Day: January 30, 2023

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Holiday declared in DR Congo’s capital to welcome Pope Francis

Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have declared Feb. 1 a public holiday in the capital Kinshasa to allow Catholics to attend a mass led by Pope Francis at Ndolo Airport.

Schools and businesses will be closed as a result.

The public holiday was announced Sunday on state media by the Minister of Communication and Media, Patrick Muyaya.

“Today we announce that Wednesday, which is the day of the papal mass, will be a holiday to allow the faithful to attend the religious service. That day, there will be no classes. This must be very clear. In this way, parents know that on Wednesday, there is no question of stressing themselves out to get up early to take their children to school,” said Muyaya.

Pope Francis, who is 86, will visit DR Congo and South Sudan from Jan. 31 to Feb. 5. Catholics make up around half the population of each country.

The Catholic Church also owns and manages an extensive network of hospitals, schools and clinics in DR Congo.

The pontiff will arrive in Kinshasa on Tuesday and stay until Feb. 3 before traveling to South Sudan’s capital, Juba.

Source: Anadolu Agency

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Anadolu’s Morning Briefing – Jan. 30, 2023

Azerbaijan evacuated staff from its embassy in Iran’s capital Tehran on Sunday, two days after a gunman killed one person there and wounded two others.

• The turnout in the second round of early general elections held Sunday in Tunisia was 11.3%, an official said.

• Türkiye may respond "differently" to Finland's NATO bid which would "shock" Sweden, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

• In a confession-like statement, Sweden’s chief NATO negotiator said his country has a larger share of PKK financing compared to Finland.

• Iran's foreign minister said Sunday that Tehran received messages from other parties to the 2015 nuclear deal through Qatar aimed at resuming the stalled talks.

• At least three people have died and more than 800 were injured in a 5.9 magnitude earthquake that struck northwestern Iran's West Azerbaijan province Saturday, officials said.

• A powerful earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale jolted parts of Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Sunday afternoon, the Pakistan Meteorological Department said.

• Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has won the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party's (MDP) presidential primary election, becoming eligible to contest for another term, preliminary results showed Sunday.

• Iran says it thwarted drone attacks on a military complex in central Isfahan province late Saturday.

• UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak sacked Nadhim Zahawi as chairman of the Conservative Party for “breaching ministerial code” amid a tax row.

Source: Anadolu Agency

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Airstrikes target Iranian-backed terrorists in eastern Syria

Iranian-backed foreign terrorist groups were targeted in eastern Syria in airstrikes Sunday night, according to local sources.

A logistics convoy of foreign terrorists came under attack in Abu Kamal district of Deir ez-Zor province, according to information obtained by an Anadolu correspondent from field sources.

The strikes were carried out by unmanned combat aerial vehicles whose ownership remains unknown.

There were at least four trucks loaded with sealed boxes in the convoy, which entered Syria from Iraq.

No details were shared regarding casualties.

The Israeli army announced in November last year that it targeted an Iranian arms convoy on the Syria-Iraq border.

Deir ez-Zor is a strategic location on the border that has land routes from Iran to Lebanon and trade routes and oil pipelines.

It was captured by forces of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime following the withdrawal of the Daesh/ISIS terrorist group in 2017.

Since then, Iranian-backed terrorist groups have been intensively stationed in Deir ez-Zor.

Source: Anadolu Agency

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Japan says Chinese ships entered its territorial waters

Japan on Monday alleged four Chinese ships entered its territorial waters, navigating a few kilometers away from Japanese fishermen.

The ships entered territorial waters near the islands of Minamikojima and Uotsurijima around the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, the Japanese Coast Guard said.

The islands are known as Diaoyu Islands in China.

It is the second time this year that Tokyo has alleged Chinese vessels trespassed into its territorial waters. The first incident was reported on Jan. 10.

According to Japanese public broadcaster NHK, the coast guard has “dispatched patrol vessels to ensure the safety of the Japanese ships and to warn the Chinese vessels to leave Japan’s territorial waters immediately.”

Claimed by China and controlled by Tokyo, the disputed islands, Tokyo insists, “are an inherent part of Japan’s territory, in terms of history and international law. There is no issue of sovereignty to be resolved over them.”

Source: Anadolu Agency

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Asian stock markets close Monday mixed

Major Asian stock markets were mixed at Monday’s close ahead of key interest rate decisions from major central banks this week.

The Asia Dow, which includes blue-chip companies in the region, fell 0.71% to 3,541.53 points as of 1200GMT.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.19% to close at 27,433.40 points.

The Hang Seng, the benchmark for blue-chip stocks trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange, dove 2.73% to 22,069.73 points with profit-taking.

China’s Shanghai Stock Exchange rose 0.14% to close at 3,269.32 after returning from a week-long Lunar New Year holiday.

Combined daily turnover of Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets topped 1 trillion yuan ($148 billion) on Monday for the first time in nearly two months.

Foreign capital inflow of 18.6 billion yuan ($2.49 billion) was registered on Monday thanks to accelerating economic recovery in the world’s second largest economy.

The Singapore index lost 0.47% to end the day at 3,378.29 points, while India’s Sensex benchmark increased 0.29% to close at 59,500.41.

Source: Anadolu Agency

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US stocks open mixed as Fed meeting looms

US stock market opened mixed on Monday, two days before the key monetary decision of the Federal Reserve.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 54 points, or 0.17%, to 34,030 at 10:18 a.m. EDT (1518GMT).

The S&P 500, on the other hand, fell 16 points, or 0.41% to 4,053.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq plummeted 116 points, or 1%, to 11,505 at the time.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, jumped 7.6% to 19.86, while the 10-year US Treasury yield rose 0.6% to 3.538%.

The dollar index fell 0.06% to 101.86, while the euro added 0.15% to $1.0885 against the greenback.

Precious metals were mixed, with gold trimming 0.03% to $1,927 per ounce but silver rising 0.4% to $23.69.

Crude oil prices were down 0.9% with global benchmark Brent crude at $85.60 per barrel and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude at $78.91.

The positive macroeconomic data announced last week provided optimism for investors who now expect the Fed to end its aggressive tightening cycle sometime this year.

The US central bank is widely expected to make a 25 basis points of interest rate hike at the conclusion of its two-day meeting on Wednesday, after making a total of 425-point rate hike on seven occasions last year to lower record high inflation.

Source: Anadolu Agency

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Türkiye’s BIST 100 index up at week’s open

Türkiye’s benchmark stock index opened at 5,201.07 points on Monday, up 0.18%, or 9.24 points, from the previous close.

On Friday, Borsa Istanbul’s BIST 100 index dropped 0.75% to close the week at 5,191.83, with a daily trading volume of 97 billion Turkish liras ($5.17 billion).

The US dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate was at 18.8076 as of 9.56 a.m. local time (0656GMT), the euro/lira exchange rate stood at 20.4270, while a British pound traded for 23.3020 Turkish liras.

Brent crude oil was selling for around $86.02 per barrel, while the price of an ounce of gold was $1,946.20.

Source: Anadolu Agency

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Turkish economic confidence index up in January

Türkiye’s economic confidence index posted an increase in January, up by 1.3% from December 2022, the country’s statistical authority said on Monday.

The figure rose to 99.3 in January, increasing from 98.1 in the previous month, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).

Sub-indices posted mixed figures, while consumer confidence saw the largest increase.

The consumer confidence index was up by 4.6%, while the real sector index rose by 1.8%.

The construction confidence index was also up by 0.6%.

The sub-indices for the real sector and services decreased by 1% and 1.7%, respectively, month-on-month in January.

Source: Anadolu Agency