News

On Oct. 31, hackers hijacked the domain flap.sh, one of the largest platforms for token launches. A day earlier, Binance reported a theft of approximately $6.3 billion, while a week before that, two critical vulnerabilities were disclosed in PHP, posing a threat to a vast number of websites worldwide.

Renat Tukanov, chief technology officer at Freedom Holding Corp., believes the companies responded appropriately to their respective incidents. The reality, he argues, is that no amount of money can guarantee protection against certain types of attackers. What matters is whether a company can withstand an attack without losing its...

Al-Amanah Islamic Bank Ltd., wholly owned by a Qatari investment firm, has received a license from the Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA), the regulator of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), to conduct Islamic banking and provide money services. However, the bank cannot begin operations until it obtains further regulatory approval. Economist Arman Batayev reported the development, citing the AFSA registry.

The license was issued to Al-Amanah on Oct. 28, 2024. The company was registered with the AIFC on Aug. 21, 2024, with stated share capital of $10 million.

Its sole shareholder is Finagroup Holding LLC...

President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has proposed that Russia join the Organization of Turkic States (OTS). He made the statement at the 13th OTS summit in Ankara.

According to Tokayev, inviting Russia to cooperate with the organization would be a reasonable and fair step that could also strengthen its international standing.

Read also: No ‘Turkic NATO’: Tokayev opposes a military alliance for the OTS.

«As a major power, Russia has maintained close ties with the Turkic world for centuries. Many Turkic peoples have historically lived within its...

Ahead of Halloween, a creative makeup trend is gaining popularity. Beauty content creators are widely recreating tutorials for an impressive Batman mask painted on the face. Kursiv LifeStyle takes a closer look.

The key to the viral trend is using everyday items. To outline the famous superhero mask around their eyes symmetrically and precisely, women use an ordinary tablespoon.

This life hack allows users to quickly create the perfect shape...

Authorities in Kyrgyzstan have proposed implementing total control over internet traffic, including a potential ban on the gaming platform Roblox. The government also aims to restrict access to online casinos, pornographic websites and other «undesirable» resources, 24.kg reported.

Kairat Mamatov, chairman of the State Service for Regulation and Supervision of the Financial Market of Kyrgyzstan, outlined the proposal during a radio program.

«We need to allocate funds and bring all internet traffic under total control. I believe it is necessary to implement filters. For instance, in China, internet traffic is strictly controlled — when we...

Waymo, Alphabet’s autonomous driving subsidiary, has announced plans to begin robotaxi testing in Japan in 2027 in cooperation with Japanese automaker Toyota, with prospects for overseas expansion.

According to a statement, the announcement marks the next phase of the partnership between Waymo and Toyota, building on the preliminary agreement reached in April 2025. The companies plan to test and validate a fleet of autonomous Toyota bZ4X vehicles in Japan in 2027, with subsequent expansion to the U.K. and other markets where Waymo operates.

The fleet

Toyota bZ4X vehicles will be assembled and equipped with Waymo’s...

A glass bridge long enough to break a Guinness World Record is planned for construction in Kyrgyzstan. Kursiv LifeStyle looks at what is known about the project and when it will open to tourists.

Kyrgyzstan’s Presidential Affairs Department has shared details of the project. The 732-meter-long glass suspension bridge is planned for Ala-Archa National Park. The record-breaking bridge will span the gorge through which the same-named river flows.

Authorities said construction is scheduled to begin in November 2026 and finish by the end of 2027. Once opened, the bridge could become the world’s longest glass suspension...

Renat Tukanov, chief technology officer of Freedom Holding Corp. and CEO of Freedom AI, said the first phase of the Freedom AI supercluster will be completed in the second quarter of 2027. During an Oct. 29 panel discussion titled «Freedom AI: Inside Infrastructure,» he discussed the capacity of the first phase, why Kazakhstan needs to build new data centers for GPU servers from scratch and who will be the primary users of the cluster’s capacity.

Project timeline

The cluster is being constructed in phases. The first phase was initially planned at 2 megawatts, but the scope has since expanded...

Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina has withdrawn from the WTA 500 Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. In today’s quarterfinal, she was set to face Canada’s Leylah Fernandez. At last year’s tournament, Rybakina withdrew from her semifinal against Czechia’s Linda Nosková.

The withdrawal is likely due to an injury Rybakina sustained at the 2026 Cincinnati Open. The injury’s effects are apparently still bothering her.

After defeating her compatriot Yulia Putintseva 6-4, 6-2 yesterday and securing the year-end No. 1 spot in the WTA rankings, Rybakina decided to focus on her recovery. This is especially important ahead of the WTA...

Crypto exchange Binance has reported a security incident, with preliminary losses estimated at approximately $6.3 billion. The company has temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals, pledged to compensate affected users and launched an investigation.

The first reports of a possible hack emerged on Oct. 29. Around $3.5 billion was transferred to an unknown crypto wallet. Some experts suggested that the volume of suspicious transactions could be even higher.

Amid reports of a hack, cryptocurrency issuers began freezing assets potentially linked to the incident.

What we know about the Binance hack

According to Binance’s preliminary assessment, the...

Official communications from the National Bank of Kazakhstan are becoming increasingly difficult to understand. Readers need an education equivalent to that of a university student or graduate to easily comprehend the regulator’s press releases on its base rate, according to a report by the Applied Economics Research Centre (AERC).

Readability has fallen to the level of academic texts

The AERC analyzed the evolution of the National Bank’s communication strategy, drawing on research by a central bank staff member (Meirmanova, 2024). The findings indicate that the language used in official documents has become progressively more complex.

The Flesch...

«Euphoria» star Sydney Sweeney is treating her fans to a holiday surprise with a playful new video for her lingerie and loungewear brand, Syrn.

The campaign parodies the beloved holiday film «Home Alone.» In one scene, Sweeney applies a product to her face, presses her hands to her cheeks and lets out a dramatic scream, recreating one of the movie’s most iconic moments.

Kazakhstan’s fencers won medals of all three colors Thursday at the Asian U23 Fencing Championships in Bahrain. Épée fencer Kirill Prokhodov claimed gold, sabre fencer Kaisha Zhanybek took silver, and her teammate Dilyara Issabekova earned bronze.

Prokhodov claims épée gold

This season, 19-year-old Prokhodov has won team gold at the World Championships, the Asian Games, the senior Asian Championships and a World Cup event. He also finished second in the individual competition at the Asian Games.

After winning four of his five pool bouts, Prokhodov advanced to the elimination rounds. He defeated Ka Wing Sung of Macau, 15-8, and...

A social media trend featuring shirtless young men supporting President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has gained traction in Brazil. Kursiv LifeStyle explores how bare-chested photos became part of the election campaign and why they are generating buzz online.

The trend, dubbed «Gostosos com Lula,» or «Hotties for Lula,» involves participants posting shirtless photos to show their support for Brazil’s incumbent president.

How the trend began

One of the faces of the trend is 24-year-old Israel Augusto, from São Paulo. On Oct. 11, he appeared shirtless at a pro-democracy rally, climbing onto the structure of...

Kazakhstan’s Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) has revoked the licenses of seven microfinance organizations (MFOs) for systematic violations of the law and clients’ rights. According to the National Bank of Kazakhstan, as of July 1, 2024, the companies had combined assets of 14.4 billion tenge and a total loan portfolio of 17.6 billion tenge. Six of the seven ranked among the country’s 100 largest MFOs by assets.

The regulator announced the license revocations on Oct. 23. The affected companies are MaxMoney, Microfinance Systems, SurfKaz Finance, MFO№1, Umit Finance, Vivus

Kazakhstan’s flag carrier Air Astana has launched its first aircraft with satellite internet access on board. Kursiv LifeStyle looks at how passengers can use the Wi-Fi and when charges will take effect.

The Airbus A321LR, registration EI-KGB, became the first aircraft in Air Astana’s fleet equipped with high-speed internet access. Its first Wi-Fi-enabled flight took place on Oct. 29 on the Almaty-Tashkent route. The airline plans to equip its other Airbus A321LR aircraft with Wi-Fi throughout 2027.

How to get online onboard

All passengers will have free internet access until Jan. 31, 2027. Starting Feb. 1, 2027, only business...

El Salvador has sent more than 2,000 troops to Haiti to search for four Salvadoran military personnel who were part of an international mission against armed gangs and disappeared after being ambushed on Oct. 18, the BBC reported.

The deployment followed talks between Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé earlier this week. The troops will also support operations against criminal gangs in Haiti.

The four missing servicemen were air force technicians assigned to the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF). They reportedly came under attack while returning to their base in an armored vehicle near...

At the 2026 Pan Pacific Open, Kazakhstan’s top-ranked player, Elena Rybakina (World No. 1), and second-ranked player, Yulia Putintseva (World No. 67), faced off in the second round of the WTA 500 tournament, with Rybakina winning 6-2, 6-3.

This was Rybakina’s opening match in Tokyo, while Putintseva defeated Greece’s Maria Sakkari (No. 31) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 in the main draw after two qualifying wins.

Rybakina broke Putintseva’s serve twice in the first set and once in the second. She won 6-2, 6-3 in 1 hour, 10 minutes. Rybakina hit six aces to Putintseva’s one and committed one double fault, while...

At least 68 people were killed and dozens injured when two high-speed trains collided near Urda, in Spain’s Toledo province, on Wednesday morning. Authorities have launched an investigation and a large-scale emergency response operation, the BBC reported.

The crash occurred when a Renfe train carrying 397 passengers struck the rear of a stationary Iryo train with 147 passengers on board. Both trains were travelling from Madrid towards Seville.

Preliminary findings suggest a failure in the automatic signaling system forced both trains to stop along the affected section of the railway. However, the Renfe train was later instructed to move...

Vintage Pokémon collectible cards have risen 60% in value since the beginning of 2026, outperforming the stock market, Bitcoin and gold. Binance Research highlighted the trend in its weekly market commentary published on Oct. 26. Analysts attribute the price increase to the limited supply of older cards and the emergence of new ways to invest in collectibles.

For comparison, the CardTrack 100 index of collectible cards rose 52%, while modern Pokémon card prices gained 21% and the S&P 500 increased by 11%. Bitcoin and gold have each lost 7% of their value since the beginning of the year.

Why...

Freedom Holding Corp. is investing approximately $250 million in the Intelligent Road Control System (ISKAD) through its subsidiary Freedom Lab. The agreement with the Ministry of Transport was reached at the 9th Kazakhstan Global Investment Roundtable (KGIR) in Shymkent.

How the system works

ISKAD’s core elements are automated measurement stations (AMS) that measure truck weight and dimensions, record vehicle data and calculate axle loads. The system then transmits this information via secure channels to a unified platform, where it is verified, analyzed and sent to government information systems.

According to the project developers, 85 such stations currently operate in...

In the Aral district of the Kyzylorda region, a 50-year-old taxi driver was fined after a video surfaced online showing him demanding an excessive fare from foreign passengers, Polisia.kz reported.

Video helps identify driver

Police came across the video while monitoring social media. It showed a local driver demanding an unreasonably high fare. The man was quickly identified and held liable for violating consumer protection legislation and conducting business without registration. The court fined him.

Airbus, Europe’s largest aerospace and defense corporation, better known for its commercial aircraft, is ready to join a British-Japanese-Italian consortium to build a next-generation fighter jet after a rival Franco-German project collapsed, Euronews reported.

Earlier this year, a joint Franco-German project aimed at developing a sixth-generation fighter jet officially collapsed after the two sides failed to reach a compromise. France wanted a nuclear-capable jet designed for deployment from aircraft carriers, while Germany, which has neither aircraft carriers nor nuclear weapons, sought a different design.

Airbus, which represented Germany and Spain in the Franco-German project, is currently seeking other...

English football club Burnley, which Kazakhstani forward Dastan Satpayev plays for, has appointed Fabio Celestini as its new head coach. The Swiss manager replaces Nicky Hayen, who was dismissed on Oct. 24.

«I look at Burnley and I see a club with big potential and players with real quality, who can help us achieve our supporters’ ambitions. I know the situation we are in, and I have lived it before. Our supporters deserve to see a team playing with belief from the first whistle,» Burnley’s press service cited...