Day: November 25, 2022

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced late Wednesday that Serbia and Kosovo had reached an agreement to “avoid further escalation and to fully concentrate on the proposal on normalization of their relations.”

According to Borrell, Serbia will stop issuing license plates bearing the initials of Kosovo cities while Kosovo will cease further actions related to the re-registration of vehicles.

Tensions between Serbia and Kosovo had risen since ethnic Serbs in Kosovo withdrew from all central and local institutions in protest over Pristina’s decision to replace old vehicle license plates issued by Serbian authorities with those from Kosovo.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in an address to the nation said he is pleased that Serbia succeeded in preserving the peace of its people.

“I am satisfied that we have preserved peace for our people, because those wonderful women who protested deserve peace, their children deserve to go to school normally. I am pleased that the whole of Serbia was not endangered, as this year will be a record for foreign investments,” said Vucic.

Vucic also vowed to protect the rights of Serbs in Kosovo.

“Serbs are fed up with bullying, blackmailing, and international pressure in which no one takes care of them…We have to be strong and protect Serbia. Serbs are not afraid. They know the sanctity they are defending. Serbia will win,” he added.

Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani also expressed gratitude on social media to the US government for their support.

“I want to thank ambassador Jeff Hovenier and the US government for their active engagement in reaching today’s deal in Brussels. Their support for the dialog process between Kosovo and Serbia is indispensable. Kosovo is grateful,” said Osmani.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said the agreement is not only about license plates but also about giving space to the European proposal.

“We agreed to reciprocally suspend actions, so we will not issue fines for KM license plates and we will give space to negotiations on the European proposal, which we previously called the French-German proposal,” Kurti said.

According to Kurti, the dialogue process is entering the phase of negotiations on the general framework for the first time, which will be legally binding and solve fundamental problems from the perspective of international law.

Vucic in early October said that Germany and France had offered to expedite Serbia’s European Union membership process if the country recognized Kosovo’s independence.

Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, with most UN member states including the US, UK, France, Germany and Türkiye recognizing it as a separate autonomous country from its neighbor. But Belgrade continues to regard it as its territory.

Prior to the latest agreement, the second phase of Kosovo’s decision on the re-registration of vehicles had been expected to begin Monday, with the owners of vehicles with Serbian license plates set to be fined €150 ($156).

Brussels has facilitated the Serbia-Kosovo dialogue, which is designed to ease tensions and resolve bilateral issues, one of the requirements for full-fledged EU membership.

Source: Anadolu Agency

“We endured nine months of full-scale war and Russia hasn’t found a way to break us. And it will not find it,” Zelenskyy said in a video on his Telegram channel.

“No matter how difficult it may be, we are holding the key frontiers in all directions,” and “there are directions where we are preparing to advance,” he said.

He said the Russian army began to attack civilian and energy infrastructure because of its failure on the battlefront.

“Such terror began immediately after the Russian army was forced to flee from the Kherson region. This is the revenge of those who lost,” he said.

Zelenskyy said that problems related to safe drinking water and electricity remain throughout Ukraine due to Russia’s intense missile attacks on critical energy infrastructure.

He said that issues with safe drinking water exist in 15 regions, with the Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv, Poltava and Kharkiv regions in a dire situation.

“We are gradually restoring electricity, heat, water supply and communications,” he said.

On Thursday, Russia denied targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a press conference that Russia does not carry out strikes on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Brazil were close to scoring the opening goal of the match in the 60th minute as their left-back Alex Sandro fired outside the area, but he hit the crossbar.

Two minutes later, Brazil broke the deadlock at Lusail Stadium.

Brazilian forward Richarlison finished in the six-yard box following a rebound from Serbian goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic.

Then Richarlison scored a spectacular volley after controlling the ball in the area as Brazil doubled the gap in the 73rd minute.

After his second goal, he was subbed out.

In the 81st minute, Brazil could have made it 3-0, but Casemiro hit the bar.

So World Cup record champions Brazil secured a 2-0 win to make a good start to their Qatar 2022 campaign.

The South American powerhouse tops Group G on goal difference.

Earlier Thursday, Switzerland beat Cameroon 1-0 to come second in the group.

Cameroon and Serbia lost their first matches to be in lower ranks.

Only the best two teams in each group will qualify for the last 16 after the third matches.

In the next fixture, Brazil will play against Switzerland on Nov. 28.

On the same day, Cameroon will face Serbia.

Thursday’s results

Group G

Switzerland – Cameroon: 1-0

Brazil – Serbia: 2-0

Group H

Uruguay – South Korea: 0-0

Portugal – Ghana: 3-2

Source: Anadolu Agency

The Japan Coast Guard officials said the ships entered the waters off Minamikojima island around 2:40 a.m. local time (1740GMT Thursday) after navigating in the contiguous zone just outside the territorial waters with two other Chinese government ships, Japanese Broadcaster NHK reported.

The ships were trying to approach a Japanese fishing boat operating in the territorial waters about 21 kilometers (13 miles) off Minamikojima island, however they left after Japan’s patrol ships demanded that they leave its territorial waters immediately, according to the broadcaster.

The incident occurred just a week after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for the first time in person at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Organization (APEC) Summit in Thailand.

Beijing and Tokyo are at odds over Japan’s Senkaku Islands, which Beijing claims and refers to as the Diaoyu Islands.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The activists from the Last Generation group used a bolt cutter to cut the fence and entered the tarmac, and later glued themselves to runways to stop take-offs and landings.

“Airplane is not a means of transport for ordinary citizens. Most people – about 80% – have never flown,” the activists said on Twitter, as they live-streamed their protest.

“One wealthy percent of the population alone causes about half of the flight-related emissions,” they said, and called on people to stop traveling by air.

Berlin Brandenburg Airport said runways were reopened after security officials intervened and brought the situation under control, while there were delays in flight operations because of the climate protest.

Source: Anadolu Agency

At least 10 people were killed and nine were injured when a fire broke out in a residential building in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, an autonomous territory in northwest China, state-run media said on Friday.

The fire engulfed a high-rise residential building in Urumqi’s Tianshan district late Thursday night, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Teams of firefighters and rescue workers evacuated the building and extinguished the fire. Local authorities have begun an investigation to ascertain the cause of the fire, it added.

Source: Anadolu Agency

“These Patriots are part of NATO’s integrated air defense, meaning they are intended to be deployed on NATO territory,” German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said.

“Any use outside NATO territory would require prior discussions with NATO and the allies,” Lambrecht added.

Berlin offered Warsaw the missile system after two people were killed in Poland due to a stray missile attack on Nov. 15, while Poland asked Germany to rather send them to Ukraine.

“After further Russian missile attacks, I asked Germany to have the Patriot batteries offered to Poland transferred to Ukraine and deployed at its western border,” Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak tweeted on Wednesday.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Speaking to reporters in the Turkish capital Ankara, Hulusi Akar rebuffed claims that a US observation point in northern Syria had been hit in Türkiye’s cross-border air operations against YPG/PKK terrorists in northern Iraq and northern Syria.

Turkish forces only target terrorists and their hideouts during the operation, Akar reiterated, saying: “Our most important principle is not to harm civilians and the environment.”

Türkiye to date has neutralized 326 PKK/YPG terrorists as part of the current operations, done with both air and ground fire support, Akar added.

Early Sunday, Türkiye launched Operation Claw-Sword, a cross-border aerial campaign against the terror group YPG/PKK, which has illegal hideouts across the Iraqi and Syrian borders where they plan attacks on Turkish soil.

The country’s air operation followed a YPG/PKK terror attack on Nov. 13 in Istanbul that killed six people and left 81 injured.

After the air operation was launched, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also signaled a likely ground operation in northern Iraq and northern Syria to eliminate the terror threat, saying: “This is not limited to just an air operation.”

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 some 40,000 people, including innocent women, children, and infants. The YPG is the PKK’s terrorist branch in Syria.

Source: Anadolu Agency

“Hungary will surely give its backing to their accession, after the government had done, also parliament will do so,” Viktor Orban told reporters at a briefing.

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

However, Türkiye voiced objections to the membership bids, criticizing the countries for tolerating and even supporting terror groups.

A trilateral memorandum at the NATO summit signed among the countries in June stipulates that Finland and Sweden will not provide support to the YPG/PYD, the PKK’s Syrian offshoot, or to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) — the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Türkiye.

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

Source: Anadolu Agency