Bishkek, 24 February 1997 (RFE/RL) -- A spokesman for the Kyrgyz State Customs service, Abdylda Maldybayev, told our correspondent today that four people have been detained following a seizure of illegal drugs on the Osh-Khorog highway yesterday. Kyrgyz authorities seized 1 kilogram and 880 grams of hashish and 30 kilograms of opium. The highway connects the Kyrgyz town of Osh and the Tajik town of Khorog.
Weekly flights to Moscow to take off
A representative of the air agency Glavtour, Petr Kharlamov, told our correspondent today that a new flight between Moscow and Bishkek will begin tomorrow. Permanent weekly flights will be organized between Moscow airport Sheremetyevo-1 and Bishkek airport Manas.
President to meet with heads of Central Asian states about Aral sea
The presidential press service announced today that Kyrgyz president Askar Akayev will take part in a meeting of the heads of Central Asian states in Almaty on February 28. The presidents of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have already said they will attend the meeting which will focus on the problems of protecting the Aral sea.
CIS commission on culture, science, education and information to meet
The Kyrgyz parliament said today that a meeting of the commission on culture, science, education and information of the Inter Parliamentary Assembly of the CIS will be held in Bishkek tomorrow.
Parliamentarians from Russia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan arrived in Bishkek today ahead of the meeting.
They held talks with the Kyrgyz minister of science, education and culture, Askar Kakeev. The parliamentarians also visited the Kyrgyz-Russian (Slavic) University in the capital. The University was founded in 1993.
Cossacks express support for brethren in Chechnya
The organization of Kyrgyz cossacks held their 6th conference in Bishkek yesterday. They wrote a letter to Russian president Boris Yeltsin, asking for support for the cossacks living in Chechnya.
Alcohol and drug abuse focus of Soros Foundation seminar
The Soros Foundation in Kyrgyzstan began today a three-day seminar on the problems of alcoholism and drug abuse in Bishkek. Fund official Dosaly EsenAliyev told our correspondent that the representatives of local governments and local medical bodies are taking part.