Month: February 2023

DUSHANBE, A group of Tajik specialists in the field of medicine, including traumatologists and orthopedic traumatologists, took part in the 17th congress of orthopedic traumatologists in the Indian Mumbai.

Tajik specialists also visited the Meril Academy in Mumbai and got acquainted with the production process of modern industry technologies.

Along with this, Tajik doctors took part in the process of knee replacement using a robot during the operation.

During the acquaintance, Tajik doctors exchanged views with foreign colleagues on the treatment of patients and the study of new methods of treatment.

The 17th congress of orthopedic traumatologists was held from February 2 through February 4.

Source: National information agency of Tajikistan

A highway connecting Dushanbe and the northern Sughd province has partially reopened for traffic.

“Currently, traffic has been restored from Dushanbe to Khujand and the work on clearing the highway of snow is under way,” says the press center of the Branch of Innovative Road Solutions (IRS) in Tajikistan, which operates the toll on the Dushanbe-Chanak highway.

The press center also noted that about 60 avalanches have come down along this highway over the past three days.

As it was reported earlier, the Dushanbe-Khujand-Chanak highway was closed for traffic on February 1-2 as the risk of further avalanches in Varzob district was high.

Heavy snowfalls on February 1 caused three avalanches in Maikhoura and Hushyori areas of Varzob district blocking the highway on the 65th and 66th kilometers.

The Emergencies Committee said on February 1 that dozens of avalanches have occurred in Tajikistan since January 1 this year.

The risk of further avalanches reportedly remains high on some sections of Dushanbe-Varzob-Agni-Khujand highway (Sighed province), Dushanbe-Sango and Dushanbe-Lakhs highways (Rasht Valley in eastern Tajikistan), Vans-Khorog, Khorog-Ishkashim and Khorog-Murgab highways in the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO).

To ensure the safety of drivers on the winter road and provide emergency assistance, rapid rescue trams of the Emergencies Committee regularly patrol different sections of roads in mountain areas.

While most roads are open, the Emergencies Committee advices people not to travel to mountain areas unnecessarily.

Source: Asia Plus

A commemorative event to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet troops over the fascist troops in the Battle of Stalingrad took place in the Victory Park in Dushanbe on February 2.

The head of the Foreign Ministry Directorate for CIS Affairs A. Saidmurodozda, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Tajikistan Sh. Egamzoda, Russian Ambassador to Tajikistan S. Grigoryev, 201st Russian Military Base Commander Marushkin, heads of Dushanbe-based veterans’ organizations, Russian compatriots, school students and representatives of the public of Dushanbe participated in the event. In all, 200 people participated in that commemorative event.

The Battle of Stalingrad (August 23, 1942 – February 2, 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later renamed Volgograd) in Southern Russia. The battle was marked by fierce close-quarters combat and direct assaults on civilians in air raids, with the battle epitomizing urban warfare. The Battle of Stalingrad was the deadliest battle to take place during the Second World War, and is one of the bloodiest battles in the history of warfare, with an estimated 2 million total casualties.

Today, the Battle of Stalingrad is universally regarded as the turning point in the European Theatre of war, as it forced the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (German High Command) to withdraw considerable military forces from other areas in occupied Europe to replace German losses on the Eastern Front. The victory at Stalingrad energized the Red Army and shifted the balance of power in the favor of the Soviets.

Source: Asia Plus

The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) now will be able to send troops without authorization of the United Nations Security Council, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Livor said in an interview with RIA Novotel and Russia 24 TV Channel on February 2, noting that relevant amendments to the Organization’s Charter are already being prepared.

“At the suggestion of Kazakhstan, we are now amending this agreement, because it says that the CSTO peacekeepers are deployed as agreed and authorized by the UN Security Council,” top Russian diplomat said.

He noted that the CSTO member nations “consider this provision redundant since the request of the legitimate government is enough to deploy peacekeepers as it was in January 2022 during the riots in Kazakhstan.”

Recall, thousands of troops from a Russia-dominated security alliance were deployed to

Kazakhstan in January last year at the request of the country’s president, who has vowed to restore order amid spiraling unrest that has left dozens of protesters dead.

“We are now making appropriate additions to the Organization’s peacekeeping legal framework that will, of course, increase its effectiveness,” Livor stressed.

He further noted that Russia had not turned to the CSTO member nations for help in conducting the special military operation in Ukraine.

“There are no such plans in the future,” Livor added.

It is to be noted that according to Article 4 of the CSTO Charter, the organization will only send troops to help a member state whose territory or sovereignty is threatened by an external force.

Created in 1992, the Collective Security Treaty Organization is a Russia-led military alliance grouping the six former Soviet republics of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.

Source: Asia Plus

Gulf News reported on February 1 that a Tajik expat has won US$1 million at the Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire draw at Terminal 2 of Dubai International Airport.

Abduvali Ahmadali reportedly won the Millennium Millionaire Series 413 after his ticket number 4226 was picked up. He had purchased the ticket online on January 16.

Ahmadali is the first Tajik to win US$1 million since the start of the Millennium Millionaire promotion in 1999. He is currently unreachable, according to Gulf News.

Among other winners are Indian expat Amit Saraf and a Sri Lankan national Yasas Nalin Pathirana

Saraf reportedly won a Mercedes Benz S500 car, with ticket number 0115 in Finest Surprise Series 1829, which he purchased on January 12 on his way to New Delhi, India.

Gulf News notes that a regular participant in the Dubai Duty Free’s promotion since 2016, Saraf, who runs an online trading business, purchased six tickets in Series 1829.

Saraf has previously won US$1 million in Series 348 with ticket number 0518 on January 20, 2021. Following his win, he moved to Dubai from Bangalore and established his online trading business.

Yasas Nalin Pathirana, a Sri Lankan national based in Galle, reportedly won a BMW R nineT Pure motorbike, with ticket number 0906 in Finest Surprise Series 529, which he purchased on September 15, 2022.

Pathirana was also not available for an immediate comment.

To date, there have been 49 nationalities that have won US$1 million in the promotion since 1999, according to Gulf News.

According to information posted on the Dubai Duty Free (DF)’s website, Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire Promotion offers participants a one-in-5,000 chance to win US$1 million. Draws take place at approximately 2-3 weeks interval at Dubai Duty Free shopping complex. Tickets are priced at Dhs1,000 (US$278) each, there are no restrictions on the number that each passenger can buy.

Within 23-year lifespan of the Millennium Millionaire, there have been 8 winners who doubled the luck and won the promotion twice.

Source: Asia Plus

Most likely, Dushanbe’s Central Cathedral Mosque will officially open in the second quarter (April-June) of this year, Sulaimon Davlatzoda, the head of the Committee on Religious Affairs under the Government of Tajikistan (CRA) told reporters in Dushanbe on February 3.

According to him, an official visit of Qatar’s state delegation to Tajikistan is planned for this period. “The mosque will officially open with participation of the Qatari delegation,” Davlatzoda noted.

It is the bilateral international project of Tajikistan and Qatar and according to international practice, the official opening ceremony will take place with the participation of both parties.

The mosque is completely ready to open but the official opening ceremony has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Source: Asia Plus

In a report released at a news conference in Dushanbe, Director of the Drug Control Agency under the President of Tajikistan (DCA), Major-General Habibullo Vohidzoda, noted on February 3 that drug control officers seized 520.53 kilograms of narcotic drugs last year, which is 162.892 kilograms or 45.5 percent more than in 2021.

Besides, drug control officers also seized 5.303 kilograms of psychotropic substances in 2022.

In addition to this, the DCA broke up 37 criminal group totaling 89 people last year, Tajik drug control chief noted.

Besides, two operations carried out jointly with law enforcement authorities of the Russian Federation last year led to the seizure of more than 3 kilograms of narcotics drugs.

In 2022, the DCA reportedly instituted 99 criminal proceedings against 147 people and cases moved to courts.

In all, Tajik law enforcement authorities reportedly seized 4,169 kilograms of narcotic drugs, including 1,412.456 kilograms of drugs seized by the Interior Ministry, 2,008.481 kilograms of drugs seized by the State Committee for National Security, 520.53 kilograms of drugs seized by the counter narcotics agency, 34.861 kilograms of drugs seized by the anticorruption agency, and 23.841 kilograms of drugs seized by the Customs Committee, last year, which is 83.103 kilograms or 2.0 percent more than in 2021.

According to data from the Agency for Statistics based on data from the Interior Ministry, 688 drug-related crimes were reported in Tajikistan last year (a 2.7-percent decrease compared to 2021).

Source: Asia Plus