Day: November 10, 2021

The US federal budget deficit stood at $165 billion in October, according to the Treasury Department on Wednesday.

It showed a 42% decline from the same month last year when the budget deficit was at $284 billion.

For October, total receipts, or income, were $284 billion, against total outlays, or spending, of $449 billion, the agency’s figures showed.

As for receipts, individual income taxes were $144 billion, while social insurance and retirement came in at $100 billion.

For outlays, social security was $96 billion, income security and health were $70 billion each, while national defense came in at $69 billion.

For the 2021 fiscal year, which ran from Oct. 1, 2020, through Sept. 30, 2021, the budget deficit soared to $2.77 trillion — the second-highest on record after $3.13 trillion during the 2020 fiscal year.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The German government Wednesday called on its citizens to leave Ethiopia in the wake of the escalating violent conflict in the East African country.

Germans should use the currently available commercial flights to leave the country, the Foreign Ministry said in a travel alert on its website.

The warning, which was previously applied to only individual crisis regions, has been extended to the entire country.

The conflict between the government in Addis Ababa and rebels from the northern region of Tigray has gripped more and more parts of the country in recent days, with the parties to the battle engaging in intense combat.

“It cannot be ruled out that the fighting will intensify and reach other regions of the country, including the capital Addis Ababa,” said the Foreign Ministry.

On Nov. 2, Ethiopia declared a nationwide state of emergency.

The decision followed an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers amid escalating clashes between the government forces and the rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and Oromo Liberation Army-Shene (OLA-Shene).

Over the last few weeks, the TPLF fighters made gains, capturing new territories and strategic towns deep in the Amhara and Afar regions.

On June 29, the Ethiopian government declared a unilateral cease-fire and pulled out its troops from Tigray, after which the rebel forces expanded into neighboring Amhara and Afar.

Millions have been internally displaced as a result of the conflict, according to the UN, which has also warned of an imminent humanitarian catastrophe.

Source: Anadolu Agency

A wanted senior PKK terrorist was “neutralized” in a joint operation of Turkish military and intelligence in northern Iraq, a security source said on Wednesday.

Nazli Taspinar, the so-called central committee member of the terror group, was targeted in the Gara region, said the source on condition of anonymity.

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

The terrorist, codenamed Emine Erciyes, joined the PKK in 1994 and took personal training from Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK ringleader imprisoned in Turkey.

She was on the top red category of Turkey’s list of wanted terrorists.

Taspinar, who assumed various roles in the terror group and played a part in training of female terrorists, managed the terrorist acts against Turkey.

She later moved to the northern Iraq and was for a while in charge of the management of the PAJK terror group, the so-called women’s branch of the PKK.

Taspinar, who ordered terror acts against the security forces during her stay in Syria, moved to Iraq’s Gara, the headquarters of the armed elements of the terror group, in 2019.

She was also one of the executives of the terror group’s so-called military wing HPG, YJA-Star, a women’s offshoot of the PKK, and the Peoples’ United Revolutionary Movement (HBDH).

The PKK terror group often uses bases in northern Iraq just across Turkey’s southern border to hide and plot terror attacks in Turkey.

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.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Thousands of irregular migrants continue waiting at the Polish-Belarusian border for the third day in the hope of crossing into the EU countries.

After crossing the Bruzgi border point in Grodno, Belarus, on Monday, the immigrants – most of them from Iraq – have been waiting at the Polish border.

Nearly 2,000 immigrants, including women and children, are staying in tents despite the cold weather and shortage of food, water, and medical assistance.

Some aid organizations, especially the Red Cross, started providing food and water to the people stuck at the border. The city government of Grodno also sent water tankers to the area.

Following Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s comments on the situation of migrants at the border, some well-known people in the community launched campaigns to provide the immigrants with basic needs such as winter clothes, blankets, food, and hygiene materials.

A large group of these people crossed the Polish border at midnight, while some of them were pushed back to the Belarusian side by the Polish security forces.

Poland beefs up security

Later, Poland’s Defense Ministry announced those crossing the border were taken into custody. The Polish authorities also increased the number of security forces along the border to 15,000.

The State Border Committee of Belarus reported that some of those trying to cross the border were injured by the Polish security forces, and Belarus was providing medical assistance to them.

In a statement, the committee said the Polish security forces opened fire at the border to keep the migrants at bay.

Pointing out that more than 2,000 people, including women and children, have been sleeping on the ground at freezing temperatures for three days, the committee said these people are in dire need of food, water, and medicine.

The committee also warned that tension was escalating on the Belarusian-Polish border.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that two Russian long-range Tu-22M3 bombers flew over Belarus.

The Belarusian Defense Ministry also said that the warplanes of Russia and Belarus are carrying out joint patrol flights on Wednesday.

The situation on the Belarus-Polish border was extensively covered by the Belarusian press.

Daily Belarus Segodnya wrote: “They were bombed, hit by tanks. And they are again a target. Immigrants tried to escape from hell, but they found themselves in the hands of executioners.”

“Against whom did the Polish army, police, border guards gather to fight? Against whom were the barbed wire walls built at the EU border? Now there are 3,000 migrants on the Belarusian-Polish border. These are citizens of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. Almost half of them are women and children. The situation is extremely tense and almost catastrophic,” it added.

Brest newspaper also reported the Belarusian president’s comments about a mafia in the EU that organizes migration to Europe.

Television channels also gave wide coverage to the issue.

Poland and the EU have accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of trying to retaliate for EU sanctions by deliberately inviting and herding migrants towards the Polish border.

The EU countries bordering Belarus – Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland – have been reporting a dramatically growing number of irregular crossings since August.

NATO and the EU consider Belarus’ approach towards migrants an effort to destabilize and undermine security in the European countries through non-military means.

According to the EU’s latest figures, 7,935 people tried to enter the bloc via the Belarus-EU border so far this year, up sharply from just 150 last year. A total of 4,216 migrants crossed the border into Lithuania, 3,305 into Poland, and 414 into Latvia.

On Monday, Polish authorities stepped up border protection and mobilized over 12,000 troops after a large group of migrants started marching towards the country’s frontier with Belarus accompanied by the Belarusian military.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Thousands of visitors on Wednesday paid their respects to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk at his mausoleum in the Turkish capital.

The day marked the 83rd anniversary of the passing of Turkey’s founding father.

People witnessed the change of guard ceremony at Anitkabir, and waited in queues to visit the museum at the premises.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Kudret Yilmaz, one of the visitors, said that he frequently visits Ataturk’s final resting place.

Underlining that Turkey owes many things to Ataturk, Yilmaz said: “So glad we have him, fortunately, he founded the Republic of Turkey. It is my duty and the duty of the next generation to keep our Republic alive.”

Another visitor, Arda Atesci also said that he was very happy to be at Anitkabir.

Atesci, who is handicapped and getting treatment at a hospital, added: “We got permission from the hospital with difficulty. I spoke to hospital officials so they gave me the permission to visit Anitkabir.”

Rukiye Binbasaran, who took time off from her work just to visit Anitkabir, told Anadolu Agency that today is a day of mourning for the Turkish nation.

Fatma Efe, 80, who came to Ankara from the central Eskisehir province, felt joyful at her first ever visit to Anitkabir.

She said Ataturk liberated Turkey from the enemy forces.

Many visitors laid flowers at the mausoleum and prayed.

As is customary, daily life stopped at 9.05 a.m. local time (0605GMT), sirens wailed to mark the exact moment of Ataturk’s death at the age of 57, and millions of people across the country observed two minutes of silence.

The battle for Turkish independence started on May 15, 1919, when the first bullet against the occupying Greek forces was fired. Incredible achievements on the battlefield led to Turkish independence, and the Republic of Turkey was founded on Oct. 29, 1923.

Ataturk became the first president of the Republic until Nov. 10, 1938, when he passed away in Istanbul.

Source: Anadolu Agency