Tashkent, Uzbekistan — Under the chairmanship of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, a video conference is being held on preparation for the academic year in schools.

Before moving on to the main issue on the agenda, the head of state touched upon the situation with the coronavirus. It was noted that this week, an average of 370 new cases of infection per day were detected, and in the current relaxation of quarantine requirements, this figure will be considered a benchmark.

The President warned all leaders about the inadmissibility of hiding the real numbers. Such attempts will entail harsh penalties, including criminal ones.

Khokims, heads of sectors and responsible departments were instructed on the need to ensure strict discipline to comply with sanitary requirements in every mahalla, public places, transport and enterprises. It is necessary to prevent cases when the same wedding or another ceremony is held for several days or 3-4 times a day.

It was noted that every effort is being made to treat patients with coronavirus with the most advanced and proven methods; currently, 75 highly qualified doctors from Russia, Germany, Turkey and China are working in our country.

– Prevention of infection depends, first of all, on our attention to ourselves, our health, the atmosphere in our family. If we all, the whole society, observe the rules of hygiene, medical protection and social distance, the disease will not spread, said Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The meeting also discussed the issue of material support for socially vulnerable families.

To this end, on 26 August, the head of state signed a decree “On additional measures for social support of the population”.

According to the document, in order to provide winter clothing sets, school uniforms and educational supplies to children under 16 years old from families included in the “iron notebook” receiving benefits in case of loss of breadwinner, as well as children with disabilities, material assistance will be provided in the amount of 500,000 soums. In total, this help will cover more than 810,000 children. More than 400 billion soums have been allocated for these purposes.

There are exact calculations on the number of children from socially vulnerable families under 16 years old, payments will be made through the Pension Fund.

The Ministry for Support of the Mahalla and Family, khokims and sector leaders have been instructed to provide financial assistance to needy families in a fair, open and correct manner so that no one is left without attention. The task was set to hold meetings with the population and explain the importance of spending allocated funds exclusively for the harmonious development and health improvement of children.

Three people – including a four-year-old boy – have been killed by falling trees after a storm lashed the Australian state of Victoria.

Gusts of up to 158km/h (100mph) were recorded, causing widespread damage and knocking out power to 95,000 homes.The deaths happened in suburbs across the state capital, Melbourne – a city already reeling from a Covid outbreak.On Friday, residents in 88 suburbs were also warned that the storm had contaminated drinking water.

Locals made more than 2,100 calls for emergency assistance after the storm crossed the state late on Thursday, bringing down power lines and damaging buildings.The four-year-old boy was crushed by a tree on a footpath in the suburb of Blackburn South and died in hospital, authorities said.

• Four die as Hurricane Laura batters Louisiana

He had been walking with his father and toddler sister when the accident happened about 18.00 local time (08.00 GMT), the Herald Sun reported.The other victims were a 59-year-old man and a 36-year-old woman, both killed when trees struck their cars in the suburbs of Tecoma and Fernshaw respectively.

The storm caused untreated water from a dam to enter the city’s drinking water system, affecting up to 250,000 houses.Those residents should boil water before drinking it until at least late on Friday, said utility company Yarra Valley Water.Melbourne has been in a strict lockdown for almost two months after seeing Australia’s worst coronavirus outbreak. Almost 500 people have died in Victoria, but new infections are slowing.

Currently, residents are allowed to leave home only for essential reasons and for one hour of exercise per day.

DNA

On 26 August 2020 the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Valdai International Discussion Club held an online conference on the topic “Opportunities of Russia and Central Asian States in Afghanistan”.

Leading experts from Russia and Central Asian countries took part in the online discussion.

On the Russian side – diplomats, scientists, and researchers representing the Valdai International Discussion Club, the Center for East Asian and SCO Studies, the Institute for International Studies of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations of the Russian Foreign Ministry, the Russian Council on International Affairs attended the event.

The expert community of CA countries was represented by leading analysts from the Kazakhstan Council on International Relations, the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the National Institute for Strategic Studies of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Center for Strategic Research under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, the Information and Analytical Center for International Relations and the University of World Economy and Diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan.

During the event, a thorough exchange of views took place on the prospects for the development of the situation in Afghanistan, issues of strengthening cooperation between Russia and the Central Asian countries in the field of regional security, the processes of peaceful reconstruction of Afghanistan and the country’s integration into regional trade and economic ties were discussed.

Speaking at the conference, First Deputy Director of the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Akramjon Nematov noted that the establishment of peace and stability in Afghanistan, its economic recovery are of key importance for ensuring the security and sustainable development of the vast Eurasian space.

The expert emphasized that there is no alternative to resolving the situation in Afghanistan through political dialogue and the implementation of an inclusive peace process by the Afghans themselves and under the leadership of the Afghans themselves.

At the same time, the International Conference on Afghanistan, held in March 2018 in Tashkent at the initiative of the Presidents of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Ashraf Ghani, served as an important political basis for launching the process of a political settlement in this country. The Tashkent Declaration, adopted at the end of the conference, consolidated a comprehensive consensus at the regional and global levels on the need for an early start of direct inter-Afghan negotiations, became a kind of strategy for further peacebuilding in Afghanistan.

Akramjon Nematov pointed to the fundamental importance of comprehensive support from the international community for a continuous and progressive process of peaceful intra-Afghan negotiations to achieve long-term and sustainable peace in Afghanistan.

A major step forward in a peaceful, inclusive negotiation process was the signing of the Peace Agreement between the United States and the Taliban in Doha in February this year, which provided a historic chance to end the 40-year war in Afghanistan and reaffirmed the impossibility of solving the Afghan problem by military means.

In turn, Andrey Bystritsky, Chairman of the Council of the Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai International Discussion Club, expressed a conceptual vision of the processes in Afghanistan through the prism of the interests of Russia and the Central Asian states.

They noted the need to continue the consolidated international and regional support to Afghanistan in restoring the economy of this country so that it can firmly stand on the tracks of peaceful development in the post-conflict period.

Considering economic development as an indispensable condition for ensuring sustainable and long-term peace in Afghanistan, the experts stressed the importance of developing a broad international program for the post-war reconstruction of Afghanistan.

In this regard, the participants of the online meeting supported the efforts of the countries of the region to develop trade and economic cooperation with Afghanistan, including through the implementation of infrastructure projects, creating favorable conditions for the expansion of border trade, air, road and rail freight traffic.

It was noted that it is precisely the strengthening of transport, communication and trade and economic interaction with Afghanistan that can significantly enhance the opportunities for the development of transregional cooperation, create favorable conditions for the launch and implementation of joint projects in this country in the field of energy, trade, agriculture, education, and culture.

The conference participants were unanimous in the opinion that joint programs for the economic development of Afghanistan will become a powerful driver for strengthening interconnectedness, sustainable development, and shared prosperity in Eurasia, and can serve as a factor in building consensus between stakeholders on the need to achieve long-term peace in Afghanistan.

In general, the virtual meeting was held in a friendly and constructive atmosphere, allowed the participants of the event to exchange views and develop agreed approaches bоth in promoting the long-awaited peace in Afghanistan and restoring the country’s peaceful economy.

The Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Valdai International Discussion Club interact within the framework of the Cooperation Agreement, in particular, exchange experts, mutually participate in events organized by the parties.

In 2019, the joint X Asian Conference of the Valdai International Discussion Club on the theme “Central Asia and Eurasia: Multilateral Cooperation in the Face of the Challenges of Global Disorder” was held in Samarkand. The event was attended by over 80 authoritative experts from 11 countries, including Uzbekistan, Russia, China, Germany, Japan, Sweden, India, the Philippines, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.