A magnitude 5.5 earthquake occurred in Tajikistan on April 3 at 15:26 local time, according to the Republican Center for Seismological Monitoring. The hypocenter was located at a depth of 10 km, with the epicenter at coordinates 39.27° north latitude and 71.01° east longitude – approximately 269 km southeast of Tashkent.
A strong earthquake that occurred in Tajikistan on April 3rd was felt in several regions of Uzbekistan. According to the FVV Seismoprognostic Monitoring Center, the tremors were recorded at 15:26, with the epicenter located 296 km southeast of Tashkent. The earthquake had a magnitude of 5.5 and a depth of 10 km.
The 86th meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) took place in Moscow, chaired by Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov. The meeting was attended by Uzbekistan's Defense Minister, Lieutenant General Shukhrat Khalmukhamedov.
Russia's human rights commissioner, Tatyana Moskalkova, has announced readiness to transfer more than three thousand Uzbek citizens serving sentences in Russian prisons to serve their terms in their home country. The convicts themselves have expressed a desire to return, but the process is currently hindered by legal restrictions, as transfer is only possible after Uzbekistan ratifies an international convention.
The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) has released the Global Terrorism Index 2026, reporting that Central Asian countries remain among the safest in the world in terms of terrorist threats. The index analyzed 163 nations, with most regional states demonstrating high security performance.
During a training flight of a Russian Su-25 attack aircraft from the Kant airbase in Kyrgyzstan, two training munitions were inadvertently released and fell on wasteland. The incident occurred on March 31 around 17:25 local time, with the Kyrgyz Ministry of Defense reporting no casualties or damage.
Kyrgyzstan has initiated the independent printing of its national currency for the first time in its history, as officially announced by President Sadyr Japarov. He emphasized that the country was previously compelled to outsource currency production to foreign states and pay for it, but this process has now changed.
Georgia's only oil refinery, owned by Black Sea Petroleum (BSP), will completely abandon Russian crude and switch to feedstock from Turkmenistan. Company CEO David Potskhveria stated in an interview with Business Media that this decision is linked to the European Union's ongoing ban on imports of Russian petroleum products.
North Korea (DPRK) is known as one of the world's most closed societies, with its internal regulations and control mechanisms generating widespread interest. According to information from the book "North of the 38th Parallel. How Do They Live in the DPRK?" by Russian orientalist and Korean studies scholar Andrey Lankov, every citizen in the country is required to constantly carry an identity document—the "konminji" or "citizen certificate." This document was introduced in 1946 during Soviet military administration and initially resembled Soviet passports as a 12-page booklet.
Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov announced that the republic has, for the first time in its history, established its own production facility for issuing the national currency, the som. Previously, banknotes were manufactured abroad, incurring additional costs for the country. Now, Kyrgyzstan is capable of not only fully meeting domestic demand but also fulfilling orders from other states, a move that could enhance economic sovereignty and reduce reliance on foreign suppliers.
Iranian Ambassador to Uzbekistan Mohammad Ali Eskandari, at a press conference in Tashkent, denied rumors about the death of the country's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. He described the circulating information as part of a campaign to destabilize the situation in Iran.
The fifth meeting of the heads of space agencies from member states of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) took place in Tashkent. The key agenda item was a project to jointly develop and launch a technological satellite involving Uzbekistan, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Kyrgyzstan.