Day: January 29, 2023

Italian diplomatic missions have been targeted by acts of violence in some European countries, according to a statement by the Italian Foreign Ministry.

The car of a diplomat, Luigi Estero, in Berlin was set on fire, while the windows of the Italian Consulate General building in Barcelona were broken, according to a statement.

Premier Giorgia Meloni said the government was following "with concern and attention these new cases of violence against our functionaries and diplomatic missions."

The Italian news agency ANSA reported both incidents took place on Friday.

There were no reports of injury.

Local media reported that the Chief Public Prosecutor of Rome launched an investigation into the acts of violence against Italian diplomats and missions abroad.

Italian news agency Adnkronos said five people were detained for the act of violence at the Italian Consulate General in Barcelona.

Meanwhile, a diplomat in the Italian mission in Greece was recently subjected to a similar attack.

On Dec. 2, 2022, a parked car being used by Susanna Schlein, the first councilor of the Italian Embassy in Athens, was set on fire by unknown persons.

There were reports that the incident might have been caused by some anarchist groups in Greece.

* Writing by Aysu Bicer in London

Source: Anadolu Agency

Türkiye on Saturday issued travel warnings for the US and some European countries, citing rising incidents of anti-foreigner and racist attacks and growing religious intolerance.

"Protests are taking place across the US after a person named Tyre Nichols died after being subjected to police violence in Memphis, in the state of Tennessee.

"On the other hand, it has been observed that there have been anti-foreigner and racist verbal and physical attacks throughout the US recently," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The statement further urged Turkish citizens living in the US or planning to travel there to stay away from areas where the demonstrations are concentrated.

In a separate statement, the ministry said there has been an increase in anti-Islamic, xenophobic and racist actions in some European countries, as well as in propaganda demonstrations against Türkiye by groups affiliated with terrorist organizations.

"These developments, which reflect the dangerous dimensions of religious intolerance and hatred in Europe, clearly reveal the alarming level reached by racist and discriminatory movements in Europe," it added.

The ministry also called on the citizens to apply to the local security forces by acting calmly in the face of xenophobic and racist harassment and attacks, as well as to closely monitor local media outlets and to follow the additional warnings and announcements made by the local security forces, Turkish Foreign Ministry, Turkish embassies and Turkish consulate generals.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Police in Sweden decided to not proceed with a criminal case involving physical assault of a journalist by an aide to Danish far-right politician Rasmus Paludan, photojournalist Orhan Karan said Saturday.

“A crime in which you were the plaintiff has been closed,” said a statement by police. “The perquisites for proving a crime do not exist.”

Karan told Anadolu that Valentin Mointes, an aide to Paludan, whom he saw in previous demonstrations, suddenly approached him in an aggressive manner and started verbal abuses before threatening to attack him prior to a Quran burning on Jan. 21.

“Then he turned his abuse into a physical attack. Police at the scene had detained him as they have witnessed the incident. Police informed me, saying they have removed him from the area,” said Karan, adding that Paludan arrived shortly after but refused to get out of his vehicle unless his colleague was released.

Detainees are taken in a police vehicle and questioned at a police station, under normal conditions.

“The police had bowed down to Paludan’s demand and brought the person back to the scene of demonstration; meaning, allowing a person, who got involved in a criminal offense and an act of violence,” said Karan, who added that Mointes was tasked by Paludan to live stream the burning of the Quran.

Karan said he was initially told by police that an officer will reach out to him to ask questions about the case before proceeding with a prosecutor. He said no one has contacted him and he received an email from police late Friday that said the case is closed.

In addition to filing a legal complaint against the officers, who are accused of enabling Paludan to stage his act, Karan said he will appeal against the closure of the case by police.

Karan said the day of the incident, police apologized to him after releasing Mointes and said the far-right leader, who was given legal protection for his demonstration, was not going to come out of his vehicle.

Stunned by the police reaction, Karan said any other detained individual would be taken to a police station under normal circumstances.

The incident caused uproar in the Muslim world. In response to Sweden allowing Paludan to burn a copy of the Quran, which Türkiye condemned as a “provocative act” of a “hate crime,” Ankara canceled Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson's upcoming visit to Türkiye.

Due to fears of a possible Russian invasion in the future, the Swedes are bidding to be part of NATO's transatlantic military alliance.

However, their candidacy is currently on hold by Türkiye, which demands the Nordic country start acting against activities of the terror groups, including the PKK and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).

Source: Anadolu Agency

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi extended condolences Saturday to his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, for a deadly attack on the Azerbaijani Embassy in Tehran.

Aliyev strongly condemned the "bloody terrorist act" in a telephone call with Raisi and hoped the act will be thoroughly investigated, the Azerbaijani presidency said in a statement. He said the criminals will be punished.

The call came one day after a gunman, wielding a Kalashnikov rifle, barged inside the Azerbaijani Embassy premises and opened fire.

Orkhan Asgarov, head of the embassy's security services, was killed, while two security guards at the entrance were injured.

Tehran's police chief Hossein Rahimi told reporters that the assailant was immediately arrested, adding that a preliminary investigation pointed to "personal and family-related problems" as a motive.

Aliyev said if the terrorist had not been disarmed, he would have targeted other employees of the embassy and their family members living in the apartment section of the embassy building.

He also emphasized the importance of ensuring the security of diplomatic missions, according to the statement.

Source: Anadolu Agency

A huge explosion occurred early Sunday at a military facility in central Iran, according to media reports.

The blast was at an ammunition production facility of the Iranian Defense Ministry in Isfahan province, said state television.

The Isfahan governorate confirmed the incident and said no casualties were reported.

The military facility was attacked with micro drones but it failed, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

One of the aircraft was hit by the facility's air defense system, while two others exploded after being caught in defensive traps.

No casualties were reported but minor damage occurred to the roof of the facility, it added.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The grandfather of the Palestinian attacker who killed seven Israeli settlers Friday was stabbed to death by a settler 25 years ago, according to Israeli media on Saturday

Khairy Alkam, 21, was killed Friday after he attacked and killed Israeli settlers in a settlement in occupied East Jerusalem.

Alkam is from the Al-Tur area in East Jerusalem and was given the name of his grandfather, Khairy, after his death in 1998, according to the Haaretz newspaper

Sharhabil Alkam, Khairy's uncle, told Haaretz that Khairy carried out the attack in retaliation for the killing of Palestinian teen Mohammad Ali, 16, in the Shufat refugee camp.

Israeli police killed Mohammad on Wednesday for holding a gun but after shooting him, it appeared he was holding a toy gun.

Khairy's uncle said he was born four years after his grandfather was killed in Jerusalem.

He said 12 years after his death, Israeli security in 2010 arrested Haim Pearlman, an active member of the extremist and terrorist Kach group, on suspicion of being behind the grandfather's death.

Haaretz said Pearlman was close to current National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a radical figure in the Israeli government who tries to implement punitive policies against Palestinians.

Sharhabil Alkam added that Pearlman was arrested for a certain period before being released without any charges.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The deputy head of the Russian Security Council on Saturday called German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock an "utter and useful fool."

"A catchy phrase: 'We are fighting a war against Russia, and not against each other. Isn't it great when Germany's foreign minister is such an utter and useful fool?" Dmitry Medvedev wrote on his English Twitter account.

His tweet was in response to Baerbock who used the phrase at a session Wednesday of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.

The German Foreign Ministry said Thursday that providing support to Kyiv does not make Germany a party to the conflict in Ukraine.

On Friday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova requested that the German ambassador come to Moscow to clarify Germany's status on the Russia-Ukraine war due to controversial statements made by the German Foreign Ministry and its minister.

In a separate statement on Telegram, commenting on calls from Great Britain to send all weapons at NATO's disposal to Ukraine, Medvedev said "the protection of Ukraine ... will not save the decrepit Old World from retribution."

"If the third World War begins, then, alas, it will not be on tanks or even on fighters. Then for sure everything -- (will turn) into the dust," he said.

The British Daily Telegraph newspaper earlier published a report that claimed London may consider deliveries of fighter jets to Ukraine if Russia withdraws troops from the country.

Source: Anadolu Agency