The President of Turkmenistan sent condolences in connection with the tragic incident in Magdeburg, Germany, employees of all enterprises of Turkmenistan were paid salaries on the eve of the New Year, “Arkadag” and “Ahal” will play in the final of the Turkmenistan Football Cup, and other news

Turkmenistan

1. President Serdar Berdimuhamedov sent deep condolences to the President of the Federal Republic of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier in connection with the tragic incident at the New Year's fair in Magdeburg, which led to casualties and injuries.

2. President Serdar Berdimuhamedov held a regular meeting of the Government using the digital system, the agenda of which included a number of issues of public life. The head of state heard a report from the Chairman of the Mejlis, reports from deputy prime ministers and the director general of the Agency for Transport and Communications under the Cabinet of Ministers.

As Deputy Prime Minister Geldimyradov said, employees of all institutions and enterprises of Turkmenistan, regardless of their form of ownership, were paid wages by December 20, as well as payments of pensions, state allowances, scholarships to students and listeners for November-December of the current year.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov informed the head of state that in order to expand cooperation and taking into account Malaysia’s chairmanship in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2025, it is proposed to begin implementing Turkmenistan’s initiative to create the “Central Asia + ACEAH” format.

3. President Serdar Berdimuhamedov signed the Resolution, approving the State Program for Ensuring Aviation Safety of Civil Aviation of Turkmenistan.

The head of state also signed a Resolution, allowing the State Concern “Türkmennebit” to carry out relevant work to further strengthen the material and technical base of the installation at the Seydi Oil Refinery.

4. In Turkmenistan, from January 1 to 10, 2025, events dedicated to the New Year are planned to be organized in children's institutions, as well as in city parks. Including performances and film screenings for children, creative competitions, excursions to historical and cultural places and museums. There will also be a ceremony to present the Gulbaba Prize to talented children.

World

5. The Brazilian government has revealed the official logo for its upcoming BRICS Chairmanship in 2025. The centerpiece of the design was the majestic Amazonian sumauma tree, also known as the cotton tree. Its image is made in symbolic colors reflecting the national flags of all BRICS member states.

6. The opening of the 26th “Big World of Ice and Snow” festival, the world’s largest theme park made of ice and snow, took place in Harbin, China. The construction of the unique park facilities required 300 thousand cubic meters of snow and ice. This year, the design of the complex is inspired by the upcoming 2025 Asian Winter Games, which will be held in Harbin. The park's territory has reached a record size in the entire history of the festival - 1 million square meters, which is 200 thousand more than last year.

Sport

7. The decisive match of the Turkmenistan Football Cup will take place between the Arkadag and Ahal teams. In the semi-finals of the tournament, “Arkadag” twice beat Balkanabat’s “Nebitchi” with a total score of 12:4; in the other semi-final, “Ahal” was declared the winner, which was awarded a technical victory with a score of 3:0 in both matches with “Altyn Asyr”. The final of the tournament will take place on Monday, December 23. The match will take place at the Ashgabat stadium.

8. More than 350 schoolchildren took part in the Turkmenistan children’s and youth championship in classical, rapid and lightning chess. Athletes from Ashgabat, Arkadag, Ahal, Lebap, Mary and Dashoguz velayats took part in the competition. Also, the team of the first private professional chess academy "Küşt Älemi" was announced for the first time. As the press service of the Chess Federation of Turkmenistan notes, the representatives of the Lebap region performed the brightest, who took first place in the team competition with 67 medals out of a possible 108. And 27 of them turned out to be gold.