Day: November 13, 2022

The Italian Referees Association (AIA) chief prosecutor, Rosario D’Onofrio, was arrested Saturday for international drug trafficking, according to Corriere dello Sport.

The newspaper said the Guardia di Finanza, or financial police, arrested 42 suspects in an operation, including D’Onofrio, who is a former army officer.

It added that those arrested are from Albania, Spain and Italy.

Corriere dello Sport said the suspects introduced at least six tons of marijuana and hashish into Lombardy, a northern central region of the country.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The antiquities, which belong to the 8,000-year-old Mehrgarh civilization, were returned by the Homeland Security Department to the Pakistan Consulate in New York in a ceremony, following an investigation into an Indian-American art dealer, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported, citing the Manhattan District Attorney Office.

A total of 192 antiquities, of which 187 were stolen and smuggled into New York in the 1990s by Subhash Kapoor, were handed over to Pakistan’s Consul General Ayesha Ali.

The district attorney’s office identified Kapoor, who owned the Art of the Past art gallery in New York and a business that specialized in selling antiquities from Southeast Asia, as one of the “world’s most prolific” antiquities traffickers.

The artifacts, which include a Gandharan statue depicting a Maitreya — an enlightened form of the Buddha — were placed in rented storage by the art gallery until it was seized by US authorities this year, it said.

Kapoor, who was arrested in October 2011 at Frankfurt International Airport in Germany and extradited to India on charges of having received stolen artifacts, was sentenced to 13 years in jail by an Indian court last week.

The US, which indicted Kapoor, along with seven co-defendants in a “conspiracy to traffic the stolen antiquities” in 2019, is seeking to have him extradited.

“We will continue to pursue full accountability against Mr. Kapoor and his co-conspirators, who showed a blatant disregard for the cultural and historic significance of these antiquities,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was quoted.

Six of the defendants have been convicted by Indian and American courts from 2013 to 2020, according to the district attorney’s office.

Pakistan hosts scores of archaeological sites — dating thousands of years — many revered by the followers of Buddhism, Sikhism and Hinduism and pre-historic religions such as Aryan, Barhaman and ancient Iranian and Greek religions.

But the country has failed not only to preserve and protect its corroding architectural treasure from the ravages of time but to curb the widespread theft and smuggling of ancient artifacts.

Located in southwestern Balochistan province, the Mehrgarh archeological site was discovered in 1974 and has long been a prime target of artifact smugglers due to a lack of safety measures.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The “zombies,” attracted attention with their colorful costumes and make-up. Characters from films such as Lord of the Rings and Silent Hill were also portrayed in the march.

Some of the make-up required five hours of professional work and cosmetics.

The aim of the march is to draw attention to a significant segment of film art that deals with masks, make-up, and special effects, according to organizers.

The march, held as part of the Serbian Fantasy Film Festival, attracted the attention of children.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Speaking at a news conference in Geneva following a meeting with representatives of the UN regarding the grain deal, Vershinin said the decision on the extension has to take into account all aspects.

Vershinin noted that the deal consists of two parts and the part suggesting lifting sanctions from exports of Russian food is not being implemented.

“It is impossible not to mention here the terrorist attacks that the Ukrainian side carried out on the Crimean Bridge. And the terrorist attack on Sevastopol, where ships are stationed that provide a humanitarian corridor through which dry cargo ships or other vessels that go as part of the implementation of this Black Sea grain deal,” he said.

Vershinin characterized as “hypocrisy,” Western accusations against Russia, putting the responsibility on the country for the food crisis.

He pointed out that the grain deal was made to supply food to the poor countries and now most of the grain goes to the EU.

“Hypocrisy here, as they say, hurts the eye. When we pay attention to this, the grain going to the EU, we are told that maybe there is a use of them for further processing.

“We say — OK, then let’s see what the final destination point of these loadings is. If we are talking about countries in need in Africa, Asia, Latin America, this is one thing. If we are talking about supplies to the European Union, then those earlier statements about the threat of famine are simply absolutely hypocritical,” he said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a separate statement that “only ensuring unhindered access of Russian food and fertilizers to world markets will make it possible to achieve stable price stabilization and guarantee future harvest.”

It added that humanitarian tasks of providing assistance to countries in need and reducing the threat of hunger should not be politicized and become the subject of unilateral sanctions.

Türkiye, the UN, Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul on July 22 to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports, which were paused after the Russia-Ukraine war began in February.

A Joint Coordination Center with officials from the three countries and the UN has been set up in Istanbul to oversee the shipments.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Galatasaray’s Turkish forward Kerem Akturkoglu scored a hat-trick, including the opener in the first half.

Argentine star Mauro Icardi scored on a penalty kick in the first 45 minutes.

Basaksehir defender Youssouf Ndayishimiye scored an own goal as the visitors went into the break 3-0.

Confident play from Galatasaray hinted at a big win.

Akturkoglu found the net twice in the second half. Belgian forward Dries Mertens scored and Turkish defender Abdulkerim Bardakci scored a late header to seal the victory for Galatasaray.

It was a huge disappointment for Basaksehir, the 2020 Turkish champions.

Following the large win, Galatasaray crept closer to league leaders and archrivals, Fenerbahce.

Second-place Galatasaray have 27 points in 13 matches and are two points behind Fenerbahce.

Fenerbahce were handed an unexpected2-1 loss to Bitexen Giresunspor at home in Ulker Stadium earlier Saturday.

The Super Lig will enter a break after Sunday’s matches as the 2022 FIFA World Cup will begin Nov. 20 in Qatar.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Dakahlia governorship updated the death toll on Facebook.

The Health Ministry previously said 19 were killed and six injured when the minibus fell into the Nile River.

Media reports said the minibus was carrying dozens of passengers when the driver lost control and fell into Mansuriya canal in Aga town, in the Nile Delta province of Dakahlia.

A Health Ministry statement said 18 ambulances were dispatched to the scene to search for survivors.

Egypt has a poor transportation record despite government efforts to improve the country’s road network.

The country has recorded 56,789 deaths and 6,164 injuries in road accidents in 2020, according to the state statistics agency, CAPMAS,

The Turkish Foreign Ministry extended condolences to the people of Egypt.

“We wish God’s mercy on those who lost their lives, our condolences to their families, the brotherly people of Egypt and the Arab Republic of Egypt, and a speedy recovery to the injured,” is said in a statement.

Source: Anadolu Agency

“The leaders discussed a number of current issues on the bilateral agenda with an emphasis on the continued building up of interaction in politics, trade and the economy, including transport and logistics,” said the statement.

They agreed that the contacts between Russian and Iranian institutions will be increased, it added.

Kyiv and its Western allies have accused Moscow of using Iranian-made drones in recent weeks to carry out attacks in Ukraine, where it launched a “special military operation” in February.

Last week, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian acknowledged that Tehran provided drones to Russia, but said they were sent before the outbreak of the Ukraine war.

Source: Anadolu Agency

“As stated in the (Organization of Turkic States) Summit Declaration, the Turkish Cypriots are an inseparable part of the Turkic world, it is their natural right to establish and develop relations with the Turkic States in every field,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said the EU’s attempts “to hinder the Turkish Cypriot people to become a respectable member of the international community, are incompatible with goodwill, and they also once again clearly reveal the hypocrisy of the Union, which has been captivated by the vicious policies of the Greek Cypriot administration and Greece.”

“A just, lasting, and sustainable settlement on the Island of Cyprus can only be reached following a process that will be initiated with the reaffirmation of the inherent sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot people, which have been usurped since 1963,” it added.

The international community needs to abandon its attitude that sees the Greek Cypriot side as the sole owner of the island and recognize the TRNC, said the ministry, adding: “Türkiye, by all means, will continue to stand by the TRNC and to be the voice of the Turkish Cypriots in all international platforms.”

Meanwhile, the TRNC presidency in a statement said the EU has once again shown its biased approach.

The EU statement’s aim is to isolate the Turkish Cypriots from the world, and attach them with the Greek Cypriots under the guise of a federation, it added.

TRNC Prime Minister Unal Ustel also condemned the EU, saying that there are two separate, sovereign states in Cyprus and this fact will be accepted by the world sooner or later.

Cyprus issue

The island has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts to achieve a comprehensive settlement.

Ethnic attacks starting in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety.

In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece’s annexation of the island led to Türkiye’s military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. The TRNC was founded in 1983.

It has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Türkiye, Greece and the UK.

The Greek Cypriot administration was admitted to the EU in 2004, the same year when Greek Cypriots thwarted a UN plan to end the longstanding dispute.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Mevlut Cavusoglu also discussed the steps to be taken to facilitate grain and fertilizer exports with Estonia’s Urmas Reinsalu and Latvia’s Edgars Rinkevics.

Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul on July 22 to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports, which paused after the start of the Moscow-Kyiv war in February.

The parties are currently negotiating a possible extension and expansion beyond its Nov. 19 deadline.

The agreement helped stave off a global food crisis as Russia and Ukraine are two of the world’s biggest grain exporters.

But Moscow has complained about the deal’s implementation, saying it still faces difficulty selling fertilizer and food due to Western sanctions.

Source: Anadolu Agency