ASHGABAT (TCA) — A Turkmen court sentenced 18 men to up to 25 years in prison on February 8, 2017, in what appears to be a purge of people associated with Turkish schools believed to have been previously affiliated with the US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, Human Rights Watch said on June 9. In a statement published on June 9, seven organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, called on the Turkmen government to ensure that the men are released and their sentenced quashed.

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BISHKEK (TCA) — Kyrgyzstan’s Interior Ministry is probing alleged bullying of foreign students by local youths at the University of Central Asia (UCA) in the city of Naryn, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported.

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ASTANA (TCA) — India and Pakistan have become full members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), after the presidents of the SCO member states — China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan — signed a document granting India and Pakistan membership at the SCO summit in the Kazakh capital, Astana, on June 9.

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ASTANA (TCA) — On June 8, during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Kazakhstan, the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) and Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) announced the signing of a Shareholders’ Agreement to become primary shareholders of AIFC Exchange.

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ASTANA (TCA) — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is taking an active part in events during Expo-2017 in Astana in Kazakhstan, the theme of which will be “Future Energy”. The major international forum will open on June 10.

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ASTANA (TCA) — Global, Regional, and National Human Development Reports for 2016 have been presented at Nazarbayev University in Astana, bringing together the representatives of Kazakhstan’s Parliament, key ministries and departments, the academia and civil society. The reports were presented by the experts from the UN Headquarters and from the Istanbul Regional Hub of the United Nations Development Programme. In addition, Ms. Cihan Sultanoglu, the Commissioner-General for EXPO-2017, Assistant Secretary General, UNDP Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Europe and CIS participated in the presentation, UNDP in Kazakhstan said on June 8.

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