Friday, 14, August, 2026

National

Uzbekistan has broken historical summer records for electricity consumption and generation for the fifth consecutive day, according to the Ministry of Energy.

A package of agreements was signed in Tashkent following the 15th session of the Uzbekistan–Azerbaijan Intergovernmental Commission and the first meeting of the Business Council. Spot reported this based on information from the Ministry of Investments, Industry and Trade.

Uzhydromet has released the weather forecast for Monday, July 20. As predicted, the extreme heatwave will persist in the coming days.

As of January 1, 2026, Uzbekistan has 17,763 libraries in operation, holding a combined total of 89.2 million books and journals, the State Statistics Committee said in a report.

Increased property tax and land tax rates will be deployed for greenhouses located in Tashkent city and in certain districts of Tashkent province. A bill to this effect has been submitted for public input, with comments open until July 31.

Uzbekistan sits deep in Central Asia, and its continental climate produces some of the widest seasonal swings of any country on the historic Silk Road. Summers across much of the country are hot and dry, spring and autumn are generally mild and pleasant, and winter brings noticeably colder days in some regions, especially in the north and at higher elevations. Weather can also differ from city to city, and even within a single day, since desert lowlands, river valleys, and mountain foothills each behave differently. For anyone putting together an itinerary — whether a visitor arriving for a week of sightseeing or a resident traveling between cities for work — these differences are worth factoring into the plan from the start.

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the regulation "On the Procedure for Organizing and Operating Bonded Warehouses" via Resolution No. 388, dated July 16, 2026.

Over the course of one month, all 2,000 applications for inclusion in the social registry were unjustifiably rejected in 184 makhallas (local neighborhood communities) across Uzbekistan. As a result, families in need were left unable to receive social assistance or enroll their children in kindergartens and after-school clubs, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said at a video conference meeting on July 16.

A group of men is suspected of defrauding 456 individuals out of more than 1 billion soums, according to the Cybersecurity Center of the Interior Ministry.

Alisher Usmonov, the long-serving Head of the Presidential State Security Service (PSS) of Uzbekistan, has been abruptly dismissed from his post by presidential decree. The sudden shakeup follows a high-profile, fatal traffic collision in Tashkent involving a government escort detail, raising speculation that the security chief was ousted due to the incident.

The state-owned waste management enterprise Maxsustrans-ISHB has been taken to court following a landfill fire in the Ohangaron district of the Tashkent province, which caused significant air pollution. The National Committee for Ecology and Climate Change announced the legal action.

The Uzbek semi-truck driver accused of causing a crash that killed a college soccer player on Interstate 71 appeared in court Friday, charged with falsification after investigators say he removed his dashcam following the crash — while the case is sparking broader questions about how commercial driver's licenses are issued and whether English proficiency standards are being properly enforced.

The Ministry of Justice has officially registered an amendment to Clause 28 of the Regulation on Conducting Foreign Exchange Operations in Uzbekistan (Ref. No. 3281-6, dated July 16, 2026).

Human traffickers have established new transit routes for illegally smuggling Pakistanis into Europe after intensified enforcement made traditional "Dunki" routes increasingly difficult to use, according to Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) sources.

A presidential signed a Steps to Improve Public Service Delivery and Create Additional Conveniences for Individuals decree. The document focuses on streamlining public services, cutting unnecessary bureaucratic red tape, and expanding digital solutions.

A Turkish delegation led by Deputy Minister of Trade Mustafa Tuzcu has arrived in Uzbekistan on an official visit. As part of the visit, a working group session was convened to discuss the Preferential Trade Agreement between Uzbekistan and Türkiye.

A new project aimed at developing container transport between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan has officially launched, according to a report from Temiryulkargo.

An agreement to establish the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO) has been signed in Shanghai, China, with Uzbekistan joining the ranks of its founding members.

Mahalla chairmen will be granted the authority to put vacant land plots up for auction to construct private kindergartens, schools, clinics, and sports facilities. The President of Uzbekistan announced this measure during a government meeting on July 16, which focused on a new organizational framework for neighborhood operations.

Starting October 1, Uzbekistan will implement a new system to automatically update personal data across the information networks of all government agencies. This measure is outlined in a presidential decree signed on July 15.