Day: March 15, 2024

ISTANBUL: The Israeli army opened fire on people waiting for humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing 20 and injuring at least 155. The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza issued a statement saying the incident occurred at the Kuwait Roundabout. The statement said it demonstrated 'Israel's premeditated intent to carry out a new and horrific massacre.' The process of evacuating the dead and injured is underway despite the challenging conditions in the region, it said. The death toll could increase due to the serious condition of the injured, who are being treated at nearby hospitals, it added. The Palestinian official news agency WAFA confirmed that dozens of people were killed and injured. Israel launched its war on Gaza after a Oct. 7 cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas. It has since killed more than 31,300 Palestinians and pushed the territory to the brink of famine. Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Palestinian enclave, leaving its population, parti cularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation. The war has pushed 85% of Gaza's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while most 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, 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. Source: Anadolu Agency

The Vice-President of the European Commission for the promotion of the European Way of Life, Margaritis Schinas, will visit Cyprus on Friday 22 March, according to a press release by the Commission. Schinas will participate in an inter-ministerial meeting with the Minister of the Interior, Konstantinos Ioannou, the Minister of Education, Sports and Youth, Athena Michaelidou, the Minister of Justice and Public Order, Marios Hartsiotis, the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare, Marilena Evangelou and the Deputy Minister of Culture, Vassiliki Kassianidou. Also, Schinas is scheduled to deliver a speech during a debate on democracy and the European elections at the University of Nicosia on Friday morning, meet with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Annita Demetriou, and meet with members of the management board of the Cyprus Cancer Research Institute. During the debate, which will take place at 10:45 at the UNESCO Amphitheatre of the University of Nicosia and will be open to the public, Schinas will ex change views with the students on a number of issues from his portfolio, including the coordination of European policies on migration, security, skills, education, equality and diversity, culture and sport, as well as the Commission's dialogue with churches and religious organisations or communities. Source: Cyprus News Agency

CYPRUS DEPARTMENT OF METEOROLOGY FORECAST FOR THE SEA AREA OF CYPRUS (A) FOR THE PERIOD FROM 0600 15/03/2024 UNTIL 0600 16/03/2024 Area covered is 8 kilometers seawards. Winds are in BEAUFORT scale. Times are local times. Atmospheric pressure at the time of issue: 1014hPa (hectopascal) Weak low pressure affects the area. The weather will be partly cloudy and cloudy at times, with isolated showers and risk of isolated brief thunderstorm, initially in the west and north and gradually in the east and south. Tonight, the weather in most areas of the island will be mainly fine, however in the west, locally increased cloud will be present at times, with risk of isolated rain. Visibility: Good, but moderate to poor in showers Sea surface temperature: 19°C Warnings: NIL Source: Cyprus News Agency The bodies of 22 irregular migrants, including seven children, who died when an inflatable boat sank off the coast of northwestern Trkiye were found on Friday, with search and rescue efforts continuing. Ilhami Aktas, governor of the Canakkale province, told Anadolu that "there is no reliable information about how many people were on the boat," which sank off the coast of Eceabat. He added that four of the migrants survived the sinking. "We are trying to determine the number of casualties. The survivors are being interviewed. There is some contradictory information," he said. The bodies of the victims were taken to hospital morgues by ambulance. Two of the survivors reportedly managed to reach Buyuk Kemikli beach in Eceabat and told authorities of the incident. Seeking any additional survivors, more than 500 personnel are currently involved in search and rescue operations using an aircraft, two helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and 18 Coast Guard Command boats. Gendarmerie teams are also do ing searches around the area of the beach. Trkiye has been a main route for irregular migrants trying to cross to Europe, especially since 2011, the start of the Syrian civil war. Source: Anadolu Agency

Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry George Papanastasiou has confirmed in statements to CNA that the CPP-METRON CONSORTIUM LTD will resume its works on Saturday. The consortium has undertaken the construction of the LNG import terminal at Vassilikos, in Larnaka district. In addition, the Energy Minister told CNA that next week there will be a follow-up teleconference, in order to speed up the whole process. "There will be continuous monitoring of the project and communication between the Ministry and the consortium, without touching contractual issues", he concluded. On Thursday, the Minister stated that the terminal must be operational as soon as possible. The project was supposed to be delivered in September 2022 but, after three delays, it is now to be delivered in July 2024. The process was terminated pending arbitration between the Republic of Cyprus and the consortium. Source: Cyprus News Agency

ISTANBUL: Trkiye on Friday remembered the victims of the Islamophobic attack that took place in New Zealand's Christchurch on Mar. 15, 2019. "On the fifth anniversary of the heinous terrorist attack perpetrated in Christchurch, New Zealand on 15 March 2019, we remember with respect the 51 victims, including one Turkish citizen, who lost their lives in the attack, and wish Allah's mercy upon them," a Foreign Ministry statement said. The ministry also called on the global community to "take a common stance against anti-Islam tendencies" on the occasion of International Day to Combat Islamophobia. "We are pleased by the adoption of the resolution today (15 March) by the UN General Assembly on measures to combat Islamophobia, which we tabled together with the other member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation," the statement concluded. On March 15, 2019, Brenton Tarrant, an Australian white supremacist, killed 51 people and injured 40 more at the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre in Christ church city. He was sentenced to life in prison in 2020 without the possibility of parole, in the first such ruling ever handed down in the island country. Later, the government formed a Royal Commission of Inquiry to find out whether there were any failings by government agencies in the Christchurch mosque attack. The 792-page report, which took about 18 months to compile, had identified deficiencies in the firearms licensing system, as well as "inappropriate concentration of resources" on the part of security agencies. It had made a list of recommendations, including changes to how firearms are managed, establishing a new national intelligence and security agency, and a proposal for the police to better identify and respond to hate crimes. Source: Anadolu Agency

ISTANBUL: The US Federal Reserve fined JPMorgan Chase approximately $350 million due to inadequate monitoring practices. The Fed said on Thursday that its board fined the American multinational financial institution approximately $98.2 million "for an inadequate program to monitor firm and client trading activities for market misconduct." "The Board's action requires JPMorgan Chase to review and take corrective action to address the firm's inadequate monitoring practices, which occurred between 2014 and 2023," said the statement. "The Board's action was taken in coordination with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The penalties announced by the Board and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency total approximately $348.2 million," it added. Source: Anadolu Agency

President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides held a telephone conversation on Friday with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte whom he informed about the ongoing Cyprus "Amalthea" initiative to send humanitarian aid to the civilians in Gaza via a maritime corridor. According to a written statement by Government Spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis the Dutch Prime Minister expressed his country's interest in participating in "Amalthea" and said that on Tuesday a Minister of the Dutch Government will visit Cyprus towards this end. "The Netherlands is among the countries that have recognized and expressed interest in participating in the Plan and are part of the Joint Declaration issued by the Republic of Cyprus, the European Commission, the UAE, the USA, the UK," Letymbiotis said. The Spokesman added that during their telephone conversation, the President of the Republic informed the Dutch Prime Minister about the developments in relation to the maritime corridor and the ongoing actions to send humanitarian aid from Cyprus to Gaza. He said that Rutte expressed once more his country's interest in participating in "Amalthea", as well as his country's desire and intention to assist the initiative through logistical support. Rutte also said that next Tuesday a Minister of the Dutch Government will visit Cyprus accompanied by a team. The President of the Republic held the telephone conversation with Prime Minister Rutte while in Thessaloniki where he paid a visit. He will returns to Cyprus later on Friday. Source: Cyprus News Agency