Day: April 11, 2023

In order to protect agricultural land from hail, on April 10, the Anti-hail service of the Committee for Emergency Situations and Civil Defense carried out work to neutralize hail in a number of cities and districts.

With the help of 13 anti-hail projectiles, the Committee employees decontaminated 5 dangerous thunderstorm fronts in Tursunzoda, Vahdat and Yovon.

As a result of well-coordinated work, agricultural products were saved from hail, as well as valuable perennial crops were saved from destruction.

Source: National information agency of Tajikistan

By order of the head of state, Samir Seyidahmedli was appointed Deputy Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of Azerbaijan in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, a message on the website of the President of the country on April 11. This order comes into force from the date of its signing.

Source: Turan News Agency

Governor of the Astrakhan region Igor Babushkin arrived in the capital of Azerbaijan in order to strengthen good-neighborly relations with the Caspian countries, the message of the Russian TV channel "MIR 24".

The visit takes place within the framework of the Caspian-Sea of Friendship motorcycle race.

Babushkin was received by Prime Minister Ali Asadov in Baku.

Before that, participants of the motorcycle rally led by Babushkin visited Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran.

Source: Turan News Agency

The search continues in Armenia for the second Azerbaijani serviceman who entered the country from the territory of Nakhichevan, stated the press secretary of the Ministry of Defense Aram Torosyan. According to the representative of the ministry, he does not have any additional information, Sputnik-Armenia reports.

On the night of April 11, Azerbaijanis were spotted in the village of Bnunis of the Sisian community, local residents called the police. Later, the Ministry of Defense confirmed the information, stating that one serviceman of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces had been found and detained, and another was being searched for. Before that, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense reported that two servicemen got lost and disappeared in Nakhichevan.

Commenting on the penetration of soldiers into the territory of Armenia from Nakhichevan, the deputy from the ruling party, the head of the defense commission Andranik Kocharyan said that the border is "not a door to open and let it in," the talk is about a complex terrain and a vast territory. Kocharyan also does not believe that the Azerbaijanis entered Armenia for subversive activities. They just escaped from the military unit and got lost.

On November 10, the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan reported that two servicemen of the Azerbaijani army were missing in the Shahbuz district of Nakhchivan. According to the same source, the servicemen lost their way in adverse weather conditions. The necessary measures are being taken to search for the missing, the military department reported.

Source: Turan News Agency

The practice of using intimate photos and videos to silence dissidents and critics of the authorities continues in Azerbaijan, the material of the Center for the Study of Corruption and Organized Crime (CSCOC), which unites investigative journalists from many countries.

In mid-February, a well-known activist Bakhtiar Hajiyev went on a hunger strike against his arrest. Over the following weeks, photos, "exposing" him began to appear on Telegram channels. So, photos stolen from his personal phone, including also chats and audio recordings, got into the network. This was done to discredit both the activist himself and the women with whom he communicated.

At the same time, the names, home addresses or contact information of the women were mentioned on the network.

'A number of international human rights groups have reliable evidence that the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan coordinates hacking campaigns against its citizens. Azerbaijan was also recognized as the main user of the "Pegasus" spyware.

CSCOC has established that the Azerbaijani government has been monitoring more than 40 activists, journalists and their family members, including Bakhtiar Hajiyev, through the "Pegasus" spy program,' the CSCOC report says.

Source: Turan News Agency

Over the past three pandemic and postpandemic years, Tajikistan has been able to significantly reduce poverty rate, while in other member nations of the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), the number of low-income families has increased significantly over this difficult period, says the Macroeconomic Review: April 2023 released by the EDB on April 10.

Source: Asia-Plus

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) organized a cross-border survey (CBS) between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan locust control agencies on April 4-8, according to FAO Office in Tajikistan. The activities were reportedly held within the FAO Program to Improve National and Regional Locust Management in Caucasus and Central Asia, with the support of the Project for Improvement of Locust Management in Central Asia (Phase 2), funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The CBS is a key activity that allows joint monitoring and evaluation of the locust situation in border areas. It is important for information sharing and to improve coordination with respect to locust control. The CBS also contributes to maintaining a regional technical network and creates a ground for experience exchange between locust specialists. On April 4-5, the first part of the survey occurred in Tajikistan, covering an area of 30,000 hectares in the border districts of the Khatlon province and districts subordinate to the center (RRP). On April 6-8, locust experts visited bordering districts of the Surkhandarya region of Uzbekistan, where about 40,000 hectares were surveyed. FAO reportedly facilitated the event and supported the participation of six staff of the State Entity Locust Control Expedition, Tajikistan and five staff of the Agency on Quarantine and Plant Protection, Uzbekistan. 'The CSB allowed us to strengthen our joint efforts on controlling locusts. During the surveys on both sides of the borders, we could see the situation with locusts and its control, and we agreed on timely sharing and exchanging information,' said Mr. Bakhadir Khudaikulov, the head of the Locust and Mulberry Pyralid Control Department Agency of Plant Protection and Quarantine, Uzbekistan. 'On behalf of myself and on behalf of the CBS participants, I would like to thank FAO and JICA for their continuous support towards improved management of the locusts in the region', added Mr. Firdavs Kadyrov, the deputy head of the State Entity Locust Control Expedition, Ministry of Agriculture of Tajikistan. By conducting CBS activities, the project enhances regional cooperation and coordination among Central Asian countries in managing locust outbreaks. As a result of the initiative, locust control agencies of the two countries signed a protocol on common findings and further steps. They include strengthening locust control and monitoring and constant exchange of information on the development of locusts in the studied bordering areas. FAO commends the collaborative efforts of the Tajik and Uzbek locust control agencies and continues to support the cooperation to improve locust management in Central Asia. Tajikistan's goal with its preventive locust control strategy is to reduce the number of infested and treated hectares, and the negative impacts of control operations on human health and the environment, and also to protect the food security and livelihoods of highly vulnerable rural communities.

Source: Asia-Plus

Imam of a mosque in Kushonion district of Khatlon province has got a jail term for kicking the musicians out of his nephew's wedding. Radio Liberty's Tajik Service, known locally as Radio Ozodi, says the Khatlon regional court at the end of last week sentenced a 51-year-old Abdulhannon Mannonov, an imam of one of mosques in Khatlon's Kushoniyon district, to six years in prison. The sentence reportedly followed his conviction on charges of calls for extremism. Mannonov's defense lawyer Saidjabbor Aliyev Imam confirmed in an interview with Radio Ozodi information about sentencing but refrained from giving further details. Mannonov's name became known in January this year after the video was posted on social networks, where he tried to forbid the guests to sing and dance at his nephew's wedding, kicked them out and used foul language. Social media users were reportedly outraged by the video and many criticized the mullah's actions. Abdulhannon Mannonov was detained on January 27 and police launched investigation into the case. It reportedly turned out that Mannonov, hearing music at the house of his brother Abdulmannon, who was marrying his son Abubakr, scolded the nephew and kicked out the guests. During questioning, Abdulhannon Mannonov reportedly said that he had urged his nephew to hold his wedding without songs and dances, according to the rules of the Islamic wedding, but he had not listened, which had made mullah angry. While moderate Muslims generally don't object to music and dancing per se, a large portion of the faithful view sexually suggestive movement, racy lyrics, and unmarried couples dancing together as haram, because they may lead to un-Islamic behavior.

Source: Asia-Plus