President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev today had a telephone conversation with the Russian President Vladimir Putin, the presidential press service said.

President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov has accepted the invitation of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev an will pay a state visit to Uzbekistan on April 23-24, the President’s press-secretary Komil Allamjonov said.

The Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched a three-year joint project on “Preventing corruption through effective, accountable and transparent governance institutions in Uzbekistan.”

Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov yesterday hosted the newly appointed Philippine Ambassador with the residence in Tehran, Wilfredo S. Santos, the Foreign Ministry reported.

The Uzbekistan's Labor Code was amended with an article prohibiting the refusal to hire former convicts (with the exception of cases provided for by law).

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev instructed the government to develop a legal mechanism to prevent the forcing of social workers in to perform cleaning other works, as well as widely discussed cases of window –dressing, (whitewashing), President ial spokesman Komil Allamjonov said at a briefing on Tuesday, which was aired live on Uzbekistan 24 and on Facebook.

Shavkatbek Irgashev has been appointed as mayor of Tashkent's Mirzo-Ulugbek district, the Tashkent mayor's office said. Previously, this post was occupied by Sherzod Kudbiev, who was appointed as Minister of Employment and Labor Relations.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev today hosted the visiting Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea Kang Kyung-wha, the press service of the head of state said.

Uzbekistan's Armed Forces ranked 39th in the updated Countries Military Strength Ranking by Global Firepower. Uzbekistan is placed between Netherlands and Romania and is the highest in the Central Asian region, with Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan - placed 50th, 80th, 91st and 96th, respectively.

The next meeting of the Coordinating Committee on Air Defense under the Council of Defense Ministers of the CIS member states took place yesterday in Tashkent.

Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov today hosted his South Korean counterpart, Kang Kyung-wha, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry reported.

Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov today met with the Speaker of the Saeima of the Republic of Latvia Ināra Mūrniece.

The newly appointed Uzbek Ambassador to Belarus Nosirjon Yusupov today departed from Tashkent to Minsk, the Foreign Ministry reported.

Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov today received the newly appointed Ambassador of Colombia with stationed in Moscow Alfonso López Caballero, the Ministry said in a statement.

Uzbek IT Development Minister Azim Akhmedkhadzhayev and Russian Mass Communications Deputy Minister Alexei Volin discussed the possibility of launching a joint channel with Russia’s ORT channel.

The meeting of the Uzbekistan-Iran intergovernmental commission on trade-economic and scientific-technical cooperation took place in Tehran, the Uzbek ministry for foreign trade reported.

Inquiry, interrogation and investigations are being recorded on 1832 web cameras in office computers of investigative units of city and provincial police departments, the Interior Minister Pulat Bobodjonov said in a briefing.

Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov today hosted the newly appointed Argentinian Ambassador with residence in Moscow, Ricardo Ernesto Lagorio, the ministry reported.

The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) intends to enter into a strategic cooperation agreement with Uzbekistan, Takhlilnoma (weekly analytical news program - Edit.) on Uzbekistan 24 channel reported.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev at a meeting in the Saykhunobod district of the Syrdarya province on April 13 touched upon the issue of forced labour of teachers and medical workers ahead of his trips to the province.