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Uzbekistan’s Legislative Chamber approved an Islamic banking bill in its second and final readings, advancing a landmark framework to the Senate that would legalise Sharia-compliant finance and amend the Tax Code, Civil Code and eight other laws.

The draft law defines key terms (including «Islamic bank»), sets licensing requirements, and permits Islamic banks to engage in trade-based financing and take equity stakes—activities barred under current banking rules. It recognises products such as murabaha, mudaraba, musharaka, wakala and salam, and allows conventional banks to open «Islamic windows.»

Lawmakers also backed tax adjustments to prevent trade-structured Islamic transactions from being disadvantaged...

At the Salone d’Onore del Coni in Rome, where Italian sporting achievements are celebrated, Ferrari president John Elkann addressed the team’s struggles in Formula 1 while contrasting it with the marque’s success in endurance racing.

Elkann spoke frankly after witnessing the celebrations in Bahrain and the team’s disappointing double result in Brazil. His call for unity and focus — «Only when we all fight in the same direction can we win, as endurance racing has shown» — shifted into pointed criticism of drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.

«We need drivers who think more...

In Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, hundreds of hand-crafted poppies have been displayed outside a church to mark Armistice Day and the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two.

The installation features 1,752 poppies attached to 25 square metres of camouflage netting in Rectory Gardens. More than 110 balls of red wool were used, with each poppy knitted by hand as part of a project that began in July.

The display was organised by Cleeve by Goring Women’s Institute, the Goring Gap Local History Society, Goring and Streatley Arts, and Goring Parish Council. Parish councillor Barbara Newman said the idea...

Kazakhstan’s Passenger Transportation company will introduce a daily Talgo train service on the Almaty–Tashkent route starting from December 14. The new schedule will allow more than 400 passengers to travel each day.

The route will operate using Talgo trains with upgraded comfort features. The daily timetable is expected to provide more reliable travel options and make trip planning more convenient.

The launch aims to strengthen transport connectivity between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, encourage tourism and support cultural and business ties.

Further timetable adjustments on other routes are planned ahead of the winter season.

Tickets will be available on the official...

Phil Nussel, an online editor at Automotive News, has left the publication after more than 20 years and intends to look for a new position.

«I had a great run at Automotive News,» he said, adding that the brand is in a strong place.

Since 2007 he has overseen coverage of key breaking stories on autonews.com and also served as the company’s internship director.

Before joining Crain, Nussel worked as deputy business editor at the Detroit Free Press and business editor at the Detroit News. He previously spent over seven years at Crain’s Detroit Business...

A new projection from AceOdds.com suggests Arsenal are on course to win the Premier League title, finishing seven points clear of Manchester City. The model continues to back Mikel Arteta’s side despite their recent draw away at Sunderland.

Manchester City’s 3-0 victory over Liverpool has moved them into second place in the predicted standings following a difficult start to the campaign. Liverpool, despite five losses in their last six league matches, are still expected to place inside the top three.

Chelsea, currently third, are forecast to end the season in fourth. Manchester United are predicted to finish fifth, narrowly...

A suicide bomber detonated explosives outside a district court in Islamabad on Tuesday, killing 12 people and injuring 27, Pakistan’s interior minister Mohsin Naqvi said.

The blast occurred beside a police vehicle after the attacker failed to enter the heavily crowded court premises. The explosion, heard miles away, struck during peak hours as hundreds of visitors were attending hearings. Early reports mistakenly suggested a car bomb.

Naqvi said investigators confirmed it was a suicide attack but declined to attribute responsibility, noting authorities were examining «all aspects.» No militant group has claimed the bombing, though Pakistan has faced a surge...

Taiwan evacuated more than 3,000 people and shuttered schools and offices on Tuesday ahead of Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which killed at least 18 and displaced over 1.4 mln in the Philippines after making landfall there Sunday.

Once a super typhoon, Fung-wong has weakened but remains dangerous. As of Tuesday morning, it packed sustained winds up to 108 kph (67 mph) and gusts of 137 kph (85 mph). Landfall is expected Wednesday afternoon or evening near Kaohsiung, with the storm forecast to cross the island and exit from the northeast by late Wednesday or early Thursday.

Authorities evacuated more than...

About 2,000 people have fled towns and villages around Bara, North Kordofan since Friday amid heavy clashes between Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the UN’s International Organisation for Migration said.

North Kordofan and Darfur have become the war’s epicenters. The RSF’s capture of El Fasher has left hundreds dead and forced nearly 92,000 to flee, aid groups say. Overall, the conflict—sparked in 2023 between former allies meant to guide Sudan’s transition—has killed at least 40,000 and displaced 12 mln, according to UN agencies.

Local medics reported at least 47 civilians killed in late-October RSF attacks in...

Turkish authorities arrested eight individuals, including top-tier club chairman Murat Ozkaya, on November 10 as part of an investigation into alleged betting on football matches. The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has suspended 1,024 players across all leagues pending disciplinary review.

Earlier this month, the TFF suspended 149 referees and assistant referees after its investigation found officials in the country’s professional leagues were involved in betting.

Anadolu news agency reported that the court issued the arrests of Ozkaya and seven others as part of the probe.

Super Lig Players Among Those Suspended

The TFF said 1,024 players were referred...

Kyrgyzstan has officially launched USDKG, the world’s first government-issued stablecoin fully backed by physical gold, according to the country’s Ministry of Finance.

The stablecoin, registered by the State Service for Regulation and Supervision of the Financial Market, is pegged to the U.S. dollar at 1 USDKG = 1 USD. Officials say every token is secured by gold under state control, combining the reliability of a traditional reserve asset with blockchain transparency.

The first issuance and listings on centralized and decentralized exchanges are expected in the coming days. Authorities describe the project as part of a national pilot aimed at...

Thailand announced on Tuesday that it will suspend the implementation of an enhanced ceasefire agreement with Cambodia, signed last month in the presence of US President Donald Trump, and will provide an explanation to Washington.

Defence Minister Natthaphon Narkphanit confirmed the return of 18 Cambodian prisoners of war currently held by the Thai military would also be delayed. He did not comment on whether Thai troops would be redeployed. Tensions between the two countries, which clashed for five days in July, rose after a landmine explosion on Monday injured four Thai soldiers.

The Thai military has accused Cambodia of...

Japan’s seven largest automakers saw US tariffs reduce their combined earnings by 1.5 trln yen ($9.74 bn) for the period from April to September 2025, according to half-year results released on Monday. This marked the first decline across the board since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Honda executive vice president Noriya Kaihara described the situation as «the new normal» expected to continue. Tariffs of 27.5% were in place for most of the period before being lowered to 15% on September 16. A stronger yen also reduced the group’s operating profit by 700 bn yen ($4.5 bn). Nissan, Mazda and Mitsubishi reported...

Uzbekistan imported 3.2 mln mobile phones between January and September 2025, marking a 7.4% increase compared with the same period in 2024, according to the National Statistics Committee. The total value of these imports reached $370.8 mln.

China remained the main supplier, providing over 2.5 mln devices. Vietnam supplied 619,200 phones, while the UAE delivered 65,300 units. India and South Korea also featured among the top five suppliers, contributing 31,800 and 4,800 phones respectively.

In addition, by early November 2025, Uzbekistan had purchased telecommunications equipment from abroad worth $744.1 mln, representing a 3% decrease compared with the previous year.

Uzbek company Akfa has begun building a new manufacturing plant in the US state of Kentucky. The total investment in the project is estimated at $600 mln, Jahongir Artikhodjaev said in an interview with Uzbekistan 24.

According to the plan, the facility will produce aluminium products, components for the automotive industry and parts used in solar panels. Artikhodjaev noted that the first phase of investment will amount to $105 mln. A Turkish company, not publicly named, has also joined the construction process.

Last week, US President Donald Trump said that Uzbekistan would purchase goods and invest up to...

Lukoil has declared force majeure at the West Qurna-2 oil field in Iraq, according to sources cited by Reuters, while Bulgaria moves towards taking control of the company’s Burgas refinery. The measures reflect the growing impact of recent US sanctions on Lukoil’s international operations.

The force majeure notice was sent to Iraq’s oil ministry last week. This decision follows sanctions placed on major Russian producers Lukoil and Rosneft as part of Washington’s efforts to exert pressure over the war in Ukraine.

West Qurna-2 is one of the world’s largest oil fields and is considered Lukoil’s key foreign asset...

Police in Delhi are investigating a car explosion that killed at least eight people and injured 20 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the main law used in India to handle cases linked to terrorism and threats to national security.

The blast took place on Monday evening near the Red Fort, in a busy part of the old city close to a metro station. A slow-moving vehicle stopped at a traffic light shortly before it exploded, damaging nearby cars and leaving bodies and wreckage scattered across the road.

The incident has prompted heightened security alerts in several states and...

Visa and Mastercard have agreed to a revised $38 bn settlement in an effort to resolve a 20-year legal dispute in which US merchants accused them and several banks of inflating the cost of card payments. The revised deal follows a smaller $30 bn proposal rejected last year by a federal judge who said it failed to offer sufficient relief.

The new settlement would see the card companies reduce average swipe fees by 0.1% point for five years. These fees, also known as interchange fees, averaged 2.35% in 2024. Standard consumer card rates would be capped at 1.25% for...

American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ: AREC) and its affiliated refining company ReElement Technologies have signed a strategic partnership with Uzbekistan-based TMK LLC to build a cross-border critical mineral value chain, beginning with the sourcing and U.S. refining of Uzbek tungsten.

The agreement, signed in Washington, D.C., will see American Resources broker tungsten concentrates from TMK for processing at ReElement and other U.S. facilities into high-purity tungsten, an essential material for defense, electronics and advanced manufacturing.

CEO Mark Jensen said the partnership combines Uzbekistan’s mineral potential with ReElement’s «innovation-led, low-cost» refining capabilities, strengthening supply security for the U.S. industrial base. The...

Uzbekistan welcomed 28,600 visitors from the United States between January and September 2025, a 22.4% year-on-year increase, according to the National Statistics Committee, underscoring the country’s growing appeal to American travellers.

Tourism drove the rise: 23,600 arrivals came for leisure, drawn by Silk Road landmarks such as Samarkand’s Registan, Bukhara’s Ark Fortress and the historic city of Khiva. Authorities credit simplified e-visa procedures, upgraded transport links and new hospitality offerings for improving accessibility.

Beyond tourism, the data point to diversifying ties: 2,400 U.S. visitors travelled on official business, 2,100 visited family, 395 arrived for studies and 111 for other...

Uzbekistan has launched an innovative educational hub for children inside the Center of Islamic Civilization in Tashkent, offering young visitors an interactive way to explore the country’s cultural and scientific heritage.

The new children’s hall features hands-on exhibits, multilingual content in Uzbek, Russian and English, and digital installations that use AI and animation to bring historical figures to life. Through storytelling and visual technology, Central Asian scholars explain their contributions to science, creativity and the wider Islamic world.

The complex also includes the International School of Calligraphy, where experts hold workshops on traditional Qur’anic and ornamental scripts while introducing...

Advisor to the Chairman Senate and Ambassador to the Inter-Parliamentary Speakers Conference (ISC), Misbah Khar, welcomed high-level delegations from Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Liberia and Uzbekistan as Islamabad hosts the latest ISC meeting.

Khar opened the day’s bilateral engagements by receiving the Saudi delegation, praising the long-standing Pakistan–Saudi partnership and expressing hope for the Kingdom’s prospective ISC membership. She said both countries share a commitment to global peace, dialogue and sustainable development.

In talks with H.E. Lancen Haddad, Vice President of Morocco, Khar highlighted Morocco’s active role in the forum. Haddad commended Pakistan’s leadership and reaffirmed his country’s support for...

Apple is reportedly developing a suite of enhanced satellite-powered features for future iPhones, expanding its connectivity ambitions beyond the current emergency-messaging functionalities. According to Reddit user discussions summarising industry chatter, the technology could enable more seamless global coverage, richer messaging and data services via satellite without relying entirely on traditional mobile carriers.

Users on platforms like Reddit’s r/apple and r/GSAT communities anticipate that Apple’s move could disrupt the mobile-network ecosystem, with speculation mounting around which satellite partner the company will join forces with—names such as Globalstar, AST SpaceMobile and Starlink being floated. Some users envision a future where an...

South Korea’s deposed president Yoon Suk Yeol faces new criminal charges alleging he ordered drones flown over North Korea in October 2024 to inflame tensions and pave the way for his December 3, 2024 declaration of martial law.

A special investigation team under independent counsel Cho Eun-suk said Monday it indicted Yoon and two former defense officials, ex-minister Kim Yong Hyun and Yeo In, hyung, the military counterintelligence chief, on counts including benefitting the enemy and abuse of power. Investigator Park Ji-young said the alleged flights «increased the danger of a South–North armed conflict» to create conditions for emergency...