Day: April 4, 2022

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Man arrested in Kazakhstan on suspicion of planning assassination attempt on the president

According to data from the Kazakh National Security Committee (KNB), the man was planning assassination attempt on the president of Kazakhstan and a number of high-ranking state officials of the country.

At the same time, he reportedly planned to commit terrorist acts against officers of special and law enforcement agencies.

The man, the citizen of Kazakhstan and the agent of foreign intelligence “A”, was reportedly arrested in Nur-Sultan on March 25, 2022.

A report released by the National Security Committee on April 3 says a foreign-made sniper rifle, drugs and large sums of cash were seized during a house search of the man’s home.

The agent’s job also was to disseminate anti-Russian propaganda in Kazakhstan and create Russophobia views in community by publishing relevant materials on social networks.

During the preliminary investigation, the man reportedly confessed to committing the above acts on the instructions and in the interests of a foreign state.

Criminal proceedings have bene instituted against the man under the provisions of two articles of Kazakhstan’s Pena Code: Article 24 (2) – preparation for crime and criminal attempt; and Article 255 (4) terrorism. An investigation is under way.

Source: Asia-Plus

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Central Asia’s future elites reportedly feel positive about trading with China

An article published in the Asian Journal of Comparative Politics, in particular, notes that findings conducted at the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan show that Central Asia’s future elites are probably to feel positive about trading with China.

“Perceptions of China in Central Asia: Findings from an Elite University in Bishkek” by Christopher Primiano at KIMEP University (the independent American-style, English-speaking academic institution in Kazakhstan), Dana Rice of the Australian National University, and Alma Kudebayeva of KIMEP says the survey questions elicited responses that focus on perceptions of trade with China and China's actions regarding COVID-19, which are both polarizing issues in Central Asia.

In total, 120 people were surveyed: 56% were from Kyrgyzstan; 20% from Afghanistan; 16% from Tajikistan; 3% from Uzbekistan; 2% from Kazakhstan; and the rest from other countries. Sixty-one percent were female and 39% were male. The vast majority are reportedly from urban areas, with 79% stating they are from an urban area and 21 stating they are from a rural area. Regarding participants’ major, 33% are majoring in Political Science; 31% in Business; 3% in Law; 3% in Journalism; and the rest in another discipline. Fifty-six percent are in either their first or second year of university; and 44% are in their third or fourth year.

The authors acknowledge that such studies miss out on the more nuanced perceptions of other social groups. They, however, argue that the students in a prestigious university like AUCA are likely to be among the ‘future elites of the Central Asian region and therefore their views are disproportionally important to understand.

The authors found statistically significant findings for four different topics: 1) trade with China; 2) concern regarding debt to China; 3) China's assistance to other countries in handling coronavirus; and 4) the handling of coronavirus inside of China.

The survey findings show that trade with China was viewed positively, with a mean of 6.38 on a 10-point scale (possible scores ranged from 0 to 10, with 0 being strongly against and 10 being strongly for). Female students were more positive than male students.

In terms of concern regarding debt to China, Kyrgyzstani nationals are more worried than people from other countries. They reportedly expressed concern that Kyrgyzstan could lose its autonomy to China due to debt.

The survey participants rated China’s domestic response to COVID highly, offering a mean 7.67 points out of 10.

The positive assessment fell for China’s pandemic assistance abroad, with a mean of 5.61. Kyrgyzstan nationals were more positive than their peers.

Those who watch Western television were more likely to give China favorable ratings on its pandemic assistance.

Political science majors were reportedly the most skeptical of China’s pandemic aid abroad.

Students who believe Russian is the most important foreign language to study in Kyrgyzstan are more likely to view China’s pandemic assistance negatively.

The authors plan to scale up the research at other schools in Kyrgyzstan.

Source: Asia-Plus

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Ticket for Khujand-Moscow flight operated by Russia’s S7 airlines costs US$190.00

Beginning on n April 3, S7 Airlines operates a once-daily service from the Tajik northern city of Khujand to Moscow. An economy class ticket for the light from Khujand to Moscow costs 2,491.00 somonis (equivalent to 190.00 U.S. dollars), while the economy class ticket for the flight from Moscow to Khujand costs 1,120.00 somonis (equivalent to 86.00 U.S. dollars).

On April 4, the company resumed a twice-weekly service from Dushanbe to the Russian city of Novosibirsk. The flight will be operated on Mondays and Wednesdays. The economy class ticket for this flight costs 4,327.00 somonis (equivalent to 333.00 U.S. dollars).

On April 5, the company is expected to resume twice-weekly service from Bokhtar, the capital of the Tajik southern province of Khatlon, to Novosibirsk. The flight will be operated on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and the economy class ticket for this flight costs 4,412.00 somonis (equivalent to 340.00 U.S. dollars).

Beginning on April 7, S7 Airlines will resume a twice-weekly service from Khujand, the capital of the Tajik northern province of Sughd, to the Russian city of Novosibirsk. The flight will be operated on Thursdays and Sundays and the economy class ticket for this flight costs 4,120.00 somonis (equivalent to 317.00 U.S. dollars).

Tajikistan first privately owned air carrier Somon Air has recently announced the increase in the number of flights from Dushanbe to Moscow and back. The economy class ticket for the flight from Dushanbe to Moscow costs 4,313.00 somonis (equivalent to 300.00 euros) and the economy class ticket for the flight from Mosco to Dushanbe costs 1,869 somonis (equivalent to 130.00 euros). The introduction of the new rate is connected with a seasonal decrease in passenger traffic from Dushanbe to Moscow and seasonal increase in passenger traffic from Moscow to Dushanbe.

S7 Airlines, legally JSC Siberia Airlines is an airline headquartered in Ob, Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia, with offices in Moscow. It is a member of the Oneworld alliance. S7 Airlines reportedly operates to almost 150 destinations domestically within Russia and internationally throughout Europe and Asia. As of January 2022, the S7 Airlines fleet consists of 105 aircraft.

Meanwhile, Western media reports say the fate of hundreds of planes leased by Russian airlines from foreign companies grew murkier on March 14 after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law letting the airlines register those planes and continue flying them.

Russian state media reports say the law will let Russian airlines keep their fleets and operate foreign planes on routes within Russia.

According to analytics firm Cirium, Russian airlines have 980 passenger jets in service, of which 777 are leased. Of them, two-thirds, or 515 jets, are rented from foreign firms.

According to ABC News, aviation consultant IBA says S7 topped all Russian airlines with 101 planes on lease from non-Russian entities as of early March.

Source: Asia-Plus

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Tajikistan and Uzbekistan relaunch three bus routes

The Dushanbe-Termez route driving time is more than 5.5 hours and the fare is 130.00 somonis. This twice-weekly service is operated on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

The Dushanbe-Denau route driving time is 2.5 hours and the fare is 55.00 somonis. This twice-weekly service is also operated on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

The driving time of the bus service from the Tajik city of Panjakent (Sughd province) to the Uzbek city of Samarqand is 1.5 hours and the fare is 40.00 somonis. This triple-weekly service is operated on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

As it has been reported earlier, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan relaunched launched bus service between Khujand (Tajikistan’s Sughd province) and Kokand (Uzbekistan’s Ferghana region) on February 24.

Uzbekistan’s national news agency UZA said at the time that the travel time is 3 hours and the fare is 100,000 sums (equivalent to 9.00 US dollars).

A regular meeting of the Tajikistan-Uzbekistan joint commission on international road traffic that took place in Tashkent, the capital city of Uzbekistan, on January 12, in particular, discussed the issue of full resumption of bus traffic between the cities of the two countries, which had been disrupted after the coronavirus pandemic had been declared.

The bus service between the cities of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan was restored on May 15, 2018 after a 26-year interruption, but the Uzbek authorities restricted road connections with other countries on March 16, 2020 due to the coronavirus crisis. Uzbekistan began to gradually remove restrictions from September 1, 2021.

In October 2021, the bus service between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan was partially restored.

Meanwhile, Abduhakim Tohiriov, the Deputy Director-General of CJSC Holding Asia Group Tajikistan, told Asia-Plus on April 1 that Tajikistan is expected to launch bus routes to the cities of Russia and Kazakhstan within the next few days.

Source: Asia-Plus

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WHO donates medical waste equipment to Tajikistan

The Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population (MoHSPP) press center says Tajikistan has received fourteen medical waste incinerators from WHO.

Medical waste incineration involves the burning of wastes produced by hospitals, veterinary facilities, and medical research facilities. These wastes include both infectious ("red bag") medical wastes as well as non-infectious, general housekeeping wastes.

The incinerators will be installed in cities and districts in accordance with an order of the health minister, according to the MoHSPP press center.

The medical waste incinerators have reportedly been purchased for Tajikistan in the framework of the GAVI project.

GAVI, officially Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (previously the GAVI Alliance, and before that the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization)[2s a public–private global health partnership with the goal of increasing access to immunization in poor countries. It provides a unique opportunity for a wide-range of partners to build consensus around policies, strategies, and priorities and to recommend responsibility of implementation to the partner with the most experience and insight in the area. GAVI has developed innovative approaches to international health and development.

GAVI contributes to achieving the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals by focusing on performance, outcomes and results. Its partners provide funding for vaccines and intellectual resources for care advancement. They contribute, also, to strengthening the capacity of the health system to deliver immunization and other health services in a sustainable manner.

Source: Asia-Plus

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Another batch of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine arrives in Tajikistan

An additional 198,900 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was delivered to Tajikistan by the United States through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on April 4, according to the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population (MoHSPP).

Meanwhile, the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe says that with this delivery, the United States has donated more than 2.8 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to Tajikistan.

To-date, USA has donated more than 2.8 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to Tajikistan

Since March 2020, the United States has provided more than US$13.5 million in equipment and technical support to help the Tajikistan fight against COVID-19. This support has been used to procure medical supplies and personal protective equipment, upgrade laboratories, train public health and medical professionals as well as support vaccination efforts in Tajikistan. The United States will continue partnering with Tajikistan to end the COVID-19 pandemic, mitigate its devastating social and economic impacts and improve preparedness to respond to future outbreaks.

To accelerate the global fight against COVID-19 and reinforce the United States’ ongoing efforts to get more shots in arms, the U.S. government has donated more than 1.2 billion of the COVID-19 vaccines to the countries most in need — safely, equitably, and with no strings attached. To date, USAID has provided US$5.7 billion to provide vaccines worldwide, with more on the way.

USAID is the world’s premier international development agency and a catalytic actor driving development results.

The Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine developed by the German biotechnology company BioNTech and for its development collaborated with American company Pfizer, for support with clinical trials, logistics, and manufacturing. It is authorized for use in people aged five years and older in some jurisdictions, twelve years and older in some jurisdictions, and for people sixteen years and older in other jurisdictions, to provide protection against COVID-19. Vaccination required two doses given 21 days apart, but the interval was later extended to up to 42 days in the United States and up to four months in Canada.

The vaccine is the first COVID-19 vaccine to be authorized by a stringent regulatory authority for emergency use and the first cleared for regular use. In December 2020, the United Kingdom was the first country to authorize its use on an emergency basis. It is authorized for use at some level in the majority of countries. On August 23, 2021, the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine became the first COVID-19 vaccine to be approved in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for those aged sixteen years and older.

Five types of the COVID-19 vaccine are used in Tajikistan for vaccination of the population: CoronaVac; AstraZeneca; Moderna; Pfizer; and Sputnik V.

In Tajikistan, COVID-19 vaccination is compulsory for people aged 18 and over; in all, 5,826,301 people in Tajikistan must be vaccinated against COVID-19.

5,162,424 people (92.2 percent of adult population of Tajikistan) have reportedly been vaccinated against the COVID-19 as of March 27, 2022, according to MoHSPP.

At least 87.5 percent of the country’s adult population (4,900,199 people) has reportedly got both COVID-19 vaccine shots as of March 27.

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 revaccination campaign is under way in Tajikistan and a MoHSPP says 19.5 percent of Tajikistan’s adult population (1,089,922) has received the third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of March 27.

Source: Asia-Plus

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A 5-year-old minor was killed in a car accident

On April 2, 2022, at approximately 12:00, the driver of a Mercedes-Ateco, Hasanov Olimjon Domulloevich, born in 1959, resident of B. Gafurov district, while driving on the road in Varzob district, lost control of the vehicle. Mirzoev Mehroj Abdushukurovich, born in 2017, a resident of the district, was hit by a minor pedestrian.

Unfortunately, the minor Mirzoev MA received various bodily injuries and died at the hospital.

An investigation is under way.

Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan

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Tajikistan Receives 198,900 Doses of Pfizer Vaccine

Yesterday, 198,900 doses of the Pfizer vaccine were delivered to Tajikistan as part of the COVAX mechanism and the global initiative to support equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.

Totally, the US through the USAID donated more than 2.8 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to Tajikistan.

The vaccines are being stored in a special warehouse of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population and delivered to cities and districts as needed.

As of March 27, over 5.1 million people (92.2%) have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in Tajikistan. The second dose of the vaccine was received by over 4.9 million (87.5%) individuals. So far, over 1.89 million people (19.5%) have received the third dose of the vaccine.

Source: National information agency of Tajikistan