BISHKEK (TCA) — This year’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), released by Transparency International on January 29, paints a bleak picture of anti-corruption efforts in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. In a region where only one country scores over 50 out of 100 and all other countries score 45 or less out of 100 on the index, there has been “very little progress” in combatting corruption over several years, the watchdog says.

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DUSHANBE (TCA) — United States Chargé d’Affaires Kevin Covert and General-Colonel Saimumin Yatimov, the Chairman of the State Committee of National Security of Tajikistan, on January 29 attended the handover ceremony of $3.8 million in security assistance equipment provided to the Border Guard Forces under the State Committee of National Security of the Republic of Tajikistan. The ground sensor radar system provides the Border Guard Forces with the capability to persistently monitor portions of their border that would otherwise remain unobserved by routine patrols. This capability is particularly advantageous in areas where long distances between outposts in harsh terrain make persistent patrolling challenging, the US Embassy in Dushanbe said in a press release.

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ASTANA (TCA) — Renewable power generation is set to play a greater role in Kazakhstan’s energy mix as a result of financing led by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for the construction of a new 50MW solar power plant in the south of the country, the Bank said on January 29.

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TASHKENT (TCA) — A three-day national Table-top exercise on countering the use of the Internet for terrorist purposes began on 29 January in Tashkent. The exercise, for some 45 representatives of the parliament, judges, investigators, law enforcement officers, relevant state institutions and agencies, the ICT industry, civil society, youth organizations, academia, and the media, was organized by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan in co-operation with the Action against Terrorism Unit of the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department.

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BISHKEK (TCA) — A woman in Kyrgyzstan has been arrested and charged with inciting ethnic hatred during a protest against Beijing’s policies in the northwestern Chinese region of Xinjiang, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported.

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ASTANA (TCA) — Over the first 11 months of 2018, Kazakhstan’s total exports grew by 26.4% compared to the same period in 2017, and non-primary exports amounted to $14.3 billion, Deputy Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development Arystan Kabikenov said at a press conference in Astana on January 28, the official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reported.

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