DUSHANBE , January 19, Asia-Plus -- 1,552 legal entities were registered with the Ministry of Justice in 2005, Justice Minister Khalifabobo Homidov announced at a news conference in Dushanbe on January 18. 

At the same time, 75 legal entities were abolished, according to him.   

Colonel Bahrom Abdulhaqov, deputy head of the Justice Ministry’s penal system department, speaking to journalists noted that at present some 13,000 inmates, including 600 women, were held in detention facilities in the republic.  More than 80 inmates are citizens of the Russian Federation , according to him.  

“1.53 Somonis are allocated for each inmate a day,” Colonel Abdulhaqov said, noting that in 2004, this amount was 1.20 Somonis.  “Of course, this amount is not enough and international organizations and relatives of inmates are providing significant aid in this direction,” said the penal system department official, “Besides, our penitentiary system has its own subsidiary farming unit having 120 hectares of lands.”   

216 schools in eight districts of Kulob region in Khatlon receive food assistance from UN-WFP 

KULOB, January 19, Asia-Plus /Turko Dikayev/ -- Over 39,000 children in 216 schools in eight districts (except Vose and the city of Kulob) of the Kulob region in Khatlon Province get hot meals under the School Feeding program implemented by the WFP in the republic.  

Shodi Shomadov, head of the WFP field office in Kulob, has told Asia-Plus that at present they are considering the possibility of covering 79 other schools in mountain districts of Shuroobod, Muminobod, Khovaling and Baljuvon.  “Besides providing aid to vulnerable families, the program also promotes enhancement of attendance of schoolchildren, especially girls, who make 17,437 pupils of the schools covered by our program.”   

Local dehqan (peasant) farms have also settled down in providing aid to children.  

“In total, 961.61 tons of wheat flour, 96.161 tons of vegetable oil, 191.323 tons of beans and 19.232 tons of iodized salt will be distributed under the WFP school feeding program to schools in the Kulob region before the end of the school year,” Shomadov said.