News

Singles’ Day, China’s largest shopping festival, is starting five weeks early this year as retailers try to boost spending in a slowing economy, according to the BBC.

Traditionally held on Nov. 11, the event began in mid-October this year, coinciding with the end of the country’s Golden Week holiday. Major platforms, including Taobao, JD.com and Douyin, have already launched «11.11» promotions, offering discounts and vouchers to attract shoppers.

Retailers and officials hope that a longer sales period will spur greater consumer spending, which is important to support economic recovery as the country deals with weak demand, high youth...

In Peru, at least one civilian was killed and dozens of police officers were injured in nationwide protests against recently elected President Jose Jeri, according to Reuters.

The demonstrations erupted on Wednesday night as protesters expressed anger at alleged government corruption and the authorities’ inability to address rising crime, citing these as key reasons for their opposition to Jeri.

As a result of a clash with local police, at least one man, Eduardo Mauricio Ruiz, died from a gunshot wound. Police said Luis Magallanes, a currently suspended officer, fired the shot after being physically attacked by the protesters. Authorities...

Between January and September 2025, Kazakhstan’s domestic trade grew 8.8%, driving economic growth along with transportation and warehousing (up 21.2%), construction (up 14.9%) and industry (up 7.4%).

Wholesale trade

During the period, Kazakhstan’s trade turnover reached 52.8 trillion tenge (approximately $98 billion), a 14.5% year-on-year (YoY) increase. The physical volume of services grew 8.8% YoY, largely driven by strong wholesale sales.

From January through September, wholesale trade grew 9.6% (9.8% in January-August), suggesting a possible slowdown.

Most growth came from nonfood products, which made up 81.9% of wholesale trade.

Retail sector

Retail, comprising 33.2% of total trade turnover, grew...

Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov held a meeting of the board of directors of Kazakhstan’s national wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna, attended by the fund’s digital board member with voting rights — SKAI (Samruk-Kazyna Artificial Intelligence).

The neural network is powered by Alem LLM, a large Kazakh-language model, and was presented to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the 2025 Digital Bridge international forum.

During the meeting, participants reviewed the fund’s performance results for the first nine months of 2025 and the implementation of the president’s instructions on major infrastructure projects.

Nurlan Zhakupov, chairman of the board of directors, noted that...

A museum in Wiesbaden, Germany, has seen a surge in visitors after Taylor Swift’s new music video spotlighted «Ophelia,» a painting on display there, the BBC reported.

Museum staff reported that crowds flocked in over the weekend as fans arrived to admire Friedrich Heyser’s early 1900s painting. It appears at the beginning of Swift’s new music video «The Fate of Ophelia» from her latest album «The Life of a Showgirl.»

The artwork drew viral attention online after the museum confirmed its connection to the video, attracting both local visitors and international fans.

Officials embraced the...

India rejected drug companies’ requests to delay the year-end deadline for plant upgrades set after deaths from contaminated cough syrup, according to Reuters.

India’s $50 billion pharmaceutical industry comprises about 3,000 companies operating over 10,000 factories. Larger companies lead the market and have already upgraded their facilities, while smaller manufacturers worry that the new rules may force them out of business.

A government order issued in late 2023 requires all drugmakers to follow Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) to prevent contamination and improve testing. Many small companies were supposed to meet new standards by December 2024. Then, the deadline was...

Erlan Kozhasbay, owner of the Gorelnik Visit Center, announced on Threads the completion of a new pedestrian suspension bridge, Arman-Köpir, in the Gorelnik Gorge in Almaty, noting that he had «dreamed of building a bridge — and has done it.»

Arman-Köpir is a modern 77-meter suspension bridge connecting the slopes of the picturesque Gorelnik Gorge. It was built as part of a program to develop Almaty’s eco-tourism and to ease congestion on the popular routes to Medeu and Shymbulak. The design takes into account the challenging terrain and adheres to international safety standards. A Swiss company, renowned for its...

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton has been indicted on several counts of mishandling and sharing classified information. The federal court filing in Maryland claims Bolton gave sensitive government material to his wife and daughter. The indictment alleges the information was provided for possible use in a book project, as Bolton referred to his relatives as «editors,» Reuters reported.

Prosecutors say Bolton sent more than 1,000 pages of classified material, including details from high-level meetings, intelligence briefings and talks with foreign leaders, via electronic messages between 2018 and 2025.

Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and...

On Oct. 16, U.S. President Donald Trump, following a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin that lasted more than two hours and that he called «very productive,» announced plans for a summit to be held in Budapest, Hungary. According to Trump, the meeting could happen within two weeks, Reuters reported.

The announcement comes ahead of the planned talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy scheduled for Oct. 17, where he is expected to request additional military support, including long-range Tomahawk missiles, according to reports.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán welcomed the initiative:

U.S. President Donald Trump said he is speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, a day before his scheduled talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Bloomberg reported.

In recent weeks, Trump has signaled a desire to step up pressure on Moscow to end the war, calling on U.S. allies to reduce imports of Russian energy. He has also proposed that Washington could authorize Ukraine to use long-range Tomahawk missiles.

Such a move would be significant: the Tomahawk, a long-range weapon in the U.S. arsenal, would enable Ukrainian forces to target sites inside Russian...

The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2025 dazzled at the Brooklyn Arena in New York, celebrating beauty, confidence and femininity.

This year’s show marked a new era for the brand, emphasizing inclusivity, strength and self-expression. Legendary Angels Gigi Hadid, Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Lily Aldridge, Candice Swanepoel, Irina Shayk, Joan Smalls and Ashley Graham returned to the runway, joined by new stars like a pregnant Jasmine Tookes, Barbara Palvin, Barbie Ferreira, Angel Reese and Olympic champion Sunisa Lee.

The biggest surprise was the return of Behati Prinsloo, Namibian supermodel and wife of Maroon 5’s Adam Levine. The 36-year-old former...

Kazakhstan’s largest airline, Air Astana, announced the signing of a sponsorship agreement with the Kairat football club, becoming its official carrier, the airline’s press service reported.

Air Astana will handle the team’s flights to international matches and training camps, as well as provide benefits for domestic flights, transport luggage, and arrange charter flights when needed.

Air Astana noted that supporting Kazakhstani sports is an important part of the company’s corporate policy.

Kairat is one of the most titled football clubs in Kazakhstan and managed to qualify for the league phase of the UEFA Champions League in the...

A global uranium deficit — where demand exceeds supply — could emerge by 2030 as new nuclear power plants are built rapidly, according to Meirzhan Yussupov, CEO of Kazakhstan’s Kazatomprom. Yussupov made the remarks during a meeting with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

He said two factors — AI development and rising energy use in data centers — are expected to drive steady uranium demand. Forecasts indicate that rapid nuclear reactor construction after 2030 may lead to a persistent global uranium shortfall.

Yussupov also told Tokayev that Kazakhstan plans to further strengthen its position in the global nuclear...

«Good Boy,» a new supernatural horror movie, is quickly becoming one of fall’s breakout horror surprises. Directed by Ben Leonberg, the film debuted at SXSW in March 2025 and was released in the U.S. on Oct. 3.

Despite its modest $990,000 budget, the movie has earned strong box-office returns and glowing reviews, with a 90% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

In its second weekend, “Good Boy” reached $5.1 million at the back office, securing a top-10 spot.

The buzz began long before its release. A short trailer, featuring the story’s canine protagonist, sparked widespread speculation online about the...

The Japanese government told OpenAI to prevent violations of the rights of Japanese anime and manga creators and studios. Japanese users complained that the company’s new generative models can produce frames visually indistinguishable from popular anime.

Akihisa Shiozaki, a leader in Japan’s ruling party, reportedly tested OpenAI’s Sora 2 model. He found it generated anime-like characters, but avoided making those owned by major American companies (e.g., Mickey Mouse or Superman).

Shiozaki also warned that the government could invoke Article 16 of Japan’s AI Promotion Act, which allows authorities to investigate potential violations and require companies to...

FC Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski might continue his career with Turkish club Fenerbahçe. According to the Turkish media outlet Fanatik, the Istanbul football club is ready to start negotiations with the 37-year-old Polish footballer.

The outlet noted that Fenerbahçe President Sadettin Saran wants to create a sensation in the transfer market by signing Lewandowski. The club is reportedly ready to offer the player a two-year contract.

Lewandowski’s current agreement with FC Barcelona is valid until the summer of 2026. Earlier, the player’s agent, Pini Zahavi, said that the Catalan club’s management had not offered a contract extension to...

Musicians, athletes and fashion enthusiasts around the globe have embraced the Italian brand Stone Island for its high-end technical jackets and distinctive compass logo. But as the brand becomes more visible among extremist groups, partly because of its ties to British football culture in the 1990s, renewed debate has emerged over how brands respond when political movements co-opt their products, CNN reports.

The practice of extremists adopting certain brands is not new. In the 1990s, in Germany, far-right groups used coded clothing to bypass bans on Nazi symbols, wearing items from labels like Lonsdale and New Balance to...

Families of victims of the Dec. 29, 2024, Jeju Air Flight 2216 accident have filed a lawsuit against Boeing in the King County Superior Court in Seattle, Washington, Yonhap reported on Oct. 15.

The families claim that Boeing is responsible for defects in the landing equipment that ultimately led to the fatalities as the aircraft was approaching the runway.

According to Northwest Asian Weekly, the complaint stated that outdated systems, dating back to the 1960s, interfered with the pilots’ ability to safely land the aircraft after a bird strike.

The Jeju Air Flight 2216 accident occurred on...

Kazakh MP Aidos Sarym said Kazakhstani citizens are being misled by shaman-healers and self-proclaimed trainers selling pseudo-theories under the guise of “spiritual development.”

Dangers of shamans and «coaches»

At a recent parliament session, Sarym warned that «spiritual scammers» have already infiltrated government institutions. As a result, he noted, many people — especially women and young people — are suffering financial losses and developing psychological dependence. Some are also experiencing family and social stress.

Sarym cited Syutsai courses as an example. He said Syutsai claims to be “numerical psychology” but is actually an unscientific, esoteric business. Syutsai groups hold...

Plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) emit nearly five times more carbon dioxide in real-world driving than official tests show, according to the Guardian, citing a study by Transport & Environment (T&E).

The report draws on data from 800,000 vehicles across Europe between 2021 and 2023. It finds that PHEVs produce only 19% less CO2 than petrol or diesel cars, even though they have been widely promoted as a lower-emission alternative to regular vehicles. For example, under lab conditions, testers assumed the cars emitted 75% less.

Researchers identify the main reason for the difference is that drivers use electric mode...

Toyota model lineup expects an addition, according to Autocar. An affordable two-seat electric city car with a price tag below $10,000 is anticipated to be assembled in the U.K. The vehicle’s specifications will hardly match those of a regular car, so a driver’s license would not be required in many countries to drive one.

The exact date for the production launch has not yet been announced. Production is expected to take place at Toyota’s facility in Burnaston, the same plant where the Toyota Corolla model is manufactured. Under a U.K. government funding program, £15 million (approximately $20.1 million) is...

U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed he authorized CIA covert operations in Venezuela, which is an unusual public disclosure, according to Euronews.

Speaking at the White House, Trump cited drug trafficking and criminal activity tied to Venezuela as reasons for the measure. «They have emptied their prisons into the United States,» he said, adding, «A lot of the Venezuelan drugs come in through the sea.»

Trump added his administration was «looking at land» for further regional action but did not clarify whether the CIA’s mandate included targeting President Nicolás Maduro.

His comments follow a New York Times report that...

A 1.1 billion tenge (about $2 million) securitized bond issue has been listed on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE). The transaction was arranged by Freedom Broker. It marks the first securitization on Kazakhstan’s organized market in seven years. The securities are available to retail investors.

How the deal was structured

Freedom Credit, a microfinance organization, acted as the originator — the initial owner of the assets being securitized. The company holds a consumer microloan portfolio; from this, high-quality assets worth approximately $3.4 million were selected.

As required by law, a special financial company, SFC FF-1, was established. Freedom...

Several of Kazakhstan’s largest banks have suspended mortgage lending after the central bank raised the base rate to 18%, except Freedom Bank and Otbasy Bank, which specializes in housing savings and offers mortgages at preferential rates.

Halyk Bank, Nurbank and ForteBank have temporarily suspended their mortgage programs.

Bank CenterCredit continues to offer home loans, including under state programs, noting that the base rate hike alone is not grounds for rejection. However, the bank emphasized that new regulations for calculating the average annualized mortgage rate have tightened debt-to-equity ratios, disqualifying some borrowers.