WASHINGTON, 09 January 2022, (TON): Democrats are headed for a showdown with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) over his bid to force the Biden administration’s hand over a Russian gas pipeline.

As part of a deal reached by Cruz and Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), the Senate will vote next week on legislation from the conservative firebrand to put sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which will carry gas from Moscow to Germany.

Cruz needs help from 10 Democrats to get the bill through the Senate, and said he thinks his prospects for hitting that threshold are “good.”

But Democrats are raising red flags over the bill, even though they’ve previously supported similar sanctions.

”I’ve been talking to a number of my colleagues, and they have raised some serious questions about the Cruz amendment. It’s a little much,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the No. 2 Senate Democrat, asked if 10 Democrats would support the bill.

Cruz’s legislation requires the administration to impose sanctions related to the pipeline within 15 days of the bill becoming law. But a big sticking point for Democrats, raised by senators who spoke to The Hill, are restrictions on Biden’s ability to waive the sanctions, including the ability for Congress to vote to reinstate the penalties if they are waived.

 WASHINGTON, 09 January 2022, (TON): The Pentagon announced “President Joe Biden is nominating Army Lt. Gen. Michael Kurilla to lead the US Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East.”

If confirmed by the Senate, General Kurilla will succeed Marine General Kenneth McKenzie at the head of Centcom, which oversees military operations in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen.

According to his official biography, Kurilla, 55, currently leads the 18th Airborne Corps, which groups the majority of the United States Army’s response forces at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

A West Point graduate, he fought in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq, where he was seriously wounded by gunshot during an assault on Mosul in 2005.

KHARTOUM, 09 January 2022, (TON): Saudi Arabia, UAE, UK and the US backed Saturday a UN invitation to Sudan’s military leaders, political groups, and other parties to hold talks on ending the crisis started by the October 25 coup.

“It is time to end the violence and enter into a constructive process,” UN special envoy Volker Perthes said in a statement, announcing talks to bring together “all key civilian and military stakeholders.”

The four countries, known as the Quad, urged Sudanese parties to take the UN’s invitation seriously as an opportunity to restore the country’s transition to a civilian democracy.

A statement read “we strongly support this UN-facilitated, Sudanese-led dialogue initiative.”

“We urge all Sudanese political actors to seize this opportunity to restore the country’s transition to civilian democracy, in line with the 2019 Constitutional Declaration.”

Later, the UN said a news conference would be held on Monday “to mark the official launching of the intra-Sudanese Talks on Democracy and Transition.”

ALMATY, 09 January 2022, (TON): Kazakhstan authorities have detained the former head of the country’s national security committee on suspicion of treason, they said as the former Soviet republic is roiled by its worst unrest in 30 years.

According to the committee “Karim Massimov, who was fired from the powerful intelligence body this week as protests raged across the nation, was detained along with several other officials.”

Reuters was unable to immediately contact Massimov, a two-time ex-prime minister who worked closely with former President Nursultan Nazarbayev, the country’s ruler for three decades until he turned over the presidency to Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in 2019.

Dozens of people have died and public buildings across Kazakhstan have been ransacked and torched over the past week in the worst violence, experienced in the Central Asian nation, a major oil and uranium producer, since it became independent in the early 1990s as the Soviet Union collapsed.

The demonstrations began as a response to a fuel price hike but swelled into a broad movement against Tokayev’s Russian-backed government and 81-year-old Nazarbayev, whose family is widely believed to have retained influence in Nur-Sultan, the purpose-built capital that bears his name.

ANKARA, 09 January 2022, (TON): We believe that our brothers in Kazakhstan, with their own strength and capabilities, will overcome all the challenges facing the country. This was stated by the Minister of National Defense of Turkey Hulusi Akar in an interview with reporters in Ankara.

According to him, Ankara is closely following the latest events in Kazakhstan.

He said “Kazakhstan is an important ally of Turkey, and we hope for the earliest possible stabilization of the situation and ensuring law and order in this country. If Kazakhstan makes any request to Ankara, we will be ready to provide it in full. Turkey has been and will be next to Kazakhstan.”

The Turkish Defense Minister further drew attention to the successful steps to combat terrorist organizations in the region.

Akar said that in the period from July 24, 2015 to the present day, the Turkish Armed Forces have eliminated 33,275 terrorists in the region, including in northern Syria. The number of militants neutralized as part of the operations of the Turkish army after January 1, 2021 is 2 795.

According to him, the Turkish military is currently deployed in 395 points, some of which are characterized by difficult terrain and natural conditions parameters.

KHARTOUM, 09 January 2022, (TON): The United Nations said “Saturday it will launch talks to help Sudan find an end to the crisis following a military coup that stalled the transition to civilian rule.”

UN special envoy Volker Perthes said in a statement “it is time to end the violence and enter into a constructive process.”

Later, the UN said a news conference would be held on Monday “to mark the official launching of the intra-Sudanese Talks on Democracy and Transition”.

Sudan has been shaken by pro-democracy protests and a deadly crackdown by security forces since General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan mounted the October 25 takeover that dismantled a fragile power-sharing agreement between the military and civilians.

TEHRAN, 09 January 2022, (TON): Authorities said "Iran has begun paying compensation to families of those killed when it shot down a Ukrainian airliner two years ago."

The foreign ministry said in a statement marking the anniversary of the tragedy “the transport ministry has made transfers to a certain number of (victims) families."

Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 was shot down shortly after take-off from Tehran on January 8, 2020, killing all 176 people aboard, most of them Iranians and Canadians, including many dual nationals.

Three days later, the Iranian armed forces admitted to downing the Kyiv-bound plane “by mistake.”

Arash Khodaei, a vice president of Iran s Civil Aviation Organisation, said that “the sum of $150,000 has been transferred” to some families, while “the process has begun” for others.

State news agency IRNA said “the payment “does not infringe upon (their) right to take legal action.”

DHAKA, 09 January 2022, (TON): The 16th official Queen's Baton Relay arrived in Dhaka as it continues its global journey around the 72 Commonwealth nations and territories before concluding at the opening ceremony of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games on July 28.

UK High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Robert Chatterton Dickson said “the arrival of the Queen's Baton Relay will amplify moments of celebration in Bangladesh with its golden jubilee of independence, and offer opportunities for reflection and connection, galvanising the future potential of the Commonwealth.”

He said at a reception hosted by the British High Commission to welcome the Queen's Baton Relay to Bangladesh "with the 50th anniversary of UK-Bangladesh relations and our ties through the Commonwealth, the arrival of the Queen's Baton Relay in Bangladesh is another important milestone of Brit Bangla Bondhon.”

The Queen's Baton Relay is the traditional curtain raiser for the Commonwealth Games. It began when the Baton, containing a message from the Queen, departed from Buckingham Palace on October 7, 2021.

NEW DELHI, 09 January 2022, (TON): The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists asked authorities to immediately release a journalist in Indian-occupied Kashmir (IoK), days after police arrested him for uploading a video clip of a protest against Indian rule.

The media watchdog on Saturday said it was deeply disturbed by the arrest of Sajad Gul, an independent journalist and media student. It wrote on Twitter it was asking Indian authorities to “drop their investigation related to his journalistic work.

Indian soldiers picked up Gul from his home in northeastern Shahgund village on Wednesday night and later handed him over to the police, his family said. He had posted a video of family members and relatives protesting the killing of a freedom fighter on Monday.

Initially, police said he would be released but on Friday, his family was told that a formal case was opened against Gul on charges of criminal conspiracy and working against national integration. If convicted, he faces life imprisonment or even the death penalty.

Journalists have increasingly voiced concerns about harassment and threats by the police that have effectively restricted reporting after India revoked IoK’s semi-autonomy and divided the region into two federally governed territories in 2019.

NEW DELHI, 09 January 2022, (TON): Indian Congress Leader Udit Raj has claimed that “power-hungry” Narendra Modi had planned the Pulwama terror attack that took place in February 2019, just weeks before the Indian parliamentary elections that saw the latter consolidating his grip on the country.

In a tweet, the Congress leader termed the security breach during recent Modi’s visit to Indian Punjab a drama۔

He said “it proved that Modi was behind the ghastly terror attack in which 40 personnel lost their lives.”

Indian media quoted Raj as saying “Why the soldiers were allowed to travel in a convoy and were not airlifted.”

Earlier, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi including other Indian politicians had also raised doubts over the terror attack.

Lawmaker from India’s Wayanad district asked who benefitted the most from the attack and why no accountability was fixed over the security lapses that led to the attack.

Last year, Pakistan urged the international community to hold India accountable for vitiating the regional security environment after it emerged that New Delhi had staged the Pulwama attack to ensure election win for Narendra Modi.