Day: July 16, 2021

The Israeli prime minister attempted to shut down social media after Israeli-national Palestinians held protests against Israel’s attacks on East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip under blockade, a report said on Sunday.

According to the Israeli press, Benjamin Netanyahu attempted to block social media during the attacks on Gaza on May 10-21.

The officials said Netanyahu recommended blocking social media twice, but his suggestions were refused by Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit and security officials, the report added.

According to the report, Netanyahu probably made the recommendation to prevent a probable riot, claiming that the Palestinian-born Israelis organized the protests through the social media platform TikTok.

Meanwhile, Walla News said it was not Netanyahu who recommended blocking social media, but he rather supported a plan offered by security officials.

At least 255 Palestinians were killed, including 66 children and 39 women, and more than 1,900 others injured in 11 days of Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip. Israeli attacks in the West Bank also killed at least 34 Palestinians since April 13.

The Israeli onslaught came to a halt under an Egyptian-brokered truce, which took effect in the early hours of May 21.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Senior Turkish and US officials on Friday spoke over the phone about bilateral ties and various regional issues, said a statement by the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey.

Afghanistan, Syria, the Eastern Mediterranean, and Cyprus were also on the agenda during the phone call between Turkey’s presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin and US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, the statement said.

The two sides agreed to continue constructive and strategic cooperation between the two countries after last month’s “positive” meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Joe Biden on the margins of a NATO summit last month, it said.

Turkey is determined to continue its efforts in cooperation with the international community to ensure peace and stability in regional and global issues, the statement added.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The 2023 UEFA Champions League final will be held in Istanbul, the governing body of European football announced on Friday.

The Istanbul Ataturk Olympic Stadium will host the 2023 Champions League final match, according to UEFA’s official Twitter account.

The German city of Munich was originally to host the final that year. It will now be the site of the event in 2025.

The European club season kick-off of the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 seasons will also take place in Istanbul, the UEFA Executive Board decided.

For its part, the Turkish Football Federation said on its website: “The selection of Turkey as the host of an outstanding start-of-season event such as the UEFA premiere reinforced the confidence in our country in organizing international events.”

Saint Petersburg in Russia is scheduled to host the 2022 finals, as is London in 2024.

UEFA Europa League

UEFA also unveiled the host cities for the Europa League finals.

Dublin and Bilbao are slated to host the future club competition finals after their withdrawal of hosting rights for EURO 2020.

Bilbao will host the UEFA Women’s Champions League final in 2024 and the UEFA Europa League final in 2025, while Dublin will be the site for the UEFA Europa League final in 2024.

The other Europa League final hosts of the coming years will be Seville, Spain in 2022 and Budapest, Hungary in 2023.

Source: Anadolu Agency

A Ugandan Olympic athlete in Japan has disappeared from his camp in Japan a week before the start of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, according to media reports on Friday.

Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported that officials are looking for a “20-year-old male member of the Ugandan delegation.”

The Ugandan weightlifter, Julius Ssekitoleko, was said to be in Izumisano, Osaka prefecture, for a pre-Olympic training camp there.

By the time he disappeared he was reportedly supposed to take a daily PCR test but did not show up.

The multi-sport event in Japan will take place from July 23 to Aug. 8 after being postponed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Turkey’s daily electricity consumption decreased by 4.7% on Thursday compared to the previous day, reaching 1.01 million megawatt-hours, according to official figures of the Turkish Electricity Transmission Corporation (TEIAS) on Friday.

Hourly power consumption peaked at 48,094 megawatt-hours at 15.00 local time on Thursday, data from TEIAS showed. The country’s electricity usage was at its lowest at 33,912 megawatt-hours at 07.00 local time (0400 GMT).

Electricity production amounted to 1.02 million megawatt-hours on Thursday, marking a 4.6% decrease from Wednesday.

Turkey’s electricity production from natural gas plants constituted 35.9% of total electricity consumption, imported coal plants held a 16.4% while hydropower plants comprised 12.4%.

On Thursday, Turkey’s electricity exports amounted to 15,118 megawatt-hours, while imports totaled 3,353 megawatt-hours.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Round 10 in the 2021 Formula One World Championship will be held in the UK on Sunday, July 18.

The Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire County, the East Midlands will host the British Grand Prix, which will be raced on 52 laps on a 5.8-kilometer (3.6-mile) track, preceded for the first time by a sprint qualifying stage on Saturday.

The sprint races will take place over 100 km on Saturday afternoon to replace the traditional qualifying sessions, deciding the starting grid for Sunday’s race.

The race will begin at 1400GMT.

Dutchman Max Verstappen, who drives for Red Bull Racing Honda, on July 4 won the previous round, the Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg’s Red Bull Ring.

This season’s top 5 drivers

1. Max Verstappen (Netherlands): 182 points

2. Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain): 150

3. Sergio Perez (Mexico): 104

4. Lando Norris (Great Britain): 101

5. Valtteri Bottas (Finland): 92

Constructor Standings

1. Red Bull: 286

2. Mercedes: 242

3. McLaren: 141

4. Ferrari: 122

5. AlphaTauri: 48

Source: Anadolu Agency

Turkey’s Caykur Rizespor announced that Gokhan Gonul has joined the club on a two-year contract.

The 36-year-old right back left Fenerbahce after the end of his contract on July 13.

Gonul has 14 goals and 54 assists in 361 matches for Fenerbahce.

He won two Turkish Super Lig and Turkish Cup titles each, and three Turkish Super Cup titles with the Yellow Canaries.

The veteran defender also has one Turkish Super Lig title with rivals Besiktas.

Caykur Rizespor ranked 13th in the Super Lig’s 2020-2021 season.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Turkish forces neutralized seven YPG/PKK terrorists in northern Syria, the National Defense Ministry said on Friday.

The terrorists were neutralized when fire support units retaliated to firing on a Turkish base within the Operation Euphrates Shield zone, the ministry said in a statement.

Three of the terrorists who were neutralized in the Tel Rifat region were from the terror group’s main base in Mt. Qandil in northern Iraq, the statement said.

The other four terrorists were neutralized in strikes on their positions in Shaykh Issa and Ayn Daqnah, it added.

Turkish authorities use the term “neutralize” to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.

Source: Anadolu Agency