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Kyrgyzstan's draft national budget forecasts that revenue from taxes on international trade and external operations will reach 125.4 billion soms in 2027. This is 43.8% more than the 87.2 billion soms actually received in 2025.
Archaeologists have discovered new evidence of Bronze Age life at the Jarkutan monument in Uzbekistan's Surkhandarya region. Excavations uncovered ancient buildings, four intact ceramic vessels, economic pits and a child's burial. The report by CentralAsia, citing Podrobno.uz, says the findings will help explain how people lived, built homes and buried their dead several thousand years ago.
Colombian singer Shakira arrived in Kyrgyzstan on the night of 18 October. Bishkek is one of the stops on her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour. At Manas International Airport, she was met by Dayyrbek Orunbekov, head of the information policy department of the presidential administration, and Boobek Salimzhanov, first deputy manager of the president's affairs.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has congratulated Azerbaijan on its 'Restoration of Independence Day'. In a post shared from his NSosyal account, Erdoğan described Azerbaijan as a 'dear and brotherly' country and said he heartily congratulated the day on behalf of his country and nation.
A business forum aimed at deepening trade and economic ties between Turkmenistan and India was held in Ashgabat. The event was organised by the Embassy of India in Turkmenistan together with the country's Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TPPT).
During the official visit of Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov to Armenia, a memorandum of cooperation in education and science was signed between Kyrgyzstan's Ministry of Science, Higher Education and Innovation and Armenia's Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports. According to the Kyrgyz ministry, the document aims to develop bilateral cooperation, exchange experience and strengthen interaction between educational and scientific organisations in the two countries.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, replying to a letter from Turkish Cypriot President Tufan Erhürman, said obstacles to Turkish Cypriot cultural, sports, political and diplomatic activities are discouraging and run counter to his calls for strengthening mutual trust. According to the Presidency, Guterres answered Erhürman’s letter of 28 August with a letter dated 16 October.
Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides accused Turkish Cypriot President Tufan Erhürman of setting “preconditions” for resuming negotiations. He criticised the Turkish Cypriot insistence on pre-accepting a rotating presidency after a settlement, arguing that all issues should be addressed at the negotiating table.
Kyrgyzstan's Foreign Minister Zheenbek Kulubaev will take part in talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on October 19, 2026, according to the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry as reported by Kaktus.media. The meeting will take place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, with the heads of diplomatic agencies of five Central Asian states attending.
Mohammed Samaan Agha, recently appointed state minister in Iraq, pledged to work “for the benefit of Iraq and Türkiye” in remarks to Turkish journalists in Baghdad on Sunday. Agha, who also leads the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITC) and serves as governor of Kirkuk, had met Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Saturday, when Fidan was in Baghdad for a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Kazakhstan's Deposit Guarantee Fund has raised the maximum rate on long-term foreign currency deposits to 2.5% a year, effective from October. The previous ceiling was 1%. The change covers only savings deposits with terms longer than 12 months; the limit for other deposits remains at 1%. The fund says liberalisation of foreign currency deposit rates will proceed in stages.
The Communal Democracy Party (TDP) has begun its Candidate Ranking Congress at Lefkoşa’s Paradise Park, held to determine the order of its parliamentary candidates for the 6 December general elections. According to the party, the congress, held under the slogan “İyi Gelecek Seninle Gelecek”, will rank 50 prospective candidates from six electoral districts through votes cast by party members. Cemal Özyiğit was elected chair of the presiding board.
Kyrgyzstan may terminate a subsoil use license if a company extracts less than 25% of the annual volume set in the license for three consecutive years. The norm was discussed on October 15, 2026, at a session of the Jogorku Kenesh, the parliament.
Turkmenistan's President Serdar Berdimuhamedov proposed the creation of a Regional Centre to Combat Desertification for the countries of Central Asia in a speech at the Leaders' Summit of the UN Biodiversity Conference in Yerevan, on 16 October.
According to a report published by the State Statistics Committee of Azerbaijan, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline transported 18.857 million tonnes of oil in January–September 2026. Based on Trend's calculations using the committee's data, this is 1.712 million tonnes, or 8.3 percent, lower than in the same period of 2025, when 20.569 million tonnes were transported.
Kyrgyz farmer Raisa Tologonova has been included among 100 women recognised by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for their contributions to agriculture and rural communities, the organisation's press service said. She is one of the laureates of the global "100 FAO Heroines" initiative, held in connection with the International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026. More than 600 candidates from 131 countries were nominated for the programme.
Uzbekistan has tightened criminal liability for sexual violence against children. Under the amended Criminal Code, raping a child under 14 and certain other sexual crimes now carry penalties up to life imprisonment. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed the law on October 14, and it entered into force on October 15, 2026.
About 35% of electricity consumers in Uzbekistan used more than 200 kWh in August, according to a press conference held on 8 October with the leadership of the Regional Electric Networks. Gazeta reported that the country has 8,344,000 electricity consumers in total, of whom 5,682,000 used up to 200 kWh in August, 1,135,000 used 200-300 kWh and 354,000 used over 300 kWh.
Azerbaijan's Cabinet of Ministers has adopted a decision on a uniform school uniform, which some political and public circles in Türkiye have met with discontent. Speaking to Modern.az, Aydin Mirzazada, a member of the Milli Majlis committee on defence, security and anti-corruption, said it is wrong to present statements by individuals against Azerbaijan as the position of the Turkish state.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev will visit Samarkand region on Sunday, according to a statement from the head of state's press service. The visit is scheduled for October 18–19.
In a column for AzerNEWS, Farman Aydin asks whether Ankara regards Baku as an equal sovereign partner or as an ally whose foreign policy should conform to Turkish expectations. The question comes amid controversy over oil exports through the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline. The author argues that strategic partnerships cannot rely on historical sentiment alone and require mutual respect, consistent principles, and recognition that even close allies retain the right to pursue their own national interests.
A manuscript held at Tashkent State University’s library, long considered lost, was found to be a major 14th-century encyclopedic source. It is Badriddin Ibrohim’s explanatory dictionary Zafangʻoʻ va jahonpoʻ, known for centuries only from short quotations in later works.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said President Donald Trump wants to use a 60-day period to assess the economic effects of sanctions and tariffs targeting Russia. Speaking to reporters ahead of his visit to Uzbekistan, Rubio also commented on Trump's signing of a decree providing for the suspension of new sanctions aimed at Russia.
Vasil Shaykhrazyev, chairman of the Milli Shura of the World Tatar Congress, opened a meeting with regional journalists by thanking them and saying the Congress is ready to help solve problems arising in the regions. He said readership has declined, paper is disappearing and social networks are changing the world. Newspapers, he said, must move forward without falling behind the trend.
Today's top Turkic news: Uzbekistan-China ties, Samarkand visit, Kulubaev-Rubio talks, Northern Cyprus festival and Turkmen desertification centre.
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