Day: July 3, 2022

Israeli military observers participated in a military exercise in Morocco, according to the country’s Defense Ministry on Sunday.

A ministry statement said the participation in the African Lion 2022 exercise was “an additional step in strengthening security relations between the countries.”

Israeli Ambassador in Rabat David Govrin tweeted that security ties “were added to a big list of bilateral initiatives in the fields of economy, culture, education, sport and others.”

There was no comment from the Moroccan authorities on the report.

This was the first time for Israel to participate in an international military drill in the North African country.

US forces also took part in the training, the Israeli statement said.

The military exercise, held on June 20-30, saw the participation of forces from ten countries, according to the Moroccan military.

Last year, a Moroccan counter-terrorism unit participated in a multinational drill in Israel.

Morocco was the fourth Arab country to agree to normalize ties with Israel in 2020 after the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Sudan.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Several people were killed and wounded in a shooting at a shopping mall in the Danish capital of Copenhagen on Sunday, police said.

Police said they first received reports on the shooting at the Fields shopping center, one of the largest malls in Scandinavia, at 5.37 p.m. local time (1537GMT). They quickly reached the site and arrested a 22-year-old male suspect.

In a news briefing, police chief Soren Thomassen said the possibility of terrorism could not be ruled out at this stage. He did not provide further details on the number of victims or the suspect.

The police said they have a “massive” presence at the mall and have appealed to the public to send in photos and videos from the scene.

Earlier, Copenhagen mayor Sophie Andersen said on Twitter that officials are unsure of the number of casualties, but the incident is “very serious.”

Source: Anadolu Agency

Ferrari’s Spanish driver Carlos Sainz won the 2022 British Grand Prix, his first-ever victory in the Formula One.

The Round 10 in Silverstone saw a horror crash right from the start.

On the first lap, Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN’s Chinese driver Guanyu Zhou’s car tumbled before hitting fence. Zhou, 23, rolled over after Mercedes’ British driver George Russell collided with him in the first corner.

His team and F1 confirmed on Twitter that Zhou was “conscious” and headed to the Silverstone Circuit’s medical center to undergo evaluation.

Besides Zhou, Russell and Williams racer Alexander Albon, also involved in the accident, were out of the race.

During the race, F1 confirmed that Zhou was declared fit and was released from the medical center.

On lap 12, Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen reported that one of his tires punctured, causing a significant loss of momentum for the Dutch driver. The 2021 world champion had to enter the pit stop for tire change.

Mercedes’ British driver Lewis Hamilton took the lead in Silverstone on lap 26 after Ferrari’s Monegasque racer Charles Leclerc pitted.

Ferrari duo Leclerc and Sainz was 1 and 2 on lap 34 after Hamilton’s entered the pit stop for a new set of tires.

Safety car was called on lap 39 as Alpine Renault’s French racer Esteban Ocon stopped on the track, reporting an issue.

It left the track with 10 laps to go. Leclerc was leading the race at that time, but Sainz overtook his teammate.

Spaniard racer Sainz saw the chequered flag first, winning the British Grand Prix with the time of two hours, 17 minutes and 50.31 seconds.

Red Bull Racing’s Mexican driver Sergio Perez finished the race in the second spot as the gap between him and Sainz was 3.779 seconds.

Meanwhile, seven-time world champion Hamilton from Mercedes team came third to make podium in UK’s Silverstone.

Austria’s Spielberg will host the next round on July 10.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson on Sunday vowed to abide by the recent agreement with Türkiye, including pledges on extradition of terrorists.

Speaking at the annual political festival Almedalen Week in Gotland, Andersson said she could not share specific details of the memorandum signed with Türkiye and Finland ahead of the June 28-30 NATO summit in Madrid.

Andersson said those who are not involved in terrorist activities need not worry. “Swedish citizens cannot be extradited according to national and international law. If you have not participated in terrorist activities, you do not need to worry,” she added.

Sweden and Finland shunned neutrality and applied to join NATO in May, a decision spurred by Russia’s war on Ukraine.

But Türkiye, a longstanding member of the alliance, voiced objections to the membership bids, criticizing the countries for tolerating and even supporting terrorist groups.

Just before the summit, Türkiye, Finland, and Sweden signed the agreement after four-way talks in the Spanish capital.

The agreement allows the two Nordic countries to become NATO members, but conditions them to take steps on Türkiye’s terrorism concerns, and lift an arms embargo on Ankara.

Following the trilateral deal, NATO formally invited the two Nordic countries to join the 30-member military alliance.

Source: Anadolu Agency