Turkmenistan

1. President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov, who was on a working visit to St. Petersburg, took part in the informal summit of the heads of state of the CIS. Before the meeting, the forum participants visited the sights of St. Petersburg, in particular, “Pavlovsk”, “Tsarskoe Selo” and “Peterhof”. In the afternoon, an informal summit took place at the Konstantinovsky Palace. The leaders discussed regional and international issues, and once again confirmed their intentions to develop cooperation within the CIS. At the end of the working visit, Serdar Berdimuhamedov flew to Ashgabat.

2. The National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov met with the heads of the Turkish companies Baýkar and BMC Otomotiv. During the meeting, the parties discussed the possibilities for further development of mutual relations in the field of defense. In this regard, the proposals of the Turkish company in the field of defense industry were considered at the meeting, and relevant agreements were reached in this direction.

3. Today, an international scientific and practical conference and exhibition dedicated to the results of the year “Happy youth with Arkadag Serdar” was solemnly opened in the capital of Turkmenistan. The large-scale forum, held in the building of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, began with performances by creative groups from Ashgabat, which created a festive atmosphere. The participants listened with great attention to the welcoming address of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov. The head of state emphasized that the country's leadership is consistently implementing the state youth policy, creating conditions for the active participation of the younger generation in all spheres of life in the Fatherland. After this, the guests got acquainted with a multidisciplinary exhibition demonstrating the successes of the youth of Turkmenistan at the end of the year.

4. A concert of Russian pop singers Nyusha and Ashgabat native Olga Schulteis was held at the Ashgabat Winter Sports Complex. The performance of Russian stars was accompanied by a dance group. Nyusha and Olga Schulteis sang their most famous hits for the Turkmen public.

World

5. An initiative has been launched in Budapest in which city residents can adopt shelter animals for the New Year holidays. The goal of the project is to help lonely people find company and joy during the holidays. The initiative has been carried out for several years in a row. Organizers say that while animals can be returned to the shelter, many people don't. “Rented” cats and dogs often stay with new families.

6. A Thai farmer decided to attract attention to agriculture and tourists to his region. To do this, he and his colleagues planted seeds in a rice field in such a way that images of cats can be seen from the sky. The farmer hopes that his idea will attract tourists to the region, especially cat lovers. The seedlings were planted based on GPS coordinates compiled together with the artist. The farmer noted that as the seedlings grow, their color will change.

Sport

7. The “Altyn Asyr” youth team won the Turkmenistan football championship for the 5th time in a row. The Agency's team “Turkmenaragatnashyk” secured the title several rounds before the finish, ahead of the second “Ahal” by 6 points. The “Ashgabat” team took third place.

8. Midfielder of the national team of Uzbekistan and Moscow CSKA Abbosbek Faizullayev was recognized as the best football player of the year in his country. 20 years old Faizullayev has been playing for CSKA since August 2023. This season he played 24 matches for the army team, scored 4 goals and provided 10 assists. Previously, Faizullayev played for Tashkent “Pakhtakor”. As part of the national team, he has 8 matches and 2 goals scored.