Weekly Round-Up - IRINCAS-172: 16-Jul-04
U N I T E D N A T I O N S
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Central Asia
IRIN-CAS Weekly Round-Up 172
10 - 16 July 2004
CONTENTS:
AFGHANISTAN: Child marriage rate still high - minister
AFGHANISTAN: UN supporting HIV/AIDS awareness
CENTRAL ASIA: Weekly news wrap
IRAN: Fall in population growth could bring economic benefits
IRAN: Tehran makes progress in some aspects of human development - UNDP
report
KYRGYZSTAN: New media institute established to protect journalists
KYRGYZSTAN: Interview with UNDP Resident Representative
KYRGYZSTAN: Dozens hospitalised in south with typhoid
KYRGYZSTAN: Children labour to pay school fees
PAKISTAN: Anti-smoking law having little impact
TAJIKISTAN: Focus on demining efforts
TAJIKISTAN: Half of capital without water following landslides and floods
UZBEKISTAN: US freeze on aid welcomed by rights groups and opposition
AFGHANISTAN: Child marriage rate still high - minister
A high proportion of marriages in Afghanistan involve girls below the
legal age, according to reports from the Ministry of Women's Affairs and
NGOs. As many as 57 percent involve young women under 16, some of them as
young as nine. "Child marriage is a serious issue in Afghanistan because
it has a very negative impact on society" such marriages increased the
maternal mortality rate and denied many young women the chance to get an
education.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42160&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN
AFGHANISTAN: UN supporting HIV/AIDS awareness
As the world continued debating in Bangkok how to curb HIV/AIDS infections
and care for those living with the disease, the United Nations Children's
Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA) in Afghanistan announced that they were supporting
the Health Ministry to improve HIV/AIDS awareness in the country.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42216&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN
CENTRAL ASIA: Weekly news wrap
In Kazakhstan, the president's office and a leading opposition newspaper
said on Monday they had failed to reach an out-of-court settlement over a
slander lawsuit, according to AP. President Nursultan Nazarbayev's office
sued the Assandi-Times last month after it accused his administration of
being behind a bogus edition of its newspaper reporting that opposition
leaders intended to resign.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42224&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=CENTRAL_ASIA
IRAN: Fall in population growth could bring economic benefits
Iran's population growth rate has declined by more than half over the past
10 years and infant mortality rates are low, at 28 infant deaths per 1,000
live births, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) announced at a
seminar celebrating World Population Day on Sunday. Held at Tehran
University in the west of the capital, the focus of World Population Day
2004 was reducing infant and maternal mortality.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42117&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=IRAN
IRAN: Tehran makes progress in some aspects of human development - UNDP
report
Iran has improved its ranking in the Human Development Index (HDI) but
lags behind in areas like gender equality, the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) announced on Thursday, at the launch of the Human
Development Report 2004. Iran ranks 101st out of 177 countries, climbing 6
places since last year, in the HDI report which has been issued every year
since 1990.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42217&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=IRAN
KYRGYZSTAN: New media institute established to protect journalists
A new, independent body has been set up in Kyrgyzstan to protect the
rights of the media, offering legal counselling and conflict mediation.
The institute is a self-regulating body whose main task is to prevent and
mitigate conflicts, along with raising the population's awareness of
international journalism standards. "The first and foremost goal of the
Media Commissioner Institute is developing media legislation in
Kyrgyzstan."
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42126&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=KYRGYZSTAN
KYRGYZSTAN: Interview with UNDP Resident Representative
Jerzy Skuratowicz is the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Resident Representative in Kyrgyzstan. An economist, he spoke to IRIN in
the capital Bishkek about the development achievements the country has
made since independence in 1991, as well as enhancing emergency response
in this disaster prone Central Asian republic.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42118&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=KYRGYZSTAN
KYRGYZSTAN: Dozens hospitalised in south with typhoid
Dozens of people with suspected typhoid have been hospitalised in the
southern Kyrgyz province of Batken, a health official told IRIN on
Tuesday, citing a lack of safe potable water as the root cause of the
outbreak. As of Tuesday, 124 people have been hospitalised in Batken
province with suspected typhoid. In 64 cases the diagnosis has been
confirmed."
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42158&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=KYRGYZSTAN
KYRGYZSTAN: Children labour to pay school fees
With the Kyrgyz school year finished, many children are away at Soviet-era
summer camps. But many other school children, especially from poorer
families, have to work in order to provide support for their families or
to earn money to pay for the forthcoming school year. In Kyrgyzstan, in
addition to textbooks, families have to pay for the upkeep of the school
as well as many other expenses associated with education.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42196&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=KYRGYZSTAN
PAKISTAN: Anti-smoking law having little impact
An anti-smoking law passed in Pakistan a year ago has proved inadequate,
according to anti-tobacco activists. The government should boost its
tobacco control efforts by strictly enforcing the law. Also, the tobacco
industry should be held accountable for its tempting advertisements which
target the younger generation.=A8 The legislation, which came into force in
July 2003, banned smoking in public places and on public transport
vehicles as well as curbing the sale of cigarettes to those under 18.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42167&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=PAKISTAN
TAJIKISTAN: Focus on demining efforts
A pioneer project to demine thousands of square kilometres of the
mountainous Central Asian state, the effort, now in its second phase, is
already showing strong dividends. There are now three survey and two
manual clearance teams, with the third survey team completing its training
on 2 July. Using manpower provided by the Tajik government the project is
spearheading efforts to create a sustainable national capacity able to
implement a comprehensive mine-action programme.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42156&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=TAJIKISTAN
TAJIKISTAN: Half of capital without water following landslides and floods
Recent floods caused by torrential rains coupled with a landslide close to
the Varzob river, a major water source for the Tajik capital, Dushanbe,
has left around 300,000 people, half of the city's population, without
water. According to the Tajik emergency ministry, torrential rains that
the mountainous country saw over the past few days caused floods and a
landslide blocked the flow of the Varzob river.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42220&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=TAJIKISTAN
UZBEKISTAN: US freeze on aid welcomed by rights groups and opposition
The US announcement on Tuesday to freeze US $18 million of aid to its key
Central Asian ally - because Uzbekistan has failed to make progress in the
areas of human rights, freedom and economic reforms under the 2002
"Strategic Partnership Framework" - was welcomed a day later by Uzbek
rights groups and opposition members. "We hope the US decision will force
the Uzbek government to rethink and change its current policy."
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=42178&SelectRegion=Central_Asia&SelectCountry=UZBEKISTAN
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