31/01/2026

SATURDAY | JAN 31, 2026

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Putin agrees to pause strikes amid harsh winter

Explosion at Turkiye oil refinery

ISTANBUL: An explosion occurred at an oil refinery of the Turkish Petroleum Refineries Corporation (Tupras) in the Turkiye northwestern Kocaeli province on Thursday, prompting authorities to dispatch multiple emergency teams to the site, Xinhua reported. In a statement, Tupras said a flare-up occurred in the tank area of its Izmit refinery at around 9.30pm local time (1830 GMT) and was swiftly brought under control by technical safety teams, adding that no employees were affected and operations are continuing normally. Video footage aired by broadcaster Halk TV showed flames and thick black smoke rising over the facility. The broadcaster said numerous ambulances and emergency teams were sent to the site. Refinery workers were also evacuated as a precaution. The Izmit refinery is one of Turkiye’s largest refineries, processing about 12.7 million tonnes of crude oil and semi-finished feedstock in 2024 and producing around 12.1 million tonnes of petroleum products, according to Tupras’s website. – Bernama-Xinhua

make this happen.” The pause had initially been discussed last weekend during three-way talks in Abu Dhabi between Russia, Ukraine and the United States, he said. In addition, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz welcomed what he termed “efforts in favour of a truce”. He also stressed that “the systematic and brutal destruction of Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure by Russian attacks” is “still ongoing”, which he condemned “in the strongest terms”, said his spokesperson Stefan Kornelius. A second round of trilateral negotiations in Abu Dhabi is scheduled to begin tomorrow as Trump pushes his plan to end the nearly four-year-old war. Putin met Emirati counterpart Mohamed Zayed Al Nahyan in Moscow on Thursday ahead of those talks. The United Arab Emirates has emerged as a key mediator in the war. The talks come as Ukraine faces one of its most difficult periods HAMILTON: United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday said he is “determined” in his opposition to Israeli actions undermining a two-state solution, stressing the need for a full ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and renewed momentum towards Palestinian statehood, Anadolu Ajansi reported. Speaking during his last traditional start-of-the-year news conference at the UN headquarters in New York City, Guterres quoted French statesman Jean Monnet, saying “I am not optimistic, I am not pessimistic, I am determined”, regarding a two-state solution to the Palestine-Israel conflict. “I am determined to oppose in a very strong way all the efforts that Israel is doing to undermine the two-state solution, namely through, in the West Bank, the construction of settlements, demolitions, evictions and the violence of the settlers. “We believe that this must stop.” Turning to Gaza, he emphasised the need for a new governance terror group. As Brussels and Washington dialled up their rhetoric and Iran issued stark threats, United Nations Chief Antonio Guterres called for nuclear negotiations to “avoid a crisis that could have devastating consequences in the region”. An Iranian military spokesperson said Tehran’s response to any US action would not be limited as it was in June last year when American planes and missiles briefly joined Israel’s short air war against Iran, but would instead be a decisive response “delivered instantly”. US aircraft carriers have “serious vulnerabilities” and several American

since the war began in February 2022, with Moscow’s forces grinding slowly on in the east and bitter cold closing in. In an evening address on Wednesday, Zelensky warned citizens of fresh Russian attacks on energy facilities. Russian attacks killed six people in central and southern Ukraine on Thursday, regional authorities and emergency services said. However, Trump has repeatedly said in recent days he believes a ceasefire is possible. At the Cabinet meeting on Thursday, he said there has been “a lot of progress” in the talks. Trump’s roaming envoy Steve Witkoff said he is also confident there would be a truce, saying Trump has a “friendship” with his Russian counterpart. “I think that Trump and Putin have a friendship, and I think that allows them to talk and have a relationship that hopefully will help things out here, get to a settlement and save a lot of lives.” – AFP framework in the enclave. “We believe that conditions must be created to make sure that Gaza will have its new governance model and that governance model progressively is linked to the Palestinian Authority and that Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, will be the future state of Palestine.” Addressing criticism that the Board of Peace, established earlier this month, has not sufficiently mentioned Gaza, he stressed the urgency of implementing the ceasefire resolution in full. The creation of the Board coincided with the launch of phase two of a ceasefire agreement that halted the war in Gaza. “We must have a ceasefire in Gaza and we must move with the second stage fully, which means full withdrawal of Israeli forces, decommissioning of armed groups and paving the way for the two-state solution to finally become a reality.” – Bernama-Anadolu bases in the Gulf region are “within the range of our medium-range missiles”, said Brigadier-General Mohammad Akraminia . “If such a miscalculation is made by the Americans, it will certainly not unfold the way Trump imagines, carrying out a quick operation and then two hours later tweeting that the operation is over.“ An official in the Gulf, where states host US military sites, said fears of a US strike on Iran are “very clear”. “It would bring the region into chaos, it would hurt the economy not just in the region, but also in the United States, and cause oil and gas prices to skyrocket.” – Bernama

o Ukraine forecasts drastic dip in temperatures to -30°C in coming days, authorities race to restore services

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said on Thursday Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to a personal request to halt attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, after Moscow’s strikes left millions without heating during an “extreme” cold snap. Trump’s claim comes as Russian strikes on Ukraine’s power infrastructure have disrupted light, heating and water supplies, with temperatures plummeting and leaving the war-battered country facing a fresh humanitarian crisis. The Kremlin did not immediately confirm any truce while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Trump and said he is counting on Washington to secure the pause in attacks. US

“Because of the extreme cold, I personally asked Putin not to fire on Kyiv and the cities and towns for a week,” Trump told a Cabinet meeting at the White House. Ukraine’s state weather agency on Thursday forecast a drastic dip in temperatures to as low as -30°C in coming days as authorities race to restore services. Trump said he trusts Putin to honour the agreement. “People said: ‘Do not waste the call. You are not going to get that.’ And he did it,” he said, without specifying when the conversation took place or when the purported truce would start. Zelensky thanked Trump for his “important statement”. “We hope the United States can

UN to oppose Israeli undermining of two-state solution

A woman walking past trash strewn on the ground near a destroyed building in the Nuseirat camp for Palestinian refugees north of Deir al-Balah in Gaza. – AFPPIC

Pakistan, Iran discuss rising regional tensions

NEW DELHI: The leaders of Pakistan and Iran on Thursday discussed rising regional tensions amid a US military buildup near Iran. “We exchanged views on the regional situation and agreed that sustained dialogue and diplomatic engagement are vital for peace, security and development in our region,” said Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, after speaking to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had a phone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and underscored that dialogue and diplomacy remain the only viable way forward.

“Europe is instead busy fanning the flames. After pursuing ‘snapback’ at the behest of the United States, it is now making another major strategic mistake by designating our national military as a supposed ‘terrorist organisation’.” He warned that an all-out war in West Asia would have “knock-on effects”, including high energy cost, for European countries. Iran also threatened on Thursday to instantly strike US bases and aircraft carriers in response to any attack, after US President Donald Trump warned that time was running out for Tehran and the European Union blacklisted its Revolutionary Guards as a

The US military buildup off Iran, which includes naval and air assets such as nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln , has fuelled fears of a US-Iran war in the Middle East, even as efforts continue to be made by Iran’s neighbours to defuse the situation. Guided-missile destroyer USS Delbert D Black on Thursday joined the American armada in the region. Araghchi was in Turkiye yesterday for talks aimed at avoiding a confrontation with the United States. “Several countries are attempting to avert the eruption of an all-out war in our region. None of them are European.