In Uzbekistan, heating and hot water tariffs for the population are planned to be increased from November 1, 2026, according to a draft government resolution put up for discussion by the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Communal Services. In Tashkent, Veolia Energy Tashkent tariffs are proposed to rise by 30%: heat energy to 203,636 soums per Gcal, heating to 314 soums per day per square meter, and metered hot water to 11,607 soums per cubic meter. The draft also revises tariffs for heat supply enterprises in Karakalpakstan and all regions.
Uzbekistan has 21 million 255 thousand hectares of pastures, but only 40 percent are used effectively. Khokims must restore 620 thousand hectares this year and 3.7 million hectares next year. Projects in Navoi and Kashkadarya regions, funding from lease revenues, 448 new wells, 323 irrigation facilities, and free 49-year leases of public pastures are planned.
According to the draft, during the 2026/2027 heating season, including November of the current year, a one-time financial assistance of 1 million soums will be allocated to families in need, with funds transferred to citizens' social or bank cards by November 30, 2026. Assistance will go to families in the Social Registry, as well as families meeting income criteria (not exceeding twice the MCE per capita) based on 'mahalla seven' conclusions, families with single elderly and disabled persons, and families with orphaned children. In non-gasified areas, the basic electricity norm will be raised from 200 kWh to 350 kWh. For residents of multi-story buildings with centralized heating, the income criterion is set at twice the MCE in Karakalpakstan and the regions, and three times in Tashkent. Additional lists will prioritize families who lost a breadwinner, families with disabled members, and families caring for disabled children, not exceeding 50 percent of Registry families per district. Compensation periods for electricity and gas will be extended until April 1, 2028, and coal assistance until January 1, 2029. New centralized heating and hot water tariffs are expected from November 1, 2026, with tariffs gradually reaching cost level by 2030, alongside measures to cut thermal energy costs by up to 15 percent and implement 'Billing' software by the end of 2026.
A new hokim has been appointed to the city of Navoiy. According to the decision of the hokim of Navoiy region dated October 13, 2026, Islomov Bobir Husnidinovich was appointed to this position. Prior to the appointment, he served as First Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of JSC 'Regional Electric Grids' for electricity grid operations. Bobir Islomov was born in 1981 in Navbahor district and graduated from the Navoiy State Mining Institute, the Bukhara Institute of Food and Light Industry Technology, and the Higher Business School. Dilmurod Ergashev had been leading the city of Navoiy since July 2023; the reason for his removal was not stated. Earlier, on July 21, the President instructed the prime minister to review the suitability of 17 hokims for their positions, and the list included the hokim of the city of Navoiy.
President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev will pay a working visit to Azerbaijan on October 14–15, where he will attend the 7th CICA Summit in Baku. The agenda includes strengthening trust in Asia, ensuring peace and security, and the institutional development of CICA. Cooperation in transport connectivity, digitalization and sustainable economic growth will be discussed, and the president will hold a number of bilateral meetings with heads of foreign delegations.
At an October 13 presentation, the state of greenhouses in Tashkent and adjacent areas was analyzed. A special environmental regime based on «green» technologies has been proposed for greenhouses in the city and five adjacent districts. Heating with natural gas, electricity, geothermal and solar energy, and secondary heat from thermal power plants will be allowed, while burning tires, plastic, bitumen, fuel oil, used oil and waste is prohibited. Solid-fuel greenhouses must switch by December 1, with strict technical requirements for continued solid fuel use. Continuous environmental monitoring will run from October 15 to March 15, using drones and public oversight, with enforcement measures including suspension of operations. Financial support includes subsidies of up to 50 million soums per hectare and preferential loans of up to 3 billion soums for seven years.
On October 7, the BBC published one of the last interviews of the prominent Russian journalist and human rights advocate Anna Politkovskaya, known for her investigations into human rights abuses in Chechnya and open criticism of the Russian government, who was assassinated on that date 20 years ago. The interview was broadcast in English on BBC channels in November 2006, after her death; the Russian original was released only recently. The article recounts her career at Izvestia, Obshchaya Gazeta and Novaya Gazeta, her coverage of the Second Chechen War, her assassination in 2006, and her remarks on Putin's policies, the falsified 2004 elections, the war in Chechnya, and the takeover of NTV.
Tashkent region governor Zoir Mirzayev signed a decree on October 13 applying a disciplinary measure to Pskent district governor Muzaffar Aripov, who was given a reprimand for insulting farmers and threatening to take away their land over an unfulfilled potato planting plan. The basis was an Ethics Commission report, an Anti-Corruption Agency submission, and Aripov's written explanation. Similar cases involving district governors in Surkhandarya and Fergana, as well as a Nurafshon city official, are also recalled.
A monthly cinema guide by Sarvar Karimov covering October releases: Alejandro González Iñárritu's “Digger” with Tom Cruise, James Gunn's DC film “Clayface”, David Ayer's “Heart of the Beast” with Brad Pitt, the “Street Fighter” remake, the historical epic “De Gaulle. Part 1. Resistance”, plus family films and horror titles.
An Uzbek doctor saved the life of a woman whose condition sharply deteriorated aboard a flight from Tashkent to Seoul. Uzbekistan Airways and the Ministry of Health reported the incident, which occurred on October 11 on flight HY511. Doctor Hasan Kamilov, head of a private clinic in Samarkand, provided emergency aid to the unconscious woman using his own medications and oxygen supplied by the crew. After about 10–15 minutes at 10,000 meters altitude, the patient began to regain consciousness, and the flight continued without an unscheduled landing.
A draft law adopted in the first reading by Uzbekistan's Legislative Chamber proposes shortening the service term of conscripted servicemen who won prize places in the "Ma'naviyat qalqoni" national reading contest by one month. Deputies proposed that the shortening be based on the serviceman's application. The draft also provides legal grounds for new contracts with flight-specialty graduates to retain qualified aviation personnel.
Uzbekistan's robotics team won FIRST Global Challenge 2026, held October 7–10 in Incheon, South Korea, with about 190 countries participating. The team won all 16 matches, scoring 637 points — a competition record — and finished ahead of Mexico and China in the overall standings. As part of an international alliance with Venezuela, El Salvador and Moldova, they also won gold medals in the tournament final. On October 13, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev awarded state honors to the winners and their mentors, including medals «Sodik xizmatlari uchun» to head coach Ziyodulla Botakhanov and «Kelajak bunyodkori» to team members. The next tournament is expected in 2027 in Madrid.
A court in Chirchiq sentenced two internal affairs officers who tried to cover up a beating of citizen Sh. M. The victim was assaulted by a group, then pressured to withdraw his complaint and accept money, part of which was kept by the officers.
A mobile palliative care service for children with severe and incurable illnesses has started operating in Samarkand region since September 28, the National Agency of Social Protection reported. Mobile teams of doctors, social workers and psychologists visit 8 to 12 households daily, providing home care, pain relief, individual support plans and caregiver training. Over 300 children in need have been identified in the region. The Inson center opens individual cases and helps obtain wheelchairs, verticalizers and anti-bedsore mattresses. A children's hospice is being built in Samarkand in parallel. Shahnoza Mirziyoyeva stressed that palliative care does not depend on life expectancy and that the project aims to change attitudes toward children with incurable illnesses. In June, the Palliative and Hospice Care Association opened in Tashkent, and plans for a unified palliative care system from September 1 were presented to the president. A 50-bed adult hospice in Qibray district, planned since 2019, was repeatedly postponed due to funding shortages.
Doniyor Yusupov has been appointed deputy mayor of Tashkent and head of the Directorate for the Use of City Canals and Improvement of Adjacent Areas. The position, previously held by Abdulaziz Israilov, had been vacant. Yusupov graduated from the Tashkent Automobile and Road Institute and previously worked at road construction organizations and the Yunusabad district mayor's office.
A delegation of Uzbekistan led by the deputy director of the Cultural Heritage Agency, Azizjon Aripjonov, studied the historical and cultural heritage sites of Uzbek scholars in Afghanistan and exchanged views on their preservation and restoration. The delegation visited the provinces of Balkh, Takhar, Sar-e Pol and Faryab, getting acquainted with unique architectural monuments, including the Rawzai Sharif shrine, the Bobo Rahim Mashrab pilgrimage site, the historic bridge in Sar-e Pol, the Imamzoda Yahya shrine, the Bobo Vali madrasa complex and the pool built by Alisher Navoi. At the conclusion of the negotiations, the parties agreed to analyze the collected data and sign a memorandum of mutual understanding on the protection and restoration of the monuments. In February 2023, a bas-relief depicting Alisher Navoi in Mazar-i-Sharif was damaged, and in August 2025 the monument was completely destroyed. The Taliban expressed regret and promised a new monument; later the construction of a new memorial complex named after Alisher Navoi was reported to have begun.
The licenses previously granted to Saneg for the use of oil fields in Uzbekistan have been revoked because the license conditions were not fulfilled and the fields were not put into operation, said State Assets Management Agency director Sohibjon Murodov. He explained that the fields themselves were not privatized — only subsoil-use licenses were granted — and noted that the right to issue hydrocarbon licenses has been moved to auctions since 2023–2024. Saneg's website says the company holds rights to 103 oil and gas fields. The transfer of over 100 fields from Uzbekneftegaz to Jizzakh Petroleum (Saneg) in 2019 was linked to a $2.68 billion project to boost oil production, but production fell short of targets, and the transfer became an episode in a criminal case against former Uzbekneftegaz chief Bakhodirjon Sidikov, who denies the charges.
Cameras have been installed to monitor traffic in the dedicated public transport lanes on Fergana Yuli street in Tashkent, according to the capital's Traffic Management Center. A 6 km section in both directions has been equipped with cameras, which record violations from 6:00 to 23:00. Since May 2025, any vehicle is allowed to travel in the dedicated lanes at night. The TMC noted that cameras will be installed step by step on other streets as well to ensure the priority of public transport. The center reminded that a single bus can carry more than 50 passengers at a time, and a car obstructing a bus delays dozens of people. In February 2022, the Tashkent City Transport Department promised to make the dedicated lanes on Fergana Yuli work, but until now ordinary cars had been driving in them. Another problem is road patrol officers stopping cars in these lanes to check documents and process violations, blocking the lanes; Gazeta has repeatedly drawn attention to this and sent a request to the TMC. In the spring, deputy mayor Abdurakhmon Bakhtiyev also addressed the problem, saying that without cameras the sections cannot be made to work. A project to install cameras on buses was also reported. He emphasized that the lanes must be properly organized, as in many places they were drawn without calculations.
