Turkmenistan

1. On the occasion of Oraza Bayramy, April 21 was declared a day off in Turkmenistan. The corresponding Decree was signed by the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov. The document requires all institutions, enterprises and organizations, regardless of the form of ownership, to ensure the implementation of this Decree. The holiday of Oraza Bayramy completes the holy month of Oraza for all Muslims, during which believers fast. Oraza bayramy has been celebrated as a national holiday in Turkmenistan since 1998.

2. Military tactical exercises will be held by Turkmenistan. Secretary of the Security Council, Minister of Defense Begench Gundogdyev reported on preparations for them at a meeting of the State Security Council on Thursday. In October last year, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov checked the combat readiness of the National Army by visiting the joint military field exercises of the Armed Forces and other military branches, which was held in the Marine Training Center located on the territory of the Turkmenbashi etrap.

3. Azadi Turkmen National Institute of World Languages summed up the results of the II Olympiad in the Russian language “Wealth of language - wealth of the people”, held among students of higher educational institutions of the country. According to the results of the competition, 10 winners and 25 prize-winners were determined. The Grand Prix of the Olympiad was awarded to Hojaberdy Hojaberdiyev, a student of the Institute of National Security of Turkmenistan. The Olympiad was held in the form of testing in a remote format. In general, 115 students from 23 universities of the country spoke on the online platform of the student competition in the Russian language.

4. The delegation of Turkmenistan took part in the ministerial meeting of the neighboring countries of Afghanistan in Samarkand. The Turkmen delegation was headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Vepa Hadjiyev. The forum, chaired by Uzbekistan, was also attended by the heads of the foreign ministries of Iran, Pakistan, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan and China.

5. Within the framework of the sixth meeting of the heads of the foreign ministries of Russia and Central Asia in Samarkand, the Russian University of Peoples' Friendship is supposed to be given the status of the base organization of the CIS for the training and retraining of journalistic personnel. At the meeting, it is planned to discuss promising areas of six-party cooperation in the political-diplomatic, trade-economic, transport, energy, cultural and humanitarian spheres.

6. The Embassy of Russia in Turkmenistan on its official website published the schedule of remote selection tests for training within the quota of the Government of the Russian Federation in the 2023/24 academic year for undergraduate and first-level specialist programs in Turkmenistan. Selection tests will be held from April 17 to 28, 2023 in the format of remote testing in two subjects in accordance with the chosen specialty on the MIPT Internet platform.

World

7. Singer and actress Lady Gaga has been named co-chair of the U.S. Committee on Culture and the Arts. Lady Gaga is a successful singer, winner of 13 Grammy awards and one of the most famous and influential personalities in modern pop culture. According to Time magazine, Lady Gaga is also one of the 100 most influential people in the world. The singer is actively involved in charity work and participates in a number of public campaigns.

8. An origami exhibition was held in Cambodia, where about four million paper hearts were demonstrated. The exhibition was organized in support of the 32nd Southeast Asian Games and the 12th ASEAN Paralympic Games to be held in Cambodia. The exhibition made it into the Guinness World Records, significantly beating the previous record set in the UK in 2019, when 53 704 paper hearts were on display.

Sport

9. Serdar Azmoun scored an assist for “Bayer” in the quarter-finals of the Europa League against the Belgian “Union”. The meeting ended with the score 1:1. In the 82nd minute, the Iranian striker of Turkmen origin helped his teammate Florian Wirtz score. Azmoun received the ball on the border of the penalty area and gave the pass to a teammate. The teams will play the second leg in a week in Brussels.

In other matches of the game day, “Juventus” defeated “Sporting” (1:0), “Feyenoord” beat “Roma” (1:0), “Sevilla” snatched a draw from “Manchester United” (2:2).

10. “Al-Nasr” announced the termination of the contract with the head coach of the team Rudy Garcia - We inform you that the head coach Rudy Garcia left the club by mutual agreement. The board and everyone in the team would like to thank Rudy and his staff for their dedicated work over the past 8 months. In the championship of Saudi Arabia, “Al-Nasr” is in second place with six matches left in the tournament, three points behind leaders “Al-Ittihad”.

11. The Turkmen TV channel “Sport” continues to broadcast the leading football tournaments in Europe live. This week, Turkmen spectators are waiting for exciting matches with the participation of the best football clubs in England, Germany, Spain and Italy.

12. The program of the first round of the major league of the championship of Turkmenistan on football starts today with the match “Kopetdag” – “Shagadam”. The game will be held at the Ashgabat stadium and will start at 17:30 local time. The meeting will be served by a team of referees headed by Charymurad Kurbanov.