Saudi King appoints female deputy minister, sacks military chiefs
Riyadh: In a series of late-night royal decrees, Saudi Arabia announced political appointments, including the rare appointment of a female Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Development, Tamadar bint Yousef al-Ramah.
At the same time, the Saudi king sacked its top military commanders, including the Chief of Staff.
The sackings come as the war in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is fighting rebels, is nearing the end of its third year.
Saudi King Salman, who is also the Defence Minister, replaced the heads of the ground forces and air defences too. The news was published by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA), but no reason for the sackings was given.
This is another sweeping overhaul of Saudi institutions that has become the hallmark of the reign of King Salman, although the driving force is once again his son and heir, Crown Prince.
The Saudi intervention in the Yemen conflict was his initiative - one of the first indications of just how dramatically he was going to break away from the country's traditional caution.
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Crackdown on prison contraband underway, says Minister Parameshwara
Tumakuru (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Tuesday said the state government has initiated stringent measures to curb the supply of contraband, including ganja and mobile phones, in prisons across the state.
He said the government had taken serious note of illegal activities originating from Parappana Agrahara jail and spreading to other prisons, prompting immediate administrative and technological interventions.
“For many days, as you are aware, in Parappana Agrahara Jail, they had been supplying ganja to several prisons across the state, and were also providing mobile phones. Such activities had come to the notice of the government,” he said.
To address the issue, the government appointed senior officials to investigate and take corrective action. “At that time, we felt that all this must be curbed by appointing a senior officer — to find out why this is happening and who all are involved, including whether any of our own personnel are involved,” he said.
The minister said the appointment of Alok Kumar as Director General of Police (Prisons) had begun yielding results, with increased detection of violations.
“After he took charge, these issues have been increasingly coming to light in all prisons. The police have also been conducting surprise raids and making detections,” he said.
Highlighting structural reforms, he said advanced surveillance systems have been introduced.
“These CCTV systems are equipped with Artificial Intelligence (AI) cameras that can even capture audio -- I mean conversations can also be heard at the headquarters,” he added.
He asserted that the government’s intent was to eliminate such activities entirely and ensure accountability within the prison system, warning of strict disciplinary action against erring staff, including dismissal from service.
