ASHGABAT (TCA) — Turkmenistan has put its military and law enforcement agencies on high alert for the period from August 17 until September 27, as the country is preparing and will host the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat, the State News Agency of Turkmenistan reported.

President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov signed a resolution ordering law enforcement and military agencies to carry out intensified mode of their work for provision of high-level security and public order, protection of the state border, prevention of crimes and illegal acts related to migration during the organization and holding of the Games.

At the special session of the State Security Council on August 15, Berdymukhammedov said that the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games will kick off on September 17. Visits of numerous high-ranking guests, heads of state, representatives of international organizations and other officials are expected during this period. Turkmenistan, as the host of Ashgabat 2017 Games, has to provide absolute safety during the events. In this regards, a high alert mode of work of military and law enforcement departments is announced from August 17 to September 27, when the Games will end.

All security forces are to work in a 24/7 mode, the president said, adding that the borders have to be closed, visa issuances are to be limited and customs mode is to be intensified. In addition, exit and entry permits are to be given to people travelling on private and social affairs as well as for participation in previously agreed international events, the president said.

All international exhibitions and events planned to be held in Ashgabat in this period are to be postponed to other dates.

The 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games is the largest sports event Turkmenistan has ever hosted.

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ALMATY (TCA) — Chinese authorities in the northwestern region of Xinjiang have sentenced an ethnic Kazakh man to 12 years’ imprisonment after detaining him amid an ongoing crackdown on ethnic minority groups who study or seek to emigrate overseas, Radio Free Asia reported on August 16 citing its sources.

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BISHKEK (TCA) — Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan have reached a significant progress in the preparation of a draft inter-state agreement on the Kyrgyz-Uzbek state border, Uzbekistan’s Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov told the media after a meeting of the intergovernmental commission on border delimitation, held in Bishkek on August 16. As the two neighboring countries have taken another step to solving the most important problem in bilateral relations since the breakup of the Soviet Union, we are republishing this article by Nurjamal Djanibekova, originally published by EurasiaNet.org:

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BISHKEK (TCA) — IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has helped the Government of Kyrgyzstan improve dialysis treatment for patients suffering from kidney failure, part of the Government’s effort to improve patients access to high-quality health services in the country.

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ASTANA (TCA) — Food production in Kazakhstan increased by 7.5 percent in the first half of this year, with growth registered in the production of flour, pasta, cereals, vegetable oil and processed milk as compared with the previous year, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Rustem Kurmanov said on August 16 at a press conference on the implementation of the State Program for the Agro-Industrial Sector Development for 2017-2021, the official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reported.

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