Islamic Tourism Budget Push: Malaysia’s tourism industry group MATA is urging a special allocation for Islamic tourism and Islamic MICE in Budget 2027, arguing it could boost Kuala Lumpur’s global pull and link tourism with trade, Islamic finance, healthcare, takaful and halal. Tajik-Iran Economic Talks: Tehran hosted a major Tajik delegation focused on energy and transport, including a proposed long-term deal for petroleum products and expanded logistics for trade that could rise well beyond current shipment levels. Silk Road Cultural Route: China launched an international cultural exchange retracing Xuanzang’s journey, with the expedition route explicitly passing through Tajikistan as part of wider Silk Road tourism cooperation. Central Asia Tech at Kashgar Fair: Chinese firms showcased AI phones, translation smart glasses and other consumer tech to Central Asian buyers, with Tajikistan’s chamber representative highlighting the quality and multilingual translation features. Future Games in Astana: Tajikistan’s presence was among the regional sports-and-esports mix at “Future Games 2026,” where athletes competed across gaming and physical disciplines. Power Outage Across Borders: A major blackout in Almaty was reported alongside outages in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, raising questions about shared causes in the region’s grid. Screening Deals for “The F Ward”: The Australian medical drama secured distribution across many territories including Tajikistan, signaling more international TV content reaching local audiences.