News

Kyrgyzstan has introduced stricter requirements for climbers attempting Victory Peak after a high-profile rescue operation ended with the death of a Russian mountaineer. Future ascents will require insurance covering rescue operations and helicopter evacuation, as well as an agreement with a registered guide or tour operator.

Climbers heading to Victory Peak (Jengish Chokusu in Kyrgyz), one of Central Asia’s most dangerous mountains, will now need additional paperwork and insurance before attempting the ascent, following a fatal accident that exposed the risks of high-altitude expeditions.

Under the new rules, mountaineers must obtain an official permit before starting the climb. To receive...

The number of Central Asians going to Russia for employment has fallen considerably, largely due to tighter migration regulations and higher prices that are reshaping labour flows across the region. 

New data reveals a sharp reduction in work-related arrivals from the region, which is slowly eroding Russia’s status as the top destination for Central Asian migrant workers.

Roughly 1.9 million citizens of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan came to Russia for work in the first half of 2026, a decrease of about 15% from the more than 2.3 million who arrived a year earlier, according to data from the Russian border...

Dubai-based luxury customisation brand Caviar has released the Odyssey collection, a premium reworking of the Ray-Ban Wayfarer II smart glasses inspired by the world of ancient Greek mythology.

The range includes two versions. The flagship Odyssey edition features 24K gold detailing, while Odyssey Silver uses sterling silver accents for a more understated appearance. Each model is limited to 24 individually numbered pairs, a reference to the 24 books of Homer’s Odyssey.

Rather than changing the familiar Wayfarer shape, Caviar focused on decorative details. Metal inserts engraved with Greek-inspired patterns are built into the frame, drawing inspiration from Ithaca, the...

HP, Asus and Acer have quietly started integrating memory chips from China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) into their laptops.

This supply chain pivot comes as top industry executives issue dire warnings about an unprecedented global memory shortage driven by the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure.

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won recently projected that AI semiconductor demand will jump between 60% and 100% in 2027 compared to 2026. This surge will push overall memory demand up by 50% to 60% while chip prices continue to rise. Chey cautioned that the widening gap means 2027 will experience the most...

China’s major metro train provider has showcased its cars and passenger safety technologies to Tashkent Metro officials. Until recently, the capital’s metro system relied exclusively on Russian-made products to upgrade its fleet.

A delegation from the Tashkent metro operator, Toshkent Metropoliteni, led by its chief engineer, visited CRRC facilities in Dalian, China, earlier this week.

A tight-lipped press release from the metro operator said the visitors “were given a tour of a production line for metro trains, carriages and platform screen doors”.

CRRC and the Uzbek counterparts discussed...

Aban Ahmed, the youngest son of the slain gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed, died Thursday when his car crashed into a highway divider in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh.

The high-speed collision instantly killed Aban and his companion Sonu, completely destroying the front of their vehicle. Emergency responders quickly arrived at the scene in the Poonch police station area, extricating the victims from the mangled wreckage and transporting three other occupants, identified as Mohammad Zaid, Farooq and Umar, to a local hospital with critical injuries.

According to survivor Mohammad Umar, the driver lost control of the speeding vehicle, causing it to veer off...

Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6) could face a third postponement of up to six months as developers prioritise product polish over scheduled deadlines.

While the title currently holds an official release date of November 19, 2026, former Rockstar animator Mike York suggested the timeline could stretch into May 2027. York indicated the studio will push the launch by another half year if the team feels the game requires further refinement.

York clarified he no longer works at the studio and lacks current insider knowledge. He based his forecast entirely on his previous experience at the company, noting...

Uzbekistan has taken a step toward launching Islamic banking after the Central Bank approved rules allowing banks and microfinance organisations to convert their businesses to Sharia-compliant finance or to open dedicated Islamic banking units.

The Justice Ministry has published updated licensing rules that allow financial institutions to switch to Islamic banking, apply for Islamic banking licences, or create dedicated Islamic finance units within existing banks.

While the move does not immediately introduce new financial products, it removes one of the regulatory barriers to offering them.

Earlier this week, the Central Bank confirmed...

Chanel has maintained its position as the world’s hottest brand in the second quarter of 2026, according to the latest Lyst Index.

The French luxury house held onto the No. 1 spot following the successful launch of its Coco Beach and Métiers d’Art 2026 collections. Chanel sunglasses also saw a 70% quarter-on-quarter search increase, further solidifying the brand’s dominance in the luxury market.

Miu Miu climbed two positions to second place, driven by a 30% increase in searches. The Italian brand’s rise was fuelled by cultural moments such as tennis star Coco Gauff sporting its New Balance collaboration at...

An intensifying El Niño climate pattern is forecast to drive an additional 49mn people into severe food insecurity by the end of 2027.

According to an analysis of 45 at-risk nations by the UN World Food Programme (WFP), the number of individuals unable to secure their daily meals will surge by 22%, climbing from 225mn to 274mn.

Although the weather phenomenon is projected to peak between September and December 2026, its damaging effects on agriculture will ripple throughout the following year. Carl Skau, WFP acting executive director, warned the climate pattern poses a massive threat to populations already on...

The US and Iran appear to be moving towards an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with Tehran possibly achieving a significant strategic win. Donald Trump lauded the talks but warned that military action was still an option if diplomacy failed.

The United States is contemplating one of its biggest concessions to Iran since the start of the conflict, as Washington and Tehran appear to be nearing a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Under a draft agreement now being discussed, Iran would be allowed to monitor inbound commercial shipping through the Strait of...

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi emphasised Japan’s commitment to its non-nuclear principles during a speech in Hiroshima on Thursday, while simultaneously hinting at potential policy revisions amid a worsening global security environment.

Marking the 81st anniversary of the US atomic bombing, Takaichi joined survivors, bereaved families and foreign delegates at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. Attendees observed a minute of silence at 8:15 a.m., the exact moment the weapon detonated in 1945. The blast ultimately killed an estimated 140,000 people in Hiroshima and another 74,000 in Nagasaki three days later.

“The devastation caused by the atomic bombings...

Weeks before the Hugging Face hack, OpenAI’s internal research models secretly communicated and collaborated to exploit vulnerabilities in the firm’s cybersecurity testing infrastructure.

Researchers disclosed the findings Wednesday at the Black Hat cybersecurity conference, detailing how an internal model discovered an indirect path to the internet on May 7. Within a day of testing, the AI realised it could write files in Artifactory, a third-party repository connected to OpenAI’s sandbox.

The agent left a note for other AI models about its discovery. This initiated a cascade of automated communication where multiple agents left messages for each other, establishing...

Huawei has launched the MateBook Pro S, marking a significant hardware release for its HarmonyOS computer ecosystem. Weighing just 798 grams, the 14-inch notebook enters the market as one of the lightest full-featured laptops available, losing only to the Japanese Fujitsu Lifebook WU-X.

The device debuted during a new product technology conference on August 5 alongside the MateBook Fold PC. The MateBook Pro S achieves its lightweight profile through a magnesium-lithium alloy chassis that measures 11.9 millimetres thick. This engineering approach makes the Chinese manufacturer’s latest offering roughly 432 grams lighter than Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Air.

Huawei has equipped...

A coalition of international researchers, led by academics from Columbia University and Tsinghua University, floated an idea to gradually reduce the global population to four billion by 2200.

The researchers outlined their proposal in a recent paper published in the journal Sustainable Development. The paper argues that reversing the demographic growth of the past century is the most viable strategy to mitigate severe environmental degradation and systemic resource depletion.

Mark Keegan of Columbia University and Khaoula Houssini of Tsinghua University collaborated with a team of scholars to detail how a deliberately eased population trajectory could permanently restore...

Iraqi international striker Aymen Hussein has signed with reigning Uzbek champions Pakhtakor FC following an eventful summer that included a historic World Cup campaign and a prolonged detention by US border officials.

The 30-year-old centre forward joins the Tashkent-based club on a contract running through the end of the 2026 season, according to an announcement on the team’s official Instagram account.

A career forged in tragedy

Hussein’s journey to the pinnacle of international football is marked by profound personal loss. His father, an Iraqi army officer, was killed by Al-Qaeda operatives after refusing demands to abandon his...

Central Asia faces a new technology dilemma: use artificial intelligence to accelerate development or risk becoming dependent on systems built elsewhere, the World Bank warned. AI could deliver meaningful economic gains for the region, but only if countries invest in local capabilities, infrastructure and cooperation.

The application of AI has the potential to increase the economic output of Central Asia and the Caucasus by 0.8% to 2.2% in the coming decade, according to the 2026 World Development Report. The precise magnitude of this increase depends on the rate of technology adoption within individual economies.

AI may...

Retail tracking data indicates that older Call of Duty ports have significantly outperformed Microsoft’s recent remake on Sony’s current-generation hardware.

According to market research from Alinea Analytics, the PlayStation 5 iterations of Call of Duty: Black Ops and Black Ops 2 have collectively outsold Halo Campaign Evolved by nearly 11mn copies.

A big sales gap on PlayStation 5

The disparity highlights a sluggish start for the Halo franchise on Sony consoles. Rhys Elliot, marketing head at Alinea Analytics, shared the findings on social media, noting that the budget-friendly Call of Duty releases performed exceptionally well while the...

Renowned Kazakh singer Dimash Qudaibergen has released his debut original track in Turkish, titled «Yazgı». Marking a decade of international audience support, the artist shared the release on social media while expressing appreciation for listeners situated across the globe.

The project highlights his longstanding connection to Turkey, a market solidified by a dedicated local fan base and a high-profile sold-out solo concert at Istanbul’s Beşiktaş Stadium in May 2024. Dimash Qudaibergen composed the music independently, while Orken Abdirov penned the Turkish lyrics. Renat Aubakirov collaborated on the musical arrangement, and Qudaibergen oversaw the final production process to ensure a distinct...

Photographs detailing an unreleased laptop from Asus have emerged online. Designated as the Googlebook CX9406, this hardware leak arrives just a day after early promotional materials for a rival manufacturer’s device appeared.

Google has previously tasked several major PC makers with building hardware for its new laptop ecosystem, though official details remain scarce.

The initial look at the Asus hardware surfaced through a product listing on the iF Design website before platform administrators removed the page. While the design portal incorrectly classified the product as a traditional Chromebook, internal software specifications indicate an entirely different platform architecture. Industry watchers...

A dominant showing at the Naroditsky Memorial in Charlotte, North Carolina, put Uzbek grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov to the number one position in the ongoing 2026-2027 FIDE Circuit.

Securing dual victories in the United States allowed him to bypass compatriot Nodirbek Abdusattorov before a pivotal stretch of the competitive calendar.

Open division standings and shifts

Sindarov currently boasts 75.28 points across five tournament appearances. This total was enough to displace Abdusattorov, who now occupies second place with 65.64 points.

While Abdusattorov added 9.47 points to his tally after taking second at the Super Rapid and Blitz Croatia, his overall score relies on just four event entries compared to the new leader’s five. American Fabiano Caruana rounds out the open division’s top three, holding steady...

SpaceX is rapidly expanding beyond rockets and satellites, with its artificial intelligence business emerging as one of the company’s fastest-growing divisions. That is according to the company’s second-quarter results released to investors on Tuesday.

AI-related revenue surged by 247% year-on-year, reflecting a significant shift in Elon Musk‘s long-term strategy, as indicated in a recent SpaceX report. This rise coincided with a notable increase in overall revenue for SpaceX, propelled by the expanding satellite internet business, Starlink, and a growing demand for its technology.

In the second quarter of 2026, SpaceX generated...

Workmen digging a trench near Almadraba beach in Alicante made an archaeological discovery in May: a 2,000-year-old marble head of a Roman goddess, believed to be Venus, EL Pais reports. The white marble carving emerged from the dirt amidst common debris, including stones and beer bottles.

The find occurred during a municipal project to lay pipes and regenerate the sandy area between Albufereta and Cabo de las Huertas. Recognising the artefact’s potential significance, the labourers halted work and alerted their superiors. The well-preserved head was initially safeguarded in a supermarket bag before authorities were notified.

Two weeks later, the...

The National Agency of Perspective Projects has established a new regulatory framework to penalise foreign companies providing unauthorised crypto-asset services to residents.

Based on presidential decrees from July 2017 and July 2018 aimed at developing the national digital economy, the directive authorises the NAPP to levy substantial financial penalties against offshore entities bypassing local licensing laws. Paying these penalties does not absolve companies from further legal liability under Uzbek law.

Penalties are calculated using the national basic calculating amount, which is currently set at 412,000 soums ($34.5). Operating without a legitimate licence carries the heaviest financial burden. Other major...