News

Cities across Central Asia are experiencing rising temperatures, with forecasts suggesting the number of hot days could triple by mid-century, World Bank reports. By 2050, major cities in the region may face an additional 40 to 70 hot days annually, posing a serious threat to health, infrastructure and economic stability.

Over the past two decades, heat-related fatalities have already reached tens of thousands across Europe and Central Asia. This number is expected to double or even triple in many urban areas, placing it on par with fatalities caused by road accidents. Older adults and lower-income communities will be among...

The first freight train from Hubei Province to follow the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan multimodal route set off from the Ujiashan station in Wuhan, Central China on July 16. The route combines rail and road transportation across international borders, People’s Daily Online reports.

Train No. 75179, loaded with food-grade containers and other goods, is expected to arrive in Kashgar, located in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. From there, containers will be transferred to road transport and exit China via the Irkeshtam border crossing, continuing on to their final destination in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan.

Trade between Hubei and Central Asian...

As of July 1 2025, there are 16,685 enterprises with foreign investment operating in Uzbekistan, National Statistics Committee reports.

Of these, 4,124 are joint ventures while 12,561 are fully foreign-owned enterprises. This reflects a 20.2% increase compared to the same period last year.

The number of foreign-invested enterprises by country of origin is as follows:

From January to July 2025, Uzbekistan witnessed a consistent rise in the number...

The real estate market in Uzbekistan continues to show resilience amid rising transaction volumes and property prices across the regions. Demand for secondary housing remains relatively strong on a year-on-year basis in most parts of the country. CERR has published an analysis of changes in Uzbekistan’s real estate market.

In the first half of 2025, the number of housing sales increased by 10.6% compared to the same period last year, reaching 136,500 transactions.

In June alone, 21,000 property purchase and sale deals were registered, 3.7% more than in the same month of the previous year.

Regional overview

The...

A new transport route could connect Central Asia with Europe. The project is called the Zangezur Corridor. It may become reality if Donald Trump’s latest plan goes ahead. This announcement comes from POLITIK Central Asia.

The idea is bold. But it’s not the first time Trump proposed something ambitious. Past ideas like buying Greenland or taking over the Panama Canal never came to life.

A railway through Armenia

The Zangezur Corridor would link mainland Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan. The railway would cross Armenian territory, then connect to Turkey and Iran.

That means one short rail section could join up networks across the region. It could even become part of...

The government of Tajikistan has approved a draft agreement on electricity supplies from the Rogun Hydropower Plant to Uzbekistan. The text of the document was published on the Adlia website.

Electricity purchases will be handled by Uzenergotsotish. The price per kilowatt hour, including VAT, is set at 3.4 cents. From the second year of supply, the price will be indexed by 1% annually. In addition, the Tajik energy company Barki Tojik intends to supply electricity to Uzbekistan.

The agreement between Tashkent and Dushanbe is set to last for 20 years, with the option to extend it in ten-year increments...

Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are deepening their partnership through multilateral platforms. On July 17, Turkmenistan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Myahri Byashimova met with Uzbekistan’s Ambassador to Turkmenistan Ravshanbek Alimov to review bilateral and regional cooperation, the Turkmen MFA reported.

The talks focused on expanding collaboration in politics, trade, the economy, and cultural-humanitarian areas.

A key point of discussion was Uzbekistan’s upcoming participation in the Third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDC3). The event will take place in Avaza, Turkmenistan, in August 2025. Both sides emphasized the importance of coordinated efforts through the UN and other international platforms to address shared regional challenges.

The diplomats...

Uzbekistan will import 100,000 head of small livestock from Mongolia between 2025 and 2026. The initiative, outlined in a presidential decree, aims to grow the total population of sheep and goats to 1 mln by 2029 through selective breeding in local conditions.

State Subsidies for Livestock Imports

From August 1, 2025 to December 31, 2027, local businesses importing Mongolian livestock will benefit from significant state support:

Soft Loans for Livestock Projects

Entrepreneurs in the livestock sector can access international credit lines under favourable terms:

Murad Nazarov, founder of Murad Buildings, has proposed a review of Uzbekistan’s current moratorium on tree cutting. Speaking at a meeting held on July 17 with the participation of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the entrepreneur addressed the unintended consequences of the ban in the construction sector.

Nazarov pointed out that despite the existing ban, trees are often damaged by construction equipment. «Trees, of course, get in the way. One way or another, they are still cut down. The moratorium was introduced in response to a public outcry after trees were cut recklessly in...

Uzbekistan has been named the 25th safest country in the world, according to Numbeo’s 2025 mid-year Safety Index, which compares 148 nations.

Uzbekistan Leads Central Asia in Safety

The country scored a safety index of 73.4 and a crime indicator of 26.6, placing it in the «low crime» category. That makes Uzbekistan the safest nation in Central Asia.

Kazakhstan ranked 73rd with a safety indicator of 54.4. Kyrgyzstan came 101st. Turkmenistan and Tajikistan were not included in the ranking.

Global Safety Rankings: Who’s on Top

Numbeo ranked the UAE, Andorra, and Qatar as the world’s safest countries in 2025. The least safe were Haiti, Papua New Guinea, Venezuela, Afghanistan, and South Africa.

In...

On July 17, the capitals of Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan marked a milestone in regional cooperation as foreign ministers from the three nations met in Kabul for the first time. During the meeting, an intergovernmental framework agreement was signed, paving the way for a feasibility study on the railway route Termez – Naibabad – Maidan Shar – Logar – Kharlachi.

The agreement was concluded between Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Transport, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Works and Pakistan’s Ministry of Railways.

Strategic corridor to boost Eurasian connectivity

Given the global geopolitical significance of the proposed transport corridor and Uzbekistan’s proactive...

Uzbekistan received $8.2 bn in remittances between January and June 2025. That is up 27% from the same period last year. The data comes from the Central Bank of Uzbekistan.

Russia Sends Most of the Funds

Russia remains the top source of remittances. It accounted for $6.4 bn of the total. Other key countries include Kazakhstan, the US, South Korea, Turkey, the UK, and EU member states.

The growth is linked to strong demand for labour abroad. It also reflects a stable exchange rate at home.

Remittances See Fastest Growth

Traditional money transfer services handled $4.3 bn, or 53% of all inflows. But the biggest jump came from bank-to-bank (P2P) transfers. They rose 40%, reaching $3.6 bn.

SWIFT...

Banks have updated the rates for buying and selling currencies on July 18. This article contains information about the most favorable rates.

Here are Central Bank Reference Rates to exchange USD, EUR, GBP, CHF, JPY, or KZT into soums:

Several banks offer better buy rates to exchange USD, EUR, GBP, CHF, JPY, or KZT into soums:

Financial institutions may change the value of currencies throughout the...

The Humo Token is not intended for use in specific countries, according to an official statement from the payment system’s press service.

“It is being developed as a universal infrastructure tool, applicable in various environments, provided all relevant legal requirements and regulatory procedures are met,” the company emphasised.

The HUMO Token project complies with Uzbekistan’s legislation and is based on principles of transparency and legal stability, the company noted.

Earlier, RBC reported that the Humo token could facilitate cross-border payments, including for companies from Russia, citing Pavel Bibik. At the same time, Fintech...

Electronic Arts has unveiled the trailer for its upcoming football simulator EA Sports FC 26, set to be released on September 19, according to gaming portal DTF.

The game will be available on Steam, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch and the new Switch 2 consoles.

EA promises enhanced gameplay in the latest installment, including improved dribbling, smoother controls, and more dynamic sprinting. A new archetype system inspired by real-life football stars will also be introduced.

The standard edition cover will feature Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham and Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala, while Zlatan Ibrahimović

Oil market indicators continue to suggest the physical market remains tight. Photo: Shutterstock

Oil prices saw moderate gains on Thursday, with Brent crude rising 0.5% to $68.83 per barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) up 0.9% to $66.99, as reported at midday GMT.

The uptick comes despite signs of easing global trade tensions, as analysts point to persistently low inventories and renewed geopolitical risks in the Middle East. Drone attacks in Iraq’s Kurdish region have disrupted oil production by as much as 150,000 barrels per day, further tightening supply.

According to PVM Oil Associates, market attention is shifting back to regional conflicts...

The European Union has delayed imposing sanctions on Israel over its conduct in Gaza, prompting sharply contrasting reactions from Israeli and Palestinian officials, as reports Euronews.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar called the EU’s decision a «diplomatic feat,» praising European allies for rejecting «obsessive attempts» to penalize Israel. In contrast, Palestinian representative Varsen Aghabekian-Shahin described the move as «shocking and disappointing,» citing a recent EU report identifying 38 violations of Palestinian rights.

Despite evidence of humanitarian violations under the EU-Israel Association Agreement, the EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said that sanctions remain “on the table” should Israel fail to...

Microsoft is fast approaching a $4 trillion market valuation, narrowing the gap with NVIDIA, which recently became the first company to surpass the milestone. With its current market cap at $3.76 trillion, Microsoft is well-positioned to challenge the chipmaker’s lead, as reported by Windows Central.

Under CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft has capitalised on the AI boom through early investments in OpenAI and a strong focus on Azure cloud services. Its strategic cloud partnerships have paid off, even powering Apple’s recent AI features. Microsoft stock has risen over 15% in 2025 alone, outpacing the S&P 500.

The company’s robust portfolio...

Defence Secretary John Healey has issued a formal apology in Parliament for a massive 2022 data leak involving Afghans who sought relocation to the UK due to ties with British force, as reported by The Independent. The breach, caused by a Ministry of Defence official, exposed sensitive information and triggered a secretive evacuation of 16,000 people, with around 8,000 still awaiting transfer.

Though Healey revealed certain details in the Commons, the media remains under a stringent High Court injunction preventing the publication of key facts. A superinjunction on the incident was lifted after two years, but a second gag...

After lifting the Club World Cup with a dominant win over PSG, Chelsea are shifting focus to their summer clear-out. According to The Athletic’s Simon Johnson, the club has listed seven players for sale as they seek to trim the wage bill and reshape the squad, as reported by Chelsea club.

The list includes Raheem Sterling, Ben Chilwell, Joao Felix, Renato Veiga, Armando Broja, Lesley Ugochukwu, and Axel Disasi. Notably, Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson are not on the market, though offers for them would be considered.

Sterling and Chilwell, both high earners, remain top priorities for offloading but...

Britain and Germany are set to co-develop a new long-range missile system dubbed the «super-Taurus,» with a reported range of 2,000 kilometres, according to German media. The advanced weapon is expected to be developed within the next decade and builds on Germany’s existing Taurus missiles, which have a 500km range.

The project is part of a broader UK-Germany defence partnership, including a landmark treaty signed Thursday in London between Chancellor Friedrich Merz and UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. The treaty features mutual defence commitments, expanded arms cooperation, and joint action against cross-channel migration.

This move reinforces a growing trilateral...

Russia is grappling with a serious demographic challenge that could have far-reaching consequences for its economy. With a rapidly aging population, shrinking workforce, and record-low birth rates, experts warn that the crisis could soon overshadow even the impact of Western sanctions, as reported by Daily Express.

According to Russian Labour Minister Anton Kotyakov, the country needs to bring 10.9 mln people into the workforce by 2030 to replace the 10.1 mln expected to retire by then. Speaking at a high-level cabinet meeting chaired by President Vladimir Putin, Kotyakov warned of a looming labour shortfall if productivity does not...

For centuries, humanity has pondered one of its most profound questions: how did we get here? A new scientific project based in the UK may be bringing us closer than ever to an answer, by recreating the universe itself, as reported by Indy100

In a groundbreaking effort to understand how the cosmos developed after the Big Bang, a team of scientists is running a series of ultra-advanced computer simulations designed to mirror the universe’s evolution. The project, called FLAMINGO (short for Full-hydro Large-scale structure simulations with All-sky Mapping for the Interpretation of Next Generation Observations), is based at the...

The Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan (INP) has officially joined Rosatom’s international research programme based on the multi-purpose fourth-generation research reactor (MBIR), currently under construction in Russia. Project is part of the country’s national initiative for technological leadership under the New Nuclear and Energy Technologies programme, UzAtom reports.

The agreement was signed on 16 July 2025 by Ilham Sadikov, Director of the Institute of Nuclear Physics, and Vasily Konstantinov, CEO of the consortium leader MCI MBIR.

Gateway to advanced nuclear research

By joining the international consortium, the Uzbek institute...