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In the 1973 film «The Exorcist,» a mother seeking help for her supposedly possessed daughter is instructed to first obtain medical proof that the girl has no underlying mental illness before church authorities will consider an exorcism.

In Kazakhstan, some people assert they can expel jinns (spirits) without first examining those who seek their services and offer such services for profit, according to Daniyar Zhumabekov, imam of the Kaskelen mosque in the Almaty region. He made these comments in a recent interview with the Baisemiz Life podcast.

Imam warns against profit-driven «exorcists»

Zhumabekov — known nationwide as...

Under the instruction of Kazakhstan’s president, the awarding ceremony for figures active in various spheres and making significant contributions to the country’s public and economic life, originally arranged for Republic Day (Oct. 25), took place at the Ministry of Culture for awardees who could not receive their awards on time.

Among them was Imanbek Zeikenov — better known as Imanbek — the first Kazakhstani artist to be recognized with a Grammy Award. He was presented with the Order of Kurmet (Honor) for his contributions to the development of the music industry and the popularization of Kazakhstan’s culture worldwide.

According to El Mundo, Real Madrid’s leadership has issued an ultimatum to head coach Xabi Alonso, reportedly linking his future at the club to the upcoming Champions League match against Manchester City. The report suggests Alonso would be dismissed if the Spanish side suffers defeat.

The decision was allegedly reached during an emergency meeting of club executives on Monday night, amid growing frustration over recent results. Real Madrid are said to be under pressure following yesterday’s loss to Celta and their trailing position behind Barcelona in La Liga. So far this season, Madrid have 36 points, compared with...

Kazakh Senator Gennadiy Shipovskih has proposed banning microloans for young adults under age 21. He outlined the idea on a Dec. 4 parliamentary inquiry addressed to Madina Abylkassymova, head of the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM).

Concerns about youth debt and easy access to loans

Shipovskih said that during meetings with the public and from monitoring social media, lawmakers have seen a growing number of young people facing blocked bank accounts and rising debts.

«This situation is driven by the excessively easy and fast process for obtaining loans...

A $122 million auto plant will be launched in Uzbekistan’s Sirdaryo region, bordering Kazakhstan, next year. The project is being implemented jointly with Chinese companies, the government said in a statement.

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced the project during a speech at a regional assembly session. However, he did not provide details such as the models of Chinese auto brands expected to be produced at the plant.

He said the region would attract $3 billion in investment and increase export volumes to $500 million. The president also mentioned the Central Asian International Industrial Cooperation Center, which was opened in...

The Men’s Choir of the Song and Dance Ensemble of Kazakhstan’s National Guard of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has performed an unusual cover of Linkin Park’s legendary hit «Numb,» which is now going viral on social media.

The song was accompanied by the dombra — a two-stringed plucked musical instrument central to Kazakhstan’s folk music — giving the rock classic a new feeling through the prism of the traditional instrument’s sound.

The cover carries a touch of the steppe’s lyrical atmosphere while preserving the spirit and power of the original.

The popular gaming platform Steam is preparing to offer users a new simulator in which players control a sperm cell.

The game, titled «Become,» is being developed by indie creator Valentin Wirth. It is a short, third-person adventure in which players follow the journey of a single sperm cell through a microscopic race for survival.

Players are challenged to navigate the human body, avoiding acid traps, immune cells and powerful currents, while collecting resources and gradually strengthening their character’s abilities.

The project description presents the game as a two- to three-hour cinematic mini-odyssey built around the idea...

Last weekend, the 2025 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Nagoya, Japan concluded. Kazakhstani figure skater Mikhail Shaidorov ranked sixth, finishing last.

The athlete stood sixth after the short program, and the gap between him and the leaders remained too large, leaving him in sixth place overall. The judges awarded Shaidorov 170.89 points in the free skate, bringing his total to 242.19 points.

American Ilia Malinin celebrated his third consecutive victory at the ISU Grand Prix Final, scoring 332.29 points. After completing the short program, he trailed the leader by...

Any correspondence involving the purchase of goods or services — including WhatsApp messages — will now be considered part of a legally binding contract in Kazakhstan, according to MP Murat Abenov. He announced the change during a live broadcast on the parliament’s official Instagram page.

«Any conversation or message is part of the contract»

«We are now stipulating that any conversation we have — any video recording, any WhatsApp correspondence, any advertisement — is an integral part of the contract,» Abenov said. «If we corresponded, if I sent the money through Kaspi, if...

Clashes erupted along Thailand’s disputed border with Cambodia on Monday morning, killing at least one Thai soldier and injuring four others, Thailand’s military said. Later that day, the Thai air force launched airstrikes against Cambodian military positions in several locations, accusing Cambodia of deploying heavy weapons and repositioning combat units near the border, The Guardian reported.

Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defense, however, placed responsibility for the escalation on Thailand. It said Thai forces had attacked Cambodian troops earlier in the day and claimed that Cambodia had so far refrained from striking back, despite what it called «provocative actions...

Kazakhstani singer Dimash Qudaibergen participated in the international project Grammy Global Spin.

His live performance of the original song «Fire» was uploaded to the Recording Academy / Grammys’ official YouTube channel.

The release emerged as a successful continuation of the year. In October, Qudaibergen drew full houses at the legendary Madison Square Garden in New York, and he now works with Grammy.com and the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences — the U.S.-based organization that promotes the interests of musicians and annually presents prestigious awards.

Launched in...

The newly released 2025 U.S. National Security Strategy (NSS) marks a sharp pivot toward the Western Hemisphere and “America First” economics, leaving Central Asia largely on the periphery, according to an initial review of the document.

Unlike its predecessors, the document does not explicitly prioritize the region, omitting specific strategic frameworks for Central Asian republics.

This absence stems from the strategy’s core focus: retrenchment to the “Trump Corollary” (securing the Americas), re-industrialization, and viewing global engagement primarily through the lens of direct economic competition with China rather than global security architecture.

Comparison with previous strategies:

The Pokémon Company announced the establishment of the first permanent Pokémon franchise-themed outdoor entertainment park in Tokyo, scheduled for Feb. 5, 2026, The Asahi Shimbun reported.

The attraction, named PokePark Kanto, is set to be located inside the Yomiuriland amusement park in the western part of the city and will span 26,000 square meters, featuring 600 Pokémon models spread across the entire area and attractions such as The Pokémon Forest — a walking trail with different terrains, ranging from tall grass to hilly paths, with Pokémon positioned for attendees to observe.

Other locations include Sedge Town...

A water leak at the Louvre last month damaged several hundred books in the museum’s Egyptian antiquities department. The incident highlights ongoing infrastructure problems at the world’s most visited museum, Reuters reported.

According to art news site La Tribune de l’Art, aging pipes damaged between 300 and 400 specialized research books. The outlet said staff had repeatedly requested funding to better protect the collection, but without success.

Louvre deputy administrator Francis Steinbock confirmed the leak occurred in one of the three library rooms used by the department. He said the affected volumes were working materials consulted by researchers...

A journalist from the Ukrainian news outlet TSN briefly spoke with Luisa (Liza) Rozova — the woman widely alleged to be the daughter of Russian President Vladimir Putin — at the L Gallery in Paris’ 20th arrondissement, where she reportedly works, according to LRT.lt news.

Rozova is said to be the daughter of Putin and Svetlana Krivonogikh, one of Russia’s wealthiest women. Multiple media reports state Elizaveta Krivonogikh was born in 2003 in St. Petersburg and later changed her name to Luiza Rozova at 14. Investigative outlets consider her mother a likely former mistress of Putin, who...

Dutch photographer Jan Banning (born 1954) approaches photography less like a journalist and more like a historian. With an academic background in history, his work focuses on power, justice and (in)equality.

His best-known project, «Bureaucratics» (2003-2007), is a comparative study of government officials in eight countries.

Traveling through France, Yemen, Russia, India, China, the U.S. and Bolivia, Banning photographed civil servants seated behind their desks.

Each portrait follows the same strict composition: the desk serves as a barrier — a symbol of bureaucracy, status and power; the subject looks directly into the lens; and the...

According to Romania Journal, Romania plans to build a new amusement park dedicated to Dracula. The project, named DraculaLand, is set to rise near the capital, Bucharest, and close to its main airport, covering 160 hectares. The estimated cost of the development is €1 billion.

A team of international architects and consultants designed the park’s concept. Dragos Dobrescu, the project’s owner, stated that once completed, DraculaLand will become a «national symbol» of Romania and a strong example of the country’s ability to create unique global attractions.

The project includes a 780,000-square-meter theme park with six distinct zones and more...

The head of Kazakhstan’s National Olympic Committee and president of World Boxing, Gennadiy Golovkin, has been elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame’s (IBHOF) Class of 2026, becoming the first Kazakhstani athlete to receive such recognition.

«I am very excited and appreciate this so much. This is the biggest honor in boxing and the last piece of the puzzle in my career. My dream has come true! I’m proud to have a legacy in boxing,» IBHOF cited Golovkin as saying.

The induction...

The Siberian or Amur tiger, a magnificent and dangerous predator found in Russia and China, has long been on the brink of extinction. In the 1930s, only about 30 Amur tigers remained in Russia due to hunting and habitat loss. Although protections introduced in the mid-1900s helped increase their numbers, poaching and declines in prey resurged after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

In 1992, the Siberian Tiger Project was launched, uniting Russian and American scientists who combined local expertise with modern tracking technologies to gather data that guided conservation measures and the creation of protected areas, according...

Shymkent, Kazakhstan, has been recognized for its achievements in sanitation, while Astana may host the World Toilet Summit, according to Kazakhstani journalist Askhat Niyazov, who shared a letter from the World Toilet Organization (WTO) on Instagram. The letter also notes that Miras University Rector Nurken Khalykbergen has been included in the World Toilet Hall of Fame 2025.

According to the official letter signed by founder Jack Sim, the award represents the highest honor granted by the WTO on UN World Toilet Day, celebrating leaders in global sanitation both domestically and internationally.

The final of the national beauty pageant Miss Qazaqstan 2025 concluded in Almaty on Nov. 4. This year, 20 contestants competed for the main title.

The grand final was held at a city restaurant and included several stages, including a fashion show featuring a variety of looks and styles.

Alina Ekaterinecheva, 22, from Shymkent, was crowned the country’s top beauty.

The new crown holder will now represent Kazakhstan on the international stage, continuing the tradition of competing at the world’s largest beauty pageants.

Alina grew up in a creative environment and began dancing at age...

This December, visitors to Art Basel in Miami could see robotic quadrupeds fitted with silicone faces of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Andy Warhol, Mark Zuckerberg, Pablo Picasso and Mike Winkelmann, the artist who came up with the idea, as reported by CNN.

According to Winkelmann, also known as Beeple, his art installation «Regular Animals» examines how influential figures — particularly tech leaders — shape public perception through the powerful visual and algorithmic tools they create. The robots, he explained, «see» and reinterpret the world differently depending on the persona they embody.

For viewers, it...

A 17-year-old high school student in Japan has been arrested for cyberattacking the Kaikatsu Club official app — a large internet café chain — reportedly using ChatGPT for the purpose, NHK World reported.

The suspect is set to be charged with unauthorized computer access and fraudulent obstruction of business. According to reports, over 7 million pieces of personal data were leaked during these attacks in January.

Allegedly, the young hacker had a passion for programming since elementary school and had even received awards in a cybersecurity contest. According to police, the young man developed the malware...

Hollywood actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, best known for the Mortal Kombat franchise, has died at 75 from complications following a stroke, USA Today reported.

Tagawa died Dec. 4 in Santa Barbara. The Tokyo-born actor rose to prominence through his roles across the Mortal Kombat universe, including the 1995 film, television adaptations and video games. His film credits also include «Pearl Harbor,» «Planet of the Apes,» «47 Ronin,» «Elektra» and «Memoirs of a Geisha.»

He moved to the U.S. at a young age and enrolled at the University of Southern California, where he studied traditional Japanese karate. He later...