Day: June 27, 2021

An Iraqi policeman was killed and two others were injured in an attack in the northern Kirkuk province on Sunday, according to a local police officer.

Armed men staged an armed attack on a federal police checkpoint in Riyadh district, southwest of Kirkuk, the officer said on condition of anonymity because of restrictions on speaking to the media.

The attackers fled the scene unscathed, the officer said, blaming the Daesh/ISIS group for the attack.

Iraqi authorities have yet to confirm the attack, which came one day after the killing of five policemen in a bomb attack targeting their vehicle in Kirkuk on Saturday.

Daesh/ISIS terrorists have in recent months escalated their attacks, especially in the area between Kirkuk, Salahuddin, and Diyala, known as the Triangle of Death.

In 2017, Iraq declared victory over Daesh/ISIS by reclaiming all territories the terrorist group controlled since the summer of 2014, which was estimated to be about a third of the country’s territory.

The group, however, still maintains sleeper cells in large areas in Iraq and launches attacks.

Source: Anadolu Agency

At least seven people, including a child, were killed and nearly 50 others injured when an explosion hit a three-story building in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka Sunday night, according to the fire brigade.

“We are investigating the cause of the blast and a probe body has been formed to report by seven working days,” Sazzad Hussain, director-general of Fire Service and Civil Defense, told Anadolu Agency.

Citing the preliminary police report and the initial documents on the spot, Hussain confirmed the casualties, adding that the injured were shifted to the country’s main public hospital, Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Meanwhile, eyewitnesses said that they had heard a heavy sound at around 19.30 p.m. local time (1330GMT).

“I have never ever in my life heard such a monstrous sound and saw that glasses of the surrounding building were broken down,” Md. Shamsul Alam, an eyewitness of the Moghbajar wireless gate area in central Dhaka where the incident took place, told Anadolu Agency.

Hussain, however, added that 13 units of the Fire Service took part in the rescue operation along with members of regular law enforcement agencies.

The blast blocked the traffic in the area for hours, causing heavy traffic jams in most parts of Dhaka.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Turkish athlete Ferhat Arican clinched a gold medal at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup, the International Gymnastics Federation confirmed on Saturday.

“Parallel Bars final at #DohaGym2021: With a spectacular showing (7.0 D-score for 15.566), Ferhat Arican dominated the competition to take gold by more than half a point over silver medalist Petro Pakhniuk. Caio Souza wins the bronze,” the federation said on Twitter.

Ahmet Onder, another Turkish athlete, clinched the eighth place with 13.833 points in Qatar’s capital Doha.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Religious leaders responsible for running Canada’s Indian residential schools should face court action, Canada’s minister of northern affairs said Sunday.

“Of course they need to be charged,’ said Dan Vandal. “This is the sort of thing you read about in another country, you don’t read about this in Canada, but if people are still alive, then we need to do all things necessary to achieve justice, of course, we need to bring charges forward.”

Vandal made the remarks on the CTV television program ‘Question Period’ that aired Sunday.

There were 139 residential schools operating across Canada beginning in the 1890s. They were run by Roman Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian, and United Churches, as well as by the federal government. About 150,000 children attended the schools and the last one closed in 1996.

The head of the Native Women’s Association of Canada agreed with Vandal.

“If they have committed a crime, then they need to be held criminally responsible for those actions,” said Lynne Groulx. “No one is above the law. Everyone is equal under the law. Even our governments.”

Canadians reacted with horror when almost 1,000 unmarked graves were discovered in June at former residential school sites in British Columbia and Saskatchewan. The goal of the schools was to stamp out the native culture and instill a white culture in the children. They were often physically, emotionally and sexually abused and about 4,000 died and were buried, sometimes without markers, and their families were not told what happened to them.

“This was a crime against humanity,” said Bobby Cameron, chief of the Sovereign Indigenous Nations and Saskatchewan Regional Chief for the Assembly of First Nations.

The government announced it would distribute C$27 million for aid in the search of graves at other residential school sites. First Nations leaders said the funds were not sufficient and the government left the door open to committing more money.

“We need to work with the chiefs and I think if more money is needed, then we need to find those resources,” Vandal said. “So again, this is something that is a very, very sad period in Canada’s history, and we need to support Indigenous nations.”

Source: Anadolu Agency

Turkey on Sunday announced further easing of COVID-19 restrictions from July 1 as part of a gradual normalization from the outbreak.

According to a circular issued by the Interior Ministry, curfews will be fully scrapped and intercity travel restrictions will end as of Thursday.

All workplaces and cinemas, which have suspended their activities as part of coronavirus measures, will reopen.

Cafes and restaurants will serve people with no limitation on the guest number in indoor and outdoor areas.

Restrictions and measures in accommodation facilities will end, with hygiene, mask, and social distancing rules still to be followed.

Outdoor wedding ceremonies will be held without a guest limit and food/drink can be served, while some restrictions are still in place for indoor ceremonies.

Events such as concerts, festivals, and youth camps will be allowed provided that the previously set rules are followed.

Parks, gardens, picnic, and camp areas will be open to the public.

Besides, mandatory quarantine for travelers from Bangladesh, Brazil, South Africa, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka and those who have been in these countries in the last 14 days will end.

The mandatory quarantine period for people arriving in Turkey from Afghanistan and Pakistan or who have been in these countries in the last 14 days will be reduced to 10 days.

On Monday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Turkey is set to end pandemic curfews as of July 1 amid a nationwide fall in COVID-19 cases.

On June 1, the country eased some measures following a 17-day strict lockdown.

Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed over 3.9 million lives in 192 countries and regions, with more than 180.8 million cases reported worldwide, according to the US’ Johns Hopkins University.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi arrived in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Sunday for the first visit by an Egyptian leader to Iraq in three decades.

Sisi was welcomed at Baghdad International Airport by Iraqi President Barham Saleh, according to Iraq’s official news agency.

During his visit, Sisi will take part in a tripartite summit with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II to discuss ways to boost cooperation between the three countries, the Egyptian Presidency said in a statement.

Sunday’s summit is the fourth between the leaders of the three Mideast countries since 2019.

Iraq, Egypt, and Jordan have signed a host of agreements meant to bolster cooperation in the fields of energy, commerce, and investment.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Armenian soldiers violated the last year’s agreement and opened fire on Azerbaijani military posts at borderline near Kalbajar region, according to a statement released by the country’s Defense Ministry on Sunday.

The ministry said Armenian soldiers opened fire on military positions in the direction of Kalbajar’s Zeylik and Imambinesi villages between 14.50 p.m. (1150GMT) on June 26 and 03.00 a.m. (0000GMT) on June 27.

There were no casualties or injuries, and the situation was under the control of Azerbaijani military units, it added.

In 1991, the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, or Upper Karabakh, internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory, and seven adjacent regions.

On Sept. 27, 2020, the Armenian army launched attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces and violated several humanitarian cease-fire agreements.

During a subsequent 44-day conflict which ended under a deal signed on Nov. 10, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages from Armenian occupation.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Another body was found Saturday in the rubble of a collapsed building in the US state of Florida, bringing the death toll to five, according to officials.

“Today our search and rescue teams found another body in the rubble,” Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told reporters. “And as well our search has revealed some human remains.”

She said the process of identifying victims is “very difficult” and that authorities will rely on DNA testing by gathering samples from the family members.

“This allows us to do rapid DNA testing on-site for bodies that we find,” said Cava.

The 12-story condominium building partially collapsed early Thursday in Surfside, a town in Miami-Dade County.

There are now 130 people accounted for but the fate of 156 remain unknown.

“Our top priority continues to be search and rescue and saving any lives that we can,” she added.

A total of 135 firefighters are assisting in the search and rescue operation.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Two irregular migrants lost their lives and 12 were injured in southeastern Turkey during a gun battle after a suspected human smuggler ran a security checkpoint, the local governor’s office reported on Sunday.

According to a statement, around midnight Saturday (2100GMT) authorities were tipped off that there was a suspicious vehicle headed towards the town of Begendik in Pervari in the Siirt province.

About an hour later, when the gendarmerie command ordered the truck to stop at a checkpoint at Begendik Bridge, the driver disobeyed and sped up. When gunfire erupted from the truck, the security personnel returned fire.

After the incident, 84 irregular migrants – Afghan and Pakistan nationals – were located in the truck, including two dead and 12 injured.

The injured were taken to the state hospital in Pervari and later some went to the Siirt Training and Research Hospital.

The driver, identified as R.E., was caught after running away, and an operation is underway to find the irregular migrants who fled the scene. Prosecutors in Pervari launched an investigation.

Source: Anadolu Agency