Day: February 19, 2024

ISTANBUL: At least 57 people were killed in what appears to be a tribal fight in Papua New Guinea, police said on Monday. The deaths occurred after one of the tribes was ambushed by arms-wielding members of another group in the northern most Enga province on the island nation's highlands. According to the daily Post Courier, police in the Wapenamanda district of the province confirmed the death of 57 people since Sunday. However, ABC News of Australia reported that the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary revised down the death toll to 26. The province was under lockdown for several months last year due to tribal fighting which killed around 60 people. Source: Anadolu Agency

ANKARA: Turkish first lady Emine Erdogan and her Azerbaijani counterpart Mehriban Aliyeva met in the Turkish capital Ankara on Monday. During the meeting, Erdogan congratulated Aliyeva on her husband Ilham Aliyev's reelection and discussed potential cooperation between her Zero Waste Foundation and the Heydar Aliyev Foundation. Furthermore, Erdogan extended her best wishes to Aliyeva for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) this November, which Azerbaijan will host. Following the meeting, Erdogan on X said she expressed satisfaction to Aliyeva 'on the high turnout in the elections held throughout all Azerbaijani territories for the first time in 30 years following the Karabakh Victory,' referring to Azerbaijan last fall regaining full sovereignty over its Karabakh territory after decades of occupation. They also exchanged ideas on potential collaboration for COP29, according to Erdogan. 'I wholeheartedly congratulate Mr. Ilham Aliyev, who has been reelected to the presidency, and his esteemed wife Me hriban Aliyeva, and wish a successful term in office,' she said, saying she hopes the election victory brings blessings to the friendly Azerbaijani people. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday welcomed Ilham Aliyev in the capital Ankara to discuss all aspects of bilateral relations, as well as steps to further cooperation between the two countries. Aliyev's visit to Ankara is his first trip abroad since being reelected earlier this month. Source: Anadolu Agency

ANKARA: China on Monday rejected NATO's criticism of its reaction to the death of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, terming it Moscow's 'internal affair.' 'This is Russia's internal affair. I have no comment on it,' Mao Ning, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said in response to a question by Anadolu during a routine news briefing in Beijing. ?NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Saturday told reporters in Munich that Navalny's death was not Russia's internal affair, 'but it's a result of an authoritarian regime in Moscow.' ?He also cast China's reaction to the death of the Russian politician as part of a 'broader pattern of Russia's ally China quietly supporting Putin's war on Ukraine,' ?Mao said: 'First and foremost, different from NATO, China never interferes in other countries' internal affairs.' ?She said China's position on the Ukraine issue is 'very clear and consistent. We have been committed to talks for peace.' ?'NATO should stop its tricks of hyping up tensions and interfer ing in other countries' internal affairs to expand its sphere of influence and stop smearing China and stoking antagonism and confrontation. NATO should earnestly take concrete action for the peace and stability in Europe,' she went on to say. ?Navalny died on Friday last in a prison colony in Russia's Arctic Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District, where he was serving his sentence. Moscow said that Navalny lost consciousness after a walk and was pronounced dead by doctors. Source: Anadolu Agency

ISTANBUL: The European Commission has opened formal proceedings against Chinese social media platform TikTok after preliminary investigation on breaching the bloc's digital services act. According to a commission statement, TikTok may have breach the act "in areas linked to the protection of minors, advertising transparency, data access for researchers, as well as the risk management of addictive design and harmful content." Following the formal opening of proceedings, the commission will continue to collect evidence to take further enforcement steps, it said. Commissioner Thierry Breton said on X on Monday: "Today we open an investigation into TikTok over suspected breach of transparency and obligations to protect minors. Addictive design and screen time limits Rabbit hole effect Age verification Default privacy settings." He added that the commission is enforcing the act to make the internet safer for minors. Source: Anadolu Agency

ISTANBUL: A two-state solution is the universal consensus of the international community to settle the Palestinian question, said China on Monday, dismissing Israel's 'declaratory decision' to reject any recognition of Palestinian statehood by the UN or other countries. 'Implementing the two-State solution is the only way to end the cycle of conflict between Palestine and Israel,' said Mao Ning, spokeswoman of China's Foreign Ministry, while answering questions from Anadolu. 'China stands ready to work with all parties to hold a more broad-based, authoritative and effective international peace conference as early as possible, formulate a concrete timetable and roadmap for the implementation of the two-State solution and support Palestine and Israel in resuming peace talks soon for the ultimate peaceful coexistence between the two states of Palestine and Israel,' Mao explained. The ministry spokeswoman was reacting to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statement that Tel Aviv will not accept an int ernational mandate for a permanent solution to the Palestinian issue, according to a transcript of her news conference held in Beijing. On a second question by Anadolu regarding impending military operation by Israel in Rafah city of Gaza, Mao said China was 'closely watching the developments' in the city. 'We oppose and condemn acts against civilians and international law,' she said. 'We call on Israel to stop military operations as soon as possible, do everything possible to avoid casualties among innocent civilians and prevent a more devastating humanitarian disaster in Rafah,' said the Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman. The Palestinian death toll from Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7 has risen to 29,092, the Health Ministry in the besieged Palestinian enclave said on Monday. 69,028 others were also injured in the ongoing onslaught. Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Palestinian group Hamas in October, in which nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to hav e been killed. The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN. Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in an interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza. Mao also said China would take part in the public hearings of the ICJ to have an in-depth elaboration on Beijing's policy propositions on the question of Palestine. Beijing will state China's positions on relevant international law issues regarding the right to self-determination, international humanitarian law, international human rights law and State responsibility, she said. The spokeswoman said China will express its "firm support for the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legit imate national rights and interests." "China stands ready to work with the rest of the international community to continue making positive contribution to an early settlement of the Palestinian question and the realization of lasting peace and stability in the Middle East," she added. Source: Anadolu Agency