Weekly Round-Up - IRINCAS-163: 14-May-04
U N I T E D N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network for Central Asia
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Central Asia
IRIN-CAS Weekly Round-up 163
8 - 14 May 2004
CONTENTS:
AFGHANISTAN: Prisoners moved to Kabul from "warlord jails"
AFGHANISTAN-CENTRAL ASIA: Regional economic conference could boost Afghan recovery
CENTRAL ASIA: Conference for bolstering links with Afghanistan opens
CENTRAL ASIA: Weekly news wrap
IRAN: Reformists propose equal inheritance rights for women
KAZAKHSTAN: Poverty persists despite impressive economic growth
KYRGYZSTAN: Landslide kills two in south
PAKISTAN: Afghan refugee returns top 100,000 in 2004
PAKISTAN-TAJIKISTAN: Trade deal a positive move - economist
TAJIKISTAN: European Commission to scale back aid over three years
TURKMENISTAN: ICT training brings hope to young people
AFGHANISTAN: Prisoners moved to Kabul from "warlord jails"
Mohammad Nabi is a new arrival at Pul-i-Charkhi jail in the capital Kabul.
He is one of over 800 alleged Taliban fighters who have been detained by
powerful northern warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum since the fall of the
fundamentalist regime in late 2001. The Afghan government has been
criticised by local and international rights groups for failing to assist
these prisoners, held in appalling conditions in one of many of
Afghanistan's "private" jails.
Full copy of this report
AFGHANISTAN-CENTRAL ASIA: Regional economic conference could boost Afghan
recovery
A high-level conference of government ministers and top business leaders
from Central Asia, Iran and Pakistan ended in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek,
on Wednesday after looking at ways the region can contribute to the
economic revival of Afghanistan. United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) Resident Representative for Afghanistan, Ercan Murat, gave a
positive assessment of the results of the conference and its consequences
for the economic revival of Afghanistan.
Full copy of this
report
CENTRAL ASIA: Conference for bolstering links with Afghanistan
opens
A regional conference aimed at tapping new economic opportunities afforded
by Afghanistan and regional cooperation is under way in the Kyrgyz
capital, Bishkek. "Afghanistan's further security, stability and economic
progress very much depends on the regional cooperation with Central Asia,
Iran and Pakistan. That's the major concept of doing this in Kyrgyzstan
rather then anywhere else."
Full copy of this report
CENTRAL ASIA: Weekly news wrap
Kazakhstan and China are to sign a deal early next week to construct a
major crude oil pipeline between the two countries to boost Kazakh oil
exports to China, Dow Jones news service reported, citing a Chinese
government official, on Wednesday. The agreement is to be signed during
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev's visit to China. Construction of
the 900-km pipeline is expected to begin in June. It is scheduled for
completion in 2006 with initial output estimated at 10 million mt a year,
expected to double later.
Full copy of this report
IRAN: Reformists propose equal inheritance rights for women
A bill granting women equal inheritance rights to men has been approved by
Iran's reformist parliament. In an unexpected move welcomed by human
rights groups, the toughest challenge the reformists now face is getting
the bill past the Guardian Council, a deeply conservative vetting body
made up of 12 clerics and Islamic jurists. In the past the body has thrown
out bills promoting equal rights. Under current law, a woman is entitled
to only half her husband's estate in the absence of other heirs - the
state takes the other half.
Full copy of this report
KAZAKHSTAN: Poverty persists despite impressive economic growth
Although Kazakhstan has enjoyed relatively high economic growth over
recent years, fuelled mainly by its oil and gas industries,
diversification of the economy is needed to further reduce poverty in the
largest Central Asian country, UNDP said in a new report released on
Wednesday. The main finding [of the report] is that poverty remains a
problem in Kazakhstan and therefore needs to stay high on the national
agenda of priorities."
Full copy of this report
KYRGYZSTAN: Landslide kills two in south
Two people were killed by a landslide in the southern Kyrgyz district of
Kara-Kulja on Monday, according to officials, after a land mass of some
350,000 cubic metres slid down in the Kara-Batkak area of Kara-Kulja
district, killing 35-year-old Joomart Aliev and his son Bekmamat, 14.
According to the Emergency Ministry, they were working in a place at high
risk of landslides. Emergency officials last week warned of the
possibility of landslides in the south, citing minor tremors over the past
month and much higher rainfall expected in May.
Full copy of this report
PAKISTAN: Afghan refugee returns top 100,000 in 2004
The number of Afghan refugees returning home to their war-ravaged country
from neighbouring Pakistan in 2004 touched the 100,000 mark on Monday,
with officials of the office of United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) terming the surge in volume as significant. "The rate of
return is much faster than we had initially anticipated because last year
we didn't reach the 100,000 mark for the 2003 campaign until the end of
May."
Full copy of this report
PAKISTAN-TAJIKISTAN: Trade deal a positive move - economist
Improved trade ties between Pakistan and the Central Asian state of
Tajikistan would allow the South Asian nation to establish itself as a
gateway for Central Asian trade and commerce, and be a source for
increased revenue, according to an analyst. "Developing trade relations
with Tajikistan is a step in the right direction."
Full copy of this report
TAJIKISTAN: European Commission to scale back aid over three years
The Humanitarian Aid Office of the European Commission (ECHO) has
reaffirmed its plans to scale back its humanitarian activities in
Tajikistan over the next three years. Since 1993, the EU has provided the
impoverished former Soviet republic with 153 million euros (US $182
million) worth of humanitarian aid. "At this point we are looking at
phasing out our humanitarian assistance in 2007, providing the situation
remains stable or improves."
Full copy of this report
TURKMENISTAN: ICT training brings hope to young people
The InfoTuk centre in Balkanabat is aimed at providing computer literacy
training, along with Internet Explorer and Microsoft Outlook usage, so
that people gain the skills to operate computers at work. "I came here to
learn how to use a computer as, wherever I apply, government institutions
or private companies, the first thing they ask is 'Can you use a
computer?'. Therefore I decided to learn how to operate this machine."
Full copy of this report
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Appropriate Donations for International Disaster/Humanitarian Needs
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