Day: November 19, 2022

The court said that Veljovic, as a member of the Republika Srpska Army (VRS), was found guilty of raping a Bosniak civilian woman in the Foca region during the war.

Veljovic was also ordered to pay his victim 32,000 Bosnian marks (around $17,000).

He was also found guilty of being a part of a large and systematic offensive by Republika Srpska’s military, paramilitary, and police forces in the country.

The war crimes indictment against Veljovic was filed on Sept. 17, 2021.

The Bosnian War was sparked by the break-up of Yugoslavia, which led Bosnia to declare independence in February 1992.

Its capital, Sarajevo, came under attack from Bosnian Serb militias, backed by the Yugoslav army, in what became the longest siege in modern history.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The whereabouts of refugee children who fled Ukraine due to Russia’s war are unknown.

Although international non-governmental organizations have documented the use of missing children in illegal activities such as prostitution and human trafficking on numerous occasions, it has not yet been determined how many children have disappeared, how many are alive, and where they are located until now.

On the occasion of World Children’s Day on Nov. 20, Zehra Hopyar, a researcher at Sakarya University’s Diaspora Research Center, made an assessment of the refugee children who went missing in Europe.

Hopyar told Anadolu Agency the cases of missing migrant children in Europe began with the refugee crisis in 2015, and the number of unaccompanied children in Europe has increased significantly in recent years, and these disadvantaged children live a life devoid of basic rights such as education, food and health.

“According to the Lost in Europe in 2021 research, over 18,000 migrant children went missing in Europe between 2018 and 2020, implying that 17 refugee children go missing in Europe every day. According to the researchers, data on this subject is frequently sparse and inconsistent, and information collection activities are carried out without collaboration with official authorities. This leads us to believe that the true figure is significantly greater,” she said.

Noting that children in state care had also vanished in nations such as the UK, Germany and Italy, she noted that 116 migrant children vanished in the UK between July 2021 and August 2022.

“According to the Italian government, at least 2,409 children vanished in the first four months of 2022. According to the German Federal Criminal Office, around 1,600 children go missing in Germany each year, with more than half of these youngsters being asylum seekers,” she added.

She said that criminal organizations target missing refugee children in Europe for use in crimes such as human trafficking, organ mafia, forced begging and prostitution.

Hopyar added that these youngsters are forced to work in perilous industries that involve violence, sexual abuse, and other forms of mistreatment and that at least half of the missing children are never found.

“With the report of the European Union Police Agency Europol on the disappearance of children in Europe in 2016, the entire world became aware of the existence of missing children. The Russia-Ukraine war brought this topic to the forefront once more,” she added.

Source: Anadolu Agency

One investigation is related to his alleged role during Jan. 6 Capitol riots and the other is a raid at his mansion in Florida, where he was said to keep confidential documents at Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach.

Garland appointed Jack Smith, a veteran career prosecutor, to serve as special counsel to continue the ongoing investigation into both of the matters and to prosecute any federal crimes that may arise from those investigations.

“Based on recent developments, including the former president’s announcement that he is a candidate for President in the next election, and the sitting President’s stated intention to be a candidate as well, I have concluded that it is in the public interest to appoint a special counsel,” said Garland.

“Such an appointment underscores the Department’s commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters,” he added.

The announcement came three days after Trump announced his bid to run for president again in the 2024 presidential race.

Trump served as president between 2016 and 2020. In the 2020 race, Democratic candidate President Joe Biden defeated him.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Germany’s DAX 30 rose 165 points, or 1.16%, to finish the final trading day of the week at 14,431.?

France’s CAC 40 added 68 points, or 1.04%, to close at 6,644. Spain’s IBEX 35 gained 87 points, or 1.08%, to 8,127.

Italy’s FTSE MIB was the best performer of the day, soaring 335 points, or 1.38%, to 24,675.

The UK’s FTSE 100 was the only index that performed less than a 1% gain as it added almost 39 points, or 0.53%, to close at 7,385.

The gains in indices came despite annual inflation rising to a fresh record level.

Euro area annual inflation came in at 10.6% in October 2022, up from 9.9% in September. A year earlier, the rate was 4.1%, according to Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office.

EU annual inflation was 11.5% in October 2022, up from 10.9% in September. A year earlier, the rate was 4.4%, Eurostat announced Thursday.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The protesters, who were demanding the expulsion of the French ambassador, rallied at the municipal stadium in the morning before heading to the French embassy, where they were dispersed by police tear gas, according to the local daily Le Faso.

“Police fired tear gas after negotiations with the protesters asking them to leave the scene peacefully failed. But the protesters responded by stoning the embassy,” it said.

The protesters later reportedly headed toward Kamboinse, where a French military base is located.

Video footage showed the protesters, some riding on motorcycles, blowing whistles and vuvuzelas shouting slogans such as “down with France.”

The protesters, mainly youth, accuse France of being responsible for Burkina Faso’s problems, including insecurity.

They also want the military to sever the security partnership with France in favor of Russia.

There was no immediate comment from the French embassy.

But in a statement on previous demonstrations following the September coup, the embassy “firmly denied” any French involvement in the events in Burkina Faso.

France maintains a military presence in Burkina Faso, with a contingent of special forces based in Kamboinsin, 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Ouagadougou.

“For a long time, we have said that we no longer want France in our country. It is France that is responsible for our misfortunes. We have protested before but they are still here. But today is the last day….,” the newspaper quoted a protester as saying.

Last month, anti-French protesters waving Russian flags demonstrated in the capital.

After the January coup which deposed elected President Roch Marc Christian Kabore, angry soldiers led by Capt. Ibrahim Traore last month ousted Lt. Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba in a second coup in eight months.

Source: Anadolu Agency

“Family photo was completed with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) becoming an observer member of the Organization of Turkic States,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said over the phone with the Turkish Cypriot President Ersin Tatar.

?According to a statement by the Turkish Communication Directorate, Erdogan told Tatar that “they will continue the struggle together in line with the historic call he made to the international community for the recognition of the TRNC in his address to the United Nations General Assembly.”

Erdogan once again conveyed his congratulations on the 39th anniversary of the founding of the TRNC.

The Organization of Turkic States is an interstate bloc, established with the aim of expanding cooperation between Turkic-speaking countries in the fields of politics, economics, science, education, transport, and tourism.

Its members are Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye, and Uzbekistan.

Hungary and Turkmenistan also have observer status.

Last week, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced the TRNC’s admission to the organization as an observer member.

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

“Trump decision has not yet been made,” tweeted Musk, as he announced three high-profile reinstatements of accounts that were banned by the social media giant.

“Kathie Griffin, Jorden Peterson & Babylon Bee have been reinstated,” the new Twitter CEO announced.

Trump had about 88.8 million followers when Twitter permanently suspended the former US president’s account in January 2021, citing his role in the Jan. 6 riot at the US Capitol and the potential for more violence.

Musk forecast a Trump return back in May when he called the expulsion “morally wrong and flat-out stupid.”

Since taking over as Twitter’s new leader, Musk has pledged to overhaul the platform’s policies which he outlined on Friday.

“New Twitter policy is freedom of speech, but not freedom of reach,” Musk tweeted. “Negative/hate tweets will be max deboosted & demonetized, so no ads or other revenue to Twitter. You won’t find the tweet unless you specifically seek it out, which is no different from rest of Internet.”

Griffin was suspended from Twitter in early November for impersonating Musk after she changed her account name to “Elon Musk” and used his picture for her profile.

The Babylon Bee said in March that Twitter had suspended its account over how the site had described a trans woman serving in the Biden administration. Twitter said at the time that the tweet amounted to prohibited “hateful conduct.”

Peterson was also suspended over a tweet attacking a trans person.

While the new Twitter boss has yet to make a decision on Trump’s return, Musk did appear to rule out the reinstatement of banned conspiracy theorist Alex Jones who was ordered to pay $1.5 billion in damages for defamation in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Connecticut.

When asked by a Twitter user whether he would bring Jones’ account back, Musk responded with one word: “No.”

Former head of trust and safety at Twitter, Yoel Roth, wrote in a New York Times column on Friday that Trump’s return was a “near-certainty.”

“In appointing himself ‘Chief Twit,’ Mr. Musk has made clear that at the end of the day, he’ll be the one calling the shots,” said Roth.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Bayrami was killed during a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the death of a prominent local artist, according to IRGC public relations in the province.

It said a group of “rioters,” armed with cold weapons, clashed with security forces on the sidelines of the ceremony.

When Bayrami intervened, he was fatally stabbed with a knife in his heart, causing his death, it said.

At least 30 people have been arrested in connection to the killing and handed over to the judiciary.

The fatal stabbing comes as sweeping protests in Iran have been triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, while in the custody of the country’s morality police in September.

Fatal attacks on police officers and paramilitary Basiji forces have become increasingly common in recent months, with several knife assaults and shootings reported across the country.

At least six security personnel were killed Thursday by armed assailants in separate incidents in western and central Iran.

Col. Hassan Yousefi was killed in Sanandaj in northwestern Kurdistan province, Amini’s hometown. A viral video showed him lying in the street with his head bleeding profusely.

In another incident from the northeastern city of Mashhad, three young members of the paramilitary voluntary Basiji forces were stabbed to death by an armed man.

Wednesday was particularly marred by violence with at least nine people killed in separate incidents in southwestern Khuzestan and central Isfahan provinces.

It is worth noting that the spate of killings this week came amid a call for a three-day protest to mark the third anniversary of deadly unrest in November 2019 that were sparked by a sharp rise in fuel prices.

More than 1,000 people have been arrested in connection with nationwide protests in the past few months, with trials commencing earlier this week.

In preliminary verdicts, a court in Tehran has issued five death sentences, while many have been given jail terms ranging from five to 10 years.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The violence occurred at the El Inca prison in Quito after police and prison officials tried to transfer Jonathan Bermudez, the leader of the criminal “Los Lobos” gang, to the La Roca maximum security prison in Guayaquil.

Ecuadoran President Guillermo Lasso had announced hours earlier the transfer of Bermudez, identified by authorities as having been responsible for a Nov. 7 massacre at the same prison that left five prisoners dead.

“Those responsible for the massacre in the El Inca prison in Quito have been successfully isolated today,” Lasso wrote on Twitter. “Early this morning, law enforcement officers bravely transferred the leader of the narco-terrorist gang “Lobos” to the maximum security prison, La Roca.”

“We told them that our hands would not tremble, and that there would be consequences for those who tried to create chaos. Let the mafias and ringleaders not be confused: this will be the same fate for those who continue with their attempts to break the peace of Ecuadorians,” Lasso added.

Prison massacres in Ecuador have been recurrent in recent months.

Since February 2021, there have been nearly one dozen in Ecuador, with more than 400 inmates killed, according to the government, due to increasing violence between criminal gangs linked to drug trafficking.

Although Lasso promised to put an end to violence in prisons, the incidents continue to occur.

The government decreed a state of emergency in Guayas, Esmeraldas and Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas provinces since the beginning of November after several attacks were recorded.

Source: Anadolu Agency