Day: June 18, 2021

Tunisia rescued at least 117 irregular migrants off the coast of Sfax in southern Tunisia who were trying to reach Europe on a plastic boat, according to the Defense Ministry.

It said the immigrants, who set off from the coast of Sidi Mansour in southeastern Tunisia to cross to Europe, requested help because of a technical malfunction.

The migrants, aged between 6 and 37 years old, were from different African nations, who set off Friday night.

They were sent to Kerkennah Island to initiate legal procedures.

Irregular migration to Europe continues because of economic and humanitarian crises experienced by most of the countries in the region.

At least 500 persons are known to have lost their lives this year trying to make the dangerous sea crossing along the Central Mediterranean route, according to UN Refugee Agency spokeswoman Carlotta Sami.

Source: Anadolu Agency

French forward Adrien Moerman renewed his contract with Anadolu Efes until 2022, the Turkish club confirmed on Friday.

The 32-year-old player moved to Anadolu Efes from Barcelona in 2018, helping the Turkish side to win a Turkish Airlines EuroLeague trophy and two Turkish league titles.

He averaged 6.4 points in EuroLeague’s last season.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Israel has found a new mechanism for transferring Qatari funds to the Gaza Strip, Israel’s Channel 12 reported Thursday.

The mechanism will allow the transfer of “Qatari and other funds to Gaza through the United Nations, and not through bags, as was the case in the past,” it said.

“This will be a factor leading to strengthening the calm between the Palestinian factions in Gaza and Israel,” the channel added.

In Gaza, the National Committee for Reconstruction plays a major role in implementing projects that serve the people of the Strip and mitigate the effects of the siege imposed on it by Israel for years.

In January, the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, issued instructions to allocate a financial grant of $360 million to support Gaza, to be disbursed over the course of 2021.

More than two million Palestinians live in the Gaza Strip, suffering from very poor economic and living conditions as a result of a Israeli blockade since 2006.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro declared on Friday that his government is seeking to negotiate with the US President Joe Biden administration the easing of their diplomatic and trade tensions.

Maduro hopes that the US eases its policy of sanctions against Venezuela so that foreign investors can invest in Venezuela, which he said would create jobs and “reduce misery” in the country.

“It’s time to make a deal … hopefully, we could find paths of reconciliation, of respect, paths of mutual benefits, and paths that allow us to normalize relations between the United States and Venezuela,” Maduro said in an interview with Bloomberg.

“Venezuela is going to become the land of opportunities … I am inviting American investors not to be left behind,” Maduro added.

In exchange, Maduro is offering a “mega-election” in the country, which would include nationwide, regional, and municipal elections.

Maduro stressed that this “mega-election” will be “transparent, reliable and verifiable.”

He confirmed formal invitations to the European Union, the African Union, electoral specialists, political centers, among other organizations.

Maduro affirmed that his government is currently having “intense negotiations” about this subject with “all the oppositions.”

He invites the United States to join such negotiations.

“I think there will be good news and good news for these mega-elections soon,” Maduro said.

Source: Anadolu Agency

aying rich tributes to Zambia’s founding President Kenneth Kaunda, who passed away at the age of 97 on Thursday, African leaders said the continent has lost a great leader and a liberation hero.

In a statement Thursday night, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said: “We bow our heads in grief at the passing of a beloved and rightfully revered father of African independence and unity – President Kenneth Kaunda.”

Ramaphosa said Kaunda supported South Africa in its fight against apartheid by offering the Zambian capital Lusaka as the headquarters of the African National Congress (ANC) fighters who were in exile.

“He devoted himself and the Zambian people to supporting the liberation movements around our region in their quest for independence and freedom,” Ramaphosa said and declared 10 days of mourning to honor the former Zambian president.

He said under Kaunda’s leadership, Zambia provided refuge, care and support to liberation fighters who had been forced to flee different countries of their birth.

“He stood alongside the people of South Africa at the time of our greatest need and was unwavering in his desire for the achievement of our freedom,” Ramaphosa recalled.




– ‘A giant of a man’

African leaders from across the continent stood united in sadness with the Kaunda family and the government and people of the Republic of Zambia, expressing their condolences and praising Kenneth Kaunda, a pioneering champion of a decolonized, united and prosperous Africa.

Namibia’s President Hage Geingob said in a statement Africa has lost “a giant of a man,” adding: “Kenneth Kaunda was a generous, affable, and a resolute leader who freed our region from colonialism.”

Geingob said Africans and Namibians are eternally grateful for Kaunda’s stellar contributions to the freedom on the continent.

“I wish to convey our deepest condolences to the Kaunda family on the passing of HE Dr. Kenneth David Kaunda, a liberator and leader, and the first president of an independent Zambia,” Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa wrote on Twitter.

He said his country’s thoughts and prayers are with the Kaunda family and the people of Zambia at this time. He also announced three days of mourning with national flags to fly at half-mast.

The secretariat of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), a regional block of 16 countries, said Kaunda greatly contributed to the formation of the regional body and will forever be appreciated.

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta sent a message of condolence to Zambia’s President Edgar Lungu, expressing his government and people’s condolences.

“Former President Kaunda was a great leader, full of wisdom who remained actively engaged in promoting the interests of the African continent for many years after leaving office. We will always remember and cherish his huge contribution to the welfare of the people of Zambia and Africa as a whole,” he said in a statement.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The 109th International Labor Conference (ILC) held in Geneva adopted a resolution on Thursday, urging global leaders to materialize an inclusive, sustainable and resilient recovery from the impacts of the global pandemic.

The resolution was adopted after an intense negotiation in the COVID-19 Response Committee of the ILC that was led by Dhaka, said a Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry statement on Friday.

Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh in Geneva, Md. Mustafizur Rahman, chaired the committee while the South Asian nation also led the Asia and Pacific Group in the negotiation as a coordinator.

The resolution listed some recommendations, including equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for all people with particular actions for reducing health risks of the health workers.

“The resolution strongly appeals for timely, affordable and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for all people in all countries for the revitalization of the global economy and the world of work,” said the statement.

Detected in China in December 2019, the coronavirus has so far infected 177.3 million people and killed more than 3.84 million across the world, according to the Johns Hopkins University update.

The pandemic has also affected the global economy with millions of people across the world having lost their jobs.

Referring to the significant role of the health staff during the pandemic, the resolution called for ensuring “access to vaccines and personal protection equipment for workers, particularly to reduce the health risk of the health workers as well as salaries and allowances of all workers.”

It also urged the International Labor Organization to play “a more effective role for accelerating the support to states to address the increasing inequality between developed and developing countries”.

Underlining the most vulnerable sectors in the pandemic, the resolution recommended expansion of the social safety net programs with a special focus on women, older people and migrants.

It calls for adopting a gender-balanced, sustainable and people-oriented post-pandemic recovery plan immediately.

Source: Anadolu Agency

As the world marks the International Day of Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict on June 19, experts are debating the role of the international community in preventing sexual violence and delivering justice to victims in the Democratic Republic of Congo and elsewhere.

This April, Pramila Patten, UN special representative on sexual violence in conflict, cited over 2,500 UN-verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence in 18 countries in 2020.

In an address to the UN Security Council, Patten shared real-life stories of survivors, including a mother and a daughter who fled a rebel attack on their village in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, only to be raped by government soldiers arriving to fight the rebels.

She also cited survivors of ISIS/Daesh captivity who, due to a lack of social acceptance, were forced to abandon their children, born out of rape.

“Each of these cases cries out for justice,” she said.

– Criminal responsibility

On whether there can be criminal responsibility for institutions that failed to protect women, Jean Damascene Ndabirora Kalinda, a law lecturer at Rwanda’s University of Kigali, says it is rare but possible.

“States have a responsibility to protect human rights, failure of which would constitute a criminal responsibility in the International Court of Justice. However, state responsibility is controversial,” he told Anadolu Agency.

He decried the “weakness” in international law in failing to provide for criminal responsibility for acts that constitute international crimes.

– ICC conviction of Bosco Ntaganda deterrent

In March 2021, International Criminal Court (ICC) appeals judges upheld the conviction and 30-year prison sentence of Congolese warlord Bosco Ntaganda, known as “The Terminator,” who was found guilty of crimes including murder, rape and sexual slavery, committed in the mineral-rich northeastern region of Ituri in 2002-2003.

He was convicted in July 2019.

The judges outlined a list of atrocities carried out by Ntaganda’s men, including rape and sexual enslavement of young children.

The court heard the case of a 13-year-old rape victim who underwent years of surgery and developed a long-lasting fear that caused her to drop out of school.

Ntaganda went down in history as the first person to be convicted by the ICC for sexual crimes.

The ICC judges also awarded victims of Ntaganda’s crimes $30 million in reparations.

Kalinda called Ntaganda’s conviction a good move.

“Punishing the perpetrator of a crime at least shows the victims that the world is not against them, giving a deterrent message to other prospective criminals,” he said.

“Therefore, if all those who commit crimes were brought to justice it would help minimize future crimes.”

While rebel groups have no legal personality and so they cannot be held criminally liable as a group, the members of the group can be held criminally liable for such crimes either individually or collectively by the International Criminal Court.

The conviction of Ntaganda was particularly significant, especially for victims, because the court recognized gender violence and acknowledged rape as a weapon of war.

Activists believe there is a chronic underreporting of wartime sexual violence, due to “stigma, insecurity, fear of reprisals, and lack of services,” which calls for proactive measures for survivors to safely come forward and seek redress.

While some survivors have broken their silence, many – fearing shame, isolation, and rejection – keep their pain to themselves.

– Holding institutions liable?

Over the past 15 years, Congolese military courts have reportedly prosecuted a number of cases involving war crimes and crimes against humanity, but much still needs to be done to effectively address impunity for serious international crimes, according to rights activists.

Kalinda said states and international organizations that participate, facilitate in, or otherwise fail to prevent the commission of international crimes like sexual violence should also be held criminally liable.

He also underlined that when war crimes and crimes against humanity are committed, the perpetrators should be prosecuted without any bias, the victims compensated without delay, and those who need medical care and other facilities should be able to get them in a reasonable time.

“This is a responsibility of the state and other actors, including the international community, especially as these are international crimes,” he said.

According to the UN, conflict-related sexual violence does not occur in a vacuum.

It is rather linked with wider security factors such as economic hardship, social tensions, impunity and institutional weakness, many of which have been exacerbated by the advent and consequences of COVID-19.

– Is the world failing women?

The UN says needs of survivors of sexual violence cannot be put on pause, and neither can the response to such violence.

If left unaddressed, conflict-related sexual violence can engender vicious cycles of violence and impunity, with corrosive effects on social cohesion, public health and peace-building.

Beatrix Attinger Colijn, senior women protection adviser of the UN Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), has highlighted limited access to justice for sexual violence victims, including social obstacles to reporting violence and a lack of service infrastructure in rural areas.

Humanitarian access to many regions has gone “from risky to impossible” due to numerous thefts of vehicles and bridges being deliberately destroyed.

Colijn underlined the importance of restoring the dignity and confidence of victims to regain control of their own lives.

“When history looks back on this painful episode – as part of the long litany of battles fought on the bodies of women and girls, from Bosnia, to Rwanda, Iraq, Syria and elsewhere – we will rightly be asked what we did to honor our commitments,” Patten said.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Last year, when Indian film Director Vivek Agnihotri tried to bring a change in the Kashmiri food by captioning a vegetarian food plate as “Vegetarian Wazwan,” locals expressed anger over what they saw as an infringement of their cultural traditions.

The multi-course dish Wazwan, which consists of 36 dishes made up of lamb meat, has been preserved and relished in the region from many decades.

Its name is derived from the Sanskrit word waaja, which means “to cook,” with the chef cooking it known locally as the waza.

For World Gastronomy Day on June 18, local Chef Fayaz Ahmad Mir told Anadolu Agency about the exquisite details of the cuisine that he has been mastering for 18 years.

Mir belongs to a clan of chefs who for generations have been practicing the art of cooking Kashmiri Wazwan on festivals and marriage ceremonies.

“Wazwan is our identity, it’s not about cooking food, it’s about our culture, surroundings and traditions we cherish from many generations,” the 48-year-old Mir said.

– Exquisite dishes

By custom, Wazwan is cooked by five to 10 men under the supervision of the head chef, called wasta waza.

It is the wasta wazwa who oversees the preparation and making of the food that is entirely based on lamb meat, with even the vegetarian dishes that come with it containing mutton broth and mutton pieces.

The 36 dishes that make up the mouth-watering feast include small meatballs called Rista, Korma or pieces of meat prepared in mashed red chilies, pieces of rib meat prepared in clear butter known as Tabakmaaz, and Kababs.

The main course ends with what is known as gushtaba, a large meatball dish prepared in curds. The feast is usually served to four people together in a big copper plate called a Traem.

Mir said that naturally, Kashmiris have loved meat, irrespective of what faith they profess.

“My grandfather used to get orders from Kashmiri Pandits (Hindus) to prepare Wazwan for their festivals and other ceremonies. It was a feast for all,” Mir recalls.

Today, Mir heads a group of chefs of around 12 men. He oversees all the preparations for cooking the huge feast which is prepared for over 100 people in large copperware over burning firewood.

Preparations to cook the food begin a day before guests arrive but due to the pandemic, they can only serve a limited attendance.

“The last two years have been very distressing. Our work suffered immensely. Lots of orders were discarded and many were postponed but whatever little we’re preparing now, things are still moving,” Mir said.

– Historical significance

The history of modern Kashmiri cuisine can be traced back to the 15-century invasion of India by the Timurid Empire, which was based in and around modern day Afghanistan and Iran.

It brought around 1,700 skilled workers from the Samarkand region, including cooks, to Kashmir. These cooks settled in the region and their descendants are today “Wazas” — chefs — of Kashmir.

Kashmir Historian Abdul Ahad told Anadolu Agency that there are two vital parts of the region’s identity, “one is language and the other is food.”

“Kashmiri cuisine is not just food, it’s the history of the people associated with it. I say it’s an amalgam of foods which has been brought here centuries ago,” said Ahad.

Mentioning that Kashmiri food signifies different cultures, he said: “You see the word Korma has of Turkish origin, the word Kabab of Arabic origin and Rogan josh was derived from a Persian word. So, all these foods we prepare here signify different food cultures at one place.”

He told Anadolu Agency that this cuisine was irreplaceable by anything because with time, it has gotten more sophisticated.

“In any situation, this food has been cooked here for many years and you won’t find it in any other part of the world. The wazwan prepared and relished here is unique because of its ingredients, surroundings and water,” Ahad added.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Nearly 200 Afghan security forces under siege by the Taliban for days have finally been rescued with the air support in Herat province that borders Iran, officials said.

Jailani Farhad, a spokesman for the Herat governor, said all besieged security forces from the restive Oba district have been rescued and taken to a health center.

For days, friends and relatives of these forces held a series of demonstrations in front of the governor’s office, demanding their safe return amid mounting Taliban assaults cutting off supplies.

According to Zia-ul-Haq Nouri, the district chief, at least 49 security personnel out of 120 were wounded in the Taliban attacks.

He told Anadolu Agency that a number of these wounded soldiers were in critical condition due to lack of medicine and treatment.

The Taliban, on the contrary, claimed to have overrun the district.

According to the local Killid Radio, out of 387 districts and 34 provincial capitals, the centers of at least 30 districts have fallen to the Taliban over the last two months.

Meanwhile, the Afghan Defense Ministry claimed to have inflicted heavy death toll on the insurgents.

In a statement, the ministry said 258 Taliban were killed in the ongoing clean-up operations in 13 provinces of the country, while 76 landmines planted by the insurgents were defused in the past 24 hours.

Since the announcement of an exit date of September 2021 for American troops by US President Joe Biden, Afghanistan has been witnessing a spike in deadly Taliban assaults across the country that has led to mounting casualties on all sides.

Source: Anadolu Agency