Day: April 9, 2023

Officials in Peru and Canada have moved jointly to stop the virtual auction of 20 ancient pieces from Peru's pre-Hispanic Chancay culture, the Foreign Ministry in Lima announced.

It said on Saturday that Peru's embassy in Canada and the Consulate General in Toronto had taken the action together.

Waddington's, a Toronto-based Canadian auction company, had obtained the pieces through a web portal called The Saleroom, the statement said.

The planned sale came to the attention of Peru's Culture Ministry.

Among the archeological objects was a necklace made of seeds.

The pre-Incan Chancay culture developed in the valleys of Peru's central coast between the years 1200 and 1470.

The Foreign Ministry in Lima has been working to recover cultural assets taken from the country.

Both Peru and Canada are signatories of the 1970 Unesco convention that promotes the fight against illicit traffic in cultural artefacts.

Rescuing historical heritage

Several Latin American countries have been working in recent years to restore their ancient artefacts.

Last week, the embassies of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama and Peru in France denounced an auction that would sell many pre-Columbian artefacts and demanded the items to be returned.

The Mexican government has put a huge effort trying to rescue its historical heritage taken from the country, with almost 10,000 goods have been recovered since 2018, according to authorities.

In March this year, Mexico received 43 items from Italian authorities while in December the Netherlands returned 223 pre-Hispanic artefacts to Mexico.

Source: TRTworld.com

A new monthlong exhibition in Istanbul allows visitors to explore the cuisine and history of Sephardic Jews, a diaspora people springing from the Iberian Peninsula, organizers said on Sunday.

The show called Sephardic Flavors and Aromas is based on the book Sabores de Sephardi written by cook and food photographer Javier Zafra, said the Quincentennial Foundation Museum of Turkish Jews in a statement.

The exhibit, which starts on April 16 and concludes on May 14, features 27 works by the artist including the secrets of recipes, preparation of ingredients, and names that took their place in Judeo-Spanish languages, it added.

The exhibition is dedicated to Sephardic cuisine and history, as part of Red de Juderias de Espana's (Network of Spanish Jewish Sites) efforts to research, preserve, disseminate, and promote Sephardic culture, the statement added.

'Participants will go deep into this heritage, accompanied by historical notes, gastronomic discoveries, and inspiring images,' it said, adding that this 'will take them on a time travel where the palate as well as the heart will guide them.'

The Quincentennial Foundation Museum of Turkish Jews is located in Istanbul, near the iconic Galata Tower, known for its Jewish heritage, making it 'is the ideal place to host such an exhibition,' it added.

The show is organized by the Spanish Embassy, Istanbul Cervantes Institute, Quincentennial Foundation Museum of Turkish Jews, as well as Red de Juderias de Espana.

The exhibit is visiting Istanbul following Krakow, Poland and Miami, Florida.

Turkey has had Jewish communities since ancient times, and many expelled Spanish and Portuguese Jews were welcomed into the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century.

The Istanbul metropolis in particular still retains a sizeable Jewish community.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Saudi Arabia and Houthi rebels are engaged in direct talks to revive a cease-fire deal in war-torn Yemen, according to the Yemeni foreign minister.

"There are direct talks between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis related to reviving the cease-fire," Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak told Egypt's AlQahera News.

A Saudi and Omani delegation had arrived in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Saturday, according to Yemeni sources.

There was no confirmation yet from Riyadh or Houthi rebels of the talks.

Bin Mubarak said Saudi Arabia 'helps Yemenis to sit together at one table.'

He added that the Yemeni government is aware of the Saudi-Houthi talks.

'The indications are positive,' he said, without providing any further details.

On Friday, a high-level Yemeni official said the Yemeni government and Houthi rebels agreed to extend their cease-fire from six months to a year. He added that the agreement will be announced within two days.

Yemen's warring rivals failed to extend a UN-mediated cease-fire after it expired on Oct. 2, 2022 amid accusations between the Yemeni government and Houthis of launching attacks against each other.

Yemen has been ravaged by violence and instability since 2014, when Iran-aligned Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Far-right Jewish settlers early Sunday stormed the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem.

Israeli police guarded the Jewish settlers during the raid.

The police began to be deployed around the Qibla Masjid and did not allow the Palestinians inside to go outside.

They later started to take the Jewish settlers into the Al-Aqsa Mosque under intense security measures.

An Anadolu footage showed a group of Palestinians and Muslims from different countries praying in a congregation in an area where far-right Jews were passing through.

A 21-year-old Turkish man, who came to visit Jerusalem from Trkiye, led the prayers.

Speaking to Anadolu after the prayer, Muhammed Selman Guclu, a medical student at Istanbul University, said: 'We show our unity with our brothers by standing here together, praying and worshiping God. Thank God, I have just had the privilege of leading a prayer here. I don't know how to describe this feeling."

Earlier, the Israeli police did not allow young Palestinians to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex for morning prayers.

The Palestinians, who were not allowed in, performed morning prayers around the mosque.

Tension escalated across Palestinian territories after Israeli forces stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in East Jerusalem and forcibly removed worshippers this week.

The Israeli raids on the mosque triggered rocket fire from the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, with Israel retaliating with airstrikes.

Palestinians accuse Israel of systematically working to Judaize East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, and obliterate its Arab and Islamic identity.

For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world's third-holiest site. Jews, for their part, call the area the Temple Mount, saying it was the site of two ancient Jewish temples.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.

Source: Anadolu Agency

A 16th-century Armenian church in southeastern Trkiye celebrated the Christian Easter holiday this weekend eight years after suffering damage by the terrorist group PKK.

A ceremony celebrating Easter was held on Sunday at the Surp Giragos Armenian Church in Diyarbakir's Sur district. After taking damage from the terrorist PKK, it was restored and reopened in 2022.

Religious officials appointed by the Turkish Armenian Patriarchate led the ceremony, which included hymns, prayers, and the lighting of candles.

People who attended the ceremony were offered buns and painted eggs for Easter.

Ergun Ayik, head of the Surp Giragos Armenian Church Foundation, told Anadolu that for many years the church had been in ruins but after restoration it was reopened for worship.

'The restoration and reopening of such a church, which show the presence of the Armenian community in the city, holds great significance not only for the Armenian community but also for the city,' Ayik stressed

Ayik added that they used to only celebrate Easter in Istanbul, 'so having it here after eight years brings us joy.'

Ohannes Gafur Ohanyan, vice head of the foundation, recalled how church was damaged in 2015. 'We opened the church last year. It gives us a different excitement and happiness that we are celebrating the first Easter in eight years.'

'Today, there are not only Armenians here, we have friends from all faith groups. We celebrate our holiday together in fellowship. We're also very happy about it,' Ohanyan added.

Built in the 16th century, Surp Giragos is the largest Armenian church in the Middle East and is spread out over 3,000 square meters (about 32,300 feet).

This year, a number of important holidays of the Abrahamic religions - the Jewish holiday of Passover, Christians' Easter, and Muslim Ramadan - are all celebrated in April.

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

Source: Anadolu Agency

Trkiye has begun to welcome thousands of flamingo chicks.

Flamingos have started to come to the Salt Lake in the central Konya province, the second-largest lake in Trkiye and the flamingos' largest natural breeding colony in the world, as well as Mamasin Dam in the Aksaray province,

After the weather warms up, tens of thousands of flamingos come to Salt Lake and Mamasin Dam, key stops along the birds' migration routes. Salt Lake offers unique feeding and incubation opportunities for the long-legged birds.

Flamingos migrate to warmer regions after staying in the wetlands until September-October.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) plan to hold large-scale maneuvers this week in the country's northern and southern waters in a show of support to the Palestinians.

The maritime parade will be held on Thursday in collaboration with several ports around the world, IRGC Navy commander Brig. Gen. Alireza Tangsiri said on Sunday.

He said the aim is to "defend the oppressed people of Palestine, support their Intifada and condemn the heinous crimes of the Zionist regime", referring to Israel.

The parade will be held on the shores of the Caspian Sea in northern Iran and the Persian Gulf in southern Iran with the participation of more than 2,500 vessels, Tangsiri stated.

It comes amid heightened tensions in occupied East Jerusalem following a series of raids by Israeli forces on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Many Muslim countries around the world have strongly condemned the Israeli raids and urged Tel Aviv to exercise restraint.

On Friday, in a phone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi stressed that the "convergence" of Muslim countries is key to "counter the aggression" of Israel, his office said in a statement.

President Erdogan, for his part, said it is important to demonstrate unity while calling for joint efforts in international platforms to preserve the status of holy sites such as the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

On Thursday, Raisi called for an emergency session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on the situation in Palestine in a phone call with his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo.

After Raisi's call, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian had a phone conversation with OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha on Thursday, proposing a meeting at the level of foreign ministers.

Tensions between Iran and Israel have also aggravated in recent weeks after Israeli airstrikes in northern Syria in late March killed two IRGC military advisers.

Iranian officials have vowed a "firm and decisive" response to their killings.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The leader of Bulgaria's Turkish minority party on Sunday visited Trkiye's earthquake-hit province of Kahramanmaras and voiced his support for the victims of the deadly quakes.

Mustafa Karadayi, head of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) party, told Anadolu that the Feb. 6 quakes deeply upset both Muslims as well as the people of Bulgaria.

Noting that Bulgaria also mobilized efforts to help quake victims, Karadayi said: 'Search and rescue teams from Bulgaria came to Trkiye in the first hours after the earthquake.'

'As a political party in Bulgaria, we, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, carried out the most comprehensive campaign for earthquake victims since our establishment,' he added.

More than 50,000 people were killed on Feb. 6 when magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes struck southern and southeastern Turkish provinces.

More than 13.5 million people in Trkiye have been affected by the devastating quakes as well as many others in northern Syria.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Israel's Mossad intelligence agency on Sunday denied US reports about its role in encouraging mass protests against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over controversial judicial overhaul.

The New York Times and Washington Post newspapers cited a Pentagon document dated March 1 saying that the Mossad leadership "advocated for Mossad officials and Israeli citizens to protest the new Israeli government's proposed judicial reforms, including several explicit calls to action that decried the Israeli government, according to signals intelligence."

But a statement issued by Netanyahu's office on behalf of the Mossad said these US reports were "completely false and absurd."

"The Mossad and its officials did not and do not encourage employees in the organization to go to demonstrations against the government, to political demonstrations in general, or to any political activity," the statement said.

On Saturday, thousands of Israelis demonstrated for the 14th consecutive week against Netanyahu's plans for judicial reform, which have triggered mass protests across Israel over the past weeks.

The Israeli opposition views the judicial overhaul plans as an attempt to reduce the powers of the judicial authority in favor of the executive.

Netanyahu, however, insists that his judicial plans would enhance democracy and restore the balance between the legislative, executive, and judicial powers.

On March 27, Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, bowed to pressure and announced a temporary halt to the judicial overhaul plans.

Source: Anadolu Agency