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Uzbekistan Creates Agency to Combat Termite Plague

ALMATY, Kazakhstan — Uzbekistan has set up a government anti-termite agency to combat the insects’ damage to the Central Asian nation.

The director of the new agency, Aloviddin Khamrayev, said two species of termites had spread across the country, Interfax reported Monday.

Khamrayev said the plague may be caused by the warming climate and the drying up of the Aral Sea, an inland body of water destroyed by the diversion of rivers for irrigation during the Soviet era.

He said the insects had damaged buildings in the ancient walled city of Khiva, the famed UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Termites have also reportedly affected agriculture and damaged transportation and telecommunication equipment. 

(AP)

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