News

More football clubs than ever before are set to receive financial rewards from the FIFA World Cup as FIFA prepares to roll out an enhanced version of the Club Benefits Programme (CBP) for its 2026 men’s competition.

Under the renewed memorandum of understanding signed with the European Club Association (ECA) in March 2023, FIFA confirmed that $355 mln will be shared among clubs releasing players for the World Cup.

For the first time, the scheme will also cover players involved in World Cup 2026 qualifiers, ensuring that every club contributing talent to the process receives direct compensation. This adjustment...

The Central Bank of Uzbekistan has reviewed the first year of implementing the We-Finance Code initiative. Uzbekistan is the first country in the region to introduce a National Regulation on the «Financial Code for Women Entrepreneurs.»

In 2024, a memorandum of understanding was signed between EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso and Chair of the Senate of Uzbekistan Tanzila Narbaeva. The agreement included the We-Finance Code, with the Central Bank of Uzbekistan appointed as the coordinator. The initiative provides women entrepreneurs with access to grants and international training programmes.

Central Bank has now implemented all core measures and created a national framework...

The global box office enjoyed another surprise boost in September as Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Infinity Castle stormed cinemas with a record-breaking debut.

Sony-owned Crunchyroll released the Japanese anime sequel across 3,315 theatres in the United States and Canada, where it grossed $70 mln, including $33 mln on Friday alone. This makes it the biggest North American opening ever for an anime title, Sony’s strongest launch in recent memory and the largest September animated debut on record.

Internationally, the film brought in $49 mln from 49 additional markets, giving it a weekend global total of $132.1 mln...

At a plenary session, deputies of Uzbekistan’s Legislative Chamber approved in the first reading a draft law introducing Islamic banking.

The bill proposes amendments to the Tax Code, Civil Code and other regulations. It defines key concepts such as «Islamic bank», «financial operations and standards» and «investment deposit».

The legislation would establish a licensing system for Islamic banking activities and outline the requirements for obtaining such a licence. It also specifies which financial operations banks with these licences may conduct.

According to MPs, the initiative aims to develop alternative financial services alongside traditional ones and to improve financial accessibility...

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz declared on X that «Gaza is burning», saying the IDF was striking Hamas «with an iron fist». Overnight bombardments killed at least 40 people, according to Gaza health officials, with tanks and air strikes reported across several districts.

Columns of civilians fled Gaza City towards the south and west, many on foot or in carts, Reuters reports.

«They are wiping out our memories,» said Abu Tamer, a 70-year-old man escaping with his family.

Others said they had no choice but to remain, with one resident calling it «escaping...

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers edged the Houston Texans 20-19 at NRG Stadium, sealing victory with Rachaad White’s late touchdown. Baker Mayfield threw for 215 yards and two scores as Tampa Bay finished with 360 yards of total offence.

But the game itself was quickly overshadowed online. A photo showing four bulky Texans offensive linemen sitting side by side on the bench, all wearing matching dark visors and intense expressions, went viral on X (formerly Twitter). Fans dubbed it one of the most intimidating looks in football, though many pointed out the irony: despite their imposing presence, the Texans still fell...

Apple has officially unveiled iOS 26, moving away from its traditional flat interface in favour of a ‘liquid glass’ design. The new look uses translucent panels that layer over each other, blending smoothly into the background.

The same design language has been applied to iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS and visionOS, creating a more unified experience across Apple devices.

Apple Intelligence at the Core

The most significant update is Apple Intelligence. In Messages and phone calls, conversations can now be translated in real time. FaceTime has gained live subtitles and instant voice translation, making cross-language communication easier.

Owners of...

The organisers of Coachella have announced the headline acts for the 2026 festival, set to run on 10–12 and 17–19 April in Indio, California. Justin Bieber, Sabrina Carpenter, Karol G and Anyma will top the bill.

All four artists are no strangers to the desert stage. Carpenter performed last year, Karol G appeared in 2022 alongside Becky G and J Balvin, and Bieber has made four guest appearances over the years. Anyma, the multimedia project by Matteo Milleri, played in 2024 and is set to deliver a special production experience similar to last year’s Travis Scott showcase. Earlier this...

The Centre for Economic Research and Reforms has released an updated analysis of Uzbekistan’s automotive market. In August, passenger car sales fell to 90,000 units, down 9.5% compared with July.

The sharpest declines were recorded in Tashkent region as well as Khorezm and Kashkadarya. By contrast, sales grew in Karakalpakstan, Syrdarya and Andijan.

New Car Sales Ease

The primary market for new passenger cars showed only a slight slowdown, with sales down 2% to 37,600 units. Domestically produced vehicles maintained their lead, totalling 32,600 units, a 0.8% decrease from July. Sales of imported new cars reached 4,900 units...

A United Nations Commission of Inquiry has concluded that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza and accused senior Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, of inciting such acts. Israel dismissed the findings as «scandalous», Reuters reports.

The 72-page report highlights widespread killings, restrictions on aid, forced displacement and the destruction of civilian infrastructure, including a fertility clinic.

«Genocide is occurring in Gaza,» said Navi Pillay, head of the inquiry and a former International Criminal Court judge.

She claimed the campaign had been orchestrated by Israel’s leadership with the intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel’s ambassador to the...

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev arrived in Namangan region on September 16 to review local development and living conditions. The scale of transformation was already evident at the airport, where new modern terminals are being built with $140 mln of investment.

The project, first presented during last year’s presidential visit, is now progressing at speed. Current airport has struggled to cope with rising passenger traffic. A new three-storey terminal will increase capacity by 2.5 times and include modern border control and visa facilities, a business lounge, retail and public areas, medical services and duty-free shops.

Alongside this, a major cargo...

The Taliban have launched work on the exploration and extraction of the Tooti Maidan gas fields in northern Afghanistan, a 10-year project managed by Uzbek company Eriellcom, Amu reports. The contract, signed in October 2024, commits the firm to invest $100 mln in the first year.

Scheme aims to produce 100 MW of electricity from gas within its first two years. Covering around 7,000 square kilometres, the Tooti Maidan reserves are regarded as a key asset for Afghanistan’s energy needs.

At the inauguration ceremony, Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s deputy prime minister for economic affairs, said the project would...

Gold reached a new record on September 16, supported by a softer dollar ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting, where interest rates are expected to be cut, Reuters reports.

Spot gold rose 0.2% to $3,685.02 an ounce by 0632 GMT, after touching a record $3,689.27 earlier in the session. US gold futures for December delivery edged 0.1% higher to $3,722.70.

«The sentiment is very bullish… markets are buying into rate cuts ahead of this FOMC decision. The outlook remains strong for gold in the short to medium term,» said Capital.com analyst Kyle Rodda.

A criminal case has been launched in Vladivostok after a group of teenagers assaulted migrants, using objects as weapons, the Primorye Investigative Committee reports. The case was opened under Article 213, Part 2 of the Russian Criminal Code on hooliganism.

Footage of the incident appeared online on September 13, showing local minors beating migrants while the recording was accompanied by laughter and encouragement. Investigators identified the attackers as three 15-year-olds, all previously known to police. One of them had already been charged over the assault of a security guard with a baseball bat in a Vladivostok shopping centre in...

At the Emergency Arab-Islamic Summit in Doha, Uzbekistan’s position was delivered on behalf of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. In his address, the president conveyed Uzbekistan’s solidarity with Qatar and all Muslim nations, strongly condemning recent military aggression that threatens peace and stability in the Middle East.

Uzbekistan reaffirmed its stance, stressing that all conflicts must be resolved through peaceful and diplomatic means. The statement urged the international community to act swiftly to end violence and prevent further escalation.

The president also underlined the importance of recognising the Palestinian people’s right to establish an independent state in accordance with...

Ookla, a global leader in mobile and broadband network analysis, has released its report for the first half of 2025. In Uzbekistan, the “Best Mobile Video Experience Award” goes to Beeline Uzbekistan, which represents the international VEON Group in the country. 

Ookla’s reports draw on millions of tests performed every day by fixed and mobile users through the Speedtest app. The company also processes billions of background measurements that reflect real-world performance across network quality, signal strength, video streaming, gaming, and web browsing. This comprehensive analysis delivers an objective map of connectivity in each market, forms the basis for national...

US President Donald Trump has announced plans to file a $15 bn lawsuit against the New York Times for defamation and libel, following the paper’s reporting on his connections with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, Reuters reports.

The move comes days after the newspaper published articles referencing a sexually suggestive note and drawing given to Epstein. Writing on Truth Social, Trump declared:

«Today, I have the Great Honor of bringing a 15 bn Dollar Defamation and Libel Lawsuit against The New York Times.»

The NYT has not yet issued a response.

Trump accused the outlet...

The UzLiDeP party discussed a draft law on Islamic banking in Uzbekistan on September 15, the party’s press service reports.

The proposed legislation is designed to tackle the shadow economy, regulate Islamic windows and banking operations, and create conditions for attracting overseas investment. Adoption of the law would also establish a legal basis for Islamic banks in Uzbekistan, drawing on international standards.

Citing a UNDP survey, UzLiDeP noted that 60% of Uzbek businesses avoid traditional banking for religious reasons, while the figure stands at 68% among the wider population.

According to forecasts by the Eurasian Development Bank, assets...

A significant gas field has been discovered at a depth of 6.5 kilometres on the Ustyurt Plateau, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev revealed during a meeting with university staff.

Until now, Uzbekistan’s oil and gas exploration was limited to depths of 2.5 to 3 kilometres. The president stressed that this was the first time in the country’s industrial history that drilling had reached beyond six kilometres.

Mirziyoyev also underlined the growing global demand for lithium and other metals, noting that Central Asia holds an estimated 15% of the world’s reserves of tungsten, molybdenum, zinc and titanium.

Uzbekistan’s Consulate General in Vladivostok has filed a formal protest with Russia’s Foreign Ministry after Uzbek nationals were attacked in the city, consul general Yusup Kabulzhanov confirmed.

Footage of the incident, showing unidentified individuals assaulting Uzbek citizens and making ethnic slurs, spread online earlier this week. The victims sought help from the Uzbek diplomatic mission, where they received legal support.

«These events are under the special supervision of Uzbekistan’s Consulate General in Vladivostok and Russian law enforcement authorities,» Kabulzhanov said in a statement.

The victims have also submitted complaints to local law enforcement...

Xiaomi has officially announced the launch of its new flagship line, the Xiaomi 17 series, skipping the Xiaomi 16 generation. Company president Lu Weibing confirmed on Weibo that the unveiling will take place in October 2025, a month earlier than the brand’s usual release schedule.

The series will feature three models: the standard Xiaomi 17, the Xiaomi 17 Pro and the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max. All devices will be equipped with Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor.

According to leaks, the Xiaomi 17 Pro will include a telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom and a 1/2.51-inch sensor...

Former US ambassador Daniel Rosenblum has warned that Washington has «surrendered» the information war in Central Asia, leaving the field to Russia and China.

Speaking at Yale University, Rosenblum, ambassador to Uzbekistan from 2019 to 2022 and to Kazakhstan until 2025, described relentless Russian disinformation, including claims he opened a NATO base in Kazakhstan. In reality, he had inaugurated a peacekeeping institute conference centre.

Rosenblum said US embassies once countered such narratives with visible aid projects, but many programmes and media outlets have since been dismantled.

«Eight months into the second Trump administration, it seems...

Vice President JD Vance has announced that he will host today’s edition of The Charlie Kirk Show in memory of the far-right political commentator who was killed last week.

In a post on X on Sunday evening, Vance said he would present the programme to «pay tribute to my friend». The broadcast will air at 12 p.m. ET on the video platform Rumble.

Tomorrow, I will have the honor of hosting the Charlie Kirk Show. Please join me as I pay tribute to my friend.

12:00PM EThttps://t.co/oemvxJ18Mq pic.twitter.com/eSMpx8xE3X

— JD Vance (@JDVance) September...

Israeli national Simon Leviev, widely known as the ‘Tinder Swindler’, has been detained upon arrival at Batumi airport in Georgia.

Leviev, born Shimon Yehuda Hayut, rose to notoriety after being featured in the 2022 Netflix documentary The Tinder Swindler, which detailed how he tricked victims through elaborate scams. Over several years, he is believed to have defrauded individuals and banks of up to one billion US dollars through a ponzi scheme. Posing as a relative of diamond magnate Lev Leviev, he also used Tinder to lure women.

Following the release of the documentary, Leviev denied wrongdoing in an interview...