News

Residents report struggling to find certain antibiotics. A healthcare source says local doctors are openly discussing plague. Deep in Siberia, a laboratory worker’s death has triggered fears that official reassurances have yet to dispel. What is really happening in the Irkutsk region?  

The story started to unfold on 2 October, when Siberia-based independent media outlet Lyudi Baikala reported that Daria Shipilova, a 28-year-old employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute, has broken a vial containing plague strains and felt unwell. 

She was rushed to a hospital ward in the town of...

The Thai government and private enterprise representatives backed a proposed fee for tourists, citing an 80-country precedent and mounting unpaid hospital bills.

Tourism and Sports Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul chaired discussions in Bangkok on October 6 to advance the measure. The 450 baht ($13) fee is designed to address a 7 billion baht ($207.8 million) financial burden shouldered by the local healthcare system after treating uninsured visitors.

It will also establish a tourism fund, which is expected to generate more than 8bn baht ($237.4mn) annually for the maintenance of national sites.

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France’s Henri B. Kagan and Japan’s Kenso Soai have won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discoveries that explain how chemical reactions can favour one of two mirror-image molecules. Their work connects the practical business of making chemicals with a more profound question: why does life favour one molecular ‘hand’ over the other?

In simple terms, they showed how a small preference for one molecular version can become much stronger — and how the molecules produced can help make more of their own kind.

For Kagan, the award comes 25 years after his exclusion from another chemistry Nobel provoked...

More than 521,000 people joined virtual queues in a fierce scramble to secure tickets for the debut BTS concerts in Peru, underscoring the massive anticipation ahead of the group’s arrival in Lima.

The South Korean musical act will take the stage at Estadio San Marcos on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. These dates represent the second stop on the South American leg of their Arirang world tour.

While the exact capacity for each night remains undisclosed, local authorities expect the three shows to draw a combined crowd of between 96,000 and 156,000 attendees.

The BTS...

Microsoft has dismissed reports claiming it secured exclusive rights to stream Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6) on PC through its cloud platform.

The denial arrived following a report by tech publication The Verge, which asserted that Xbox had negotiated an arrangement to distribute the blockbuster title via Xbox Cloud Gaming at launch.

Because publisher Rockstar Games has not yet confirmed a native PC release, cloud streaming would have provided desktop players with their sole avenue to run the game on day one without purchasing an Xbox Series X/S or PlayStation 5 console.

Almost two in five surveyed workers in Uzbekistan say they need help copying or moving a file on a phone or computer, despite near-universal internet access. A World Bank report suggests that basic digital skills could determine who benefits from artificial intelligence — and who struggles to adapt.

The difference is especially noticeable among clerical support workers. Almost 60% reported being unable to copy a file without assistance, while roughly 80% work in jobs that involve medium or high levels of AI. Only 27% stated that they used AI at work, according to the World Bank’s Europe and Central Asia...

Scientists have solved a 600-year-old historical mystery by tracing the origin of the Black Death to Central Asia, according to information on Nature journal.

The bubonic plague decimated Europe and western Asia during the 14th century, ultimately killing up to 60% of the human population at the time. Despite the devastation, historians, archaeologists, and evolutionary biologists debated the pandemic’s geographical origin.

For decades, experts proposed various theories without definitive proof. The major breakthrough finally occurred when an international research team decided to extract ancient genetic material from human remains buried near Lake Issyk-Kul in modern-day Kyrgyzstan.

Ciara Miller was eliminated from Dancing with the Stars on Mariah Carey night, leaving the competition despite earning her strongest judges’ score of the season. The Summer House star and professional partner Brandon Armstrong went home after the October 6 episode, which celebrated Carey’s music. 

Miller delivered her highest-scoring dance of the season before going home. The jazz routine to Emotions earned 21 out of 30, with all three judges awarding sevens. 

Carrie Ann Inaba called it Miller’s «best dance of the season so far,» according to a recap from TV Insider. But that improvement...

After stepping down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway last month, 96-year-old Warren Buffett has officially entered retirement. Instead of travelling the globe, the billionaire is spending his evenings in front of a screen streaming Uzbekistan’s version of America’s Got Talent on YouTube.

With a net worth of $143bn, the famed investor handed the CEO position to Greg Abel in January and the chairmanship to his son, Howard, in September. Now his schedule is completely his own.

Sharon Osberg, a close friend who often visits the retired financier, told the Wall Street...

Renowned Turkish film star Hande Ercel brought an unexpected accessory to a Valentino fashion show: books by Nobel prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk. The actress was photographed holding Pamuk’s works, giving literature a place alongside her designer look.

Pictures credited to Ercel’s Instagram account show her carrying several Pamuk books during the appearance, Türkiye Today reported. She kept them in hand for a series of photographs around the event.

Erсel, known internationally for playing Eda Yıldız in Love Is in the Air, has become a familiar face at fashion events as well as...

Thousands of women are sharing personal experiences of sexual harassment, coercion and assault under the hashtag #IAmJaneDoe, turning an online campaign to protect the identity of the accuser in the Cornell 7 case into a movement that is reminiscent of #MeToo.

The campaign has spread across Instagram, TikTok and X, with participants declaring themselves Jane Doe, the pseudonym used by a former Cornell University student who has accused seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity of sexual assault.

Unlike #MeToo, which encouraged survivors to publicly share their experiences, #IAmJaneDoe initially had a more immediate purpose: flooding social media with...

Afghan teachers describe hitting students with sticks and plastic cables, while colleagues allegedly kick and punch children. That’s according to a harrowing report describing classroom violence, overcrowding, staff shortages, and financial hardship.

One female teacher described colleagues boasting about assaults in staff gatherings: «Today I had a free fight with a student.»

Her testimony appears in Schooling Under the Taliban Era, a September 2026 report by Maryam Safi, a research fellow with the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law.

The study draws on 65 interviews conducted between May and November 2025 with teachers, parents, experts...

Rhenus, a German logistics company, plans to build a network of 14 goods terminals that will connect Uzbekistan and its neighbours to Europe via a route that avoids Russia. The investment aims to make the Middle Corridor a more reliable option for businesses transporting goods across Eurasia.

Chief executive Tobias Bartz told Euronews that the terminals in question would extend from Uzbekistan through Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan to Türkiye before connecting with the company’s European network.

Rhenus already has 23 container terminals and around 70 port facilities across Europe. The company has...

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has on 6 October awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics to Francis Halzen for his pioneering work with the IceCube Neutrino Observatory.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison professor earned the award for discovering high-energy astrophysical neutrinos. Halzen will receive a prize amount of 12 million Swedish kronor ($1.2 million).

Born in 1944 in Tienen, Belgium, Halzen earned his doctorate from KU Leuven before embarking on a career that would ultimately transform astronomy.

BREAKING NEWS The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award...

Google‘s new Googlebook laptops have officially gone on sale, with five models from Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP and Lenovo starting at $899 in the United States. The devices run Google’s new Android-based operating system, combining Gemini AI features with premium hardware and closer integration with Android smartphones.

Google opened pre-orders on September 21, with sales beginning on October 4 in the US and October 5 in Canada, the UK, Ireland, France, Germany and Australia.

Unlike Chromebooks, which primarily target budget-conscious consumers and educational institutions, Googlebooks compete directly with Apple’s MacBooks and premium Windows laptops. All five models come with...

A survey conducted by the Uzbek Central Bank found that, despite widespread optimism about future income growth, nearly half of the respondents had no savings at all. The results reveal a telling gap between respondents’ current finances and their financial expectations.

The bank’s Q2 consumer sentiment review, based on around 4,100 responses collected in July, found that 46.4% had no savings, virtually unchanged from the previous quarter.

According to the Central Bank, they were unable to adapt to changes in income or cover unexpected expenses because of the results. The duration of respondents’ savings remained...

YouTube creator Jimmy Donaldson, known universally as MrBeast, will visit Tashkent for his inaugural tour of Central Asia. The American entertainer commands a digital footprint of 520 million subscribers across his YouTube channels, making him the most followed individual creator on the platform.

The Art and Culture Development Foundation of Uzbekistan will host the creator for an interactive public event that will welcome randomly selected supporters.

The gathering will centre on interactive challenges and an obscure-fact trivia contest, with prizes awarded to the top contestants. Organisers have not yet released the event date...

Fernando Alonso is set to return to the Dakar Rally in 2027 behind the wheel of an Aston Martin, according to Soymotor. The Spanish driver will compete in the premier T1+ category using a former Dacia prototype managed by Prodrive, which is being visually transformed to represent the British manufacturer.

The move establishes a direct link between Alonso’s current Formula 1 commitments and his off-road ambitions. It also revives a long-standing motorsport synergy between Aston Martin and Prodrive founder David Richards. Alonso hinted at the project ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix, stating he wanted to...

Tech enthusiasts have received an early glimpse of the Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra colour palette months before the flagship smartphone officially debuts. According to reputable industry leaker Ice Universe, the tech manufacturer plans to release the premium device in five primary finishes: black, blue, light pink, white and violet.

These core options will reportedly form the base retail lineup available through third-party vendors and mobile network operators worldwide. By establishing light pink as a standard option rather than a restricted variant, Samsung appears to be shifting its usual distribution strategy for bolder shades.

The five main...

US President Donald Trump has authorised the execution of former Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan by firing squad. The decision paves the way for the first US military execution in more than six decades.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed the directive on Monday. He stated that Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth recommended death by firing squad, and Trump granted the required approval.

Hasan orchestrated one of the deadliest attacks on a US military installation in modern history. The former military psychiatrist killed 13 people, wounded 32 others and traumatised the broader military community during a November...

The World Health Organization (WHO) told Kursiv Uzbekistan that the public health risk appears low following a laboratory worker’s death in Russia’s Irkutsk region. It is seeking answers from Russian authorities, with the cause of death still unconfirmed.

The worker reportedly died of severe pneumonia on 2 October. In its statement, WHO said laboratory testing was underway and all identified contacts were being monitored, with none reportedly showing symptoms.

«Based on unofficial information available, the public health risk to the general population appears to be low,» WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told Kursiv Uzbekistan. The official added that it would update...

Cadillac Formula 1 driver Valtteri Bottas has decided to swap his racing car for a bicycle, setting off on a journey of roughly 350 kilometres from Malaysia to Singapore ahead of the next Grand Prix. The unusual travel plans follow a disappointing weekend at Sepang, where the Finn crashed out of the race after just seven laps.

While most drivers and team personnel are heading to Singapore by plane, the 37-year-old has chosen to cycle south from Kuala Lumpur International Airport. According to his activity on Strava, Bottas covered 56.6 kilometres on...

Russia hosts talks on Afghanistan this Monday, 5 October, on the heels of renewed Pakistani airstrikes that killed numerous Afghan civilians.

The eighth Moscow Format meeting involved senior officials from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi is leading Kabul’s delegation and will hold separate talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Pakistan sends its Afghanistan envoy, Mohammad Sadiq, and its ambassador to Kabul.

Russia’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, said the participants would discuss the confrontation alongside...

Veteran Turkish actor Göksel Arsoy, one of the best-known leading men of the Yeşilçam era, died at the age of 90.

Arsoy, widely known in Türkiye by the nickname «Altın Çocuk» — the Golden Boy — died on October 5, his family said. His son, Aşkım Arsoy, said the actor had become weaker recently but had not suffered from a serious illness and died peacefully, according to Haberler.

His funeral is expected to take place on Wednesday, 7 October, Türkiye Gazetesi reported.