News

Giorgio Armani, the legendary Italian designer who passed away on Sept. 4 at the age of 91, left a will instructing his heirs to either gradually sell the brand or pursue a listing, Reuters reported.

According to the document, an initial 15% stake in the fashion house should be sold within 18 months of the founder’s death. Then, within three to five years, an additional stake of between 30% and 54.9% should be sold to the same buyer. As per the will, French luxury group LVMH, cosmetics giant L’Oréal and Franco-Italian eyewear company EssilorLuxottica should be prioritized or...

A new trailer has been released for «The Truce,» the first Kazakh-Spanish drama produced for Netflix. The film features actors from the Spanish hit series «Elite» as well as «Money Heist.»

The story is inspired by true events. During Stalin’s political purges, hundreds of Spanish prisoners were held alongside Kazakhs in the Karaganda Corrective Labor Camp (Karlag), one of the largest camps in the Soviet Gulag system. According to the filmmakers, the project was sparked by recently declassified archives that shed new light on this history.

In 2013, Kazakhstan transferred 152 archival files on Spanish prisoners to...

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a motion to dismiss its case against Trevor Milton, founder and former CEO of electric and hydrogen truck maker Nikola, Reuters reported.

The SEC filed the civil case in 2021, with Milton accused of misleading investors by overstating Nikola’s technology, including its battery development and prototype vehicles. According to court filings, Milton has withdrawn all his claims against the SEC and will not seek legal costs.

This decision follows a series of legal battles for Milton. He resigned in 2020 after Hindenburg Research, a short-seller, accused Nikola...

Spanish schools are making emergency preparedness central this year. As floods and wildfires become increasingly common, students are learning essential skills to stay safe and assist others, according to The Guardian.

This hands-on program will be introduced to students in both primary and secondary schools, extending beyond regular emergency drills. Students will learn how to handle a wide range of emergencies — from natural disasters to industrial accidents — that may affect their region. The curriculum also includes training on how to evaluate emergency updates and recognize misinformation.

Over 8 million students in Spain’s 25,000 schools will take part...

A South African court has dismissed an attempt by convicted rapist Thabo Bester to prevent Netflix from releasing a documentary about him, BBC reported.

Bester’s legal team claimed the film, Beauty and the Bester, which reportedly examines his crimes and subsequent notoriety, would damage his reputation. However, in a ruling delivered on Friday, the judge rejected the application, noting that Bester’s criminal record is already a matter of public record and that his lawyers had not demonstrated any urgency in their appeal.

Bester was sentenced in 2012 for rape and murder, and had earlier convictions for similar...

Apple’s recently announced iPhone Air faces delays in its sales launch in China, Investing.com reported.

The official Chinese Apple website shows no information on the release date of the super-thin device as of Sept. 12, while other models — including the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro — were available for pre-order starting Sept. 12 and are scheduled for official release on Sept. 19.

According to Chinese media, the delay could be linked to Apple’s decision to remove the SIM slot, leaving eSIM technology as the only available option. Nevertheless, Investing.com emphasized that China’s major telecom companies...

Chile is among the latest countries to restrict smartphone use in schools, following a global push — as in the U.K. and the Netherlands — to boost student focus and mental health.

Building on this movement, a school in Santiago, the capital of Chile, has launched an initiative that blocks cell phone signals to encourage teenagers to reconnect with their surroundings, according to ABC News.

As a result, instead of scrolling Instagram or filming TikTok dances between classes, students now spend their free time in the library, chatting at the café or playing traditional games in the...

After two recent tragedies involving Iryna Zarutska’s fatal stabbing on a North Carolina train and Charlie Kirk’s shooting in Utah, social media companies are having a hard time stopping the spread of graphic footage. Even after trying to remove these videos, violent content keeps showing up again, highlighting their ongoing struggle to control what gets shared, CNN reported.

People using Instagram and TikTok have reported seeing upsetting videos days after the incidents occurred. At one point, TikTok’s algorithm even suggested search terms like “raw video footage” before those suggestions were taken down. TikTok says it is removing...

Aiming to occupy more of the domestic market for lightweight passenger cars, Japan-based vehicle maker Honda Motor has debuted its electric kei car presented on Sept. 11 with sales launched on Sept. 12, NHK World reported.

The N-ONE e model is expected to travel 295 kilometers on one charge. This move marks the company’s expansion from mini electric commercial vehicles already in production. According to industry groups, sales of small models like this accounted for more than 30% of all new cars in Japan in fiscal 2024 through March.

A Honda spokesperson emphasized that demand for models of this...

Sweden’s unemployment benefits system has introduced a digital monitoring mechanism that has already begun identifying instances of non-compliance. The national employment agency is now verifying the geographic origin of claimants’ logins when they request benefits, revealing that not all applicants are accessing the system from within Sweden, according to Euronews.

To receive unemployment benefits in Sweden, recipients must be present in the country and actively seeking employment. If an individual wishes to travel, they must inform the agency in advance, which will temporarily suspend their payments. Pursuing work opportunities from abroad is only permitted if prior authorization is...

Albania has appointed a new «minister» to oversee public procurement. Unlike any predecessor, this official resists bribery, intimidation or favoritism because Diella, an artificial intelligence–powered bot, fills the role, The News Daily reported.

Prime Minister Edi Rama, preparing to enter his fourth term, announced on Thursday that Diella — whose name means «sun» in Albanian — will administer and award government tenders to private contractors for state projects.

«Diella is the first cabinet member without a physical presence, created entirely through artificial intelligence,» Rama said while presenting his incoming government. He emphasized that she will help Albania...

Jair Bolsonaro, the ex-president of Brazil who is now 70, has been sentenced to 27 years and three months’ imprisonment and held liable for planning an army takeover, the BBC reported.

The country’s Supreme Court, a panel consisting of five justices, ruled Bolsonaro guilty of organizing a conspiracy to retain power following his loss in the 2022 election to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. One justice voted to exonerate the ex-president. He was found guilty of five charges, all relating to the 2022 loss. According to Reuters, these were participating in an armed criminal organization; attempting to violently...

Taylor Swift is set to surpass Madonna in global record sales, a milestone anticipated to be driven by the upcoming release of her 12th album, The Life of a Showgirl, on Oct. 3, reports the Daily Mail.

Madonna, 67, currently holds the top spot, with an estimated 252 million records sold over her decades-long career. In comparison, Swift launched her career in 2006 with the single Tim McGraw. She has sold about 248 million records to date, placing her just behind the pop icon.

Anticipation for Swift’s upcoming album is already strong. Spotify announced that, ahead of its...

Extensive rainfall has triggered severe flooding across much of Indonesia’s Bali island, a destination hugely popular with international tourists. Disaster officials have described it as «the island’s worst floods in a decade,» with at least 14 people confirmed dead, the BBC reported.

Rescuers are still searching for survivors. Bali’s search and rescue chief, Nyoman Sidakarya, said teams have faced «difficulty accessing the flooded areas.»

Evacuations have been underway since Sept. 9, after homes were submerged by floodwaters. According to Reuters, torrential rains caused flooding in Denpasar, the island’s capital, and in six of Bali’s eight regions.

The island’s...

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has dismissed Peter Mandelson, the country’s ambassador to the U.S., following reports that detailed Mandelson’s close, long-term ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, CBS News reported.

Correspondence between Mandelson and Epstein surfaced during a U.S. House investigation after a collection of letters and notes compiled by Ghislaine Maxwell — Epstein’s former partner, later convicted of sex trafficking — was submitted as evidence. Among these documents was a handwritten message in which Mandelson called Epstein «my best pal,» according to The Jerusalem Post.

In a statement released Thursday, the British government said...

Oracle is on the verge of joining the trillion-dollar club as its stock surges, driven by soaring demand for cloud computing to support AI systems. The company’s market value is now $933 billion, after shares jumped 36% on Wednesday and continued to rise on Thursday, according to Reuters.

The rally is driven by rising demand for cloud computing to power AI. Reports indicate that OpenAI has signed a $300 billion deal with Oracle for computing resources, one of the largest in the industry.

Larry Ellison, Oracle’s co-founder, has seen his fortune soar by almost $100 billion...

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency session on Thursday at Poland’s request after what officials called an unprecedented Russian drone incursion, according to Euronews.

Poland is the first NATO state to directly confront Russian drones since Moscow’s full-scale assault on Ukraine began in early 2022. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk and the armed forces announced that at least three drones had been shot down in what they called an unprecedented operation.

Authorities raised red flags over 19 drone violations of Polish airspace, some of which penetrated dangerously deep and forced the emergency closure of four airports...

What was once a last resort for accident victims and people with severe leg deformities has taken an unexpected turn. More and more people are willingly signing up for grueling surgeries to make themselves taller or, in some cases, shorter. It’s no longer just a fringe trend; both men and women are spending tens of thousands of dollars and undergoing months of recovery to gain a few inches or lose some height, Euronews reported.

These aren’t simple procedures — we’re talking about surgeons literally cutting into leg bones and slowly stretching them apart or removing sections entirely. The recovery...

Kazakh social media users on Threads are highlighting the growing hardship of rising food prices, especially meat, as more families are forced to cut dietary variety. An informal poll reveals that many now rely on the cheapest staples, resulting in restricted nutrition nationwide.

Posts that drew the strongest reactions mentioned giving up chocolate bars (including locally made brands), glazed curds, chips and seafood, especially salmon.

One commenter quipped that «soon Kazakhstanis will stop eating beef altogether,» as prices for the national staple continue to rise. Many households, in response, are shifting to chicken as a more affordable...

Described by The Washington Post as “one of the most prominent voices on the right,” Charles Kirk, best known as Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot, was born on Oct. 14, 1993. He was recognized as one of the most prominent conservative political activists in the U.S. and a loyal ally of President Donald Trump.

Kirk is famous for co-founding Turning Point USA, which calls itself «the largest conservative movement.» The organization, founded by Kirk in 2012 when was just 18, promotes itself as a nationwide student movement that identifies, organizes and empowers youth to champion free...

China reviewed two draft laws on Monday to increase the standard Chinese use among ethnic minorities, according to the South China Morning Post. These proposals reflect Beijing’s wider campaign to promote spoken and written Mandarin.

The government aims to promote the standard Chinese language in areas such as education, public administration, international exchanges and online platforms. These fields have increasingly become areas for language policy enforcement.

Barry Sautman, an expert and professor emeritus at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, stated that the revisions advocate for the national language in documents, packaging and signage. He also...

Europe’s carmakers face pressure from all sides: shrinking sales, rising energy costs and fierce international rivals. Mercedes-Benz boss Ole Källenius, who heads the European car industry association ACEA, warns that the EU’s green agenda risks undermining the auto industry unless it adopts a more pragmatic approach to reaching zero emissions.

In an interview with Euronews, Källenius emphasized his commitment to electric cars, pointing to the significant investments by carmakers and the availability of hundreds of EV models. Yet, he urges policymakers to ground climate targets in current market and infrastructure realities, not just ambition.

He says the transition...

Machines are increasingly encroaching on our books and voices, warns Adam Verner, a veteran audiobook narrator who has voiced more than 800 titles for major publishers and independent authors. His body of work spans literary heavyweights like Marilynne Robinson and Joyce Carol Oates, as well as pop-culture staples such as George R. R. Martin, Danielle Steel, Tim Ferriss, and even Disney’s Finding Nemo.

A childhood shaped by storytelling

Verner’s connection to storytelling began early. His parents separated when he was just a toddler, and his father moved to California.

A performer and radio DJ, his dad was quick to...

On Sept. 10, American right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk, a notable supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump, was fatally shot in the neck during an event at Utah Valley University that was part of the American Comeback Tour. Kirk often used these events, which typically drew a lot of students, to invite attendees to engage in debates with him, Reuters reported.

The BBC, citing Utah authorities, reported that two people were arrested but later released, as they were found to have no current ties to the fatality.

Officials believe the activist was shot from a campus rooftop while...