It is great that there is such a community center, where people who inject drugs can not only receive reliable information on HIV, TB and drug abuse prevention, but also receive assistance on overcoming drug dependence.

The State Registration Service of the Kyrgyz Republic has reduced the list of documents required for a national passport, marking an important milestone USAID’s efforts to simplify the issuance of passports in Kyrgyzstan.

The British government should report more frequently to Parliament on its activities within the OSCE, and the OSCE in Vienna should co-operate more fully with the Parliamentary Assembly, members of the British House of Lords said this week.

PhD scholarship programmes for the 2012-2013 academic year

Asian Development Bank Vice President Xiaoyu Zhao wrapped up a two-day visit to the Kyrgyz Republic today after several consultations with government officials on long-term development goals, short-term issues facing the country, and the role of ADB in the economic development of the country.

The University of Central Asia (UCA) received a gift of 700 publications related to research on mountain regions of Central Asia, the Caucasus and other regions of the world. The collection was donated by renowned mountain geographer and researcher Dr Yuri Badenkov of the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow. The books and journals were collected by Dr Badenkov over the course of decades of his own research on sustainable mountain development issues around the world, including Central Asia, North Eurasia and the Caucasus.

The OSCE Academy in Bishkek welcomed its first students in the new Master of Arts in Economic Governance and Development Programme today.

CHF 500’000 will be allocated by Switzerland to continue addressing the humanitarian consequences of the violence in the south of Kyrgyzstan in June 2010. This assistance will be channeled through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which has been one of the main actors in the field of humanitarian assistance during and after the violent events.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Thursday expressed deep regret that the Kyrgyz Supreme Court on 20 December upheld the conviction and life sentence of human rights defender Azimjan Askarov, despite his reported torture in detention and serious violations of his right to a fair trial.

On Thursday, December 22, the European Union has disbursed €7 million to the state budget of the Kyrgyz Republic. This financial support was disbursed in the framework of the "Sector Policy Support Programme, Social Sector - Kyrgyzstan 2010". The overall amount of the programme is €12.25 million to be disbursed during 2011 and 2012 fiscal years which is subject to the fulfilment of conditions related to reform in the targeted sectors.