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Genshin Impact Version 7.0 finally takes the Traveler into Snezhnaya, but the opening two Archon Quests are about considerably more than introducing the Tsaritsa’s homeland.

“Everwinter Without Mercy” begins with a struggling population dealing with shortages, corruption and an increasingly brutal winter. By the end of the first act, the Traveler has uncovered the real purpose behind Snezhnaya’s energy crisis.

“Wraith’s Nocturne” then turns into a supernatural murder mystery involving Odette, Vodyanitsa, Mitya, Tartaglia’s sister Tonia and the mysterious Ruler of Death, Ronova.

The second act deliberately leaves several pieces unclear until its final scenes. Here is what...

Rufat Riskiev, the pioneering athlete who secured Uzbekistan’s first amateur boxing world championship, died on Saturday following a prolonged illness. He was 76.

The National Olympic Committee of Uzbekistan confirmed the passing of the fighter universally known as the “Tashkent Tiger.” The Boxing Federation of Uzbekistan also issued a public statement calling his impact on the national sporting programme unforgettable while expressing condolences to his relatives, friends and the wider athletic community.

The veteran athlete had faced severe health challenges over the past decade. Medical professionals amputated his right leg in 2016 following severe complications from venous thrombosis.

Born...

Disney offered audiences an early look at the next chapter of its animated blockbuster franchise during the D23 fan event on Friday, revealing major plot points for the upcoming “Frozen 3.”

The studio confirmed the highly anticipated sequel will centre on the royal wedding between Anna and Kristoff following their engagement at the conclusion of the previous film. However, the celebratory event will not proceed smoothly. Footage shown to attendees debuted a mysterious new female antagonist who crashes the nuptials, launching the returning cast into an entirely new adventure.

Voice actors Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell and Josh Gad took...

Pixar is taking Miguel‘s story into his teenage years with Coco 2, bringing the young musician back to the Land of the Dead for another supernatural adventure.

The studio confirmed the sequel’s November 2029 cinema release during Disney’s D23 event, where it also offered the first glimpse of an older Miguel. Concept artwork presented at the event showed the character alongside Dante, his loyal dog from the original film.

The new story will reunite Miguel with several familiar faces, including Ernesto de la Cruz, the legendary singer whose carefully constructed reputation was dismantled during the events of Coco.

Benjamin...

Disney Animation has greenlit a third instalment in its blockbuster “Zootopia” franchise. The announcement arrived during the D23 Expo entertainment showcase where studio executives teased an expansion of the mammalian universe to include avian characters.

Disney Animation chief Jared Bush appeared alongside voice actors Ginnifer Goodwin and Ke Huy Quan to confirm the project. Goodwin will reprise her role as rabbit police officer Judy Hopps while Quan returns as Gary the snake. The studio revealed a title graphic featuring the number three constructed entirely from feathers. This design choice pays off a subtle post-credits scene in “Zootopia 2” where...

Marvel Studios has revealed the principal cast for its upcoming X-Men reboot during the D23 Expo. Studio president Kevin Feige introduced the actors who will usher the mutant franchise into the Marvel Cinematic Universe under director Jake Schreier.

Adam Driver will portray the villainous Nathaniel Essex, better known as Mister Sinister. He joins a lineup that includes Christopher Abbott taking on the mantle of Charles Xavier, commonly referred to as Professor X. Inde Navarrette will play the power-absorbing mutant Rogue alongside Maya Boyd as the weather-manipulating Storm.

The announcement confirmed widespread industry speculation regarding the studio’s direction for the...

An artificial intelligence system managing a retail store has fired a human employee, marking the first time a large language model has terminated a contracted worker.

Research startup Andon Labs launched the experiment earlier this year to determine whether autonomous agents can successfully run physical businesses. The company appointed a version of the AI model Claude to oversee Andon Market, a real shop staffed by humans with standard employment contracts.

The dismissed worker arrived late for 17 of their 23 shifts. While algorithms frequently deactivate gig economy workers on ride-sharing and delivery apps, this incident represents a fundamental shift...

Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom has established himself as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s ultimate threat. Disney unveiled the second trailer for “Avengers: Doomsday” during its D23 fan event on Friday, offering a comprehensive look at the villain’s tragic backstory, multiversal motives and staggering power level.

The two-minute preview abandons the mystery of earlier teasers to place Victor von Doom front and centre. Rather than framing him simply as a conqueror, the footage leans into the character’s emotional collapse and deep ties to the Fantastic Four.

Vanessa Kirby’s Sue Storm provides the narrative framing, explaining Doom’s descent to an assembly of...

Kanye West postponed his long-awaited Almaty concert just minutes before he was due to perform on Friday after a major power outage was followed by thunderstorms, strong winds and heavy rain.

The rapper, who performs as Ye, was scheduled to take the stage at Almaty’s Central Stadium at 9 p.m. on August 14. Thousands of fans had already entered the venue when organisers announced that the show would not go ahead.

The concert has been rescheduled for Saturday, August 15, at the same time. Tickets already purchased remain valid and do not need to be exchanged, according to organisers.

Prominent sociologist Jason Arday has died in south London just days after relinquishing his prestigious post at the University of Cambridge due to an intense academic dispute.

Paramedics responded to a Battersea property on Friday afternoon, where they located the 41-year-old scholar unresponsive. Authorities from the Metropolitan Police confirmed they are not treating the sudden passing as suspicious.

The accomplished academic left his role teaching the sociology of education shortly before his death. His departure followed a barrage of intellectual property accusations, which he categorically denied, instead framing the ordeal as a coordinated smear effort.

A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia’s Flores region early Saturday, killing at least 38 people, damaging homes and buildings and prompting authorities to issue a tsunami warning.

The earthquake struck at about 5:58 a.m. local time near the northern coast of Flores in East Nusa Tenggara province. The U.S. Geological Survey said the epicentre was about 68 kilometres north-northwest of Ende and around 10 kilometres deep, making it a relatively shallow earthquake with strong surface effects.

A powerful 7.7-magnitude undersea earthquake struck off the northern coast of Indonesia's Flores...

Ukraine is struggling to find a candidate willing to take over its embassy in Washington, with potential candidates leery of dealing with Donald Trump’s administration during a vital stage of the war.

According to Politico, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has yet to locate the heavyweight envoy he seeks in Washington after numerous potential candidates turned down his offer.

Zelenskyy is reportedly looking for someone with the political clout to deal directly with the Trump administration and speak authoritatively on his behalf. According to those acquainted with the hunt, the challenge is finding a candidate who...

The White House has named Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan among smaller economies that could reroute Chinese goods around US tariffs. Washington stopped short of accusing either country of large-scale evasion, but a comprehensive 40-page report puts Central Asia’s growing role as a China-linked trade corridor under closer scrutiny.

Rerouting, relabelling or limited processing are helping Chinese exporters circumvent higher US tariffs, according to the White House’s new report, The Great Transshipment Scam. It ranks Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan at Tier 3, along with Azerbaijan, Georgia, the UAE and Singapore.

Tier 3 includes smaller economies with lower suspected volumes of transshipment, but...

A large-scale power outage hit several parts of Central Asia on Friday, August 14, disrupting electricity supplies in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and exposing the close links between the region’s power systems.

The disruption was reported almost simultaneously in the four countries, with residents in major cities including Almaty, Bishkek and Dushanbe reporting outages and interruptions.

There were no immediate reports indicating that all five Central Asian countries had lost power. Turkmenistan has not been identified in the reports reviewed as being affected by the incident.

In Kazakhstan, the outage was particularly significant in Almaty and the surrounding...

Apple will debut its inaugural foldable smartphone at a September 8 product event in the United States but will not immediately release the device to consumers.

A major Chinese component supplier confirmed the technology giant faces significant testing hurdles, pricing dilemmas and supply chain constraints. The source indicated that Apple engineers are struggling with production verification tests on already-built models.

The launch delays mean Australian consumers face a lengthy wait for the new handset. Local carriers and retailers confirmed the foldable device will not appear on store shelves alongside the upcoming iPhone 18 lineup. Apple intends to distribute its...

Uzbekistan is giving some entrepreneurs more breathing room at launch, allowing them to start operating for up to three months before completing the licensing process. The change is part of a broader effort to reduce bureaucracy and lower the cost of starting a business.

Under the new regime, businesses will be able to start work after notifying the relevant authority, rather than waiting for all the licences or permits to be issued. The notification can be submitted through Uzbekistan’s e-gov portal or the electronic Licence system.

Businesses will not be penalised for operating without a required...

SpaceX and Tesla have commenced construction on Terafab, a massive semiconductor manufacturing facility in Grimes County, Texas. Backed by an initial joint investment of £13.1bn ($16.8bn), the site aims to bridge the growing gap between current global chip supplies and the future computational demands of Elon Musk‘s companies.

The project is uniquely designed to put every stage of semiconductor production under one roof. This vertical integration includes chip design, fabrication, memory manufacturing, advanced packaging and testing. Initial plans indicate the factory will cover more than 100mn square feet of land. However, Musk has stated the fully completed facility will...

A routine renovation in Belgium has turned into something closer to a treasure hunt after workers discovered a safe packed with gold inside a cellar wall. The haul, which includes coins, nuggets and small bars, is estimated to be worth more than €9 million.

Workers renovating the building for a local social organisation made the discovery at the former Brouwershuis brewery in the town of Sint-Gillis-Dendermonde, East Flanders. A concealed safe was uncovered while laying pipes in the basement, Belgian news outlet RTL reported.

The contents included a considerable quantity of gold in the form...

A Chinese automaker has pulled off an extraordinary gravity-defying feat with its newest battery-electric model. Dongfeng Motor’s luxury division recently sent its upcoming passenger crossover on a full barrel roll along the inside walls of a testing facility.

The stunt serves as an homage to a widely debated 16-year-old commercial where former Formula One champion Michael Schumacher appeared to drive a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG across the roof of a subterranean passage. While sceptics long questioned if computer graphics aided that original German clip, executives at the Chinese brand insist their footage features an unmodified showroom-ready car tackling the...

Apple has officially designated the iPhone X and the 2018 15-inch MacBook Pro as obsolete.

This classification marks the end of official hardware support, component availability and manufacturer repairs for the 10th-anniversary smartphone nearly nine years after its initial launch. Devices are relegated to the obsolete products list more than seven years after the technology company stops distributing them for retail sale.

Once a product enters this category, it is no longer eligible for hardware service at official Apple locations or through authorised repair centres. Technicians are also entirely unable to order official replacement parts to fix broken units.

Uzbekistan’s national team has recorded its strongest result in the history of the International Olympiad in Informatics, with all four official competitors winning medals at IOI 2026 in Tashkent.

The team finished with one silver and three bronze medals at the 38th edition of the competition, which brought together hundreds of the world’s strongest school-age programmers.

Jahonali Khaydaraliev, a ninth-grade student at the Muhammad al-Khwarizmi School, won silver. Timur Kadirbergenov of the Nukus Presidential School, Ulugbek Rakhmatullaev of the Namangan Presidential School and Jahongirshoh Avazkhonov, also from the Namangan Presidential School, each received bronze medals.

Sardorbek Salimov, a...

Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has arrived in Almaty ahead of his first major concert in Kazakhstan, with social media filling with footage of his arrival, a new mural and preparations for Friday night’s show.

The rapper landed in Almaty overnight, according to local media and footage circulating online. He was reportedly accompanied by his wife Bianca Censori and members of his team. At the airport, Ye was greeted with Kazakh national dances, performers in traditional clothing and local food. Videos shared online show the rapper filming parts of the welcome on his phone.

YE HAS...

President Sadyr Japarov has revealed he previously considered stepping down after his current term and backing his longtime political ally, Kamchybek Tashiyev, in the 2027 presidential election.

The Kyrgyz leader detailed the abandoned succession plan during an interview with journalist Ali Toktakunov released on August 13. Japarov explained that he had intended to complete his six-year mandate and retire, paving the way for Tashiyev, the former chairman of the State Committee for National Security (GKNB).

“I thought that after the end of my six-year presidential term in 2027, if Kamchy was ready, then I would...

Pascual Restrepo, a Yale economist, believes that artificial intelligence is unlikely to sweep through the labour market and eliminate millions of jobs overnight. The strangest possibility is that machines can replace people before computing power is justified.

Restrepo has spent years researching automation and is a member of Anthropic‘s Economic Advisory Council. Anthropic appointed him to the council to advise on AI’s impact on employment, growth, and inequality.

In a recent interview with Russian economic outlet The Bell, Restrepo pushed back against both the notion that today’s AI will immediately demolish the labour market and the comforting assumption that...