Day: September 18, 2022

After a negative course in global markets due to inflationary pressures and increased recession risk last week, investors and analysts focused on the central banks’ meetings, which will announce the interest rate decision next week.

 

In the US, more-than-expected inflation rate for the August last week, at 8.3%, increased expectations for a 75 basis points interest rate hike by the Fed, while some analysts expect 100 basis points.

 

Last week, the US stock exchanges dropped; Dow Jones by 4.13%, Nasdaq by 5.48% and S&P 500 by 4.08% on a weekly basis.

 

The Fed will announce its policy rate decision on Thursday next week.

 

In the Europe side, energy crisis and recession risks were main agenda topics last week.

 

Against high energy prices and energy shortage, the EU and member countries announced some measures such as extra taxation on energy companies, reducing taxes on energy bills, limiting temperature in public buildings and providing monetary help for households.

 

Last week, versus the previous week, Germany’s DAX index lost 2.65%, French CAC 40 decreased by 2.17%, the UK’s FTSE 100 by 1.56%.

 

The UK’s Bank of England, which will announce interest rate decision next week, is expected to increase the rate by 50 basis points to 2.25%.

 

In Asia, China’s economic slowdown and weak Japanese yen are main topics.

 

Last week, China’s Central Bank decided to keep its policy rate at 2.75%.

 

In Japan, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) carried out a rate check on Wednesday, which is a precursor to intervention for the direct market action after the USD/JPY parity hit 145 level.

 

The BoJ will also announce the decision on interest rates on Thursday.

 

Last week, China’s Shanghai index lost 4.16%, Japanese Nikkei 225 by 2.29%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng by 3.1%, South Korea’s Kospi by 0.06%, and Indian Sensex by 1.59%, on a weekly basis.

 

Next week, Türkiye’s Central Bank will also announce its policy rate decision on Thursday. Markets expect it will keep the rate constant.

 

Source: Anadolu Agency

Anadolu Agency is here with a rundown of the latest developments around the world.

 

World leaders at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit appreciated Türkiye’s role in de-escalating tensions in the Russia-Ukraine war, according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

 

“Almost all of the leaders I met especially thanked us for the role we played in reducing tensions in the Russia-Ukraine war. They said, ‘We really appreciate and congratulate you for your role here,’” Erdogan told reporters on the presidential plane en route to New York from Uzbekistan.

 

The Turkish Communications Directorate released a new book, UN Reform: A New Approach to International Cooperation, explaining the rationale behind Ankara’s initiative to reform the body and its Security Council.

 

Meanwhile, Türkiye “strongly” condemned a US decision to lift an arms embargo on the Greek Cypriot administration.

 

Two more ships left Ukrainian ports under the historic Istanbul grain export deal, according to the Turkish National Defense Ministry.

 

Paris’ famous landmarks, the Louvre Museum and the Palace of Versailles, will turn off their lights before the evening alongside the Eiffel Tower as a symbolic gesture to conserve energy, France’s culture minister announced.

 

Poland opened a new canal that was built so ships do not have to get permission from Russia to pass from the Baltic Sea to the port of the Vistula Lagoon.

 

An Anadolu Agency team captured footage of Ukraine’s Kupiansk city that Kyiv took back from the Russian forces.

 

Senegal’s President Macky Sall reshuffled his Cabinet and sacked nearly one dozen ministers hours after naming Amadou Ba to the prime minister’s post.

 

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made a public appearance in Tehran amid reports of his failing health.

 

As many as 282 Azerbaijani soldiers were wounded in clashes with Armenian forces between Monday and Wednesday, according to the Azerbaijan Defense Ministry.

 

In sports, Manchester City took over the top spot in the English Premier League after a 3-0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers in week 7.

 

Source: Anadolu Agency

Kyrgyzstan’s Foreign Minister Zheenbek Kulubaev and UN chief Antonio Guterres discussed on the phone Saturday the Kyrgyz-Tajik border disputes which have killed dozens.

 

The Kyrgyzstan Foreign Ministry said Kulubaev informed Guterres “on human casualties, including among the civilian population, internally displaced persons, the destruction of numerous social and civil infrastructure facilities, including schools and residential buildings, and the facts of looting of property of Kyrgyz citizens.”

 

He also told Guterres about “political and diplomatic efforts undertaken at different levels to de-escalate tensions.”

 

Guterres “stressed the need of prevention of further aggravation of the conflict and the importance of resolving it only through a constructive peaceful dialogue between the sides,” according to the statement.

 

The UN chief expressed his readiness to meet Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov in New York on Sept. 20.

 

Last border conflict

 

The last conflict on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border occurred Sept. 14.

 

The armed conflict intensified and lasted exactly 10 hours.

 

It was claimed that the Tajik side took the Kyrgyz border villages of Kulundu, Maksat and Jani-Jer settlements under fire and modern weapons and equipment were used in the conflict.

 

The Kyrgyz side said 24 people were killed and 129 injured in the fighting.

 

Approximately 136,000 residents from Kyrgyz villages near Tajikistan were evacuated to safe places.

 

Kyrgyzstan declared a state of emergency in the Batken region, where clashes with Tajikistan border guards took place.

 

The two countries decided to establish a commission to resolve the border dispute, but cease-fire violations are occasionally made at the border.

 

Source: Anadolu Agency

Jordan’s foreign minister said a recent agreement with the US will contribute to his country’s economic reform program, media reports said Saturday.

 

Ayman Safadi said the fourth US-Jordan Memorandum of Understanding on Strategic Partnership (MoU) signed Friday in Washington “will contribute to supporting the economic reform program,” according to Jordan’s official news agency Petra, which quoted Safadi.

 

Safadi made his remarks during a meeting with US National Security Council Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, Brett McGurk.

 

The officials “discussed bolstering the US-Jordan strategic partnership, and efforts to confront regional challenges to enhance security and stability in the region,” according to a statement from the Jordanian Foreign Ministry.

 

“The United States supports providing $1.45 billion per year in U.S. bilateral foreign assistance to Jordan beginning in Fiscal Year 2023 and ending in Fiscal Year 2029,” the countries said in a statement.

 

Source: Anadolu Agency

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu announced Saturday that two more PKK/KCK terrorists surrendered in the eastern Elazig province.

 

Soylu said on Twitter that the two terrorists surrendered to the gendarmerie with their weapons.

 

“The terrorist organization is coming to an end, surrender,” he urged the other terrorists to lay down their arms.

 

The number of terrorists who have laid down their arms through persuasion efforts in 2022 reached 86.

 

In Türkiye, offenders linked to terror groups who surrender are eligible for possible sentence reductions under a repentance law.

 

The PKK terror group, battered and demoralized by Turkish security forces’ successful operations, has been in recent years losing members and failing to attract recruits, according to Turkish officials.

 

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

 

Source: Anadolu Agency

The fastest terrestrial animal, the cheetah, was reintroduced into India on Saturday, 70 years after it was formally declared extinct in 1952.

 

Eight large cats from Namibia, an African country on the southwest coast, were flown in a special aircraft to Gwalior in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, and then transferred in two helicopters to Kuno National Park, their new sanctuary.

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the big cats in the park on the occasion of his 72nd birthday. “Cheetahs have come back to our land after decades,” he said in a video message posted on his official Twitter.

 

“On this historic day, I want to congratulate all Indians and also thank the government of Namibia,” he remarked.

 

These felines will also be quarantined in the enclosures for the next month before being released into the park, according to officials.

 

They would be outfitted with Satellite/GSM-GPS-VHF radio collars before being released into the wild, allowing for remote monitoring.

 

An official statement issued earlier this week by the Prime Minister’s office said the reintroduction of cheetah in the country “is being done under Project Cheetah, which is the world’s first inter-continental large wild carnivore translocation project.”

 

“Cheetahs will aid in the restoration of open forest and grassland ecosystems in India,” the statement said, adding that “this will help conserve biodiversity and enhance ecosystem services like water security, carbon sequestration, and soil moisture conservation, benefiting society at large.”

 

Kuno, located in the Chambal region and part of the Sheopur-Shivpuri forested landscape in Madhya Pradesh, is spread over an area of 750 square kilometers (289 square miles) and has a favorable environment for cheetahs as it has a mix of grassland and sloppy area, according to the officials.

 

In February, the Ministry of Environment and Forests told parliament that a total of 12-14 cheetahs will be brought from South Africa, Namibia, or other African countries over a period of the five-year as per the action plan.

 

The cheetah was declared extinct in India in 1952 due to massive hunting and poaching.

 

While the government is confident that the translocation of cheetahs will be successful, many experts in the country have expressed skepticism about the government’s ambitious project to import cheetahs from abroad and reintroduce them into Indian forests.

 

Source: Anadolu Agency

Several reports regarding climate change and its growing effects were released in August along with encouraging initiatives and pledges for environmental protection.

 

Below is a list of environmental developments, reports and events compiled by Anadolu Agency.

 

Aug. 2:

 

– Climate financing in Africa needs to be a focus for implementing mitigation and adaptation measures, say experts.

 

Aug. 5:

 

– China suspends climate change cooperation with the US in retaliation for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.

 

Aug. 7:

 

– The US Senate passes a sweeping $430 billion bill intended to fight climate change, lower drug prices and raise some corporate taxes.

 

– Improper e-waste management in Bangladesh is posing a threat to the environment, causing soil degradation and water contamination with heavy and toxic base metals, according to experts.

 

Aug. 6:

 

– After an invitation from the Commonwealth to become a member of its steering committee on climate finance, Zambia says it would work to expand access to funds over the next few years.

 

Aug. 9:

 

– US President Joe Biden says the mass destruction caused by powerful floods in the state of Kentucky is yet another reminder of the devastating effects of climate change.

 

Aug. 10:

 

– The number of drought-related displacements in Somalia surpasses the million mark for the first time since January 2021, according to the UN.

 

Aug. 12:

 

– An official drought is declared across parts of the UK after prolonged heatwaves and dry weather.

 

– An unprecedented monsoon spell that causes widespread devastation across Pakistan is also adding to an already escalating food inflation, aside from exacerbating fears of food insecurity, warn experts.

 

– Turkish scientists on an expedition to the Arctic circle complete studies on the effects of global warming on polar sea ice and glaciers, which are crucial in the planet’s heat balance and in danger of disappearing as temperatures hit unprecedented levels.

 

Aug. 13:

 

– One of the most significant water sources in the UK is documented by Anadolu Agency to be almost totally dried up in various locations along its 120-kilometer (75-mile) area.

 

Aug. 14:

 

– The UK records 500 more wildfires this year than all of 2021.

 

Aug. 15:

 

– Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki admits the country was slow to react to an ecological disaster unfolding in the Oder River, firing two top officials.

 

Aug. 16:

 

– The official Meteo France weather service says the forecast is for a “risk of violent phenomena” with heavy rains and storms after a recent heatwave.

 

– The Spanish island of Menorca is put on alert for a meteotsunami as a storm barrels toward the Balearic Islands.

 

– Firefighters continue to struggle, particularly in the Spanish region of Alicante and Portugal’s highest mountain range, as meteorological conditions are complicating efforts to control two massive wildfires.

 

Aug. 18:

 

– With Nepal recently announcing it nearly tripled its wild tiger population, experts stress focusing on several “challenges” that lie ahead in maintaining the tiger population in the Himalayan country.

 

– France is gripped by an intense drought despite two days of rainfall which brought respite from a scorching heatwave.

 

Aug. 21:

 

– Argentina orders armed forces to help respond to forest fires that are burning in the Parana Delta for more than two weeks.

 

– Portugal begins to impose a three-day entry ban to forests to prevent possible fires.

 

– Australian activist Mina Guli, who set out to run 200 marathons in drought-stricken regions to draw attention to global water shortages that are increasing with climate change, ran her 78th race in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul.

 

Aug. 22:

 

– France enforces a ban on advertising fossil fuels, natural gas is exempted from the prohibition until June 2023.

 

– Authorities in China continue to issue red alerts and urge residents to exercise extreme caution as the country swelters in unusually high temperatures this summer and faces a “dire” drought crisis.

 

Aug. 23:

 

– Canada and Germany sign a deal for clean energy that will help the European country in its biggest transformation “since the beginning of the industrial revolution.”

 

Aug. 24:

 

– Millions of Pakistanis are struck by treacherous monsoon rains and flooding as Islamabad sought the international community’s help to cope with the escalating magnitude of the catastrophe.

 

– China launches a remote sensing satellite into space which “will mainly be used to provide remote sensing services in the fields of land resources management, agricultural resources survey, environment monitoring and city applications.”

 

Aug. 26:

 

– Pakistan declares a national emergency and orders the army to assist the civil administration in relief and rescue operations as the death toll from rain-related incidents surpassed the grim figure of 900.

 

– The harsh drought in the Horn of Africa is expected to get worse as the region braces for a fifth consecutive failed rainy season, says the World Meteorological Organization.

 

Aug. 27:

 

– Shale gas production may be brought back on the table to alleviate the European energy crisis similar to coal and nuclear power, which is long-shelved due to mounting reactions from environmentalists.

 

Aug. 28:

 

– Pope Francis calls for international cooperation to help Pakistan which is battered by heavy monsoon rains and massive floods.

 

Aug. 29:

 

– Some 22,500 children die from air pollution in Nigeria’s most populous southwestern state of Lagos in 2021, according to environmental authorities.

 

Aug. 30:

 

– The UN and Pakistan’s government issue a flash appeal for $160 million to cope with the devastation caused by unprecedented rains and floods in the South Asian country.

 

– A drought is officially declared across South West England following prolonged dry weather not experienced in 90 years.

 

Aug. 31:

 

– France’s weather bureau terms this summer season as the second hottest in the last century.

 

– At least 22 million residents in Pakistan, or 10% of the population, are potentially exposed to flooding, according to a map published by the UN Satellite Center.

 

Source: Anadolu Agency

Japan warned nearly two million people to evacuate as typhoon Nanmadol approached the country, local media reported.

 

“Nearly two million people in southern Kyushu have been ordered to evacuate because a powerful typhoon, Nanmadol, is approaching the region,” Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported on Saturday.

 

Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued a level 5 warning against the typhoon, which is expected to hit the Kyushu region in the country’s south.

 

A level 5 alert is the highest on Japan’s disaster warning scale, the NHK said.

 

“A very strong typhoon could trigger the kind of disasters that is seen only once in a few decades,” the broadcaster reported, citing weather officials.

 

The officials said that “maximum winds of up to 180 kilometers (112 miles) per hour will lash northern and southern Kyushu, as well as the Amami Islands with peak gusts reaching 252 kilometers (156 miles) per hour through Sunday.”

 

Flights have been disrupted at airports across the country. “As of 6 a.m. Sunday, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways have decided to cancel over 500 flights for the day. Other airlines are also canceling services,” said the report.

 

The Japan Railways Group also said bullet train services are expected to be affected on Sunday and Monday.

 

Source: Anadolu Agency

The world witnessed several unexpected environmental developments and disasters in August, including deadly floods and landslides in Pakistan; a hailstorm in Spain, torrential rains in northern Nigeria and wildfires in Russia, France and the US.

 

Below is a timeline compiled by Anadolu Agency:

 

Aug. 1:

 

– A wildfire grows to become the US state of California’s largest this year, killing two people.

 

– At least 14 people are killed and 12 went missing after floods triggered by torrential rains battered eastern Uganda.

 

– The death toll rises to 35 in Kentucky as massive flooding and rainfall are destroying wide swathes of the eastern region of the US state.

 

Aug. 2:

 

– At least 29 people are killed in Uganda from flooding caused by heavy downpours which caused rivers to burst their banks.

 

Aug. 9:

 

– More than 1,200 people are evacuated as a major fire engulfed more than 700 hectares (1,700 acres) of forest land in the Occitanie region in southern France.

 

– Two massive forest fires raging for two weeks cut off towns and thousands of residents in the province of Newfoundland, Canada as officials pray for rain and diminishing winds.

 

Aug. 10:

 

– At least nine people are killed and seven remain missing from record downpours in the last three days that flooded homes, roads and subway stations in Seoul, South Korea.

 

Aug. 11:

 

– France is reeling under the disastrous effects of wildfires with more than 60,000 hectares (148,263 acres) burned since the start of 2022 and 10,000 hectares destroyed this week.

 

Aug. 13:

 

– At least 77 Yemenis are killed by heavy rains and flooding between July 28 and Aug. 10 in the war-torn country, according to the UN.

 

Aug. 14:

 

– At least 50 people are killed in floods triggered by torrential rains in northern Nigeria.

 

Aug. 15:

 

– Flooding caused by fresh rain spells across Pakistan kill at least 16 people in the past 24 hours, besides washing away houses, roads, bridges and leaving thousands stranded.

 

Aug. 16:

 

– Flash floods triggered by heavy rains kill 75 people in Sudan and injured dozens since June, authorities announces.

 

Aug. 18:

 

– At least six people die and 20 are injured after sudden thunderstorms and torrential rains on the French island of Corsica.

 

– Smoke continues to blanket Moscow as wildfires rage in the neighboring region of Ryazan.

 

– Two people are killed by falling trees in Italy’s central Tuscany region as bad weather hit the north and center of the country causing extensive damage.

 

– A total of 31 people are killed in Algeria due to forest fires that break out in several provinces in the north African country.

 

Aug. 19:

 

– Flash floods that wreaked havoc in parts of northwestern China this week claim 18 lives, with 13 still missing.

 

Aug. 20:

 

– Raging flooding along with relentless rain kill another 33 people in Pakistan in the past two days, aside from inundating large swaths, washing away infrastructures and triggering landslides.

 

Aug. 21:

 

– At least five fishing boats with more than 70 fishermen in Bangladesh’s southern coastal district of Barguna are missing in a strong storm.

 

Aug. 22:

 

– A total of 13 people are killed and 21 injured in a single day in Yemen from lightning strikes.

 

Aug. 23:

 

– Another 39 people are killed in raging floods caused by torrential downpours in southern and northern Pakistan in the past 24 hours, pushing the toll to more than 700 since June.

 

Aug. 27:

 

– With the latest 45 fatalities in the past 24 hours, Pakistan approaches the grim milestone of 1,000 casualties in rain-related accidents, which is triggered by torrential rains and swirling floods across the country since June.

 

Aug. 29:

 

– With another 75 deaths recorded in the past 24 hours, the toll from massive floods caused by unprecedented monsoon rains across Pakistan hits 1,138.

 

Aug. 31:

 

– The death toll from different rain and flood-related mishaps across Pakistan in the past 24 hours, rises to 1,162.

 

– A 20-month-old baby dies and dozens are injured after a violent hailstorm battered a town in Girona, Spain.

 

Source: Anadolu Agency