Turkmenistan

1. The final round of the “Play, bagshy!” competition was held at the Mukams Palace of the State Cultural Center of Turkmenistan, the participants of which were Turkmen citizens aged 18 to 35 years. 12 dutar players and the same number of bagshy from Ashgabat and the country’s velayats qualified for the final round. Among them are 5 girls. The final chord of the creative show performed by all its participants was a song dedicated to the theme of 2023 “Happy youth with Arkadag Serdar”.

2. In the eastern region of Turkmenistan, new settlements are being built in the Kerki, Halach, Sayat and Chardzhev etraps of the Lebap velayat. The new settlements will provide homes for 3,5 thousand families. Within the framework of the rural national program, a number of social facilities have already been commissioned in Lebap velayat, in particular, more than 10 hospitals, 40 health centers, 17 cultural centers, 30 sports schools and 15 sports facilities have been built.

3. The international conference and exhibition OGT-2023, which will be held in Ashgabat on October 25-27, 2023, has already attracted the attention of more than 150 delegates from 20 countries. Among the conference participants are heads of leading energy companies and organizations. The conference will present new investment projects in the fuel and energy complex of Turkmenistan, including the development of the giant “Galkynysh” field, construction of the TAPI gas pipeline, optimization of oil and gas production in mature fields, development of offshore fields in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea, renewable energy projects. The conference will be held in both traditional and online formats. The organizers will provide visa support to all registered delegates. Registration for participation is open until October 16, 2023.

4. People's Artist of Turkmenistan Gulshat Gurdova, singer Zuleyha Kakayeva, musician of the folklore dance ensemble of the Ahal velayat Guvanch Yazmammedov, as well as dance groups “Nazli” and “Lachyn” will represent the country at the Gala Concert of Masters of Culture and Art of Central Asian States, which will be held in Dushanbe. The concert will be from September 14 to 15 on the sidelines of the fifth Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia and the meeting of the heads of state of the founders of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS), as well as a number of other regional forums.

World

5. Apple introduced the iPhone 15 line of smartphones and other new devices at its annual fall presentation. The smartphone has the same cutout at the top of the Dynamic Island screen as last year's iPhone 14 Pro. iPhone 15 comes in two sizes – with a 6,1- and 6,7-inch screen; in five colors: pink, black, white, yellow and light green. The smartphone body is made of aluminum with rounded edges, glass on the front and back. The smartphone has two cameras – standard and ultra-wide-angle. The main camera has a resolution of 48 megapixels and supports 2x digital zoom. A similar shooting mode has already been demonstrated in the iPhone 14 Pro. As suggested in the leaks, the smartphone now charges via a USB-C port. Thus, you can now charge iPhone, iPad and Macbook with one wire. The iPhone 15 will cost 799 USD, the iPhone 15 Plus with a larger screen will cost 899 USD.

6. Tatarstan airline “UVT Aero” will open regular flights from Kazan to Samarkand. Flights will begin operating from September 24 this year on Sundays. Flight time is three hours. Representatives of Air Marakanda emphasized that the establishment of regular flights between Samarkand and Kazan will help strengthen Uzbek-Russian economic and public ties.

Sport

7. The Turkmenistan national football team played a draw with the Bahrain team in a friendly match. The meeting was held in Dubai and ended with a score of 1:1. The first goal of the match was scored by Bahraini midfielder Mohamed Marhoon in the 13th minute. In the 29th minute, Turkmen defender Teymur Charyev equalized the score. This goal became Teymur’s debut for the Turkmenistan national team.

8. The youth football team of Turkmenistan (U-23) completed the qualification for the 2024 Asian Cup among Olympic teams. In the decisive match for qualifying from the group, the Turkmen football players lost away to the Indonesian national team - 0:2. In the first match of the qualifying tournament, Ahmet Agamuradov's team beat Taiwan with a score of 4:0, but this was not enough to reach the final stage of the tournament.