News

Social media remains flooded with images of world leaders in Beijing for the 80th anniversary of World War II victory over Japan.

One image in particular drew attention: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un seated next to Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

The seating arrangement for honored guests, dictated by the host country’s protocol, created an unusual pairing rarely seen at other high-level events, since Kim seldom travels abroad. For Tokayev, a veteran diplomat, this was reportedly his first face-to-face encounter with the young North Korean leader.

Coverage of the Beijing events highlighted that this was Kim’s first appearance

One of Lisbon’s signature tourist attractions — the yellow-and-white Elevador da Glória funicular — derailed and crashed on Sept. 3, claiming the lives of 15 people and injuring 18, according to the Associated Press, citing emergency services.

Portugal’s National Institute for Medical Emergencies reported that a child was among the injured, with five victims in serious condition. The agency also noted that an undisclosed number of foreign nationals were among those affected.

According to AP, the vehicle appeared to have collided with a building at a bend in the tracks, causing significant crushing damage to parts of the funicular...

A new form of accountability has taken root in the digital age, as more people turn to social media to seek justice. For many, TikTok has become a kind of modern courtroom, especially for younger generations who feel overlooked or alienated by traditional legal systems. What begins as a personal tragedy can quickly spread online, turning into a public call for action.

In Kazakhstan, an increasing number of citizens post videos on TikTok to draw attention before filing complaints with the police or the courts. In October 2024, for example, the death of a minor, Sherzat Bolat...

Netflix didn’t keep «Wednesday» fans waiting long, releasing the final four episodes of the show’s second season on Sept. 3.

Early reviews and audience reactions suggest the creators have upheld the standard set by the first season. As of publication, the series held a score of 66 out of 100 on Metacritic. Rotten Tomatoes rated the second season more favorably, giving it 84% compared with 73% for the first.

The new “Wednesday” episodes expand the storyline by bringing more members of the Addams family into focus.

Lady Gaga joins the cast this season as teacher Rosalyn...

Gold surged to another record high on Wednesday, breaking through $3,500 an ounce as traders increasingly bet on the Fed cutting rates and worried about growing political and trade tensions, according to Reuters.

The precious metal reached $3,546.99 before settling at $3,534.88. Furthermore, U.S. gold futures for December delivery climbed 0.3% to $3,602.80.

Wall Street is now nearly certain the Fed will slash rates next month, with markets putting the odds of a quarter-point cut at 92% when officials meet Sept. 17. The dollar’s steep decline this year — now down more than 9% — has only fueled gold’s...

Major Japanese automaker Toyota announced on Sept. 3 its plans to produce an all-electric vehicle at its facility in Kolín, Czech Republic, the company’s first such model to be manufactured in Europe. The Japanese auto giant also said that it’s set to invest a substantial €680 million to expand the plant with a new battery assembly facility, Reuters reported.

The outlet noted that the carmaker has not specified either the production timeline or details of the upcoming model. Furthermore, according to Toyota, the Czech government is also set to invest up to €64 million in the battery unit.

Notably...

Mawlid al-Nabi, also called Milad un Nabi, marks the birth of the Prophet Muhammad and in 2025 is expected to fall around Thursday, Sept. 4, and Friday, Sept. 5. The date corresponds with the 12th of Rabi al-Awwal — the third month of the Islamic lunar calendar — observed by most Sunni Muslims.

Some Shia traditions, however, commemorate it on the 17th of the month. Because the Islamic calendar follows lunar cycles, the exact date depends on when the new moon is sighted locally.

For many Muslims, Mawlid serves as an opportunity to honor the Prophet’s legacy...

China showcased a sweeping range of new weapons in its biggest military parade to date, signaling deterrence to the United States, regional rivals and potential buyers of its defense technology, according to Reuters.

Among the highlights was the first public display of China’s full nuclear triad — land, sea and air-based systems. This included the upgraded DF-5C intercontinental ballistic missile with a near-global range of 20,000 kilometers and the new road-mobile DF-61 long-range missile. Analysts said these moves underscore Beijing’s bid to demonstrate strategic reach.

At the regional level, China presented weapons designed to dominate nearby seas, including...

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), South Korea’s state-run operator of nuclear and hydroelectric plants, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in Belgrade on Sept. 2 to expand cooperation in nuclear energy and hydrogen at the Korea-Serbia Strategic Energy Development Forum, Yonhap reported.

According to KHNP officials, the MOU entails collaboration with Serbia’s Ministry of Mining and Energy to build the framework for the country’s nuclear energy industry, advance green hydrogen projects and cultivate a skilled workforce.

This is not KHNP’s first step into European markets. In June, the South Korean nuclear operator finalized an agreement to build...

In a pointed critique ahead of China’s massive military parade, U.S. President Donald Trump took aim at what he sees as a growing anti-American conspiracy between Beijing, Moscow and Pyongyang. The September 3rd parade in Beijing, China’s largest-ever display of military might, highlighted the country’s expanding defense capabilities while marking its WWII victory over Japan.

Taking to Truth Social, Trump couldn’t resist needling Chinese President Xi Jinping about America’s crucial but often forgotten role in helping China fight off Japanese occupation during WWII. With a mix of diplomatic pleasantries and barely veiled sarcasm, Trump wished Xi and...

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has fined Disney $10 million, saying the company failed to label hundreds of child-focused YouTube videos as «Made for Kids.» Regulators said the mislabeling — affecting titles like “Frozen,” “Toy Story,” “Coco,” “Tangled” and “The Incredibles” — let YouTube collect children’s personal data and run targeted ads, in violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), according to Variety.

«Our order penalizes Disney’s abuse of parents’ trust, and, through a mandated video-review program, makes room for the future of protecting kids online — age assurance technology,» the media outlet...

Anthropic, an artificial intelligence (AI) safety and research company founded by former OpenAI research executives including CEO Dario Amodei, reported closing a $13 billion funding round on Sept. 2, according to CNBC. The company’s valuation rose to $183 billion, marking nearly a threefold increase since its previous raise in March 2025.

CNBC noted that the AI startup’s valuation has seen rapid growth since the announcement of Claude — Anthropic’s chatbot — in March 2023.

According to the company, the funding round was led by Iconiq, with Fidelity Management & Research and Lightspeed Venture Partners as co-leads. Other participants...

A federal judge handed Google a mixed verdict in its long-running antitrust battle, letting the tech giant keep its core businesses intact while forcing it to share its secret sauce with competitors, according to Reuters.

Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google can hang onto Chrome, Android and its massive deal with Apple that keeps Google as the go-to search engine on iPhones. But there’s a catch: the company now has to share its valuable search and advertising data with rivals to level the playing field.

The decision caps a five-year legal fight over Google’s iron grip on internet search...

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport seized 11,134 counterfeit Labubu dolls worth $513,937.76 if genuine during a cargo inspection, NBC News reported.

According to a CBP spokesperson, the plush toys were confiscated on Aug. 26. The shipment, which originated in South Korea and was falsely declared as «LED bulb,» was found to violate federal laws on unlawful imports and intellectual property.

As a result, no arrests have been made so far, though the spokesperson did not dismiss that possibility. The counterfeit Labubus will be destroyed.

Previously, Kursiv.media reported that Pop Mart China’s latest...

Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of the Chechen Republic — a federal subject of Russia —  posted on Telegram, claiming that U.S. President Donald Trump has Chechen roots, sharing an AI-generated video as «proof.»

The video depicts Trump as if he were Chechen. As a joke, Kadyrov wrote that Trump himself had confirmed his «new» ethnicity.

«Did you know Donald Trump is a Chechen? He promised to remember his roots,» the Chechen leader said.

Meanwhile, over the weekend, social media was abuzz with rumors about the U.S. president’s death, fueled by his prolonged absence from...

Kraft Heinz announced Tuesday that it will split into two publicly traded companies in 2026, marking the end of its troubled decade-long merger, according to CNN.

One new company will house faster-growing brands like Heinz ketchup, Kraft Mac & Cheese, and Philadelphia cream cheese. The other will focus on slower-performing grocery staples and food-service products, including Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables. Executives say the breakup will allow each business to better focus on growth and allocate resources more effectively.

The move reverses the 2015 $55 billion merger engineered by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital, which...

Chinese social media platforms have begun deploying measures to label AI-generated content to comply with a new regulation that took effect on Sept. 1, 2025, requiring both explicit labels and implicit identifiers for such digital content, as reported by the South China Morning Post.

The law was issued in March, whereas the draft was drawn up by four government agencies: the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the National Radio and Television Administration and China’s main internet regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China.

Tencent’s WeChat mandates that creators identify posts made with AI. The...

In a carefully orchestrated show of strength, Xi Jinping is capping off a week of high-stakes diplomatic meetings with an elaborate China Victory Day military parade through the center of Beijing tomorrow on Sept. 3, according to CNN.

The spectacle will roll out China’s latest weaponry — from cutting-edge hypersonic missiles to nuclear delivery systems — while thousands of troops march in formation along the historic Avenue of Eternal Peace, the news media company reported.

The parade’s guest list reads like a who’s who of America’s biggest headaches as Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un and Iran’s Masoud Pezeshkian will...

The Freedom Holding Corp. Kazakhstan Manufacturing PMI® (Purchasing Managers’ Index™) fell to 47.9 in August from 49.9 in July, posting below the 50.0 no-change mark for the third month running and thereby signalling a deterioration in business conditions midway through the third quarter of the year. Moreover, the health of the sector worsened to the largest extent since March 2022.

According to Yerlan Abdikarimov, director of the Financial Analysis Department at Freedom Finance Global PLC, this adverse trend reflects the accumulated pressure of several factors – weak demand, high volatility in commodity markets, rising operating costs, as well as increased currency...

In a dramatic turn of events that’s left the business world reeling, Nestlé has shown the door to CEO Laurent Freixe — marking its second chief executive dismissal in just over a year. The Swiss food giant’s shares took a hit, dropping 2% in Zurich trading on Tuesday, after news broke that Freixe was terminated over an inappropriate relationship with an employee, Reuters reports.

The departure of Freixe, a company veteran of nearly 40 years, comes without a golden parachute. Stepping into the hot seat is Philipp Navratil, an up-and-coming executive at the company known for beloved brands like...

Kazakhstan’s fundamental law — the Constitution — was adopted at a national referendum on Aug. 30, 1995, and has been celebrated annually since then as Constitution Day. The document holds the highest legal authority as the core of the country’s legal system and the foundation of its political system. The 1995 constitution replaced the earlier version adopted in 1993 and has since undergone several amendments, in 1998, 2007, 2011, 2017 and 2019.

This year, the main celebration in Almaty took place at the square in front of the Republic Palace. The program included a formal ceremony, concerts and a...

A devastating earthquake rocked eastern Afghanistan late Sunday night, leaving communities shattered and families torn apart. The 6.0-magnitude quake has claimed at least 800 lives and left thousands more injured, with the provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar bearing the brunt of the destruction. Entire villages crumbled while residents slept, giving them no chance to escape.

The aftermath has been chaos, with rescue workers battling against nature itself. Torrential rain and blocked mountain passes have hampered relief efforts, while desperate survivors claw through debris with bare hands searching for loved ones and neighbors. Medical helicopters weave between peaks, rushing the...

ChatGPT’s developer, OpenAI, is likely to build an AI data center with a capacity of at least 1 gigawatt in India, India Today reported, citing Bloomberg sources familiar with the matter.

According to these sources, OpenAI has already been in early-stage talks with potential local partners in India. However, neither a timeline nor a location has been disclosed. The company has declined to comment on the matter. The outlet also noted that Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, is expected to visit the country later this month and may share more information then.

Previously, Kursiv.media reported that OpenAI became...

In 2013, an accident occurred at Kashagan, the largest oil and gas field in Kazakhstan, which was widely ignored by local media. However, some independent outlets pointed to contractors’ mistakes and the role of Ersai Caspian Contractor, a company linked to the country’s political elite, according to “Energy Analytics,” a Telegram channel focused on the oil industry, citing a study published in “Energy Research & Social Science.”

The research, conducted by Dr. Julia Schwab, analyzed how Kazakhstani media shaped narratives around the 2013 Kashagan oil spill, which delayed commercial production until 2016.

The study found that Kazakhstani media...