DUSHANBE: Three prison guards and 29 inmates have been killed in a high-security prison in Tajikistan after convicted Daesh militants started a riot, the Central Asian nation’s Justice Ministry said on Monday.
The ministry said the riot broke out late on Sunday in the prison in the city of Vakhdat, 10 km (six miles) east of the capital Dushanbe, as militants armed themselves with knives and killed three guards and five fellow prisoners.
One of the instigators of the riot was Bekhruz Gulmurod, a son of Gulmurod Khalimov, a Tajik special forces colonel who defected to Daesh in 2015 and, according to the ministry, has since been killed in Syria.
Security forces have killed 24 militants and restored order in the prison which has 1,500 inmates, the ministry added.
Daesh, which at one point controlled large swathes of land in Syria and Iraq but has now lost its strongholds, claimed responsibility for another Tajik prison riot last November, which followed a deadly attack by its followers on Western tourists in July 2018.
Daesh militants riot in Tajik prison, 32 killed
Daesh militants riot in Tajik prison, 32 killed
- The ministry said the riot broke out late on Sunday in the prison in the city of Vakhdat, 10 kilometer east of the capital
- The militants armed themselves with knives and killed three guards and five fellow prisoners
Palestinian, Jordanian officials condemn ‘greater Israel’ map
- PA urges incoming US administration to halt all provocative Israeli policies
- Jordan says Israel will not undermine its sovereignty
LONDON: Officials from Palestine and Jordan on Tuesday condemned an Israeli map that claimed Palestinian, Jordanian, Syrian and Lebanese territories as part of so-called “greater Israel.”
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for the Palestinian Authority, described the map shared by Israeli social media accounts this week as a blatant violation of all international resolutions and laws, the WAFA news agency reported.
He said that Israeli occupation policies, attacks by illegal settlers and the relentless storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound require “an urgent international stance to stop what the Palestinian people are being subjected to from war and destruction.”
Abu Rudeineh urged the incoming US administration to halt all Israeli policies that undermine security and peace in the Middle East.
Parts of Jordan were included in the Israeli map. The Jordanian Foreign Ministry described the document as “provocative and baseless,” and that it “falsely claims that it is an Israeli historical map.”
The ministry said that Israeli actions and remarks based on racism would neither undermine Jordan’s sovereignty nor change the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.
It added that the Israeli government must “immediately cease these provocative actions and stop the reckless statements made by Israeli officials, which are only fueling tensions and contributing to the instability of the region.”
The ministry said that publishing the map coincided with “racist statements” made by far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich regarding the annexation of the Occupied West Bank and the construction of illegal settlements in Gaza, Petra news agency reported.
In March 2023, Smotrich spoke at an event in Paris and stood next to a map of “greater Israel” that depicted Jordan as part of his country.
Ukraine says conducting combat operations in Russia’s Kursk region
Ukraine’s forces have held onto a swathe of territory since a shock incursion last August
KYIV: Ukraine said Tuesday its forces struck a Russian military “command post” in Russia’s Kursk region during “combat operations,” while backtracking on a claim it had launched a fresh offensive in the border area.
Russia’s army said over the weekend that Kyiv was mounting a “counter-attack” in the region, where Ukraine’s forces have held onto a swathe of territory since a shock incursion last August.
In an English-language statement, Kyiv’s army said it had launched a “high precision” strike near the village of Belaya — south-east of Kyiv-controlled territory — without saying if it had used Western long-range weapons.
An original version of the statement, published by the Ukrainian General Staff on its Telegram account, said Ukraine had launched “new offensive operations” in the Kursk region.
The post was then edited and the reference to a “new offensive” removed.
“This strike is an integral part of the combat operations of units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, which conduct combat operations” in the Kursk region, the updated statement said.
Pro-Kremlin military bloggers have reported a powerful new Ukrainian offensive, but Kyiv had not commented on those reports, only saying in regular daily briefings that fighting in the region was ongoing.
President Volodymyr Zelensky had on Monday also alluded to fighting in the Kursk region in his evening address, stating that Kyiv was “maintaining a buffer zone on Russian territory” and “actively destroying Russian military potential there.”
It is not clear if Ukraine had advanced much in the region, but the assault would come nearly three years into Moscow’s invasion and two weeks before US President-elect Donald Trump will return to the White House.
Trump has vowed to begin talks to end the Ukraine war and Kyiv’s hold in Kursk could influence any negotiations.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that Ukraine’s “position in Kursk” would “factor in any negotiation that may come about in the coming year.”
Ukraine launched a surprise incursion into the western border region in August 2024, before Russia repelled some attacks, including with the help of North Korean soldiers sent by Pyongyang.
Ukraine said Tuesday its forces struck a Russian military “command post” in Russia’s Kursk region during “combat operations,” while backtracking on a claim it had launched a fresh offensive in the border area. (AP/File)
US determines Sudan’s RSF committed genocide, imposes sanctions on leader
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement the RSF and aligned militias had continued to direct attacks against civilians
- The militias have also targeted fleeing civilians and murdered innocent people escaping conflict, Blinken said
WASHINGTON: The United States determined on Tuesday that members of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias committed genocide in Sudan and it imposed sanctions on the group’s leader over a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people and driven millions from their homes.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement the RSF and aligned militias had continued to direct attacks against civilians, adding that they had systematically murdered men and boys on an ethnic basis and had deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of sexual violence.
The militias have also targeted fleeing civilians and murdered innocent people escaping conflict, Blinken said.
“The United States is committed to holding accountable those responsible for these atrocities,” Blinken said.
Washington announced sanctions on the leader of the RSF, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, barring him from traveling to the United States and freezing any US assets he might hold.
“For nearly two years, Hemedti’s RSF has engaged in a brutal armed conflict with the Sudanese Armed Forces for control of Sudan, killing tens of thousands, displacing 12 million Sudanese, and triggering widespread starvation,” the Treasury Department said in a separate statement.
Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been locked in conflict for more than 18 months, creating a humanitarian crisis in which UN agencies have struggled to deliver relief.
The war erupted in April 2023 amid a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule.
Saudi Cabinet approves new law to regulate petroleum, petchem sector
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Cabinet has approved a new Petroleum and Petrochemical Law to ensure a reliable and secure supply of products within the Kingdom.
The law, which was approved on Jan. 7, is designed to optimize the use of raw materials in the sector and support the localization of the value chain, according to a report by the Saudi Press Agency.
The new legislation will replace the existing Petroleum Products Trade Law and is expected to achieve several key objectives, including regulating petroleum and petrochemical operations. It aims to accelerate the sector’s growth, foster economic development, and encourage increased investment in the industry.
Upon the law’s approval, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman expressed gratitude to the Cabinet, emphasizing that the law would help establish a robust legislative framework for the Kingdom’s energy sector. He added that the new directive would facilitate the optimal use of petroleum and petrochemical resources.
The law will regulate the use, sale, purchase, and transportation of petrochemical products, as well as oversee the operation of distribution stations and petrochemical facilities, the Saudi Press Agency report noted.
In addition to the Petroleum and Petrochemical Law, the Cabinet approved several other agreements on Jan. 7. These include a memorandum of understanding for cooperation between Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Justice and Singapore’s Ministry of Law, an MoU on health cooperation with Morocco’s Ministry of Health and Social Protection, and an MoU to strengthen digital government collaboration between Saudi Arabia’s Digital Government Authority and Qatar’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.
The Cabinet also endorsed an air services agreement between Saudi Arabia and Eswatini, a Southern African nation.
Furthermore, the Cabinet reviewed ongoing development programs and projects aimed at diversifying the Kingdom’s economy, exploring new revenue streams, and maximizing the use of available resources.
Pakistan fined, docked 5 points for slow over rate against South Africa
- Pakistan was ruled to be five overs short of target after time allowances were taken into consideration
- South Africa swept Pakistan 2-0 in the series with a 10-wicket win inside four days in the second Test
DUBAI: The ICC has fined Pakistan players 25 percent of their match fee and also docked the team five World Test Championship points for maintaining a slow over-rate against South Africa in the second Test at Newlands.
South Africa, which will take on Australia in the WTC final at Lord’s in June, swept Pakistan 2-0 in the series with a 10-wicket win inside four days in the second Test.
The ICC said in a statement that match referee Richie Richardson of the West Indies imposed the sanction after “Pakistan was ruled to be five overs short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration.”
According to the ICC code of conduct, players are fined five percent of their match fee for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time. The teams are also penalized one WTC point for each over short.
The ICC also said that Pakistan captain Shan Masood accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing.
Pakistan is at No. 8 in the points table just above last-placed West Indies.
