News

The Freedom Holding Corp. PMI Business Activity Index fell from 54.0 in July to 52.0 in August, signaling a solid but weaker increase in service sector activity — the slowest since April. Growth has nonetheless been recorded for eight consecutive survey periods.

According to Yerlan Abdikarimov, director of the Financial Analysis Department at Freedom Finance Global PLC, rising cost inflation is complicating demand conditions.

«Current business activity and 12-month expectations remain in the optimistic zone. At this stage, services are the key buffer supporting the economy, while manufacturing has fallen deeper into contraction. The sector’s outlook...

On Sept. 7, the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards took place at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York. For the first time, the ceremony was broadcast on CBS, with streaming available on Paramount+ and a simulcast on MTV. LL Cool J hosted the evening, which honored the best music videos and songs released between June 20, 2024, and June 18, 2025.

Lady Gaga led the winners, taking home four awards from 12 nominations, followed by Sabrina Carpenter and Ariana Grande with three each. Two new fan-voted categories — Best Country and Best Pop Artist — debuted this year.

On Sept. 8, Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, will travel from California to London to take part in the 20th annual WellChild Awards, as reported by Hello! magazine.

Over the years, he has supported the charity as its patron for 17 years and has already attended the awards on 14 previous occasions.

The 2025 ceremony coincides with the third anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s passing.

During the event, Prince Harry will deliver a speech, spend time with children facing serious health challenges and their families, and personally hand an award to a young honoree between...

The Belgium national football team eliminated Kazakhstan with a 6-0 victory (Kevin De Bruyne 42’, 84’; Jérémy Doku 44’, 60’; Nicolas Raskin 51’; and Thomas Meunier 87’) in Brussels. It was Kazakhstan’s third loss under coach Ali Aliyev, leaving the team with no mathematical chance of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Previously, the Kazakh team lost to North Macedonia and Wales, both with a 0-1 score at the Astana Arena.

The result continues Kazakhstan’s pattern of early elimination in qualifiers, after which the team typically shifts focus to avoiding last place or developing younger players. The only exception...

Actress Mikey Madison has been tapped as the latest ambassador for Dior’s women’s line, marking the first appointment since Jonathan Anderson assumed creative control across all of Dior’s collections.

Anderson, who joined the brand earlier this year, praised Madison as a muse whose «empathetic approach perfectly reflects the House of Dior.»

According to RUSSH and other outlets, Anderson will unveil his first women’s collection for Dior at Paris Fashion Week on Oct. 1, 2025.

For his part, Anderson has noted Madison’s ability to channel sensitivity and elegance — traits that align with Dior’s refined identity.

A Blood Moon happens when the Moon is fully covered by Earth’s shadow during an eclipse. With sunlight blocked, only rays that pass through Earth’s atmosphere reach the Moon. The atmosphere scatters shorter blue light and lets the red tones through, giving the Moon its striking crimson color — the same process that paints our skies at sunset, according to the BBC.

When to watch

The eclipse begins on Sunday at 18:30 UTC and ends at 19:52 UTC.

The Independence Day fair in Jalal-Abad, Kyrgyzstan, turned into a scandal after the Khaidarkan mercury plant’s booth invited attendees to touch liquid mercury with their bare hands.

A video showing people touching the toxic liquid metal went viral. Mercury is extremely dangerous: its vapors cause poisoning, especially in children.

Actor Ramazan Amirgaliyev called the incident atrocious, emphasizing that mercury destroys the nervous system and organs, with consequences appearing only years...

Thailand’s legislature has elected Anutin Charnvirakul, 58, as the next prime minister.

Anutin’s political career traces back to Thai Rak Thai, the movement established by former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. In 2004, he was appointed deputy health minister before moving to the commerce portfolio later that year, and he returned to the health ministry in 2005.

He rose to prominence as health minister during the COVID-19 crisis, directing lockdown measures, vaccine acquisition and patient care. His leadership was widely recognized for helping reopen Thailand to foreign visitors, a lifeline for the country’s economy.

More recently, Anutin has served...

Construction at Hyundai’s electric vehicle battery plant in Georgia has been halted after a massive raid by U.S. immigration authorities, according to Reuters.

Hundreds of workers detained

Homeland Security Investigations confirmed that multiple agencies carried out a «judicially authorized enforcement operation» targeting unlawful employment practices. Officials stated that up to 560 workers were detained, including approximately 300 South Korean nationals.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry expressed concern. «The economic activities of our companies and the interests of our citizens must not be unduly violated during U.S. law enforcement,» spokesman Lee Jae-woong said.

Project faces setback

The facility is a joint...

NASA is targeting the early 2030s for its first crewed mission to Mars, Acting Administrator Sean Duffy told Fox News.

Duffy explained that the program will follow a phased approach. First, NASA will deliver the supplies needed to build a base. Only then will astronauts be sent. The initial mission, Duffy noted, is expected to last about eight months.

Before attempting a Mars flight, NASA plans to test long-duration travel with a mission to the moon. In spring 2026, four astronauts are scheduled to orbit the moon. Afterward, they will land and spend eight to...

Japanese carmakers, including industry giants Toyota, Nissan and Honda, can breathe a sigh of relief, as U.S. President Donald Trump cut tariffs on Japanese car imports from 27.5% to 15% by signing an executive order on Sept. 4, thus formalizing an agreement announced in July which implied a 15% tariff for almost all of Japanese exports to the U.S. according to the BBC.

For its part, Japan agreed to gradually open its economy to American goods and invest $550 billion in the U.S. economy. The deal also includes Japan purchasing goods — including agricultural products, fertilizers and bioethanol...

Before wrapping up his four-day visit to China on Sept. 3, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev met with Shen Yanfeng, head of the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC). This move was widely interpreted as Tashkent exploring alternatives should its tentative nuclear deal with Russia’s Rosatom stall, Eurasianet.org reported.

Russia’s Rosatom is facing financial strain, partly due to sanctions tied to Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Mirziyoyev’s talks in Beijing may have aimed to secure CNNC as a potential fallback partner for building Uzbekistan’s nuclear facilities.

In June, Uzbekistan signed an agreement with Rosatom to conduct a feasibility study for up...

During a trip to Ecuador, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that the U.S. will classify Los Lobos and Los Choneros — Ecuador’s two most powerful gangs — as foreign terrorist organizations, according to the BBC.

«This is what they really are,» Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa said earlier this year, urging Washington to make the move.

The new designation allows U.S. authorities to freeze assets, share intelligence freely and potentially launch lethal operations against affiliates.

Recent U.S. military strike

The comments come just days after a U.S. strike in the southern...

The deadly Ebola virus is back in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as the country’s authorities declared an outbreak on Sept. 4, reporting 28 suspected cases and 15 deaths, according to Reuters.

According to the DRC’s health ministry, the first sign of the outbreak was a pregnant woman hospitalized in Kasai Province on Aug. 20 with symptoms of high fever and vomiting. The ministry confirmed that samples tested on Sept. 3 revealed the presence of the Ebola Zaire strain.

The DRC has recorded more than a dozen outbreaks, including a devastating one between 2018 and 2020 that...

Today, President Donald Trump plans to authorize an executive order that would let the Pentagon revive its original 1789 title, the «Department of War,» according to Associated Press.

Push to rebrand the Defense Department

The official title cannot be changed without congressional approval, but the order would authorize the use of «secondary titles» while the administration seeks legislation. A White House fact sheet outlining the plan was shared with reporters by a source familiar with the matter.

It is worth noting that the modern name, the Department of Defense, is relatively recent compared to the original one, as the...

The Philadelphia Eagles opened their 2025 campaign on Thursday night against long-time rivals, the Dallas Cowboys, but the game took a dramatic turn before the first snap. Star defensive tackle Jalen Carter was tossed from the contest immediately following the opening kickoff after appearing to spit on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, as reported by CBS Sports.

As both starting units lined up, Carter confronted Prescott, and a brief verbal exchange escalated when Carter spat on the quarterback’s jersey. Officials flagged the incident as unsportsmanlike conduct, assessing a 15-yard penalty against Philadelphia and ejecting Carter immediately.

Research from CBS...

The previously reported death toll of 17 on Sept. 4 in the Lisbon streetcar accident of Sept. 3 was corrected to 16 with 21 injuries, according to the Associated Press, citing Lisbon’s Civil Protection Agency.

According to updated information from Portugal’s attorney general’s office, eight victims have been identified, including five Portuguese, two South Koreans and a Swiss national. Based on recovered documents, two Canadians, one American, one German and one Ukrainian are likely among the victims, with three remaining to be identified. Citizens of Spain, Israel, Portugal, Brazil, Italy and France are among those injured.

Head of...

Volkswagen has unveiled a new strategy that will transfer its best-known model names to the company’s electric lineup. The first will be the ID. Polo, set to debut in 2026, along with a high-performance version, the ID. Polo GTI, the automaker announced on its website.

The new naming system will merge Volkswagen’s traditional gasoline-powered branding with its electric ID. series. Familiar names long associated with combustion models will now be carried over to EVs.

The concept of the first such car was introduced as the ID. 2all, but it will enter production under the Polo name in time for...

Giorgio Armani, the legendary Italian designer who built a global fashion empire with his relaxed yet elegant tailoring, has died at the age of 91.

Thursday, his company announced that Armani had passed away surrounded by family. The cause of death was not disclosed. According to a statement from the Armani Group, the designer devoted himself to collections and projects still underway, working tirelessly until his final days.

Born in Piacenza in 1934, Armani studied medicine before turning to fashion, beginning at Milan’s La Rinascente. In 1975, he and Sergio Galeotti founded the Giorgio Armani label. The...

On 4–5 September, with the support of the Astana International Forum, the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) is hosting the eighth edition of Astana Finance Days under the theme «Where Capital Empowers the Future».

This year’s participants include asset managers representing firms with approximately US$1.5 trillion in assets under management – a testament to the forum’s status as the region’s leading platform for meetings, deal-making and dialogue among financial institutions, the business community, government bodies, and experts from Kazakhstan and across Eurasia.

Renat Bekturov, Governor of the AIFC, commented: «The Astana Finance Days annual forum has established itself as...

Kazakhstan’s authorities plan to launch direct air routes to New York, Tokyo, Rome, Vienna and Singapore, according to Saltanat Tompiyeva, chair of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), who spoke at the Astana Finance Days forum.

Direct flights to Tokyo, Rome, Vienna and Singapore may start as early as 2026. Flights to New York are now scheduled for 2027, although the agency had previously reported that the route to the Big Apple would begin in 2026.

Tompiyeva also said that 58 new international air routes have been launched in Kazakhstan over the past 18 months, including 22 in 2024 and...

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied reports of Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu’s arrest.

«The news about the detention of the minister of foreign affairs of Kazakhstan is not true. We consider this a violation of journalistic ethics and the existing legislation of our country,» ministry spokesman Aibek Smadiyarov said in a statement.

Earlier, media outlets reported the alleged detention of Nurtleu. One outlet claimed that, according to its information, Nurtleu and businessman Gadzhi Gadzhiyev had been taken into custody.

Kursiv.media, citing its own sources, reported that Nurtleu had not been detained...

The death toll in the Lisbon streetcar accident of Sept. 3 rose to 17 after two people died from injuries in hospital during Portugal’s national day of mourning, the Associated Press reported.

Head of Lisbon’s Civil Protection Agency Margarida Castro Martins told AP that all of the deceased were adults. She declined to disclose their nationalities or names, saying their families must be informed first.

She also added that another 21 people were injured in the accident, including Portuguese, two Germans, two Spaniards, one Canadian, one Italian, one French, one Swiss, one Moroccan, one Cape Verdean and one...

Samsung introduced the Galaxy Tab S11 and Tab S11 Ultra at IFA 2025 in Berlin, positioning them as the Android equivalent of Apple’s iPad Pro. The Ultra model is just 5.1 millimeters thick, the same as Apple’s latest iPad Pro. The standard Tab S11 is slightly thicker at 5.6 millimeters. Prices start at $800 for the Tab S11 and $1,200 for the Ultra, both of which are available now, according to Wired.

Key features and performance

The 11-inch Tab S11 and 14.6-inch Tab S11 Ultra feature AMOLED displays with 120-Hz refresh rates and 1,600-nit brightness, run on Android...