Former Tashkent city mayor Jahongir Ortikhodjaev tried to flee the country with his family this morning. This was announced by the blogger Nikita Makarenko.

Demand for electricity and natural gas increased due to a sharp drop in temperatures in the country, the Ministry of Energy said in the statement.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev criticized the poor situation in the rest of the country in terms of heat, electricity and gas supply at an ongoing government meeting today, his spokesman Sherzod Asadov said.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev at a meeting on Monday instructed the State Security Service (SSS) and the Prosecutor General's Office to probe into the activities of the sacked officials. In the event that a violation of the law is established, former officials will be held accountable.

Tashkent Medical Academy has opened its representative office in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, the Dunyo news agency reported on Monday.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has accepted the invitation of Singapore’s President Halima Yakub, and will pay a state visit to this country on January 16-18, the presidential press service said.

Officials of Uzbekistan and Russia held a number of bilateral meetings and discussed the terms for the natural gas supply. As it became known, the Russian authorities had put forward conditions.

At a government meeting, the president announced the sacking of the Tashkent city mayor Jahongir Ortiqkhojaev for failure to duly supply energy resources. He also harshly criticized Tashkent city officials of all levels for not being ready for the current situation.

Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov hosted the Chinese Ambassador Jiang Yan, the Foreign Ministry said. Reportedly, the parties considered the ways to further enhance the comprehensive strategic partnership ties between the countries in various areas and the implementation of the agreements reached during the state visit of the Chinese President to Uzbekistan in September 2022.

In order to improve legal protection of women and children, the Ministry of Justice proposed through a bill to toughen penalties for certain crimes against sexual freedom and youth, the press service of the Ministry of Justice reported.

The Tashkent Interdistrict Economic Court cancel the permit of Quramax Medikal to conduct pharmaceutical activities in Uzbekistan, issued by the Pharmaceutical Industry Development Agency on December 10, 2019, the press service of the Supreme Court said.

The Ministry of Justice has developed and posted for public input draft amendments and addenda to the legislation of Uzbekistan in terms of protection of rights, freedoms and interests of women and children, the Ministry of Justice said.

Currently, the territory of Uzbekistan is covered by the southwestern periphery of a wide and very cold anticyclone over the eastern provinces of Kazakhstan.

Acting Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov hosted the Ambassador of Tajikistan Abdujabbor Rahmonzoda. The parties noted that friendship and good neighborly relations, strategic partnership and alliance ties between the brotherly countries were expanding even further.

138,900 Uzbeks went abroad to study in 11 months of 2022, with about 1,000 of them choosing the United States as the destination, the State Statistics Committee said.

The severe frost that has gripped Uzbekistan interferes with the operation of ATMs, Qishloq Qurilish Bank said. Uzbeks were advised to use ATMs, which are located indoors, including inside banks.

Today, First Deputy Foreign Minister Furqat Sidiqov hosted Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Korea Republic of to the country Kim Hee-sang.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev made remarks at the online session of the Voice of the Global South Summit, chaired by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Uzbek president’s press service of the head of state reported.

At the hearings in the criminal case on the events in Nukus, Karakalpakstan autonomy on July 1-2, which continues in Bukhara, the prosecutor's office of Karakalpakstan autonomy demanded many years of imprisonment for most of the 22 defendants, in particular 18 years on the collective charges to the main suspect Dauletmurat Tazhimuratov, and 11 years for Lolagul Kallykhanova.

Due to extreme cold weather, the volume of natural gas supplies to some large industrial enterprises was sharply cut, and to the methane filling stations was temporarily it was stopped for a short period, the press service of the Ministry of Energy said in a statement.