News

The recent tragedy at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, where two gunmen targeted people attending a Hanukkah celebration, serves as a grim reminder of the vulnerability of public spaces. While this incident involved a shooting during a Jewish holiday gathering, the underlying psychological and sociological factors often resemble those seen in attacks on schools, shopping malls and parades.

Contrary to popular belief, prior research in the U.S. suggests that severe mental illness (like psychosis) is rarely the sole cause. Instead, a complex mix of grievance, trauma, and a desire for notoriety typically drives these individuals.

The...

In northeastern Brazil, Lençóis Maranhenses National Park stuns visitors with an otherworldly landscape: endless white dunes carved by wind and dotted with hundreds of vivid, seasonal freshwater lagoons, the BBC reported.

Driven by strong coastal winds, towering dunes rising up to 30 meters are pushed inland from the Atlantic. During the rainy season, which lasts from January to June, heavy rainfall collects in natural basins between the dunes, forming crystal-clear lagoons that persist for months, held in place by an impermeable layer beneath the sand.

Such a blend of sand and freshwater is quite rare, which is why...

Airports in Thailand have tightened border checks against the backdrop of escalating tensions with Cambodia, the Bangkok Post reported. Foreigners who could potentially serve as mercenaries are under special scrutiny.

The Thai Immigration Bureau warned tourists of possible line extensions of up to 45 minutes, compared with the usual 20 minutes. Stricter measures apply at airports in Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang international airports), as well as in Chiang Mai, Phuket and Hat Yai.

Police noted that Cambodian citizens arriving in Thailand for work or business purposes are now required to obtain...

The Rothschild family’s long-standing tradition of privacy has been disrupted by a legal dispute over a valuable art collection housed at the Chateau de Pregny, a lakeside property near Geneva owned by the wealthy family, The Guardian reported.

The dispute follows legal action initiated by Nadine de Rothschild, 93, widow of banker Edmond de Rothschild, who is seeking ownership of artworks and historic objects kept at the estate. Her move has drawn her into a court battle with her daughter-in-law, Ariane de Rothschild, 60, the current baroness and widow of Benjamin de Rothschild, who died in...

Volkswagen Group has kicked off real-world trials for its Gen.Urban self-driving vehicle. The tests are taking place on public roads in the city of Wolfsburg under real-world conditions, including intersections, junctions and traffic jams.

The route covers almost 10 kilometers, with one ride taking 20 minutes. Notably, the vehicle is designed to have neither a steering wheel nor foot pedals, lacking conventional controls.

What Volkswagen is testing

Contrary to expectations, the emphasis is placed on people rather than autopilot technology. The Volkswagen Group Innovation team is studying:

The Mangystau region in western Kazakhstan has been approved as the primary filming location for a new international movie project, «Armor of God: Ultimatum,» starring Jackie Chan.

The decision followed a site visit by Chan and the film’s director, Robert Kun, according to the region’s public communications center.

Location scouting and selection

During the working trip, members of the film crew assessed Mangystau’s natural features and infrastructure, visiting dozens of potential filming sites and conducting detailed inspections of key locations.

Following negotiations, Mangystau was selected for its distinctive landscapes, sweeping panoramas and visual character, qualities officials...

Japan is to end up without pandas for the first time since 1972, as the two remaining twin giant pandas, male Xiao Xiao and female Lei Lei, are set to leave for China ahead of schedule, amid deteriorating relations between the two countries, The Asahi Shimbun reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

These giant pandas were born at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo in 2021. In accordance with the lease agreement, aimed at joint research to protect the species, they were initially scheduled to depart for China in February...

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...