News

Apple has trained a large language model specifically for the Chinese market in collaboration with Alibaba Group.

This is a shift from the tech giant’s initial strategy of relying entirely on third-party models to power artificial intelligence features in the country. Three people familiar with the matter confirmed the previously unreported development, requesting anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the information. Neither Apple nor Alibaba have commented on the partnership.

The bespoke AI model aims to bring Apple Intelligence to iPhones and other devices sold in China. US-based models such as Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI’s ChatGPT are unavailable...

Telegram users across Kazakhstan reported widespread disruptions on August 13, while a court decision to block the popular Dayvinchik dating channel added to speculation that authorities could be preparing broader restrictions on the messenger.

The incidents occurred on the same day, but there is no confirmed evidence that they are connected. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development said it was investigating reports of Telegram becoming inaccessible, while Kazakhtelecom said its own infrastructure was operating normally.

What happened to Telegram in Kazakhstan?

Users in Astana, Karaganda, Pavlodar, Kostanay and East Kazakhstan initially reported problems with Telegram. Complaints...

A record downpour has caused chaos in Tokyo, Japan, with thousands of travellers stranded overnight at Narita Airport and at least four people dead. Tens of thousands of homes lost power as the heavy rain flooded roads and rail lines across Chiba Prefecture.

More than 360mm of rain fell in 24 hours in parts of Chiba, east of Tokyo, flooding roads and railway lines during one of Japan’s busiest holiday weeks. The disaster left thousands of travellers stranded at Narita Airport, one of the country’s major international gateways.

A spokesman for the airport said around 7,000 people were stranded...

Lower prices and easy access are forcing Russian enterprises to quickly turn to Chinese AI models, leaving Western-made products behind. Industry insiders said the payment woes during the sanctions had accelerated a movement already driven by cost and increasing model quality.

Chinese-made AI is becoming the de facto foreign choice for more and more Russian firms, with models like Qwen, DeepSeek, GLM and Kimi soaring in popularity across the country’s main cloud platforms. Chinese models are generally far cheaper, install easily on Russian infrastructure, and avoid the payment issues that Western APIs have. 

«For many business...

Kazakh content creator and Formula 1 blogger Bolat Srymof has married, marking the occasion with an entrance that brought the paddock into his wedding celebrations.

Srymof appeared at the ceremony wearing a full Visa Cash App Racing Bulls race suit, complete with the team’s logos and sponsor branding, before greeting guests gathered outside.

The unusual entrance quickly caught the attention of Racing Bulls driver Arvid Lindblad, who was tagged...

A WIRED reporter who requested the personal data held on him by McDonald’s received a 515-page file containing years of transactions, locations, loyalty activity – and algorithmic predictions about what he was likely to go for next.

The dossier was generated for the WIRED reporter Reece Rogers, who had registered for McDonald’s loyalty programme and its app. The records contained information on when, where and what the reporter bought, the offers he received, how many loyalty points he collected and even every Monopoly promotional code he scanned and the prizes attached to them.

McDonald’s systems estimated that Rogers would...

An appeals court in Uzbekistan’s Namangan region has overturned a fine imposed on an 18-year-old woman who struck a man after he touched her thigh on a city bus, ruling that she acted in self-defence.

The Namangan Regional Court reviewed the administrative case after the woman was initially fined for causing minor bodily harm to the 66-year-old man.

The incident occurred on July 27 on a public bus in Namangan. According to court records, the man grabbed the woman’s thigh during the journey. She responded by hitting him, causing minor injuries that did not affect his health.

A lower...

Uzbekistan’s Central Bank has described the rapid rise in household borrowing as an «alarming situation», with loans to individuals growing much faster than those to businesses.  

Loans to individuals surged by 21.2% year on year, adding about $3.37 billion to household debt, Senator Husan Ermatov told fellow lawmakers earlier this month. 

He noted that more recent Central Bank data showed the trend continuing: by 1 July, retail loans had reached about $19.7 billion, accounting for 37% of Uzbekistan’s total bank loan portfolio. In the meantime, corporate loans stood at around ...

Richard Ledger, the former president of Kazakh airline FlyArystan, received a total remuneration of 258mn tenge ($554,406) in 2025, Kursiv Kazakhstan reports.

The carrier, a wholly owned subsidiary of Air Astana, recently disclosed the compensation package for its sole board member. The annual figure represents a 12% increase compared with the previous year.

On average, the British aviation executive earned approximately 21.5mn tenge ($46,200) per month. This amount includes his base salary alongside various premiums and bonuses.
Ledger took the helm at FlyArystan in April 2024, building on a two-decade career within the broader Air Astana corporate structure.

His...

Yuri Norstein, the world-renowned Russian animation master behind Hedgehog in the Fog and Tale of Tales, wants his drawings, puppets, storyboards, film reels and equipment to end up with Hayao Miyazaki and the Ghibli Museum in Japan. 

«I need to make sure I draw up a will so that my work doesn’t simply end up in some [Russian] film museum,» Norstein told Russia’s YouTube channel Mikhail Kozhukhov’s Travel Club. 

«Let [my works] go to Japan, either to the Ghibli Museum or to Miyazaki’s museum. Miyazaki, if he’s still alive… We’re the same age; he turns...

Nvidia has implemented sweeping price increases across its premium graphics card lineup, doubling the cost of its flagship professional model. The RTX PRO 6000 Workstation Edition, built on the latest Blackwell architecture, now carries an official price tag of $16,000.

This marks a dramatic jump from its original $8,000 recommended retail price, setting a new historical peak for the workstation unit.

The revised pricing is already reflected on Nvidia’s official website and through primary channel partners like PNY, who have begun restocking inventory based on the updated valuation.

Powering complex professional workloads

Equipped with a massive 96GB of...

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Iturup, one of the Kuril Islands claimed by both Russia and Japan. His first reported in-person visit to the disputed chain drew a strong protest from Tokyo.

Putin travelled to the island on Thursday after overseeing major Russian naval exercises in the Far East. During his visit, Putin toured a fish-processing plant, where officials showed him local tuna and halibut and discussed fishing activity. Russian state television footage also showed the president sampling fish roe.

Putin later spoke with residents and remarked on the weather, comparing the island to a resort. A local woman...

Tech giant Apple will delay the release of its standard iPhone 18 until the first quarter of 2027, though the high-end Pro series remains on track for a September launch.

The staggered release schedule is the direct result of severe memory and semiconductor shortages, according to Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Pegatron. The assembly partner confirmed the unprecedented shift during its investor conference on Wednesday, noting that structural supply chain issues are forcing tech companies to make strategic production choices.

This marks a significant departure from Apple’s usual autumn release strategy, where all flagship models typically debut simultaneously to capture...

Bangladesh put Australia under immediate pressure on the first day of the Test in Darwin, dismissing four of the hosts’ top batters before lunch. Australia recovered somewhat thanks to Steve Smith but were still struggling at 183 for eight by tea.

Australia chose to bat first after winning the toss, but the decision quickly backfired. Bangladesh’s fast bowlers dismissed Travis Head, Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne, and Cameron Green, leaving Australia on 74 for four at lunch.

Smith provided the majority of Australia’s resistance, scoring an unbeaten 71 by tea while wickets fell around him. Bangladesh’s Hasan Mahmud and Taskin Ahmed

Turkey has launched a nationwide financial crime operation targeting Alihan Kuriş, leader of the Süleymancılar religious community, and 48 other suspects as part of an investigation led by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Detention, search and seizure orders were issued for all 49 suspects on Thursday, with simultaneous operations conducted across 17 provinces, according to Turkish media reports.

The investigation focuses on allegations including establishing or leading a criminal organisation, membership of a criminal organisation, laundering assets derived from crime, fraud against public institutions and violations of Turkey’s tax legislation.

Authorities carried out searches at 43 addresses linked...

Incheon International Airport ranked first globally in international passenger traffic in the first half of 2026, surpassing London Heathrow for the first time. The South Korean hub served 38.39 million international travellers, a 6.3% increase from the previous year.

The ranking is based on preliminary Airports Council International data for 1,234 airports worldwide, the Incheon International Airport Corporation reported. Heathrow took second place with 37.79 million passengers, followed by Singapore Changi with 34.53 million.

Incheon’s rise represents a significant improvement over its longer-term position. It was ranked 10th globally in international traffic in 2002, fifth in 2018, and third...

Two individuals have died following the crash of a US military helicopter in central Texas, local authorities have confirmed.

Emergency services rushed to fields south of Salado at approximately 1:33 p.m. local time after receiving emergency calls regarding a downed aircraft. Police discovered the wreckage of an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter engulfed in a rapidly spreading fire. Bell County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Cliff Coleman noted the blaze was escalating quickly upon their arrival. Both crew members were pronounced dead at the scene.

The twin-engine aircraft was stationed at Fort Hood, a prominent military installation situated nearby. According to the...

K-pop icon Kim Taehyung, known as V from the global phenomenon BTS, has opened up about enduring significant hearing loss for more than two years.

The 30-year-old artist shared the previously undisclosed medical struggle on Tuesday during a live broadcast on the fan platform Weverse. Broadcasting from their hotel room alongside bandmate Jungkook, the pair spoke to their supporters, known as ARMY, shortly after finishing a stadium performance at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland.

According to the singer, the condition has severely impacted his right ear. He estimated that if his left ear functions at full capacity, his...

During the August 12 Made by Google showcase, the tech giant introduced the latest iteration of its flagship devices: the Pixel 11 lineup. This new family includes the standard Pixel 11, the Pixel 11 Pro, the supersized Pixel 11 Pro XL, and the book-style Pixel 11 Pro Fold.

Driven by the fresh Tensor G6 chipset, this generation heavily emphasizes the Gemini Intelligence ecosystem, while also delivering substantial camera improvements and physical design tweaks. Pre-orders are currently live, with all four devices slated to hit store shelves on August 20.

Read on for a complete breakdown of the announcements.

Footage of a Chinese-built CR200J passenger train apparently tested for the Tashkent-Andijan railway emerged on social media. Authorities have yet to confirm whether it has entered regular commercial service.

The video, posted by Instagram channel Vodiybozor, shows a high-speed train standing on tracks at Andijan railway station. The interior appears untidied, with seats still in factory packaging, indicating that the train is not yet ready for service.

The lead car’s sign reads “CR200J”, indicating that it is a member of China’s Fuxing train family. Unlike China’s fastest high-speed trains, the CR200J series is designed for conventional intercity operation at speeds...

Matthias Vollert has formally begun his posting as Germany’s new ambassador to Uzbekistan, having presented copies of his credentials to Uzbek Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov.

«We highly value Germany as one of our reliable and time-tested partners in Europe. Recently, Uzbekistan–Germany relations have been steadily developing through high-level visits and regular political dialogue,» Saidov commented earlier on Wednesday.

The foreign minister and the new ambassador «discussed key issues on the bilateral agenda and emphasised the importance of the timely and effective implementation of the agreements reached at the highest level.»

Before moving to Tashkent, Vollert headed

Warner Bros. is launching the largest official Harry Potter retail space in the U.K. on central London’s Oxford Street this November. The opening arrives just weeks before a highly anticipated television adaptation premieres on HBO on December 25, capitalising on a renewed surge of interest in the beloved fantasy franchise ahead of Christmas.

Spanning more than 21,000 square feet across two floors, the flagship destination draws heavy inspiration from the wizarding shopping district known as Diagon Alley. Visitors will encounter immersive sets integrated directly into the retail environment. Features include a massive dragon perched above a Gringotts bank replica...

Former Chinese PM Zhu Rongji, a blunt reformer who drove China’s explosive economic growth in the 1990s and engineered its entry into the World Trade Organisation, died in Beijing on Wednesday.

State news agency Xinhua reported that Zhu died of an unspecified illness at 11:06 a.m.
As premier from 1998 to 2003 under President Jiang Zemin, Zhu served as the country’s economic tsar. He tackled systemic corruption, shook up the centrally planned economy and overhauled state-owned enterprises. His policies unleashed new market dynamics that set the stage for over a decade of rapid national growth.

Revitalising a state-controlled economy

The Senate of Uzbekistan unanimously approved a constitutional law on August 7 that formalises the legal status and functions of the Presidential Administration for the first time.

Previously regulated entirely by secondary legislation, the new 34-article document officially establishes the body as a state organ. It clearly outlines the administration’s structure and its working relationships with parliament, the Cabinet of Ministers and regional executive authorities.

Main takeaways from the new framework: