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The second Space Fest festival, timed to World Space Week, took place at the New Uzbekistan University. More than 400 people registered, up from 200 last year, and the number of activities grew from four to eight. The organizers were the MUBL student club, the Space Alliance association and the Uzbekcosmos agency, with support from ArticularUZ, Lumen Space Academy and ISEC.
The Bukhara City Criminal Court sentenced 72-year-old Kh. Yu. to 8 years imprisonment for extortion on an especially large scale. He posed as an Administration of the President employee, intimidated the head of a Bukhara company with an inspection and demanded $500 thousand. He was detained while receiving 10 million soums on his card.
The President of Uzbekistan adopted a resolution on additional measures to improve the system of social protection of children. In Samarkand, based on the Icelandic Barnahus model, a 'Najot' center will be created, where from October 20 interrogations and other procedural actions with minor victims will be conducted with mandatory audio and video recording. The recordings may be used in court without summoning the child. From 2027, such children will be guaranteed free legal assistance.
Ursula von der Leyen, speaking at the EU summit in Brussels, said Russia did not honor the energy truce announced by Donald Trump and called for increased pressure on Moscow. The EU is working on a 22nd sanctions package. Antonio Costa confirmed that support for Ukraine will remain unchanged.
At the summit in Brussels, EU leaders clashed over the future of the emissions trading system (ETS). Finland, Denmark and Sweden warned that weakening the system would undermine investment in clean technologies, while Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš blamed speculators for destroying Europe's competitiveness. An attempt by six countries to delay the launch of ETS2 until 2030 failed, but secured an impact assessment.
Kun.uz published the story of an entrepreneur from Andijan region who had been playing online casinos since 2020, lost 300 thousand dollars in a year and a half, incurred debts of about 200 thousand dollars, was sentenced to 8 years and spent 14 months in a colony near Karshi. He describes the scheme used to draw players in, the 'debt bondage' through the organizers, and asks the authorities to take measures against the spread of online gambling.
According to the label BigHit Music, BTS has become the first music group to surpass 10 billion streams on Spotify in a single year. The result is more than double the 2025 figure (4.5 billion) and was largely driven by the album Arirang, released on March 20, which has amassed over 5 billion streams.
20-year-old Spaniard Rafael Jodar beat Casper Ruud 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 and became the youngest semifinalist in the history of the tournament in Shanghai. The day before, he was warned for unsportsmanlike conduct after swearing at a ball boy.
Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance Khurshed Mustafayev stated that after tariff reforms the population has switched to saving: average electricity consumption per subscriber decreased from 212 to 184 kWh per month (by 13%), and gas — from 431 to 342 cubic meters (by 21%).
Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament's international trade committee, said in London that the EU's 'doors are open' for Britain and that a 'Switzerland plus' model — a package of agreements on trade, security, raw materials and digital policy — could serve as a template. His comments came amid a renewed Brexit debate: Prime Minister Andy Burnham called for a rethink of relations with Brussels, while Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch criticises him. A UK–EU summit is scheduled for 20 November.
At a dialogue with fuel and energy sector investors, Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced the preparation of 12 projects worth $850 million to localize imported energy equipment, as well as the creation of an industrial zone in the Jizzakh region for producing goods for the nuclear power plant under construction.
Negotiations are underway on the new EU multiannual financial framework (MFF) for 2028–2034. The European Commission's proposal reorganises the budget into three pillars, including a Competitiveness Fund, but carries risks of cuts to social programmes. Germany has joined the 'frugal' countries demanding cuts of around €200 billion, and Chancellor Merz has threatened a budget blockade. Without an agreement by 2028, funding will simply cease.
The foreign ministers of Turkey and 18 other countries issued a joint statement condemning the opening of Colombia's embassy in Jerusalem. They called the decision a violation of UN Security Council resolutions 476 and 478 and urged Bogota to reconsider it.
After criticism from the Association for Human Mathematics and plagiarism accusations, OpenAI announced a $5 million donation to the Simons Foundation for a new initiative to study AI-generated results. The total size of the initiative involving the Simons Foundation, Anthropic and OpenAI is $15 million.
According to the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM), Turkey's exports to ten BRICS countries in the first nine months of the year amounted to $18.2 billion. The largest destination was Russia ($4.1 billion, −2.5%), followed by the UAE ($3.3 billion), Egypt ($3.1 billion, +28.6%) and China ($3 billion, +40.8%). Overall Turkish exports grew by 5.2% to $210.9 billion.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the forced seizure of Russian assets of the French flooring manufacturer Tarkett, as well as Kappa Rus, Ontex RU, Eviosys Packaging Kuban and Menshen Packaging CIS. The companies' combined annual revenue exceeds 50 billion rubles (about €532 million). The appointed manager is Tsentr Kapital, registered in February 2026.
On October 16, during an open dialogue with investors in the fuel and energy sector, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev said the country has plans to build a second and a third nuclear power plant. Talks with new partners on the second plant are scheduled for October 17. Details of the projects — location, capacity, cost and timelines — have not yet been disclosed. According to Serbian President Vucic, the second plant is planned to be built with China, but this has not been officially confirmed.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, at the EU summit in Brussels, said that Moscow shows no readiness for a ceasefire and called on the US to 'squeeze' the aggressor to force it to the negotiating table. The EU is preparing a new sanctions package, as well as a list of European demands for future talks with Russia.
