Turkmenistan

1. Dunyagozel Gulmanova was elected chairwoman of the Mejlis of Turkmenistan of the seventh convocation at its first session, held on Thursday, April 6. All 125 MPs unanimously voted for her candidacy. Gahryman Rozyev was elected to the post of Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis.

2. Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed Ivan Volynkin as Russian Ambassador to Turkmenistan. By another Decree, the President released Alexander Blokhin from his duties as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Turkmenistan, who had headed the embassy since 2011. Previously, Ivan Volynkin served as director of the consular department of the Russian Foreign Ministry. The 60 years old diplomat graduated from MGIMO in 1981 and has been working for the Foreign Ministry ever since.

3. Deputies of the Mazhilis ratified the Agreement between the governments of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan on the regime of the Kazakh-Turkmen state border. The document prescribes the establishment of a regime on the Kazakh-Turkmen state border, by defining the rules in force on the specified section of the state border and in the border strips. In particular, the document determines the content of the Kazakh-Turkmen state border, the procedure for its crossing by people, vehicles, as well as the movement of goods and other property through it.

4. In January 2023, Türkiye imported 12 896 tons of marine fuel from Turkmenistan. This figure is equal to 0,37% of the total Turkish imports of petroleum products in the specified period. Türkiye imported 9 182 tons of marine fuel from Turkmenistan in December 2022, according to the Turkish Energy Market Regulatory Authority.

5. During the visit to Turkmenistan within the framework of the “The Caspian Sea – Sea of Friendship” motocross, Governor of the Astrakhan region Igor Babushkin suggested that President Serdar Berdimuhamedov consider the possibility of opening direct regular flights between Astrakhan and Turkmenbashi by “Turkmenistan” Airlines. Babushkin also informed the head of state that the “Peter the Great” cruise liner, built to operate on the Caspian Sea, would soon be launched in Astrakhan.

World

6. In the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, freezing rain and strong winds left about a million people without electricity. Freezing rain is called rain that falls at a negative air temperature. Water from rain clouds, reaching the ground, freezes and forms frost on all surfaces, as well as on tree branches and electrical wires. Under a heavy layer of ice, perennial trees break, and wires break. Due to bad weather, the light ground metro does not operate in the region, and most flights are delayed or canceled at airports.

7. UK authorities plan to introduce a ban on the use of wet wipes by the end of the year. Hygiene products contain plastic, and therefore do not decompose like ordinary paper ones. According to official figures, wet wipes cause more than 90% of sewer failures and clogs, which cost UK utilities 136 million USD a year to fix.

Sport

8. The AFC has approved new dates for the final tournament of the Asian Cup in football, as well as a list of stadiums that will host the matches of the tournament. The meetings will be held from January 12 to February 10 next year. Initially, China was supposed to host the tournament, but in May 2022, the country refused to host the tournament. The Asian Cup was supposed to start on June 16, 2023. The draw for the Asian Cup will be held on May 11 at 16:00 Ashgabat time. The tournament schedule will be announced shortly after the draw. 24 national teams will take part in the tournament.

9. “Chelsea” have announced the return of Frank Lampard as manager. The English specialist has been appointed acting until the end of the season. Lampard will be in charge of the team as early as April 8 in the English Premier League game against “Wolverhampton”. Let us remind that the Londoners occupy 11th place in the Premier League standings, lagging behind the European Cup zone by 10 points. They still have a Champions League quarter-final match against “Real” ahead of them.