Day: December 25, 2022

Trabzonspor beat Turkish Spor Toto Super Lig leader Fenerbahce 2-0 at home Saturday after the 2022 FIFA World Cup break.

Fenerbahce’s forward Joshua King hit the crossbar in the first half.

In the 57th minute, Fenerbahce were down to 10 men when Portuguese midfielder Miguel Crespo was sent off after a foul on Abdulkadir Omur.

Crespo was previously booked in stoppage time of the first half.

Trabzonspor broke the deadlock in minute 61 as Maxi Gomez finished in a one-on-one.

Near the end of the match, Egyptian forward Trezeguet’s shot in the box beat Fenerbahce goalkeeper Altay Bayindir as Trabzonspor sealed the victory at Senol Gunes Sports Complex.

Leaders Fenerbahce have 29 points in 14 matches.

Their nearest opponents, Galatasaray and Medipol Basaksehir, each have 27 points.

Trabzonspor are fourth with 26 points.

Galatasaray will take on underdogs Istanbulspor on Sunday in a home match.

Source: Anadolu Agency

At least 27 people were injured when a metal stage collapsed during a basketball game in Cairo late Saturday.

One of the iron barriers collapsed during the Super Cup game between Al-Ahly and Al-Ittihad, according to media reports. The game was canceled because of the incident.

Health Ministry spokesman Hossam Abdel-Ghaffar said most of those who were injured suffered broken bones. He said they were taken to hospitals and their injuries were not life-threatening.

Sports Minister Ashraf Sobhy said the incident occurred because of a scuffle between fans.

A committee was formed to find those responsible for the collapse.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Russia has in its possession of a report by the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) that details Washington’s military biological activities in Ukraine, a senior Russian military chief claimed Saturday.

The report discloses the names, positions of specialists and managers of biological projects, laboratories involved and facts confirming the conduct of exercises and training on counteracting pathogens of particularly dangerous infections, Igor Kirillov, head of the Russian radiation, chemical and biological protection troops said at a news conference in Moscow.

“The report contains information about three Pentagon contractors, personal data of thirty laboratory employees and seven managers from the US Defense Department.

“All of them, one way or another, are beneficiaries of the Pentagon’s biological projects and are associated with the US Democratic Party, whose leaders are the ideological inspirers of military biological research and the creators of secret money laundering schemes in the interests of a narrow circle of representatives of the American elite,” he said.

Kirillov said Russia tried to establish a control mechanism within the framework of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) to prevent illegal military biological research but the idea was strongly opposed by Washington.

The Pentagon is “actively transferring” research that it failed to complete in Ukraine to Central Asian and Eastern European states, he said.

In parallel, the cooperation of the US Defense Department with Kenya, Cambodia, Singapore and Thailand is increasing. States that already have laboratories are of particular interest to the US military, he said.

Commenting on the results of the recent BCW conference in Geneva, Kirillov said the event revealed “deep contradictions” and was mostly ignored in the Western media because the topic of military biological research is “inconvenient for the West.”

Source: Anadolu Agency

Turkish security forces “neutralized” five PKK/YPG terrorists in northern Syria, Türkiye’s National Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

The terrorists were targeted in the Operation Peace Spring and Operation Euphrates Shield zones, the ministry said on Twitter.

Turkish authorities use the term “neutralize” to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

Since 2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019).

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 over 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Air raid alerts were activated across all regions of Ukraine early on Sunday, including the capital Kyiv, due to possible Russian airstrikes.

Local authorities urged residets to take shelter until the alarms are deactivated.

No warnings were reported in the Crimea region, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014.

The sirens come a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy released a Christmas greeting statement to Western Rite Orthodox Christians.

Air raid alerts sound in Ukraine on a nearly daily basis due to missile and drone strikes targeting the country’s civilian and energy infrastructure. Such strikes rose dramatically after an October explosion damaged Russia’s key Kerch Bridge to the Crimean Peninsula.

Source: Anadolu Agency

A French journalist stressed on Saturday that the PKK terrorist organization is politically exploiting Friday’s shooting in Paris that left at least three people dead.

Referring to the violent behavior of PKK supporters since Friday that left dozens of French police injured and caused significant public and private property damage in central Paris, Jean-Michel Brun drew attention that “it is most definitely not a demonstration of support for the families of the victims, but it is a question of political exploitation.”

“These are really the members of the PKK who express their opposition to Türkiye and the Turkish government, who also express their hatred of the Turkish people,” added Brun.

He also cautioned French people and the government against being fooled by the terror group’s political exploitation.

On Friday, a 69-year-old gunman in Paris opened fire, killing at least three people and injuring three others, according to local media reports.

Suspected racist motivations behind the attack will be investigated, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said.

At least 31 French police officers were injured in violent acts perpetrated by supporters of the PKK terrorist group in Paris, police chief Laurent Nunez said on Saturday.

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. Though normally officially banned, the terrorist group also has a presence in numerous European countries.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The co-leader of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in Türkiye, expressed support for violent protests in France by proponents of the PKK terror group after a recent shooting.

Sezai Temelli tweeted in French and Kurmanji on Saturday, “Paris brule. Paris disewite, bila bisewite,” which translates to “Paris is burning. Paris is burning, let it burn.”

Temelli later removed the tweet, saying: “I deleted my #Paris tweet. Emotions can sometimes cause other tensions, albeit unintentionally. I am very sorry for the massacre. I continue to defend the democratic right to protest.”

Having gathered at the central Place de la Republique at around 2.00 p.m. local time (1300GMT), thousands of supporters of the terror group marched to the Boulevard du Temple chanting pro-PKK slogans and carrying posters of the terror group’s so-called leaders.

They then ripped off paving stones and threw them at the police, nearby homes, and shops. The attackers also used fireworks and sparklers, destroying bus stops.

The police intervened in the scene in a limited fashion, occasionally using tear gas against the attackers.

On Friday, a 69-year-old gunman in Paris opened fire, killing at least three people and injuring three others, according to local media reports.

Suspected racist motivations behind the attack will be investigated, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau has said.

Following the incident, supporters of the PKK terror organization wounded at least six police officers on Friday, according to local media.

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. Though normally officially banned, the terrorist group also has a presence in numerous European countries.

The Turkish government accuses the HDP of having links to the PKK terror group.

Source: Anadolu Agency