News

North Korea’s only international film festival — the Pyongyang International Film Festival (PIFF) — made a comeback on Oct. 22, 2025, after last being held in 2019, ChosunBiz reported.

This marks the 18th edition of the festival, one of the few legal channels for watching foreign films in the country’s capital since its inception in 1987. The event was revived following the 17th edition held in the fall of 2019, which had been suspended amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the media outlet, 92 entries were submitted this year, with 11 selected as nominees. The participating countries included Indonesia...

The Trump administration is negotiating for the American company Cove Capital to gain access to one of the world’s largest undiscovered tungsten deposits in Kazakhstan, Bloomberg reported. The metal is used by the Pentagon to produce ammunition, shells and other weapons.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has helped arrange negotiations between Cove Kaz Capital Group LLC, part of the Cove Capital investment group, and Samruk-Kazyna, Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund. They are discussing a bid to develop two major tungsten deposits in Central Asia, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Sources said Cove Kaz Capital has been...

LOT Polish Airlines, the country’s national carrier, announced direct flights between Almaty and Warsaw, with the first flight scheduled for May 31, 2026, Almaty International Airport reported.

During the summer season, four flights are planned weekly — on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. In the winter season, flights will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The route will be serviced with Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft.

The flight duration will be around six and half hours from Warsaw, and the return flight is expected to take an hour longer. Carry-on luggage is limited to 8 kilograms and checked baggage up...

Kazakhstani drama film «Spark,» directed by Aqtolgai Rakhmatulla, earned two awards at the Pigeon International Film Festival, which took place in the Icelandic town of Ísafjörður.

Judges awarded Best Support Acting to Aigerim Sharipbek in the Features category, and Best Directing to Aqtolgai Rakhmatulla in the same category.

The film tells the story of a boy named Akan, a talented musician whose life changes after the tragic death of his father. His mother, afraid that her husband’s fate will repeat, forbids her son from playing the dombra or even going to school. Deprived of his main calling, the hero...

OpenAI has launched ChatGPT Atlas, an AI-powered web browser seen by many as a direct challenge to Google Chrome. With this launch, OpenAI is expanding its ecosystem beyond its main chatbot and hopes to bring AI into daily browsing, Reuters reported.

Technically, Atlas is capable of summarizing webpages, comparing products and analyzing data using a ChatGPT sidebar. The premium “agent mode” enables ChatGPT to interact with websites independently, so it can search for required information on its own and present a summary of any request.

During a live demonstration on Tuesday, for example, OpenAI showed the browser automatically finding...

Egyptian rescuers conducted an hours-long operation to save a Spanish tourist who fell inside one of the country’s most ancient pyramids — the Bent Pyramid of Pharaoh Sneferu, built around 4,000 years ago, Gulf News reported.

The woman reportedly slipped on a steep wooden ramp in a narrow corridor and fell from a height of around 80 meters. While descending, she injured her foot and was unable to get out on her own.

Rescuers and medics had to work in near-total darkness and sweltering conditions, descending through a narrow tunnel leading to the pyramid’s inner chambers. The faint calls...

A new list from the British outlet GiveMeSport highlights the world’s tallest football players. Among those featured are seven goalkeepers and three outfield players.

Topping the list is Konstantin Veretinskiy, a 19-year-old goalkeeper from Belarus who stands 2.10 meters (6 feet 10 inches) tall.

Born in Pinsk, Brest region, Veretinskiy began his senior career in 2023 with Energetik-BGU Minsk. In January 2025, he transferred to Slavia Mozyr, a Belarusian Premier League club.

Notably, the top 10 tallest footballers include two players from the Netherlands and one each from England, Belarus, Brazil, Côte d’Ivoire, Latvia, Senegal, Ukraine...

Traveling abroad — and especially shopping or dining at airports — often comes with high expenses. Still, there are a few ways to save money on a meal.

Russian travel blogger Mark Everly discovered a wallet-friendly trick for Istanbul Airport — often counted among the world’s priciest hubs. Imagine paying around 850 Turkish lira (about $18) for a McDonald’s combo meal!

Here’s Everly’s clever hack: head to the Care Point counter and simply flash your ticket at the Turkish Airlines desk. If you ask, the staff might give you a meal voucher to redeem at several airport restaurants...

FC Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal played his 25th Champions League match on Oct. 21. He became the youngest player to reach this milestone in Europe’s premier club competition, according to Squawka.

UEFA Champions League

Matchday 3, Oct. 21

FC Barcelona vs. Olympiacos: 6-1

Goals: Fermín López 7’, 39’, 76’; Lamine Yamal 68’ (P); Marcus Rashford 74’, 79’; Ayoub El Kaabi 53’ (P)

Yamal scored one of the six goals against Olympiacos, successfully converting a penalty kick in the 68th minute of the match. He also assisted López’s first goal, which later turned into...

Six people were arrested in Dublin after an anti-immigration protest outside a hotel accommodating people seeking asylum in Ireland turned violent late Tuesday night, Euronews reported.

The unrest began near the CityWest Hotel in the village of Saggart, southwest of Dublin. It quickly escalated after reports that a 10-year-old local girl had allegedly been sexually assaulted by a 26-year-old asylum seeker. Authorities have charged him with committing the crime.

Meanwhile, hundreds gathered at the scene carrying Irish flags and signs with anti-immigration messages and shouting at police officers. As a result, the peaceful protest rapidly turned violent as people...

Freedom Holding Corp. is preparing to introduce a new feature that will allow travelers in Kazakhstan to view the carbon footprint of their flights. During the Kursiv ESG Conference 2025 in Almaty on Oct. 21, Baglana Mussina, the company’s chief sustainable development officer, announced that the feature will be available on the Aviata platform, though no specific launch date has been provided.

«We have Aviata — Freedom Travel — and we’re launching a project where anyone purchasing a ticket, for example, from Almaty to Astana, will be able to see their personal carbon footprint...

A driver was arrested after crashing into a White House security gate late Tuesday night, UPI reported.

The U.S. Secret Service reported that the crash occurred around 10:37 p.m. at the vehicle entrance at 17th and E Streets NW. After officers arrested the driver, they checked the car and confirmed it was safe and not a threat.

In a post on X, the Secret Service announced that the perpetrator had been arrested and that the vehicle had been assessed and deemed safe.

This isn’t the first time someone has tried to crash through the White House’s gate. In...

Kazakh blogger Aiym Altynbekova (aeka.posh) has removed her hijab after four years.

Recently, Altynbekova shared the news with her 1.1 million Instagram followers. She explained that she had been veiled for years and completed multiple Umrah pilgrimages during that time.

«Sometimes your path changes, not from fading faith, but from an internal silence that tells you to do something different,» she wrote. «I searched, I read, I tried to be present, but over time, fatigue set in.»

Altynbekova said much has changed since her second child’s birth. She clarified that the fatigue...

An unusual advertising campaign is underway in Barcelona ahead of the upcoming concert by Kazakh singer Dimash Qudaibergen. The city’s streets now feature buses displaying Qudaibergen’s portrait and a poster for the event.

According to Dimashnews.com, the concert is scheduled for Nov. 8 at the Olimpic Arena Badalona. The ads are placed on the B24 and B25 buses — among the busiest routes in Barcelona. One bus runs directly past the concert venue, and the other passes the popular Magic shopping center.

As a result, thousands of residents and tourists see the bright banners featuring the Kazakh performer’s portrait.

Chinese toy company Pop Mart saw sales soar after launching mini Labubu dolls in August.

Driven by strong international performance, the company’s global revenue rose about 250% year-on-year in the third quarter. In the U.S., sales soared more than 1,200%, while European revenue surged by over 700%, according to the BBC.

These figures extend Pop Mart’s recent streak of strong results. On Wednesday, its shares rose 5.5% in Hong Kong, bringing the company’s valuation to around $45.5 billion (£34 billion).

Pop Mart is known for its «blind box» marketing strategy, in which buyers do not know which...

Tchaikovsky’s «The Nutcracker» is synonymous with Christmas, its music and story woven into holiday culture. Composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky died a year after completing the score, never seeing the ballet’s rise to fame, as The Irish Times (IT) noted in a recent tribute to the timeless classic.

«The Nutcracker» premiered in Moscow in 1892 with the Bolshoi Ballet. It was Tchaikovsky’s final ballet after «Sleeping Beauty» and «Swan Lake.» Over time, it became a global phenomenon, with major ballet companies performing it each winter.

From Clara’s dream to a timeless fantasy

Inspired by E.T.A. Hoffmann’s story, the ballet...

A recent report on climate change reveals that global coal use surged to a record high in 2024, signaling that the world is falling off track to meet the international commitment to limit global heating to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels, the Guardian reported, citing the State of Climate Action report.

According to the study, overall electricity demand rose so quickly that renewable energy capacity could not keep pace, forcing increased coal use.

«We’re doing many of the right things, just not fast enough,» said Clea Schumer, a research associate at the World Resources Institute...

Kairat Almaty drew 0-0 with Cypriot Pafos FC on Oct. 21 in the UEFA Champions League Matchday Three at Central Stadium in Almaty. The visitors had been playing short-handed since the fourth minute.

Champions League 2025-2026

Matchday 3. Oct. 21

Kairat (Almaty, Kazakhstan) vs. Pafos (Cyprus): 0-0

Sent off: João Correia (Pafos, 4’)

Kairat’s starting lineup underwent only minor changes compared to the matches against Lisbon’s Sporting and Real Madrid. Temirlan Anarbekov replaced Sherkhan Kalmurza in goal, while Dan Glazer came on for Damir Kassabulat. Glazer partnered Ofri Arad as a...

A man from California has agreed to plead guilty to operating as an unregistered agent for the Chinese government in Southern California while serving as a campaign advisor to a local political figure, according to a report by The Asahi Shimbun.

Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles have declined to discuss the pending plea agreement with Yaoning «Mike» Sun, a Chinese national who is legally residing in the U.S.

As outlined in the plea agreement, Sun admitted that between 2022 and 2024, he acted on behalf of the People’s Republic of China without informing the...

Myanmar’s military has detained more than 2,000 people following a raid on the KK Park compound, a well-known online scam center near the Thai border, the Guardian reported, citing local state-run media sources.

The operation, launched in early September, targeted online fraud, illegal gambling and cross-border cybercrime activities. KK Park, located on the outskirts of Myawaddy in Kayin State, has been repeatedly linked to cyberfraud operations that traffic foreign workers and force them into online scams.

Myanmar has been embroiled in a civil war since the military coup in 2021, marked by fierce battles with the Karen National...

On Oct. 20, Toyota Motor conducted a test demonstration of an AI-powered driver-assistance system designed to enhance traffic safety. The system has been developed in cooperation with Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT), Japan’s telecommunications giant, which is providing support for developing the necessary communication infrastructure, NHK World reported.

The demonstration took place at a research facility in central Japan, where a car entered a highway as the system analyzed the locations and speeds of surrounding vehicles. Data collected from cameras and sensors installed on the road was processed by AI, which then sent instructions to the car’s onboard...

Unusual bus stops made from decommissioned fire trucks are increasingly appearing across Kazakhstan.

The first of these unique stops appeared in 2022 in Petropavlovsk, northern Kazakhstan, where the body of a GAZ-51 truck that once served with the local Emergency Department was used for its construction.

Converted bus stop in Kyzylorda

Following Petropavlovsk’s lead, later that year a similar stop was installed in Kyzylorda, in southern Kazakhstan.

Located on Salamatov Street next to Specialized Fire Station No. 1 and a monument honoring fallen firefighters, the stop’s placement was deliberate — the site has long served as a training...

In Central Asia, and Kazakhstan in particular, the demand for modern data centers is constantly growing. Digitalization is a priority for these countries and this market is estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars.

According to Arizton, an international provider of market research, the Central Asian data center market will grow from $65 million in 2022 to $179.7 million by 2028 or by 18.5% annually. However, the corresponding infrastructure is developing unevenly, creating local capacity shortages.

In 2023, commercial data centers in Kazakhstan had 3,463 server racks and 3,775 racks by the end of 2024, an approximate 9% increase year-on-year...

On Oct. 21, Central Stadium in Almaty will host the UEFA Champions Matchday Three between Kairat and Cypriot club Pafos. Kursiv LifeStyle shows how the buzz in social media comments has surpassed interest in the match itself.

The visitors arrived in Almaty in the early hours of Oct. 21. The team posted a video from the airport on its official Instagram account with the caption:

«Long trip, big smiles and a unique welcome in Almaty!»