Day: July 28, 2021

More than 40 million people have received their first doses of coronavirus vaccines in Turkey, the country’s health minister said on Wednesday.

Fahrettin Koca also announced the latest weekly infection rates for COVID-19 across 81 provinces in total.

Sharing the data for July 17 to July 23 on Twitter, Koca urged people to get vaccinated and follow the measures.

The number of cases per 100,000 people was 88.19 in Istanbul – home to nearly one-fifth of Turkey’s population – 69.13 in the capital Ankara, and 33.43 in the Aegean province of Izmir.

Turkey has administered over 69.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched a mass vaccination campaign in January.

The country continues its intensive vaccination campaign to curb the virus’ spread, as everyone 16 and over is eligible for vaccine shots.

Amid a nationwide drop in cases and an expedited vaccination drive, Turkey entered a new normalization phase on July 1, lifting almost all virus-related restrictions.

However, seeking to limit the spread of the virus’ Delta variant, the country suspended flights from India, and required arrivals from the UK, Iran, Egypt, and Singapore to have negative COVID-19 test results taken within 72 hours prior.

Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed over 4.17 million lives in 192 countries and regions, with over 195.36 million cases reported, according to the US’ Johns Hopkins University.

Azerbaijan called on Armenia to refrain from provocations and deliberate aggravation at the border, Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

“We call on the military-political leadership of Armenia to refrain from provocations and deliberate aggravation of the situation on the state border of the two countries and to start negotiations on the delimitation of the state border in a civil manner,” said a ministry statement.

Two Azerbaijani soldiers were wounded by Armenian shelling in the Kalbajar section of the Caucasus countries’ border, Azerbaijan’s military said early Wednesday.

Azerbaijan reaffirmed that Armenia’s military-political leadership bears full responsibility for the aggravation of the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

It stressed that all provocations committed by Armenia will continue to be resolutely blocked to ensure the inviolability of Azerbaijan’s borders.

The ministry said in a separate statement that Azerbaijan accepted Russia’s initiative to declare a cease-fire on the border starting at 10 a.m. local time (0600GMT).

“In spite of this, the Armenian side continues to aggravate the situation and shell our positions additionally using tanks and 120-millimeter mortars,” it added.

Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions

New clashes erupted last September and ended on Nov. 10 with a Russia-brokered cease-fire.

During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages from Armenia’s nearly three-decade occupation.

The head of Libya’s Presidency Council, Mohamed al-Menfi, arrived in Algeria on Wednesday for his first official visit to the North African country.

Algerian Prime Minister Aimene Benabderrahmane welcomed al-Menfi upon arrival at Algiers Airport, the state television said.

During his two-day visit, al-Menfi will meet with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune for talks on bilateral relations and cooperation between the two countries, according to a statement by the Algerian Presidency.

Both Algeria and Libya are neighbors to crisis-hit Tunisia, where Tunisian President Kais Saied on Sunday ousted the government and froze parliament.

On Tuesday, Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra visited Tunisia for talks with Saied on regional issues, the Algerian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, without specifying whether the discussions dwelt on the Tunisian crisis.

In recent weeks, a number of senior Libyan officials visited Algeria as part of efforts to strengthen their economic and commercial relations.

In February, Libya’s rival political groups agreed to form an interim unity government to lead the country to elections this December, with al-Menfi elected as president of the interim setup and Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh as prime minister.

Libyans hope the government will end years of civil war that have engulfed the oil-rich country since the ouster and killing of strongman Muammar al-Qaddafi in 2011.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that inflation has increased notably in the US and it will likely remain elevated in coming months before moderating.

“As the economy continues to reopen and spending rebounds, we are seeing upward pressure on prices,” he said at a news conference after the central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged between the 0.00% – 0.25% range.

Powell said upward pressure on prices is a result of supply bottlenecks that limit how quickly production can respond to increasing demand from consumers as the economy rapidly reopens from the coronavirus pandemic.

“These bottleneck effects have been larger than anticipated. But as these transitory supply effects abate, inflation is expected to drop back to our longer-run goal,” he said.

The chair noted that increasing oil and energy prices have also contributed to the rise in inflation.

Powell has repeatedly said in recent months that the Fed will allow inflation to climb above its 2% target for some time until labor market conditions improve and maximum employment is achieved.

Inflation, however, has soared much higher than the Fed anticipated since the central bank injected trillions of dollars of liquidity into the markets during the pandemic to support the American economy and people.

The Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures the change in the prices of goods sold by manufacturers, soared 7.3% in June, from the same month last year, which was the largest 12-month increase since November 2010.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) that measures changes in the price of goods and services from a consumer perspective, jumped 5.4% in June year-over-year — the largest 12-month increase since August 2008.

Driving on slick tarmac across a vast expanse of wetland in Dar es Salaam, the scale of destruction from surging seawater is vividly clear.

An abandoned home with French-styled furniture sinks in water infested with green algae. An old Mercedes stands immobile in knee-deep water. A maze of abandoned apartments with a tiled red roof is engulfed with sea marshes.

As the afternoon sun dazzles Ununio beach, the Indian Ocean is moving inland in a less obvious but more destructive way.

Across the sandy beach, rising tides increasingly threaten posh homes and businesses, some of which are already swallowed in the wetland.

Driven by the intense shift of climate coupled with powerful storms, the sea level in the smoke-belching city is rising rapidly, creating powdery patches that destroy buildings and kill natural vegetation.

Adding to the peril, dry spells experienced in Dar es Salaam have reduced the natural ability of most rivers to replenish groundwater aquifers from creeping salty water.

Families of children abducted or forcibly recruited by the PKK terrorist group continued their protest in southeastern Turkey on Wednesday.

The families in the Diyarbakir province have been protesting for 695 days, since Sept. 3, 2019, encouraging their children to lay down their weapons and surrender to Turkish authorities.

The protest outside the offices of the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in Diyarbakir started with three mothers who said their children had been forcibly recruited by the terrorists.

The Turkish government says the HDP has links to the terrorist PKK, and has filed a court case to have the party banned over these ties.

Mevlude Ucdag, one of the protesting mothers, said she will not leave the sit-in until she reunites with her son.

Noting that they will continue to protest with determination, Ucdag said: “We will not leave without taking our son back. The PKK is in a disintegration process. Kidnapped children are running away from the hands of the PKK. They see the protesting mothers here are right in their cause and the HDP is guilty.”

Ucdag said: “My son, if you see or hear me, add your voice to mine. I will wait for you here. My door is all open for you.”

“Come, free yourself from that hell,” she added.

Suleyman Aydin, one of the protesting fathers, said: “We are all here waiting for our children’s return.”

Calling on his son Ozkan Aydin to surrender to the security forces, Aydin said they will keep protesting with determination until the very end.

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

*Writing by Merve Berker

The Turkish Coast Guard rescued 14 asylum seekers Tuesday who were pushed back by Greek authorities, according to a Turkish security source.

After learning that a boat carrying a group of asylum seekers was sailing off the coast of Marmaris district in Turkey’s Mugla province, the regional coast guard command deployed teams to the location, added the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Arriving at the location, the coast guard teams rescued the asylum seekers, the source said.

Meanwhile, three irregular migrants were caught trying to cross abroad off the coast of Bodrum district in Mugla.

Local coast guard command teams took action on a tip-off and after reaching the area caught the migrants.

Separately, as many as 56 irregular migrants were caught trying to cross borders illegally in Ortaca district of Mugla.

Coast guard teams were dispatched after reports that a group of irregular migrants had been found in the area of Cape Disibilmez.

The teams caught all 56 irregular migrants, who were preparing to go abroad.

All of the irregular migrants were taken to the provincial migration center.

Turkey has been a key transit point for asylum seekers aiming to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.

It hosts nearly 4 million refugees, including over 3.6 million Syrians — more than any other country in the world.

Turkey has repeatedly condemned Greece’s illegal practice of pushing back asylum seekers, which is also condemned by international human rights groups, saying it violates humanitarian values and international law by endangering the lives of vulnerable migrants, including women and children.

*Writing by Merve Berker

One of South Asia’s most majestic beasts faces the threat of being driven out of its natural habitat in the landmark Sundarbans coastal mangrove forests amid unsafe infrastructure projects, a lack of protection measures, and climate change.

Royal Bengal tigers are natives of Sundarbans, an expansive area covering more than 10,000 square kilometers (over 3,860 square miles) 60% of which is in Bangladesh. Despite this spacious habitat, experts see little sign that their numbers are increasing.

Preparing to mark this year’s International Tiger Day on Thursday, the country has chosen the theme Tigers save Sundarbans, Sundarbans saves millions of lives to underline the importance of preserving the mangrove forests, located in a delta formed by the confluence of three rivers in the Bay of Bengal, and their inhabitants.

Environmental rights groups, experts, and activists have accused the government and UNESCO World Heritage Committee of failing to protect Sundarbans, a World Heritage site, including by not acting to stop ongoing industrial and infrastructure projects near the area.

Meanwhile, human-tiger conflict has been rising in recent years as the animals venture out of the forest. According to Bangladesh’s Forest Department, 38 tigers have died in the last two decades, many due to run-ins with humans.

Tiger populations stagnating amid environmental threats

Sharif Jamil, general secretary of the Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Environment Movement) group, said there had been no major change in the number of the wild cats in Sundarbans over the past 20 years.

“Tigers in Sundarbans remain among a growing number of threats as the salinity in the mangrove forest multiplied over the last 40 years and industrialization continues unabated surrounding Sundarbans, despite opposition from the UN and rights groups,” Jamil told Anadolu Agency.

He added that a recent government Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) report on southwestern Bangladesh, where Sundarbans is located, lacks “scientific integrity and transparency” as it says nearby coal-fired power plants were of “no harm” to the environment.

A member of the national committee for saving the Sundarbans, Jamil alleged that the government had been reclassifying environmentally harmful industries around Sundarbans as green.

“The Pasur River, considerably the heart of the Sundarbans, has continuously been polluted by such industrial activities because of the transportation of low-quality coal via the river,” he said, underlining that such projects would also cause “ash ponds” in the area.

Ongoing research

Abdul Aziz, a leading researcher and a recognized tiger expert in Bangladesh, told Anadolu Agency that due to a lack of vital research, scientists still did not know Sundarbans’s carrying capacity for tigers.

A team led by Aziz from Jahangirnagar University’s zoology department with the support from International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Bangladesh and the Forest Department has launched the first project in Bangladesh to determine the carrying capacity of the Sundarbans mangrove forests in the country.

“We’ll work to uncover the total prey population (mainly deer and wild pigs). If we don’t know the capacity, we can’t discern the exact situation and threats the wild cats are enduring in Sundarbans. It’ll also help in suggesting necessary actions,” he explained.

Meanwhile, frequent climate disasters have only increased the risk posed to tigers, but amid the lack of impact assessment the effect may be much greater for tigers, he continued, also arguing for the government to abandon plans to set up unsafe power plants in the ecologically sensitive region.

Government expands reserve for tiger protection

Mihir Kumar, a forest officer in Sundarbans, told Anadolu Agency that the government has increased the forest area reserved for tiger protection to 50% of the forest.

The population of Bengal tigers in the Bangladeshi part of Sundarbans increased to 114 from 106 in 2018, according to the Forest Department.

The department has formed 41 tiger response teams to ensure the felines’ protection and conservation of their habitats, as well as to address human-tiger conflicts, added Kumar, noting that there is a joint tiger response group with India on Sundarbans. “We run tiger census as conducted in India,” he added.

Rising salinity levels in Sundarbans, frequent cyclones due to climate change, and the rising sea level in coastal areas pose additional threats to the pride of Bangladesh, the Royal Bengal tigers, said Kumar.

However, he claimed that power plant projects would not affect the biodiversity of Sundarbans or the endangered tigers’ habitat according to the government’s assessment on the projects.

Dutch cyclist Annemiek van Vleuten secured the gold medal in women’s individual time trial at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday.

The 38-year-old finished the race with a time of 30:13.49.

Marlen Reusser of Switzerland won the silver medal in 31:09.96, while another Dutch cyclist Anna van der Breggen came third to bag the bronze medal in 31:15.12.