DUSHANBE (TCA) — United States Chargé d’Affaires Kevin Covert, Secretary of the Security Council of Tajikistan Colonel General Abdurahim Kahhorov, Adviser to the President of Tajikistan Colonel General Sherali Khayrulloev, Minister of Defense Colonel General Sherali Mirzo, and other high-ranking security officials on February 22 attended the handover ceremony of a US $1.3 million living quarters complex in Fakhrobod to the Mobile Forces under the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Tajikistan. The state-of-the-art complex for over 200 servicemen consists of three buildings that include classrooms, dining and cooking facilities, dormitories, and hygiene facilities, the US Embassy in Dushanbe reported.

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ASTANA (TCA) — The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Ambassador of Japan to Kazakhstan, Mr. Ichiro Kawabata, on February 22 signed the Exchange of Note with which the Government of Japan committed to finance US $6,145,853 for the regional project entitled “Strengthening Community Resilience and Regional Cooperation for Prevention of Violent Extremism in Central Asia” to be implemented by UNDP. The Project Document was also signed between the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, Yerzhan Ashikbayev, and UNDP Resident Representative in Kazakhstan, Mr. Norimasa Shimomura.

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KABUL (TCA) — Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index ranks Afghanistan as the 4th most corrupt country among 180 nations in the world, with only Syria, South Sudan and Somalia having even higher corruption levels, TOLOnews reported.

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TASHKENT (TCA) — Authorities in Uzbekistan have arrested the country’s former prosecutor-general, the latest in a series of top government officials who have been caught up in an apparent purge by the administration of President Shavkat Mirziyoev, RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service reports.

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DUSHANBE (TCA) — Energy and transport sectors remained the largest recipients of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) financing in 2017 in Tajikistan, accounting for 48.3% and 31.7%, respectively, of all projects under implementation, according to the findings presented during the annual country operations review by ADB and the Government of Tajikistan.

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BISHKEK (TCA) — In 2017, Kazakhstan ranked 122nd among 180 countries on this year’s Corruption Perceptions Index released on February 21 by Transparency International. Kazakhstan had a score of 31 (29 in 2016), which means it has the lowest perceived level of public sector corruption among Central Asia countries.

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