Day: March 29, 2023

The US will retaliate for an attack on its forces in northeastern Syria when and where it so chooses, the White House said Tuesday. "We have done it, and we will do it at a time and in a manner of our own choosing," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters during a virtual briefing. "I am certainly not going to forecast what that could look like going forward." President Joe Biden "reserves the right to act in defense of our people and our facilities overseas, and that's not going to change," added Kirby. The comments came after US troops in northeastern Syria came under attack multiple times last week by what the US says was Iran-backed proxy forces, prompting the US to carry out a retaliatory strike. The March 23 suicide drone strike killed one US contractor and injured five service members when a coalition base near Hasakah came under rocket fire. The following day, a salvo of rockets targeted the Green Village, a military facility located at the al-Omar gas field where about 900 US troops are stationed. No rockets struck the facility, but one veered off course and struck a civilian home about 5 kilometers (3 miles) away, injuring two women and two children, according to the Pentagon. No additional US reprisals were carried out. The New York Times newspaper reported that Biden chose to hold off on a second round of US strikes with warplanes poised to carry them out on Friday evening. No additional attacks were reported over the weekend, and some in the Biden administration are "eager to move on, avoid escalating the back-and-forth strikes into a wider war with Iran and its proxies, and remain focused on the broader mission of helping root out the pockets of" Daesh/ISIS in the region.

Source: Anadolu Agency

UN experts have called for the British government and royal family to investigate their historical links to transatlantic slavery and take steps for restorative justice. International calls came after an independent academic research into The Guardian's past as the owner, Scott Trust on Tuesday apologized for the role the newspaper's founders had in transatlantic slavery. The Guardian's owner also announced a decade-long, multimillion-pound program of restorative justice. This came at a time when the world marked the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade on Saturday. Beginning in the 15th century, the slave trade was in place until the Slave Trade Act 1807, also known as the Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade in the British Empire. But slaves in the colonies continued for years even after the act. Since England's government and the monarchy had been "deeply involved" in the creation of the transatlantic slave trade for centuries, Britain's Royal Family has been widely accused of taking part in it and has been called by many to make an official apology. According to The Guardian, its steps on the role in one of the darkest chapters in history, were welcomed by UN experts and campaigners have called for other institutions to follow suit. "...The British state has refused to apologize to Africans and people of African descent for the role they played in the trafficking and chattel enslavement of millions of Africans in the Caribbean, simply uttering meaningless statements of regret, remorse, and deep sorrow, with a former UK PM even telling us to get over the past and move on," said Verene Shepherd, the chair of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Dominique Day, from the UN working group of experts on people of African descent, said that the legacy of systemic racism created by the trade and trafficking in enslaved Africans is "undeniable in institutions and individual mindsets throughout Britain." "For example, the enslavers and profiteers who crafted the media's role as an indispensable public servant also cemented its role driving a culture of denial that perpetuates systemic racism until today," he added. Actor and campaigner David Harewood said: "It's important that those who benefited from this awful trade have the courage to join an open and difficult discussion with the descendants of those who were traded." "Talking honestly" about the past will ensure a more accurate representation of the history, said Miles Greenwood, the lead curator at the International Slavery Museum. The transatlantic slave trade lasted for more than 400 years and victimized more than 15 million Black men, women and children.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The head of Azerbaijan's Great Order Party was injured in an attack by armed assailants late Tuesday, according to authorities. A statement by the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General's Office said Fazil Mustafa, who is also a deputy in the unicameral national assembly, was attacked by unknown assailants outside his house in the Sabunchi district of the nation's capital of Baku. A separate statement by the Azerbaijani Management Union of Medical Territorial Units (TABIB) said bullets hit Mustafa's right shoulder and right leg. It noted that Mustafa, who was taken to the hospital, was not in danger of losing his life. An investigation has been launched.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Manchester City star Erling Haaland is under police investigation after allegedly using his mobile phone while driving, according to media reports on Wednesday. British tabloid The Sun published a picture purportedly showing Haaland with his smartphone in his hand while behind the wheel of his car. The incident was alleged to have happened on March 15, close to Manchester City's home ground Etihad Stadium. A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said: "I can confirm that GMP is aware of the image and is investigating." The 22-year-old Norwegian forward could be fined £200 ($246) and receive six penalty points if found guilty. Haaland scored 42 goals in 37 appearances for the Sky Blues so far.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The Russian Embassy in the US on Wednesday accused Washington of trying "to put the brakes on" attempts to hold an international investigation into last year's explosions that ruptured the Nord Stream gas pipelines. Commenting on the White House statement about "sufficiency of the national investigations, conducted by European countries," the embassy said it is "an obvious attempt by the authorities to hide behind the back of the allies, to do everything possible to undermine efforts to find out the true circumstances behind the act of sabotage." "The Administration's assurances of full confidence in the 'thorough' investigations by allied states are not trustworthy. Especially taking into account the refusal to grant to our country -- the owner of the gas pipelines -- access to these proceedings. And, in fact, blocking of the joint appeal by Russia, China, and Brazil at the UN Security Council to launch a full-fledged international investigation," the embassy stressed. German, Swedish and Danish authorities are investigating the undersea explosions that sparked leaks on the two Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea last September. Russia has called for an international UN-led inquiry into the 'sabotage' and identify who was to blame, but the request has not been supported by the Security Council. The diplomatic mission insisted that "all states are interested in establishing the truth and punishing those responsible for the sabotage in order to prevent similar terrorist attacks in the future." The embassy noted that the US media ignore the potential "colossal harm" to the environment due to the explosions. It reminded about hundreds of thousands of munitions with toxic chemical substances that sunk in the Baltic Sea during World War II. "Taking into account their (ammunition) poor condition, any explosions in these waters threaten to turn into an unprecedented environmental catastrophe and cause irreparable damage to regional states. One can only guess whether the perpetrators of the terrorist attack considered these risks," it warned. 'Russophobic campaign' The embassy also commented on calls to create a "special tribunal against Russia" for its "special military operation" in Ukraine, slamming them as an "outright profanity that has nothing to do with justice." "The US continues to demonstrate a complete disregard for the norms of international law in favor of its own geopolitical interests. The outrageous and unfounded accusations of alleged aggression, crimes against humanity and other violations are nothing more than an element of the Russophobic campaign organized by Washington as part of the hybrid war unleashed against us," it stressed. The diplomatic mission said Washington "hypocritically and cynically" refrains from assessing the "criminal acts of the Nazis who have settled in Kyiv and have been terrorizing civilians for many years" as well as about its own role in the Ukrainian conflict. "Washington continues to support Zelenskyy regime through the endless supply of lethal weapons, as a result of which the civilian population continues to die, including children, and kindergartens, schools and hospitals are destroyed," it said. The embassy also questioned the US' right to "speculate on 'responsibility for aggression,' when the international community has not yet recovered from the catastrophic consequences of American adventurist interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan, bombing of Yugoslavia and the atrocities in Vietnam."

Source: Anadolu Agency

The death toll from Cyclone Freddy in Malawi has risen to 676, with more than 1,400 people injured, according to figures released Wednesday. About 500,000 residents have been displaced and are living in camps with the government and aid agencies providing shelter and food. The Department of Disaster Management Affairs Commissioner Charles Kalemba said the chances of finding alive anyone who is missing are slim. 'There are about 537 people still missing. They would not be alive by now considering that it's now about 17 days since they went missing,' he said. Kalemba said police and the Malawi Defence Force search and rescue teams armed with sniffer dogs and earthmoving equipment are continuing to retrieve bodies. Minister of Information Moses Kunkuyu told Anadolu that an assessment of the disaster shows that dozens of bridges and roads had been washed away, making it difficult to provide desperately needed aid. He said about 405 kilometers (252 miles) of road infrastructure has been affected. About 63 health facilities have been damaged and 944,784 water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities have been destroyed. 'The devastation is huge and we now face a huge risk of outbreaks of water-borne diseases in the camps because of congestion and poor sanitation,' said Kunkuyu. He said the storm damaged electricity lines and many areas are currently without power. Kunkuyu also noted that at least 500 schools were damaged by the storm and schools have re-opened in just four districts after they were suspended early this month. Freddy struck Mozambique and Malawi earlier in March for the second time in a month, destroying scores of homes and triggering widespread floods. Seventy-six deaths were recorded in neighboring Mozambique, where more than 33,000 houses were destroyed.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Saudi Arabia has moved a step closer to joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a powerful regional bloc led by China and Russia. The Cabinet approved a memorandum on becoming a dialogue partner in the SCO during a Tuesday meeting chaired by King Salman bin Abdulaziz, the official Saudi Press Agency reported. The SCO was founded in June 2001 by China, Russia, and the Central Asian states of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The Eurasian political, economic, and security alliance is recognized as the world's largest regional organization, with eight members, four observer states and several dialogue partners, including Trkiye. Pakistan and India became full members in 2017. Iran, an SCO observer state since June 2005, had its permanent membership approved in September 2021 and signed a memorandum of commitment a year later for its full accession.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Stem cell therapy offers success rates of up to 90-100% in various diseases, while the rate stands at 60-70% in paralyzed animals, Turkish veterinary surgeon Dr. Cem Perk told Anadolu on Wednesday. The therapy, which enables the regeneration of diseased or damaged tissues and organs, provides rapid healing for animals that suffer from health problems such as paralysis, multi-organ failure, wounds, burns, and fractures. With the development of technology and medical science, stem cells, which can be taken from bone marrow or adipose tissue (body fat) in recent years and used in the treatment of many types of diseases, play a curative role for many diseases that are difficult to treat in cats, dogs, and horses, as well as humans. Stem cell therapy can be preferred in the treatment of various eye, joint, liver, kidney, heart, skin, and inflammatory bowel diseases in animals, as well as in non-healing wounds, burns, fractures, osteoarthritis, muscle and tendon damage, paralysis due to spinal cord and peripheral nerve damage, loss of sensation, acute and chronic gingival disorders, multiple organ failures, the dry form of feline infectious peritonitis in cats, and the nervous form of distemper in dogs. Therapy applied to 1.5-year-old cat Perk said he has been applying the therapy since 2020, helping many cats and dogs regain their health. The veterinarian also applied stem cell therapy on a 1.5-year-old cat that was found on the street and diagnosed with post-traumatic neurological dysfunction. Perk told Anadolu that he injected the stem cell brought with the cold chain into the cat under local anesthesia. The veterinarian said the treatment, successfully applied in many cases over the past decade, is among the modern treatment options in the field of veterinary medicine. The stem cell, providing rapid repair in diseases and injuries, gives successful results especially in local applications in the form of injections through its healing-accelerating feature, Perk noted, saying it also creates an effective treatment option in orthopedic and neurological cases, eye diseases, and paralysis. The aim of the treatment is for the million-level stem cells injected into the application area to settle in the tissue and turn into original cells after a while, Perk also said, listing the advantages of the treatment. "For example, calcification (osteoarthritis), that is, in orthopedic cases, can cause pain and lameness in animals. We can see it very often in cats and dogs in advanced age. When we inject it into the joint, after a while, these cells multiply, develop, and turn into original cartilage tissue cells. They repair it as soon as possible and we achieve excellent results with rapid healing in the joint, relaxation of the movements and increase in joint fluid. "In classical methods, methods such as cortisone or hyaluronic acid injection into the joint are performed, and these should be repeated. However, when the stem cell is injected, it transforms directly into the original tissue cells in that area," he said. "With a new cartilage tissue, new joint fluid increase, osteoarthritis is almost completely resolved. Healing can be achieved with a preventive dose every year." How are stem cells applied in animals? The veterinarian also said the stem cell therapy is applied to cats, dogs, and horses around the world, and that the treatment can be applied locally with a small needle to the soft tissue inside the eyelids in cases of multi-organ, liver, and kidney failures, intravenously, and corneal diseases and ulcers. Explaining that in strokes and neurological dysfunctions, when injected very close to the area where the nerve passes, it promotes nerve regeneration after a while, Perk noted that stem cell applications are made with a minimum of two injections two to three weeks apart, and three injections in paralysis. Perk explained that in Trkiye, stem cell application to animals was developed by an institution in 2017 and then it was offered to veterinary medicine. Stem cells are usually obtained from bone marrow, cord blood, and adipose tissue, and sometimes from the placenta and amniotic fluid, Perk said, explaining: "For example, if we are going to do stem cell therapy to a dog, a sample of adipose tissue taken from another dog is turned into a special injection solution in the lab. First, it is broken down and kept in protective solutions. Then, it is placed in liquid nitrogen tanks at minus 178 degrees." "The doctor carries out the treatment procedure by injecting this into the relevant area under sterile conditions, without the need for general anesthesia, accompanied by mild sedatives or local anesthesia. Intravenous applications are performed by injecting it into the vein in the leg after the catheter is placed." 'Major results appear in 2nd application' Perk noted that after the first application in the treatment, a period of at least two to three weeks is required for the cells to progress, multiply, and reproduce, saying the major results appear when the stem cells turn into original cells after the second application. There have been cases supporting the development of new neurological cells in around six weeks, Perk said, noting that when stem cells are injected directly into the area in non-healing fractures, bone cells reproduce rapidly and multiply, producing the ideal result. The veterinarian also said: "We achieve 60-70% success rate in the treatment of paralyzed animals. There are almost 90-100% improvements in joint-related problems, which we call osteoarthritis. "The degree of nerve damage in paralysis is also very important. Nerve recovery is very important. It is difficult. There are cats and dogs who remain paralyzed for life, just like humans. Through MRI, we determine the target to which we will inject these cells, and then perform the application." Stem cells can also be source of healing for injured animals Recalling that many animals were injured in the twin Feb. 6 earthquakes centered in Trkiye's southern Kahramanmaras province, Perk said the stem cell therapy can be applied to those animals as well. He added that in treating some ailments, along with this method, physical therapy has also been successful.

Source: Anadolu Agency