas of culture: theatre services became 17.4% more expensive, while cinema services rose by 8.1%.

Uzbekistan currently has 127 state-run museums. Their collections contain more than 2.6 million exhibits and collections of precious items.

In 2025, museums across the country were visited by more than 1 million foreign tourists and 3.2 mln Uzbek citizens.

From economics and politics to business, technology and culture, Kursiv Uzbekistan brings you key news and...

A sharp fall in Bitcoin prices over the past week has reignited debate over whether the world’s largest cryptocurrency can genuinely serve as a store of value, after the digital asset dropped to less than half its October peak of $122,200.

Although Bitcoin staged a partial rebound on Friday as «buy the dip» investors returned, losses over the past 15 months mean many holders remain in the red, fuelling claims that the long-running rally has finally deflated.

Among the most outspoken critics is Richard Farr, chief market strategist at Pivotus Partners, who has publicly set a price target...