Istanbul: Turkish security forces have detained 32 suspects over alleged links with Daesh terrorists who were planning attacks on churches and synagogues as well as the Iraqi embassy, a security source told AFP on Friday.
The Turkish Intelligence Organization (MIT) and police carried out dawn raids in nine cities including Istanbul and the capital Ankara against the group, the source said.
Three of the suspects were allegedly senior members of the extremist group.
The operation foiled the planned attacks on “synagogues and churches in Turkiye” as well the Iraqi embassy in Ankara, the source added.
Over the past months, Turkiye has intensified operations against Daesh jihadists.
Last week, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said police detained 304 suspects in 32 cities allegedly affiliated with the group.
Daesh extremists have carried out a string of attacks on Turkish soil, including against a nightclub in Istanbul in 2017 that left 39 people dead.
Turkiye detains 32 Daesh suspects who planned attacks on churches, synagogues
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Turkiye detains 32 Daesh suspects who planned attacks on churches, synagogues
- Three of the suspects were allegedly senior members of the extremist group
Matsuyama maintains one-shot lead over Morikawa on low-scoring day at Sentry
- Japan’s Matsuyama, the 2021 Masters champion, got things going with a run of four straight birdies from the third through the sixth
- Sunday promised to be another Matsuyama-Morikawa duel
LOS ANGELES: Hideki Matsuyama piled up 11 birdies in an 11-under par 62 on Saturday to set the 54-hole tournament record at 27-under and maintain a one-shot lead over Collin Morikawa at The Sentry tournament at Kapalua, Hawaii.
Morikawa also posted a 62, his featuring nine birdies and an eagle.
With the winds that so often buffet the Plantation Course again largely absent, five players posted rounds of 10-under or better.
Matsuyama’s gave him a 54-hole score of 192 — one stroke better than the previous 54-hole tournament record.
Japan’s Matsuyama, the 2021 Masters champion, got things going with a run of four straight birdies from the third through the sixth. He rolled in a 58-foot birdie putt at the par-five ninth to make the turn level with Morikawa.
After birdies at the 10th and 12th he took the lead for good with a three-foot birdie at the 14th. That launched a run of three straight birdies, and Matsuyama kept the momentum with an unlikely par at 17 after his tee shot wound up on the wrong side of the cart path.
He closed with a birdie at the par-five 18th, where he muscled his second shot to the edge of the green and two-putted to maintain his advantage on Morikawa.
“Collin played well and I just kind of followed him, so good day,” said Matsuyama, who is closing in on his 20th professional win and his 11th on the PGA Tour.
Morikawa hit 12 of 15 fairways and every green in regulation. He kept the pressure on Matsuyama all the way, starting with an eight-foot birdie at the fist.
After birdies at the third and fourth he curled in a 26-foot eagle putt at the fifth and was six-under for the day after a birdie at the ninth.
He added birdies at 11 and 12, and another pair at 15 and 16 before closing with a birdie at 18.
“Today was really, really good,” said Morikawa, whose six PGA Tour titles include the 2020 PGA Championship and the 2021 British Open. “Couple shots out there (were) a little squirrely, but for the most part the irons were center face — knew where they were going.”
His most recent win was the 2023 Zozo Championship in Japan, where he ended a near two-year title drought, and Morikawa was delighted that work he’d put in during the off-season was paying off in the opening tournament of the season.
“It’s nice to have it click together,” he said. “It doesn’t mean you’re immediately going to finish top 10, top five, have a chance to win. But it’s nice to be able to put it all together and shoot some scores in a tournament setting.”
Sunday promised to be another Matsuyama-Morikawa duel. Belgian Thomas Detry was four shots behind Morikawa after a 65 for 197.
South Korean Im Sungjae carded an impressive 62 to claim solo fourth on 198 while England’s Harry Hall posted a 66 for 199.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler wasn’t among the 60-strong field after hurting his hand in a Christmas Day cooking accident.
More records found linking Credit Suisse, Nazi accounts: US panel
- US Senate Budget Committee says Credit Suisse concealed information during previous inquiries into Nazi-controlled bank accounts during World War II
- Credit Suisse, now a subsidiary of investment bank UBS, agreed in 1998 to take part in a $1.25 billion settlement of lawsuits brought by Holocaust survivors
WASHINGTON: An investigation by a US Senate panel has found that troubled investment bank Credit Suisse concealed information during previous inquiries into Nazi-controlled bank accounts during World War II.
Tens of thousands of documents discovered during an ongoing examination have provided new proof of the existence of account holders linked to the Nazis, the Senate Budget Committee said in a statement released Saturday.
The bank did not reveal the existence of these accounts during previous investigations, notably in the 1990s, the committee said.
Credit Suisse, now a subsidiary of investment bank UBS, agreed in 1998 to take part in a $1.25 billion settlement of lawsuits brought by Holocaust survivors, but it has been accused of not being completely open about its past dealings with Nazis.
The Senate committee said Saturday that one set of newly discovered files, including 3,600 physical documents and 40,000 microfilms, was found to have a “high relevance rate” of Nazi connections.
It said the revelations stem from an interim report by former prosecutor Neil Barofsky, who was fired as an “independent ombudsperson” by the bank in 2022 after being pressed to limit his investigative work.
Barofsky was reinstated in the role in 2023 “as a result of the Committee’s investigation,” and after UBS’s takeover of Credit Suisse.
In a letter to the panel released Saturday, Barofsky noted the “extraordinary level of cooperation that Credit Suisse, under the leadership of UBS, has provided” since he rejoined the company.
But he said Credit Suisse had yet to share all the information it held.
The Barofsky team has discovered, among other things, accounts controlled by high-ranking SS officers, the Wall Street Journal reported.
In his letter, Barofsky highlighted “especially noteworthy” discoveries from a Credit Suisse research department.
“Numerous client files in the sample are marked with a stamp stating ‘Amerikanische schwarze Liste’ — meaning ‘American Black List’ — a list maintained by the Allies of individuals and companies that were directly financed by, or were known to regularly trade with, Axis powers,” he wrote.
“One file bearing this stamp relates to an entity that was involved in selling looted Jewish assets.”
Contacted by AFP, UBS said it was committed to providing a complete record of the former Nazi-linked accounts in Credit Suisse’s predecessor banks.
It said it would provide Barofsky with all necessary assistance in his work to shed light “on this tragic period.”
The Senate panel’s investigation is continuing.
End of Ukraine gas transit deal plunges Moldova’s pro-Russian region into crisis
- Kyiv refuses to renew the deal, leaving the breakaway region of Transdniestria without gas
- With longer rolling blackouts, residents are left without heating, hot water
KYIV: The pro-Russian breakaway Moldovan region of Transdniestria, left without Russian gas supplies no longer transiting through neighboring Ukraine, faced longer periods of rolling power cuts on Saturday, local authorities said.
Flows of Russian gas via Ukraine to central and eastern Europe stopped on New Year’s Day after a transit deal expired between the warring countries and Kyiv refused to extend it.
Transdniestria, a mainly Russian-speaking enclave which has lived side-by-side with Moldova since breaking away from it in the last days of Soviet rule, received gas from Russian giant Gazprom through the pipeline crossing Ukraine.
The gas was used to operate a thermal plant which provided electricity locally and for much of Moldova under the control of the pro-European central government.
The region’s self-styled president, Vadim Krasnoselsky, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said rolling power cuts in various districts would be extended to four hours on Sunday.
Hour-long cuts were first imposed on Friday evening after heating and hot water supplies were curtailed. The cuts were then extended to three hours on Saturday.
“Yesterday’s introduction of rolling cuts was a test. And it confirmed that an hour-long break to keep the electrical supply system operating was insufficient,” Krasnoselsky wrote. “The power generated is not covering sharply rising demand.”
All industries except those producing food have been shut down. The official Telegram news channel of the region’s separatist authorities announced the official closure on Saturday of a steel mill and bakery in the town of Rybnitsa.
Regional officials announced new measures to help residents, especially the elderly, and warned that overnight temperatures would fall to -10 Celsius (+14 Fahrenheit). Residents were told not to put strain on the region’s mobile phone network.
Using firewood
The news channel warned against using heaters in disrepair after two residents died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a stove. Online pictures showed servicemen loading up trucks with firewood for distribution.
“Don’t put off gathering in firewood,” Krasnoselsky told residents. “It is better to ensure your supply in advance, especially since the weather is favorable so far.”
Moldova’s government blames Russia for the crisis and has called on Gazprom to ship gas through the Turkstream pipeline and then through Bulgaria and Romania.
Russia denies using gas as a weapon to coerce Moldova, and blames Kyiv for refusing to renew the gas transit deal.
The Transdniestria power cuts are a problem for Moldova particularly because the enclave is home to a power plant which provides most of the power for government-controlled areas of Moldova at a fixed and low price.
Prime Minister Dorin Recean said on Friday his country faced a security crisis after Transdniestria imposed the rolling blackouts, but he also said the Chisinau government had prepared alternative arrangements, with a mixture of domestic production and electricity imports from Romania.
Even before the halt of supplies via Ukraine, Gazprom had said it would suspend exports to Moldova on Jan. 1 because of what Russia says are unpaid Moldovan debts of $709 million. Moldova disputes that and put the figure at $8.6 million.
Barcelona cruise into Copa del Rey last 16 after another setback to register Olmo
- The league and the federation said on Saturday that the players can’t be registered again after already having been dropped because of the missed deadline
- Atletico Madrid advanced past third-division club Marbella thanks to a 16th-minute winner by Antoine Griezmann
MADRID: Barcelona endured another setback while trying to register Dani Olmo and cruised past fourth-division club Barbastro 4-0 in the Copa del Rey on Saturday.
After the Spanish league and national federation again denied Barcelona’s request to register Olmo and Pau Víctor for the rest of the season, Hansi Flick’s team routed Barbastro in the round of 32. Robert Lewandowski scored twice and Eric García and Pablo Torre added goals.
It was Barcelona’s first win after consecutive losses in La Liga to end last year.
Another setback would have added to the embarrassment of not being able to register Olmo and Victor because of a missed deadline to comply with the league’s financial fair-play rules.
The players were only registered through the end of 2024 and Barcelona failed to reinstate them to the squad because it couldn’t clear enough salary cap space.
Barcelona eventually were able to meet the financial fair-play rules but the league and the federation said on Saturday that the players can’t be registered again after already having been dropped because of the missed deadline.
The club is expected to resort to the courts to try to register the players.
Barcelona eliminated Barbastro at the same stage of the Copa last season.
Saturday’s match was delayed for a few minutes early in the second half after Barbastro player Jaime Ara injured his head in a collision with Barcelona defender Iñigo Martínez. Ara was carried off the field on a stretcher.
Garcia put Barcelona ahead in the 21st minute, Lewandowski scored before and after halftime, and Torre capped the victory in the 56th.
Atletico advance
Atletico Madrid advanced past third-division club Marbella thanks to a 16th-minute winner by Antoine Griezmann.
It was the 13th win in a row for Diego Simeone’s team across all competitions, tying the club’s record.
Sevilla eliminated
Sevilla were ousted by second-division club Almeria 4-1 despite taking the lead five minutes into the match through Isaac Romero.
Marko Milovanovic equalized for Almeria and Luis Suárez scored a hat trick to send the hosts through.
Athletic survive
Defending champion Athletic Bilbao needed penalty kicks to get past fourth-division club Logrones.
Athletic won 4-3 in the shootout after a 0-0 draw in regulation and extra time.
Other results
Osasuna advanced by beating Tenerife 2-1 and Real Betis eliminated Huesca 1-0 thanks to a first-half goal by Isco.
Israel-Hamas talks resume in Qatar as violence shows no let-up
- Israel's defense chief says direct negotiations with Hamas seeks release of hostages
- PM Netanyahu had given “detailed instructions for the continued negotiations,” says Defense Minister Katz
- A total of 96 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead
GAZA STRIP: Israel confirmed on Saturday that negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal had resumed in Qatar, as rescuers said more than 30 people had been killed in fresh bombardment of the territory.
The civil defense agency said a dawn air strike on the home of the Al-Ghoula family in Gaza City killed 11 people, seven of them children.
AFP images from the neighborhood of Shujaiya showed residents combing through smoking rubble. Bodies including those of small children were lined up on the ground, shrouded in white sheets.
As the violence raged, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed that indirect negotiations with Hamas had resumed in Qatar for the release of hostages seized in the October 2023 attacks.
The minister told relatives of one of the hostages, woman soldier Liri Albag, that “efforts are under way to free the hostages, notably the Israeli delegation which left yesterday (Friday) for negotiations in Qatar,” his office said.
Katz said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had given “detailed instructions for the continued negotiations.”
He was speaking after Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, released a video of Albag in captivity in Gaza.
In the undated, three-and-half-minute recording that AFP has not been able to verify, the 19-year-old conscript called in Hebrew for the Israeli government to secure her release.
In response, her family issued an appeal to Netanyahu, saying: “It’s time to take decisions as if it were your own children there.”
A total of 96 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said the latest video was “firm and incontestable proof of the urgency of bringing the hostages home.”
Hamas had said late on Friday that the negotiations were poised to resume.
The militant group, whose October 7, 2023, attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war, said they would “focus on ensuring the agreement leads to a complete cessation of hostilities (and) the withdrawal of occupation forces.”
Mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States have been engaged in months of effort that have failed to end nearly 15 months of war.
In December, Qatar expressed optimism that “momentum” was returning to the talks following the US election of Donald Trump, who takes office in 16 days.
But Hamas and Israel then accused each other of setting new conditions and obstacles.
As the clock ticks down to the handover of power in Washington, the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden notified Congress of an $8 billion arms sale to Israel, a source familiar with the plan said on Saturday.
“The department has informally notified Congress of an $8 billion proposed sale of munitions to support Israel’s long-term security by resupplying stocks of critical munitions and air defense capabilities,” the official said.
The United States is Israel’s largest military supplier.
Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal said the Ghoula home in Gaza City “was completely destroyed” by the dawn strike.
“It was a two-story building and several people are still under the rubble,” he said, adding Israeli drones had “also fired on ambulance staff.”
Contacted by AFP, the Israeli army did not immediately comment.
“A huge explosion woke us up. Everything was shaking,” said neighbor Ahmed Mussa.
“It was home to children, women. There wasn’t anyone wanted or who posed a threat.”
Elsewhere, the civil defense agency said an Israeli strike killed five security officers tasked with accompanying aid convoys as they drove through the southern city of Khan Yunis.
The Israeli army said the five had been “implicated in terrorist activities” and were not escorting aid trucks at the time of the strike.
Rescuers said strikes elsewhere in Gaza killed 10 other people.
AFP images showed Palestine Red Crescent paramedics in Gaza City moving the body of one of their colleagues, his green jacket laid over the blanket that covered his corpse.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said a total of 136 people had been killed over the previous 48 hours.
On Sunday, the Israeli military said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen in the latest of a series of attacks.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been firing missiles and drones at Israel — as well as at ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden — in what they say is a solidarity campaign with Palestinians during the war in Gaza.
The Hamas attack that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 45,717 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Gaza health ministry which the United Nations considers reliable.
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