Culture & Education: Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Culture is proposing a new state scholarship for citizens studying, interning, or upgrading skills abroad in culture and arts—music, theater, choreography, visual arts, cinema, restoration, museums, cultural management, and creative pedagogy—awarded competitively (foreign admission alone won’t guarantee funding). Arts Loss: People’s Artist Ulukmyrza Polotov, a major educator and mentor of Kyrgyz traditional music and folklore, has died at 83. Sports & Youth: A Kyrgyz student, Askar Abdiev, won bronze at the European Physics Olympiad in Gothenburg—the first Kyrgyz medal at EuPhO; another student received an honorable mention. Chess for the Future: A working group met to draft a 2026–2030 national program to popularize chess, including plans for a National Chess Academy. Tax & Media: A presidential decree on tax preferences for the creative sector is clarified by the State Tax Service, saying it covers information production and dissemination online, including journalists and editorial staff. International Culture: Nobel laureate Mo Yan arrived for the Issyk-Kul Forum’s 40th anniversary, with Kyrgyz leaders emphasizing dialogue across cultures and the role of culture in today’s global challenges. Community & Food: Osh’s Southern Competence Center opened to train school-meal food block specialists, supporting higher-quality meals ahead of increased per-student funding from 2027.