Monday, 21, September, 2026

National

A major corruption scandal is brewing over the city’s public transit infrastructure. The Anti-Corruption Agency of Uzbekistan, led by Director Akmal Burkhanov, has launched an active investigation into the sweeping modernization of Tashkent’s bus stops. What was promised as a futuristic, accessible upgrade for commuters has instead triggered widespread public outrage, exposing signs of procurement fraud, bid rigging, and specification tailoring.

A court in the Qashqadaryo province has handed down a verdict against a man who severely injured his wife by throwing a mobile phone at her head during a domestic dispute.

The Ministry of Justice has officially registered amendments and additions to the regulation on the procedure and terms for licensing banking activities.

During the first half of 2026, the State Labor Inspectorate received 1,495 complaints from individuals discovering they had been formally hired and registered for jobs without their knowledge or consent.

The mosaic tiling on the domes of Tashkent's famous Blue Domes restaurant has been stripped away without authorization from the relevant authorities. Built in 1970, the building is a landmark example of the Soviet modernist architecture and is officially protected by the state under the National Register of Cultural Heritage Real Estate Objects.

Ensuring the financial stability of water supply enterprises was the central focus of a presentation made to the President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on Monday, the presidential press service reported.

A school principal in Kashkadarya province who took a $500 bribe from a student seeking employment has been sentenced to five years in prison.

A pilot School of Integrated Programs is being deployed at the Tashkent University of Architecture and Civil Engineering in pursuance of the president’s July 17 Additional Measures for Introducing Secondary Specialized, Vocational, and Higher Education Programs Based on International Educational Standards decree. The goal is to further expand the rollout of integrated education programs modeled on best practices from the United Kingdom.

Uzbekistan is proposing to introduce a Siesta system to adapt the tourism sector to summer heatwaves, the draft Cabinet of Ministers resolution has proposed. Under the proposal, tourist facilities in Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva cities would operate on a new schedule from June 1 to August 31.

Three underage girls have tragically drowned in an artificial irrigation pond in the Mirzachul district of the Jizzakh province, the spokesman to the Prosecutor General’s Office, Hayot Shamsutdinov reported.

The Pap District Criminal Court in Namangan province has issued a verdict against Odilkhon Ismoilov, founder of Rayxon Oilaviy Milliy Taomlari ("Rayхон National Family Cuisine"), and six co-defendants, the press service of Uzbekistan's Supreme Court reported.

According to the National Statistics Agency, nearly 3.51 million (3,512,000) Uzbek citizens traveled abroad for tourism purposes during the first half of this year. This figure represents an increase of 2,500 travelers compared to the same period last year.

A married couple in Fergana who attempted to sell their newborn baby have been sentenced to five years in prison each.

Foreign-based tour operators would only be allowed to sell outbound travel packages to Uzbek citizens through a locally licensed tour operator or their own registered legal entity in the country, a draft government resolution published by the Tourism Committee for public input has proposed.

6,565,410 foreign nationals visited Uzbekistan for tourism purposes during the first half of this year, the National Statistics Agency said in a report.

Long awaited reprieve from a punishing week of extreme heat Uzbekistan is expected, with temperatures expected to drop between July 20 and 24, Uzhydromet said.

A delegation from Iraqi Kurdistan, consisting of more than 150 officials from government agencies and business leaders, has arrived in Tashkent. The visit was organized with the support of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan and the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Kuwait.

Uzbekistan Railways is actively modernizing the railway network, upgrading staff capabilities, and improving passenger service quality in the Navoiy province, the company said in a statement.

About 30% of Uzbekistan's more than 1,800 substations rated at 35–110 kV have now been modernized. First Deputy Energy Minister Umid Mamadaminov announced this on July 17, following a government meeting with the president.

On July 19, the State Labor Inspectorate announced that it had issued an official directive to all provincial administrations to protect the lives and health of sanitation and municipal cleanup workers during the extreme heatwave.