News

Papa John’s recently announced its withdrawal from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan after losing market share to more flexible regional rivals such as Dodo Pizza, analysts at Teniz Capital Investment Banking said.

The U.S.-based pizza chain entered Kazakhstan in 2018, opening 15 restaurants but failing to keep pace with fast-growing local competitors. Some former locations have already been taken over by Bellissimo Pizza, a Uzbekistan-based chain.

Shift toward regional, tech-driven chains

«Papa John’s departure shows a profound structural shift: international franchises with traditional operating models now yield to tech-savvy, flexible, and rapidly scalable regional chains,» Teniz...

According to the Financial Monitoring Agency (FMA), the S-Group financial pyramid stole about $260,950 from clients in Kazakhstan by posing as a British investment fund and promising monthly returns of 15% to 20%.

The FMA’s Astana Department is currently investigating the organization and management of Sincere Systems Group LTD (S-Group), a Ponzi scheme that operated under the guise of a British investment fund. The company allegedly claimed to manage assets on the Forex market, engage in digital mining and trade its own crypto assets, SWP and SWCT.

Each investor was promised returns of 15% to 20% per month, or...

The guitar Nirvana’s frontman Kurt Cobain played in his last public performance has been presented to London’s Royal College of Music, Artnet reported.

The guitar in question is a rare 1959 Martin D-18E, specifically modified for left-handed Cobain. The artist played his songs with this instrument in 1993 during an episode of the “MTV Unplugged” series. The concert, recorded in one take, became one of Cobain’s most famous and moving performances.

Following Cobain’s death in 1994, the guitar remained in the personal possession of his family. The frontman’s daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, kept the instrument in...

Legendary director and actor Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner were found dead on Sunday at their home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, according to the Associated Press.

On Dec. 14, Los Angeles Fire Department personnel discovered the bodies of a 78-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman inside the residence after responding to a medical aid call. Investigators believe both victims suffered stab wounds and the deaths are being treated as an apparent homicide.

Although law enforcement officials declined to release further details about the circumstances surrounding the deaths, the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide...

Rapper Snoop Dogg will serve as an «honorary coach» for the U.S. team at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, according to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

The 54-year-old artist will take on a volunteer role that is not directly connected to athletic competition. Instead, he is expected to support and motivate athletes outside the arena, bringing his trademark humor and personal engagement to the Olympic environment.

Olympic experience

Snoop Dogg is no stranger to the Olympic stage. During the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, he served as a special correspondent for NBC and performed at the closing...

Former UFC fighter Conor McGregor has married his longtime fiancée, Dee Devlin, after a five-year engagement.

According to The Sun, the wedding ceremony was held at the Chiesa di Santo Stefano degli Abissini, a small church located within Vatican City. Attendance was limited to close friends and family.

After the ceremony, the newlyweds were seen riding through the streets of Rome in a vintage 1930s Rolls-Royce Phantom III.

EXCLUSIVE
FIGHT FOR THIS LOVE First pics of beaming Conor McGregor after marrying longtime partner Dee Devlin in secret Vatican ceremony
The ceremony was kept tightly under wraps...

The mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, during a Hanukkah celebration on Dec. 14 reportedly targeted around 1,000 people, leaving 15 dead, including a rabbi and a 10-year-old girl, excluding the gunman. Around 40 victims were hospitalized, Reuters reported.

Reportedly, the two gunmen were a father, 50, and his son, 24. The former was killed at the scene, while the latter was hospitalized in critical condition. They were identified as Sajid Akram and Naveed Akram, according to media reports. Police said the older man had reportedly held a firearms license since 2015 and owned...

Do Kwon, co-founder of cryptocurrency firm Terraform Labs, was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in U.S. federal prison for cryptocurrency fraud, which U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer described as being on «an epic, generational scale.» After Terraform Labs’ ecosystem collapsed, investors reported $40 billion in losses, according to the Associated Press.

Even though Kwon attempted to rebuild the company, he ultimately fled using a false passport, according to prosecutors. In March 2023, he was extradited to the U.S. following his arrest in Montenegro.

Kwon, 34, pleaded guilty in August to fraud charges stemming from the 2022 collapse of...

A video showing a flight attendant delivering a routine safety demonstration on a flight from Antalya to Istanbul has gone viral, prompting a surge of online attention and playful commentary from viewers across Central Asia.

Commenters react to the «charismatic» crew member

After the clip was posted on social media, users — especially women from Kazakhstan and neighboring countries — flooded the comments section with lighthearted remarks and compliments. Many joked that it would be impossible to fall asleep on a flight with such a flight attendant on board.

A man in Waterbury, Connecticut, allegedly stole the same vehicle twice in the same city within a fortnight and is being charged, the Hartford Courant reported.

According to the Waterbury Police Department, on Nov. 23, the suspect, Aaron Rodriguez De Los Santos, followed a woman driving home her 2015 Honda Civic. As soon as the victim exited the car, Los Santos forcibly took the key fob and stole her vehicle.

Law enforcement authorities later recovered the stolen Civic; however, the vehicle was reported stolen again on Dec. 3 — De Los Santos...

A group of models from Kazakhstan filmed a fashion walk against the backdrop of landmarks in Tajikistan’s capital, and the video quickly went viral on social media.

Video shot near Istiklol Tower

The clip was posted by Farida Malik, a coach at FM Model Management and Miss Almaty 2012. Malik and several Kazakh models were filmed walking across the square near Istiklol Tower in Dushanbe.

Malik said multiple...

On Dec. 11, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order that prevents U.S. states from introducing their own artificial intelligence (AI) regulations. Trump argued that the fast-evolving AI industry needs unified federal oversight rather than a patchwork of state rules, warning that conflicting state-level regulations would hurt the nation’s ability to compete globally, especially with China, the Associated Press reported.

Trump said there is «only one winner» in the global AI race, noting that the technology is widely seen as critical for the future and that China has already streamlined its regulatory approach to the sector.

Russian security agencies and legal professionals are working to establish a tribunal modeled on the Nuremberg trials, intended to prosecute Ukrainian military personnel, according to Novaya Gazeta. The plan was announced by former Russian Prime Minister Sergey Stepashin, who also chairs the Russian Lawyers’ Association.

Location undecided until after the war

Stepashin said it is still «too early» to determine where the tribunal would be held, adding that the decision would be made once the war concludes.

Historical сontext: Nuremberg trials

The original Nuremberg trials took place from 1945 to 1946 in the German city of Nuremberg...

BOE Technology Group Co. Ltd., a China-based manufacturer of display panels, including LCD, OLED and LED screens, is set to establish an LED display and next-generation component factory in Alatau, Almaty region, according to the region’s governor’s office.

«A memorandum of cooperation was signed between the region’s Department of Entrepreneurship and Industrial and Innovative Development and global leader in display technologies, BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd., during the Alatau Invest 2025 international business forum. The document paves the way for establishing a modern LED display and next-generation component...

Eurovision 2024 winner Nemo, the first non-binary artist to win the contest, has said they will return their trophy in protest against Israel’s continued participation, according to the BBC.

The 26-year-old Swiss artist said the decision reflects what they see as a contradiction between Eurovision’s stated values of unity and inclusion and the European Broadcasting Union’s (EBU) decision to allow Israel to compete amid the war in Gaza.

Nemo said Eurovision’s values risk losing meaning if they are not upheld beyond the stage and explained that keeping the trophy no longer felt appropriate. They posted a video showing the...

The heirs of an 83-year-old Connecticut woman have brought a wrongful-death lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging that the companies’ chatbot played a role in worsening her son’s paranoia before he killed her, according to the Associated Press.

Details of the fatal incident

Police reported that Stein-Erik Soelberg, 56, a former technology worker, fatally attacked and strangled his mother, Suzanne Adams, before taking his own life in early August in the Greenwich residence they shared.

Claims made in the lawsuit

A complaint filed Thursday in California Superior Court in San Francisco states that Soelberg’s conversations with ChatGPT allegedly...

McDonald’s has removed an AI-generated Christmas advertisement in the Netherlands after it drew criticism online.

The ad, titled «The Most Terrible Time of the Year,» showed stressful holiday scenes such as Santa stuck in traffic and a cyclist slipping on snow and suggested people escape the festive season by hiding out in McDonald’s until January. Social media reactions were negative, with some users saying it hurt their Christmas mood and criticizing the use of generative AI, The Guardian reported.

In a statement issued Wednesday, McDonald’s Netherlands said the commercial was meant to reflect holiday stress. Still, it acknowledged that...

On Dec. 11, South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR) announced that the Korea-Mongolia Rare Metals Cooperation Center would be officially opened on Dec. 12 in Ulaanbaatar, Yonhap reported.

The center, located within the University of Science and Technology will study critical metals, such as tungsten, molybdenum, lithium and other rare earths found in Mongolia. The cooperation also includes training in mineral processing, refining and smelting, according to the ministry.

The center operates under a grant-based Official Development Assistance program and will receive roughly $6.7 million in support for its...

Pavel Durov has turned out to be quite different from the stereotypical tech bro he once seemed to be, says Russian journalist Nikolay Kononov. His new book, The Populist: The Untold Story of Pavel Durov and Telegram, has just come out. It follows his 2012 bestseller The Durov Code and draws on years spent observing Durov and Telegram as political phenomena.

Telegram’s global reach and controversy

Durov leads Telegram, a messaging service and vast media ecosystem boasting more than a billion users. Kononov notes it is now one of the world’s most controversial platforms, in part...

Japan-based advanced mobility and automotive components supplier Astemo said it has developed an electric vehicle motor that notably reduces the use of rare-earth metals, thereby cutting dependence on these materials, NHK World reported.

According to the company, the new motor uses a synchronous reluctance architecture with rare-earth-free magnets in the main drive to achieve competitive output, enabling reduced reliance on neodymium-based permanent magnets.

Astemo aims to begin commercial production and market release of its new motor around 2030.

China is the world’s largest supplier and producer of critical materials. In October, the...

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado made her first public appearance in months after arriving in Oslo to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, despite a travel ban and threats of arrest in her home country, the BBC reported.

Machado appeared on a hotel balcony after arriving at night, greeting supporters who had gathered outside. It was her first public appearance since January. Her daughter accepted the prize earlier in the day, while Machado traveled covertly to Norway under conditions she described as highly dangerous.

The Nobel Committee recognized Machado for her efforts to promote a democratic...

A post on Threads is drawing wide attention in Kazakhstan after an Almaty resident shared photos of a paid feminine hygiene product dispenser in a shopping center’s public restroom. The woman praised the installation, saying it showed that Kazakhstan is beginning to prioritize women’s comfort.

Mixed reactions from users

Most commenters supported the initiative, calling it a necessary step toward improving public amenities for women. Others argued that the dispenser was primarily a marketing move by the brand behind it. Some users said that even if the products cost money, having them available in restrooms is still...

Real Madrid players expressed support for their coach Xabi Alonso after suffering a 1-2 defeat to Manchester City. Notably, Spanish media reported that the coach could have been sacked in the event of a loss.

Champions League 2025-26

Matchday 6, Dec. 10

Real Madrid vs. Manchester City: 1-2

Goals: Rodrygo 28’; Nico O’Reilly 35’, Erling Haaland 43’(P)

According to AS, «the locker room closed ranks in the most delicate moment» and as a group expressed support for Alonso. The first to speak was Brazilian forward Rodrygo, who rushed to hug Alonso...

The Trump administration has introduced a new program, the «Trump Gold Card,» designed to fast-track U.S. residency for foreign nationals and company-sponsored workers. The initiative is one of the administration’s most significant recent immigration policies. Qualified applicants pay a $1 million fee, or $2 million for company sponsorship, with processing handled through trumpcard.gov and requiring a $15,000 processing fee and background check, CNN reported.

The website explains that applicants who complete the requirements — including an interview and any additional State Department fees — could receive permanent residency within weeks. Successful applicants would be placed in the EB...