News

The Trump administration is proposing a $100,000 fee for H-1B visa workers hired within the United States. This adds a substantial new cost for businesses relying on this visa category to employ skilled foreign professionals.

The US Department of Homeland Security’s proposal follows a recent court decision that overturned a similar $100,000 charge previously implemented by the administration for H-1B visa holders hired from outside the country. The prior fee, enacted via a White House proclamation, caused significant disruptions in corporate hiring plans. However, it did not apply to students and other individuals who were approved for H-1B status...

The Tashkent International Financial Centre (TIFC) will allow transactions in any global currency and implement a zero-tax regime for foreign participants as part of Uzbekistan’s push to become a regional technology hub.

Nodirjon Juraev, a project coordinator for the Presidential Administration, announced the regulatory framework Monday at the opening of the Silk Road Finance & Technology Forum in the capital.

By permitting operations in foreign national currencies, the centre aims to attract correspondent banks from major Asian markets, including China, Singapore and Japan. Juraev noted these institutions will be able to conduct...

HMD has launched the Nokia 300 Charge, a button-operated feature phone that prioritises battery life above all else.

The handset packs a removable 3,700mAh battery, which HMD says can deliver more than 40 days of standby time or up to 37.9 hours of talk time. The phone can also send power to compatible devices at up to 10W, turning it into a basic power bank when needed.

The Nokia 300 Charge is priced at about $60, with black, green and sandstone finishes listed. HMD’s own specifications confirm a weight of 138 grams and dimensions of 136.55 by...

The mayor of the Osh region in Kyrgyzstan has proposed removing the sacred mountain of Sulaiman-Too from the UNESCO World Heritage List, arguing that strict international preservation rules are hindering local infrastructure development and tourism projects.

Mayor Zhanarbek Akayev voiced his frustration over the bureaucratic hurdles required to build recreational facilities near the landmark, which is one of the southern Kyrgyz city’s two main symbols, in an interview for Exclusive GG. While the local government recently completed a 500mn som ($5.7mn) renovation project along the Ak-Buura river, including new pedestrian zones and cycle paths, similar initiatives near the...

Tajikistan has opened a National Theatre with 4,615 seats in three halls, billed as Central Asia’s largest by audience capacity. The 11-year project overcame a lengthy funding freeze and now features a 2,500-seat main auditorium, twice the size of Astana Opera’s main hall.

President Emomali Rahmon and Dushanbe mayor Rustam Emomali inaugurated the venue on 24 August, ahead of Tajikistan’s Independence Day on 9 September. The building stands beside the National Museum and State Flag Park at the heart of a government-built cultural district, local media reported.

Dushanbe’s...

Yerevan will pursue the prospect of becoming an EU member, prime minister Nikol Pashinyan told parliament, adding that his government would freeze its relationship with the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO). 

«Armenia has to officially apply for EU membership in the first place,» Pashinyan told members of the country’s National Assembly on Monday, as cited by Arminfo. The prime minister added that the government «would probably begin the process soon, particularly in response to calls from our partners in the Eurasian Economic Union [EAEU].» 

Earlier in May...

Uzbekistan plans to attract $1bn in foreign investment to its financial technology sector by 2030, according to announcements made at the Silk Road Finance & Technology Forum in Tashkent.

The national fintech strategy extends beyond capital acquisition. Officials aim to train 5,000 industry specialists, license more than 200 market participants and launch over 100 startups via dedicated incubation programmes.

Read more: Uzbekistan keeps dividend tax breaks until 2038

To accelerate product development, the Central Bank is establishing Regulatory Sandbox 2.0 and the QFinex Quantum Test Bed to trial innovative solutions. A specialised $50 million...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy insisted the Ukrainian state did not carry out the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline blasts, days after authorities detained a second Ukrainian suspect. Kyiv was aiding Germany’s probe, he said, tying that cooperation to maintaining the trust of Europe.

«We have discussed the matter with the German side at the highest level. They know very well that Ukraine was behind neither the planning nor the execution of the operation,» Zelenskyy said, as cited by local newspaper European Pravda.

He added that Ukrainian prosecutors and foreign ministry officials were already working with partner countries.

German prosecutors insisted...

Olympic figure skating champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara have announced their engagement, transitioning their celebrated on-ice partnership into marriage.

The couple, affectionately known as “Riku-Ryu” to their substantial fan base in Japan, shared the news via Instagram on Sunday. The announcement featured a photograph of Kihara kneeling on an ice rink to present a ring to Miura.

“Through both the happy times and the difficult ones, we’ve shared so many moments together, supporting each other every step of the way,” the couple said in a joint statement. “Over time, we became irreplaceable parts of...

Bugatti’s ultra-luxury television has resurfaced as a viral sensation on X, with posts showcasing the C SEED BUGATTI N1 racking up attention for its unusual design, enormous screen and reported price of about $500,000.

The television was unveiled in June as a collaboration between Bugatti and Austrian luxury display maker C SEED. While the product itself is not new, a wave of recent posts has put the extravagant screen back in the spotlight, including claims that it costs as much as $500,000.

Bugatti has not published an official retail price for the N1, so the widely circulated $500,000 figure should...

Heavy rains have hurt the quality of Brazil‘s arabica crop, and coffee lovers may find their favourite premium beans harder to buy and pricier. The world is still on course for a coffee surplus, but much of it may be unsuitable for the smoother, more aromatic blends consumers pay extra for.

Brazil makes up around 45% of the world’s arabica, so roasters can’t easily avoid problems there. June rains in Cerrado Mineiro knocked ripe coffee cherries off trees just as harvest was beginning.

Simão Pedro de Lima, head of the Expocacer cooperative, estimated that about 20% of the cherries fell...

Samsung is reportedly preparing to launch its upcoming Galaxy S27 Ultra in two different sizes while introducing a significant camera redesign that has already divided tech enthusiasts.

Tech leakers Ice Universe and Sonny Dickson claimed that the South Korean technology giant is rethinking its premium smartphone strategy following robust demand for the current generation. Dickson claims the flagship Ultra model will be available in dual-size variants for the first time in the product line’s history.

Here’s another look at the Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra. Samsung is planning to offer the S27 Ultra in two different sizes...

Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR and the country’s largest state-owned bank ABB have begun major expansions into Uzbekistan, the press service of Azerbaijan’s president reports.

The developments were presented on 23 August during an online ceremony attended by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who oversaw the launch and groundbreaking of several Azerbaijani-backed projects in Uzbekistan.

For SOCAR, the event marked the start of construction of five new filling stations in Uzbekistan. For ABB, it confirmed the completion of its acquisition of a controlling stake in Uzbek lender Davr Bank, giving the Azerbaijani banking group a...

Three different exit polls show the Adilet party winning over 70% in the first vote for Kazakhstan’s new one-chamber parliament. The real suspense is further down the ticket, where four smaller parties polled between 5 and 6.4%, close enough to the entry threshold for the final count to reshape the chamber.

The striking feature is not simply the size of Adilet’s projected victory, but how closely the three polls agree. They gave the party between 70.7% and 72.3%, a spread of just 1.6 percentage points, according to Kursiv Kazakhstan.

If the official...

Lando Norris secured his second consecutive victory for McLaren after navigating a dramatic rain-affected Dutch Grand Prix. The Briton held off a late charge from Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli who extended his championship lead by 59 points on an afternoon defined by complex tyre strategies, multiple Virtual Safety Car periods and a heavy crash for home favourite Max Verstappen.

⚫️ LIGHTS OUT! ⚫️

Watch the race start 🎥#F1 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/K0F9FxrVeh

— Formula 1 (@F1) August 23, 2026

Read more: Norris snatches Zandvoort pole from Russell in rain-threatened shootout

From Aristotle and Oscar Wilde to Bertrand Russell, some of history’s sharpest minds argued that doing less could sometimes mean living better. 20 August (World Laziness Day) was originally supposed to be the publication date, but Kursiv Uzbekistan thought that a story on saving effort and energy couldn’t be time-sensitive. 

Modern life has turned productivity into something close to a moral virtue. We count steps, track working hours, optimise mornings and can feel guilty when an afternoon produces nothing measurable.

For more than two millennia, philosophers, writers and artists have questioned the idea that constant activity makes us better people. Some...

Kazakhstan is holding its first elections to the new Kurultai, the country’s restructured unicameral parliament, this Sunday, August 23, with seven political parties competing for 145 seats.

The vote follows the entry into force of Kazakhstan’s new Constitution on July 1, which replaced the previous two-chamber Parliament with a single legislative body. The Kurultai will have 145 members elected for five-year terms.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a decree on 1 July setting the election date and instructing the Central Election Commission (CEC) to organise the vote. Speaking at a joint session of Parliament on 30 June, one day before the...

Lando Norris described it as the best lap of his life as he stormed to pole position for the Dutch Grand Prix. In a session shadowed by looming rain clouds, the McLaren driver narrowly beat Sprint winner George Russell to secure the prime starting slot at Zandvoort.

With light rain beginning to fall during the final Q3 runs, track position and tyre preparation proved critical. Russell, hunting his second pole of the weekend, set a blistering pace but was ultimately denied by Norris. The McLaren star clocked a 1:11.163 to edge his Mercedes rival by a mere...

Samsung could be preparing a significant change to the display protection on its next flagship, with a new leak claiming the Galaxy S27 Ultra may use a self-healing surface coating developed with Corning.

According to tipster Schrödinger (@phonefuturist), Samsung and Corning are working on a new version of Gorilla Armor designed not only to withstand scratches but also to recover from some minor damage. The claim was posted on X and has since been picked up by several Samsung-focused outlets.

The technology would reportedly target everyday micro-scratches rather than deeper marks caused by significant impacts or sharp objects. In...

Mercedes driver George Russell converted his pole position into a flawless victory during Saturday’s F1 Sprint at Zandvoort. The Briton fended off early pressure to secure his third Sprint win of the 2026 season while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc executed a brilliant late overtake on Lando Norris to snatch second place.

⚫️ LIGHTS OUT IN #F1SPRINT! ⚫️

Watch the race start 👀#F1 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/tqMdUWJLyh

— Formula 1 (@F1) August 22, 2026

Russell got away cleanly from the line to hold his advantage over Norris and Leclerc. While Norris stayed within striking distance...

David Harbour may have just revealed one of the most closely guarded secrets of “Avengers: Doomsday”. During an interview with Variety, the actor who portrays Red Guardian offered a quote from the upcoming film entirely out of context. Adopting his character’s heavy Russian accent, Harbour delivered a singular line:

“You … are Tony Stark”.

The cryptic comment immediately raised questions about Robert Downey Jr.‘s highly anticipated return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Since San Diego Comic-Con, the studio has insisted the former Iron Man actor is strictly playing the tyrannical villain Victor von...

Multiple people have died after a collision involving a police vehicle and a Volkswagen Passat on the A66 in Teesside, Cleveland Police said Saturday.

The crash happened at about 3:39 a.m. BST on August 22 in the South Bank area, near Middlesbrough, UK. The North East Ambulance Service said three vehicles were involved, although police have so far identified the police vehicle and Volkswagen Passat without providing further details about the third vehicle.

Emergency services sent a large response to the scene. The North East Ambulance Service deployed 14 ambulance resources, including emergency ambulance crews, a specialist paramedic, its...

Major League Soccer has fined Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi for striking Philadelphia Union midfielder Quinn Sullivan during a 2-2 draw on Wednesday.

The 39-year-old Argentina international slapped Sullivan on the back of the head late in the match, claiming the Union player had elbowed him after a pass. Sullivan reacted angrily to the physical confrontation before the referee intervened to separate the players. The league confirmed the disciplinary action but declined to disclose the financial penalty.

Heated clashes and red cards

The altercation highlighted a deeply fractious encounter at Subaru Park. The league also penalised Miami defender...

Grandmasters Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan and Bibisara Assaubayeva of Kazakhstan have claimed the top positions in the FIDE Circuit 2026-2027 global chess rankings.

The International Chess Federation recently confirmed the updated standings showcasing Central Asian dominance in the early stages of the current cycle. Sindarov leads the open tournament category with 93.89 accumulated points. He secured the premier spot by leapfrogging his compatriot Nodirbek Abdusattorov after achieving decisive victories in both rapid and blitz events at the Naroditsky Memorial in Charlotte earlier this month.

Read more: Uzbek grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov triumphs at Naroditsky Memorial...