News

Samsung has broadened the global rollout of its One UI 9, delivering enhanced artificial intelligence tools, improved privacy controls and interface upgrades to a wider range of Galaxy smartphones.

The update initially debuted on the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, Z Fold8 and Z Flip8. It began reaching the Galaxy S26 series on September 16 and is now available for users across multiple regions including South Korea, the United States, Europe, India and Canada.

Samsung is deploying the software in stages based on country, mobile operator and specific device model. The company has also initiated the stable...

Russians have sharply increased searches for information about plague after hospitals in the Irkutsk region imposed quarantine measures following the death of a young laboratory worker.

Google Trends data, checked by Kursiv Uzbekistan on Monday afternoon, showed that the Russian-language search term «чума» — plague in English — spiked to about 2,800% higher interest between September 29 and October 5, and about 5,000% higher than a year ago.

The spike came after reports that a hospital in the town of Shelekhov, in the Irkutsk region, had been placed under quarantine over a suspected «particularly dangerous infection.»

Yandex Wordstat, the Russian...

US President Donald Trump intends to visit Uzbekistan, although no date has been set, his special envoy for global partnerships, Paolo Zampolli, said in an interview with Uzbekistan 24’s Tahlilnoma programme.

According to Zampolli, Trump personally expressed his intention to travel to the Central Asian country, where Washington has been expanding diplomatic and economic ties.

“The president’s schedule is extremely busy, but he personally told me about his plan to visit your country,” Zampolli said. “One day, this visit will definitely take place. We hope it happens as soon as possible.”

Realme P4s Lite, a new budget smartphone that prioritises battery longevity and display performance was presented on Monday. The device officially goes on sale on October 8 in Nebula Black and Moonlight Silver, with prices starting at approximately $170.

The smartphone features a 6.75-inch LCD panel with an HD+ resolution of 1570 by 720 pixels. The screen supports a 120Hz refresh rate and a 240Hz maximum touch sampling rate. It delivers up to 900 nits of brightness and is protected by Panda MN228 glass.

A Unisoc T7250 processor powers the device, paired with up to 4GB...

A plague researcher’s death in Russia’s Siberian city of Irkutsk, attributed to the plague, has revived fears about one of history’s most feared infections and made headlines around the world. Is the post-Covid world on the brink of yet another pandemic?  

Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute, has died in hospital in the nearby town of Shelekhov on 2 October, according to independent media outlet Lyudi Baikala. The publication reported an unconfirmed account that she had broken a test tube containing plague bacteria before falling ill. 

Regional authorities placed hundreds of...

Online users are bullying Asian men who go by the same name as a Korean suspect involved in the Cornell University sexual assault case, according to The Korea Herald.

This misguided backlash originated from a civil complaint submitted on 14 September by a former student. The woman claims she suffered a drug-facilitated sexual assault at a campus fraternity in October 2024. A Korean man named Winston Lee is part of the “Cornell 7,” a collective of past and present attendees accused of involvement.

With no official word about...

Uzbek banks could face weaker earnings and pressure on capital as tougher provisioning rules expose credit risks, Fitch and S&P executives told Kursiv Uzbekistan.

The warning contrasts with strong headline results. Banks earned 10.99 trillion soums in the first half of 2026, an increase of nearly 69% year on year. Yet the Central Bank’s figures show that non-performing loans stood at 22.94 trillion soums on 1 July, equivalent to 3.6% of total lending.

Fitch’s Pavel Kaptel said the planned transition to IFRS 9 in regulatory reporting could force some lenders, particularly state-owned banks, to increase provisions.

Senator Flávio Bolsonaro secured a surprise victory over Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the first round of the country’s presidential election, setting the stage for a tense runoff on October 25.

Bolsonaro, the 45-year-old son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, captured 47.03% of valid votes in Sunday’s contest, outpacing the left-wing incumbent’s 45.16%, according to the Superior Electoral Court. With 99.99% of ballots counted early Monday, Bolsonaro amassed 56.1 mn votes, approximately 2.2 mn more than Lula.

Because neither candidate achieved the outright majority required to win in the first round, the top...

Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, head of the Russian Imperial House and great-niece of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II, visited the former palace of Grand Duke Nikolai Konstantinovich in Tashkent on October 3 to inspect ongoing restoration work.

Maria Vladimirovna is a claimant to the headship of the Imperial House of Russia, a position she has held since her father’s death in 1992. Born in 1953 in Madrid, she is the great-great-granddaughter of Emperor Alexander II.

Her claim to be the rightful head of the Romanov family stems from her father, Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich, who...

The White House is monitoring a suspected pneumonic plague outbreak in Russia after a Siberian laboratory worker died amid conflicting reports about the cause.

A Trump administration official told Axios on October 4 that Washington was aware of the incident, tracking developments and assessing potential responses. US officials urged Moscow to promptly release accurate information about the researcher’s death.

Independent Russian media outlet Lyudi Baikala reported that Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old employee at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute, accidentally broke a test tube containing the bacterium responsible for pneumonic plague on September...

Max Verstappen broke his 2026 duck with a masterful victory at the Sepang International Circuit, claiming his first win of the season in a wildly unpredictable Bahrain Grand Prix hosted in Malaysia, since his last win at the last race of 2025 season in Abu Dhabi.

After a heavy pre-race downpour significantly delayed proceedings, the Red Bull driver executed a flawless race from pole position to beat championship leader Kimi Antonelli, while Lewis Hamilton carved his way through the field to seal a spectacular podium finish.

Max Verstappen has now extended his record of 10 consecutive...

A custom Epiphone guitar once owned by Noel Gallagher has sold for £12,000 at auction, headlining a memorabilia sale marked by a last-minute legal dispute over unreleased Oasis recordings.

The 1997 instrument, finished in Manchester City blue, is believed to be one of five identical guitars gifted to Gallagher by the manufacturer. The songwriter later gave it to Huw Richards, the band’s former front-of-house sound engineer. Richards’ son consigned the guitar alongside other tour memorabilia.

The auction was originally scheduled to feature “The Desk Tapes”, an extensive archive of unreleased material valued between £1.2mn and £1.6mn. The collection contains recordings...

Capcom announced on October 2 that it will transform its proprietary RE Engine into an AI-assisted development tool, launching a new initiative dubbed the REX project to streamline video game production.

Unveiled during the company’s Open Conference, the engine upgrade aims to integrate artificial intelligence to improve development efficiency, overall performance and quality assurance. According to reports from Japanese outlet GameBiz, Capcom executives stated the ultimate goal is to build a future where developers create games alongside AI.

The Japanese studio highlighted that modern video games have become so massive that routine coding and structural processes...

The United States, Russia and China dominate the population of artificial objects in near-Earth orbit, according to the latest figures released by NASA.

The September 2026 issue of the NASA Orbital Debris Quarterly News reports that tracking systems are currently monitoring 34,054 artificial objects around the planet as of August 4. This total represents an overall increase of 956 objects over a three-month period.

Of the total tracked items, 19,154 are classified as spacecraft, which encompasses both operational satellites and completely decommissioned hardware. This specific category saw a quarterly increase of 965 units.

Conversely, the number...

Samsung Electronics has commenced mass production of components for its upcoming Galaxy S27 smartphone series, expanding its flagship lineup to four distinct devices for the first time.

The forthcoming generation introduces a new “Pro” variant to sit alongside the established standard, Plus and Ultra models. According to supply chain sources, the device screen sizes will measure 6.27 inches for the basic model, 6.47 inches for the Pro, 6.66 inches for the Plus and 6.89 inches for the premium Ultra edition.

Samsung Display is scheduled to begin manufacturing OLED panels for the series this month. While the overall production...

Max Verstappen delivered a masterclass at the Sepang International Circuit to claim his first pole position of the 2026 season. Under the searing Malaysian sun with track temperatures peaking at 56 degrees Celsius, the Red Bull driver set a blistering 1m 35.250s to distance himself from the chasing pack.

Lewis Hamilton secured a front-row start for Ferrari, while Mercedes endured a fractured session that left highly touted prospect Kimi Antonelli inheriting third due to grid penalties.

Red Bull dominance and upgrades unravelled

Heading into the weekend, the paddock anticipated a Mercedes runaway following the introduction...

Stray Kids leader Bang Chan marked his 29th birthday on Saturday by donating 300mn won ($223,218) to three distinct non-profit organisations.

His management agency, JYP Entertainment, confirmed the artist split the funds equally, providing 100mn won ($74,406) each to Hearcycle, World Vision and OSEAN. The selected charities represent a wide spectrum of humanitarian and environmental causes, reflecting a targeted approach to his philanthropy.

Hearcycle, a non-profit organisation dedicated to auditory health, will utilise the financial injection to cover medical expenses and fund social rehabilitation programmes for young people experiencing hearing loss.

Read more: Stray Kids...

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has confirmed that the 2026 championship will conclude in the Middle East as originally planned, with both the Qatar and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix officially remaining on the calendar.

Speaking to Sky Sport Italia, Domenicali addressed ongoing speculation surrounding the final races of the season. The regional security situation involving Iran had previously cast severe doubt over whether the sport would travel to the Gulf for its traditional double-header finale.

“With the information and assurances we have, this remains the direction that leads us to confirm Qatar...

Prominent YouTube tech reviewer MKBHD examining the newly revealed Xiaomi 18 Fold alongside Apple’s iPhone Duo has highlighted how the Chinese manufacturer pre-empted Apple’s foldable debut despite sharing near-identical dimensions.

Officially unveiled on September 6, two days before Apple’s keynote, Xiaomi’s handset mirrors the iPhone Duo down to the millimetre, adopting the identical aspect ratio for both screens and matching its curved D-shaped profile.

The synchronised timing reflects industrial supply chain leakage rather than direct design theft. While Apple enforces strict secrecy during internal research and development, physical specifications inevitably surface once orders for...

The newly launched Honor Magic 9 series has become a massive commercial bestseller in the Chinese smartphone market after consumer demand significantly exceeded manufacturer forecasts. The surge in early orders caused immediate stock shortages across both physical retail locations and online storefronts.

According to Guan Haitao, vice president and global chief marketing officer at Honor, early commercial performance has substantially surpassed the company’s initial projections. By the third day of retail availability, total new device activations were over 70% higher than those recorded by the previous generation during the same post-launch window.

This rapid adoption...

The developers of the popular role-playing dating simulator Love and Deepspace have issued an urgent safety warning to their player base after officially publishing cocktail recipes that included highly poisonous plants.

On September 28, the official social media account for the game shared a list of five “Shimmering Blend” drink recipes. The promotional post was designed to celebrate an in-game event, with each beverage themed around the title’s romanceable characters.

Each protagonist in the sci-fi game is associated with a specific symbolic flower, which the marketing team seemingly incorporated into the recipes as aesthetic garnishes without researching their toxicity.

From 1 October, the cost of a single journey on Tashkent public transport, when paid electronically, rose from UZS 1,700 to UZS 2,500. Kursiv Uzbekistan approached UzNIF, a shareholder in Toshshahartransxizmat JSC, to ask about the operator’s financial position and the future of bus services in the capital. Franklin Templeton, which manages the UzNIF fund, provided the responses.

Franklin Templeton said the fare increase itself would not automatically raise the company’s revenue. Its financial performance depends primarily on the number of services it operates and the technical availability of its buses. Improving the condition...

Apple‘s highly anticipated foldable device, the iPhone Duo, has not yet reached consumers, but the tech giant has already detailed its repair pricing scheme.

A persistent concern for foldable smartphone adopters is the visible crease on the internal screen. Apple appears to have anticipated this user frustration by offering an inexpensive solution to refresh the display’s appearance once the device hits the market on October 23.

Replacing the cover layer will cost users a mere $19. This allows customers who find the hinge crease increasingly prominent or scratched over time to simply...

Stray Kids will not compete at the 69th Grammy Awards, joining a growing movement of K-pop acts pushing back against the Recording Academy’s newly established Best Asian Pop Music Performance category.

JYP Entertainment confirmed the eight-member boy band did not submit any material ahead of the August 21 deadline. The management agency declined to provide a specific reason for the omission or comment on its connection to the ongoing award restructuring.

The decision carries extra weight this year because all eight Stray Kids members recently accepted invitations to join the Recording Academy. Their new status grants...