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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...

Grammy award-winning star Bad Bunny is preparing to take centre stage at one of the world’s most-watched events on Sunday, when he headlines the Super Bowl half-time show in Santa Clara, California.

The 31-year-old Puerto Rican artist, born Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, made history last week by becoming the first performer to win album of the year at the Grammys with a record sung entirely in Spanish. His sixth studio album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos, blends reggaeton, pop, salsa and traditional Puerto Rican sounds in what he has described as a tribute to his homeland.

Bad Bunny first rose to...

American ski legend Lindsey Vonn was airlifted to hospital after crashing early in the women’s downhill at the Winter Olympics on the Olimpia delle Tofane piste, bringing a dramatic and painful end to her final Games appearance.

Vonn lost control moments into her run after passing the third gate, twisting and crashing heavily on the steep Italian course. The race was halted for around 30 minutes as medical staff treated the 41-year-old before she was flown off the mountain by helicopter.

The incident cast a shadow over the event, which was won by Vonn’s teammate Breezy Johnson, who...

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is on course for a landslide victory after exit polls indicated her ruling coalition could secure a rare supermajority in the lower house of parliament.

According to public broadcaster NHK, Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party is projected to win between 274 and 328 seats on its own, with the coalition total reaching as many as 366 seats in the 465-member chamber. Such a result would allow the coalition to override the upper house, strengthening Takaichi’s grip on power and marking the LDP’s strongest showing since electoral reforms in 1996.

The snap February election, only...

The Dalai Lama has denied ever meeting disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein after his name appeared repeatedly in files released by the U.S. Department of Justice.

According to the documents, Epstein mentioned the Dalai Lama dozens of times in personal emails. In a May 2015 message to Soon-Yi Previn, the wife of film director Woody Allen, Epstein wrote that he was «working on the dalai lama for dinner.» In another email to Japanese venture capitalist Joichi Ito, he suggested a «fun dinner» with the Dalai Lama, Allen and Noam Chomsky.

In a statement, the Dalai Lama’s office said the...

Team USA’s figure skaters delivered a mixed but encouraging display in the team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics, with veteran ice dancers providing stability as a rising star navigated the pressure of his Olympic debut.

Three-time world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates produced a composed and authoritative routine in ice dance, underscoring their experience on the Olympic stage. The married duo said they entered the event focused and prepared, emphasising their goal of making a meaningful contribution to the team.

In contrast, 21-year-old men’s singles skater Ilia Malinin described his opening Olympic performance as a step rather than...

Uzbekistan’s national delegation joined the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics on 6 February, as athletes from around the world gathered at San Siro Stadium for the official launch of the Games.

Short track speed skater Daniil Eibog carried the national flag during the parade of nations. Uzbekistan will be represented at the Games by Eibog in the men’s 500m short track event and by alpine skier Medet Nazarov, who will compete in slalom and giant slalom.

The ceremony was attended by senior Uzbek sports officials, including Sports Minister Adkham Ikramov, First Deputy Chairman of the National...

Team USA delivered a strong opening day at the 2026 Winter Olympics, highlighted by a historic goal from Hilary Knight, a confidence-boosting training run from Lindsey Vonn, and a dominant showing by American figure skaters.

Knight scored in the United States’ 5–0 victory over Finland in women’s hockey, tying the Olympic record for career goals with 14. The 36-year-old now shares the mark with Natalie Darwitz and Katie King, as the U.S. women posted their second straight five-goal performance of the tournament.

On the slopes, Vonn eased concerns about her fitness ahead of Sunday’s women’s downhill. The 41-year-old...

Elton John told the High Court in London that both his publicist and his official website provided «completely wrong» information about his health, as he gave evidence in a privacy case against the Daily Mail.

The singer, 78, is challenging a 2009 article that reported he cancelled tour dates after being hospitalised with E. coli and flu. Sir Elton said the account was inaccurate, insisting he did not suffer a bacterial infection and that the details attributed to his illness were incorrect.

Lawyers for Sir Elton allege journalists unlawfully obtained his private medical information through practices including voicemail...

Melania Trump’s new documentary has sparked online debate after achieving one of the widest-ever gaps between critics’ and audience ratings on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Amazon-backed film, Melania, received a critic score of just 8 per cent on the site’s Tomatometer, while audience reactions on the Popcornmeter stood at 99 per cent, prompting speculation that the unusually high viewer rating may have been artificially boosted.

Rotten Tomatoes’ parent company Versant rejected the claims, telling Variety that there had been «no manipulation» of audience reviews. The company said all ratings counted toward the Popcornmeter were verified purchases made through Fandango.

Long-running animated sitcom The Simpsons has once again been drawn into online speculation, with fans claiming the show hinted at the existence of Jeffrey Epstein’s private island years before it became widely known.

The theory centres on a season 12 episode that aired in 2000, in which Homer Simpson launches a gossip website under the alias «Mr X». In one deliberately fabricated headline, Homer claims that «some crazy creeps on an island somewhere are secretly running the world». Social media users have recently linked the line to allegations surrounding Epstein’s island and his connections to powerful figures.

The...

Health experts in the UK have warned against so-called «jab hacks» involving weight-loss injections, after new data suggested a growing number of users are taking risks to cut costs.

The warning follows comments by Nina Wadia, the EastEnders star, who has spoken publicly about the dangers of misusing weight-loss jabs. Her remarks come amid wider concern from doctors and regulators about unsafe practices linked to the drugs.

A survey by LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor found that almost half of the estimated 1.6 million people using weight-loss medication in the UK have either experimented with «microdosing», taking smaller-than-prescribed amounts, or...

China continued to add to its gold reserves in January, extending a steady accumulation streak even as global prices surged, according to official data released over the weekend.

Figures from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange show that China’s gold reserves rose to 74.19 million ounces at the end of January, up 40,000 ounces from the previous month. The increase marks the country’s 15th consecutive month of net purchases.

While the monthly addition is modest, analysts say the persistence of buying is significant. The central bank resumed gold purchases in November 2024, and holdings have risen by a...

Spiritual author and wellness advocate Deepak Chopra has publicly addressed his past association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein following the release of newly unsealed federal records in the United States.

The documents, unsealed by the U.S. Department of Justice and the House Oversight Committee, include millions of pages of emails, contact logs and scheduling records linked to Epstein’s estate and investigations. Chopra’s name reportedly appears more than 3,000 times in records dated between 2016 and 2019.

According to the documents, Chopra met Epstein multiple times after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor. The interactions...

The opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics set an attendance record on February 6 night, with more than 61,000 tickets sold at Milan’s San Siro stadium.

Around 10,000 additional spectators followed the ceremony from other venues as events unfolded across a wide stretch of northern Italy. Organisers said operations at the iconic football stadium ran smoothly, though it was too early to release broadcast figures.

«It was a major challenge and we are very proud of what we achieved,» said Andrea Varnier, chief executive of the Milano Cortina 2026 Foundation. «From an...

Swiss skier Franjo von Allmen claimed the men’s Olympic downhill title, securing the first gold medal of the Milan Cortina Winter Games.

Racing under clear skies in Bormio, von Allmen mastered the demanding course to post a winning time of 1 minute 51.61 seconds.

Italy’s Giovanni Franzoni mounted a strong challenge but settled for silver, while his teammate Dominik Paris delivered a quick run to take bronze. Paris’ finish pushed Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt off the podium.

From economics and politics to business, technology and culture, Kursiv Uzbekistan brings you key news and in-depth analysis from Uzbekistan...

Indie developer Sandfall Interactive has been formally «knighted» for their work on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, receiving the prestigious French Order of Arts and Letters in recognition of the game’s cultural and artistic impact.

The accolade marks a historic achievement for the small studio, whose game has already become the most awarded title ever, surpassing Elden Ring and Baldur’s Gate 3.

In a LinkedIn announcement, Sandfall expressed gratitude to their team and players, saying the honour recognises their creative achievements and hopes to inspire others to pursue ambitious projects.

«From Expeditioners to Knights! We were...

Kazakhstan will host the 2029 Asian Winter Games after Saudi Arabia withdrew as the original host. Almaty was confirmed as the new venue by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) during the Winter Olympics in Italy.

OCA President Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani expressed gratitude to Kazakhstan for its dedication to winter sports, saying,

«We have no doubt we will build on this legacy and deliver an unforgettable Games in 2029.»

The Games had initially been scheduled for Trojena resort in the new Saudi city of Neom but were postponed last month. No...

Google revealed that YouTube brought in more than $60 bn in revenue in 2025, combining advertising earnings and paid subscriptions. The figure exceeds Netflix’s $45 bn revenue and marks the first time Google has publicly broken out YouTube’s annual revenue since acquiring the platform in 2006.

Midia Research analyst Hanna Kahlert said the announcement reflects YouTube’s deep integration into daily digital life, with over 70% of global consumers using it weekly and more than half using it daily. Its diverse revenue streams allow the platform to capitalise on its large audience.

Despite ad revenue in the last quarter of...

Manchester City midfielder Abduqodir Khusanov has been named the club’s Etihad Player of the Month for January, according to the results of the fan vote.

The 21-year-old played seven matches during the month, regularly starting and maintaining a high level of performance. Coaches praised his reliability, tactical awareness and composure in duels.

Khusanov beat teammates including goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and captain Bernardo Silva to claim the award. The young player has quickly become a favourite among fans for his discipline and calm presence on the pitch. January’s recognition marks Khusanov’s first individual Etihad award.

Kursiv also reports that...

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb accidentally distributed over $40 bn in bitcoin to customers as part of a promotional event, sparking a sharp selloff on the platform.

The error occurred when the exchange intended to send small cash rewards of 2,000 Korean won ($1.37) or more. Instead, each winner received at least 2,000 bitcoins, media reports said. Bithumb restricted trading and withdrawals for the 695 affected accounts within 35 minutes and has recovered 99.7% of the 620,000 bitcoins, worth roughly $44 bn.

The company stressed that the incident was not caused by hacking or security failures and that customer...

President Donald Trump condemned but declined to apologise on February 6 for a video shared on his social media account that depicted former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes, triggering swift bipartisan outrage.

The White House initially defended the post before deleting it about 12 hours later. The video, shared late February 5 on Trump’s Truth Social platform, promoted false claims that his 2020 election defeat was due to fraud and included what appeared to be an AI-generated clip featuring dancing primates with the Obamas’ faces.

Trump told reporters he had not watched the entire...

The acclaimed fantasy video game franchise Baldur’s Gate is being adapted into a television series, with Craig Mazin, the creator of HBO’s The Last of Us and Chernobyl, attached as showrunner.

The move follows the huge success of Baldur’s Gate 3, which launched in 2023 to widespread critical praise, sold more than 20 mln copies and became the first game to sweep all five major Game of the Year awards.

The plot

The series will be set after the events of the latest game, drawing on the world’s established lore while introducing new storylines and characters grappling with...

The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic Games officially got under way on February 6 night following an ambitious opening ceremony staged across four Italian venues.

Milan’s San Siro stadium served as the centrepiece, while additional segments unfolded simultaneously in Cortina, Livigno and Predazzo. Organisers had faced questions over the complexity of such a format, but the event ran smoothly and delivered a polished spectacle.

Dual cauldrons and a celebratory parade

Two Olympic cauldrons were ignited, one in Milan and another in Cortina, as Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli performed Nessun Dorma while the torch arrived at San Siro. The ceremony culminated with...