Day: April 20, 2024

ISTANBUL: Trkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday received Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Istanbul. No further details of the closed-door meeting at Dolmabahce Office was provided. Flouting the International Court of Justice's provisional ruling, Israel continues its onslaught on the Gaza Strip where at least 34,049 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and 76,901 injured since Oct. 7, according to Palestinian health authorities. Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. 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. Hostilities have continued unabated, however, and aid deliveries remain woefully insufficient to address the humanitarian catastrophe. Source: Anadolu Agency

Head of Humanitarian Affairs of Missing and Enclaved Persons, Anna Aristotelous, has assured that the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, is making every possible effort to promote the issue of the missing persons. She was speaking to the Cyprus News Agency after attending on Saturday morning a tree planting ceremony at the site of a monument in Strovolos. The ceremony was organised by the Assia Community Council. The monument, that will be delivered soon, will honour fallen and missing persons of Assia, since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus n 1974 . Speaking during the ceremony she said that "Assia experienced in the worst way possible the brutality and the merciless hatred of the occupiers and this is reflected in the number of executions, murders recorded in those days and the number of missing persons". People from Assia that are missing include, among others, an 11 year old, as well as elderly people. Aristotelous assured that the President of the Republic is making every possible effort to promote the issue of the missing persons, saying that regardless of the problems and adversities, the struggle to determine the fate of the last missing person will continue. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory. Since then, the fate of hundreds of people remains unknown. A Committee on Missing Persons has been established, upon agreement between the leaders of the two communities, with the scope of exhuming, identifying and returning to their relatives the remains of 492 Turkish Cypriots and 1,510 Greek Cypriots, who went missing during the inter-communal fighting of 1963-1964 and in 1974. According to statistical data published on the CMP website by December 31, 2023, out of 2002 missing persons 1,228 were exhumed and 1,044 were identified. Out of 1510 Greek Cypriot missing persons 751 were identified and 759 are still missing. Out of 492 Turkish Cypriot missing persons 293 were identified and 199 are still missing. Source: Cyprus News Age ncy

ANKARA: A Turkish academic from Berlin Technical University is spearheading a groundbreaking initiative to merge libraries with AI to streamline information access and synthesis through the Future European Library project. Envisioning AI's ubiquitous integration into daily life within the next decade, Sahin Albayrak highlighted the ongoing digitalization of prestigious university libraries like Stanford and Yale. Albayrak conducted research at Stanford University's AI laboratory in the US and became a professor at 30. Upon returning to Berlin Technical University, he became the founder and head of the first Distributed Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (DAI-Labor) in Germany. Albayrak also spearheaded Germany's pound 2.5 billion AI research initiative against the coronavirus. He emphasized to Anadolu the transformative potential of AI in facilitating access to vast digital repositories, even as physical shelves may gradually empty. "Nobody can halt the progress of AI. While physical books may still adorn shelves for a while, much of our knowledge will digitize, granting round-the-clock access. In a decade, libraries will be equipped with AI," said Albayrak. He underscored the evolving role of librarians in tandem with AI advancements. Librarians will transition to curating new publications and integrating them into AI systems. "AI will not replace librarians but will necessitate continuous learning," he said. Addressing AI's near-term trajectory, he delineated two primary functions: conversational AI and data analysis. He envisioned a future where users interact seamlessly with AI, receiving concise analyses swiftly. "This approach promises efficiency across all professions," he added. The Future European Library project embodies a paradigm shift in information dissemination, poised to revolutionize traditional library services, he said. Albayrak, who has long been dedicated to designing scalable AI solutions, emphasizes his commitment to leveraging AI to enhance industries and societal well-being. Alo ngside AI developments in autonomous vehicles, future workplaces and health care, he underscored ongoing AI initiatives tailored for libraries. Highlighting the current project, the Future European Library, he emphasized its aim to revolutionize physical access to libraries through comprehensive AI integration. Foreseeing significant changes in how information is accessed and managed within libraries, Albayrak elaborated on three key areas transforming, including physical access to books, information analysis and the librarian profession. "Our research indicates a shift where books will reside on hard drives rather than shelves, with the information presented digitally. Users will navigate AI systems to receive summarized data, and librarians will adapt to incorporate AI into their workflows, ensuring data currency and providing users with synthesized insights from multiple sources," he said. "With our work, we see that, firstly, books will no longer be on shelves but on hard disks and everything will be presented digitally. Secondly, by specifying what information we want through artificial intelligence, the system will summarize the data and give it to us. Thirdly, the librarianship profession will move to another dimension," he said. "Librarians will learn AI and keep data up to date. Information on a subject will be summarized from multiple sources via artificial intelligence and presented to the user," he added. Albayrak suggested that it might take five to six years for libraries to undergo a complete transformation with AI. Highlighting archives as the memory of nations, he emphasized the need for governments to keep the memory current. He said digitizing library information for universal access is a sensible policy. The project involving leading European universities in AI hardware is ongoing, indicating its potential to shed light on various topics and influence global libraries, he said. Regarding copyright law applications, Albayrak emphasized their inevitable adaptation to the transformation. He described potential new payment models, where users pay based on accessed content portions rather than purchasing entire books. Additionally, he noted AI systems offering authors varied payment schemes. Source: Anadolu Agency

Photo album "By the hand of Attila" by Cyprus News Agency's photographer Katia Christodoulou, has been posted on CyBC's platform ''Digital Herodotus''. The photo album records scenes from the Green Line, the buffer zone which stretches for 180 kilometres along the island of Cyprus. The dividing line is also referred to as the Attila Line, named after Turkey's 1974 military invasion codenamed Operation Attila. A CyBC press release said that the material is offered with full documentation and is available to website users for research and study purposes. "By the hands of Attila", was distributed to CyBC last December and includes 57 photographs by Katia Christodoulou of the Green Line. The photographic archive was first presented in an exhibition at the House of Cyprus in Athens in 1997 and then in 2001 in Cyprus. The posting of the material on ''Digital Herodotus'' is part of CyBC's activities in the framework of the 50th anniversary of the illegal Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Cyprus has been divided sinc e 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Source: Cyprus News Agency

ANKARA: One day after Columbia University urged law enforcement to arrest over 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators, students persisted in occupying a part of the campus lawn on Saturday. Social media footage showed that on Friday, dozens of police remained outside the university gates while inside, the scene resembled a large picnic. Chants alternating between "Free Palestine" and reminders to tidy up and eat echoed from the loudspeaker. Hundreds of Yale students are also protesting at the Beinecke Plaza outside a Board of Trustees meeting to demand the Yale University divest from Israeli weapons manufacturing. According to organizers, they will not leave until Yale divests from all military weapons manufacturing. A Columbia University spokesperson mentioned on Friday that students involved in the encampment have been suspended, though an exact number was not provided. "We are continuing to identify them and will be sending out formal notifications," they said. The spokesperson added that the encampment ha s been removed, but they anticipate protests to persist. The UN on Friday criticized the arrest of students by the New York Police Department (NYPD), who were staging a pro-Palestinian sit-in at Columbia University a day earlier. "As a matter of principle wherever we have seen demonstrations, we believe that people have an inherent right to demonstrate peacefully," said Stephane Dujarric in response to a question by Anadolu reporter during his news conference. A crowd of students on Wednesday defied the order to disperse, sitting on the ground and locking arms. In a letter to NYPD Deputy Commissioner Michael Gerber, Columbia University President Minouche Shafik said all of the students who participated in the demonstration were told that they have been suspended and she claimed the sit-in "raises safety concerns for the individuals involved and the entire community." Several students were led to NYPD vans and were transported off campus. Source: Anadolu Agency

IZMIR: The Turkish Coast Guard announced Saturday that it had rescued 28 irregular migrants in the Aegean Sea. Coast guard units rescued the irregular migrants from an inflatable boat off Seferihisar in the western Izmir province, the Turkish Coast Guard said in a statement. The 28 irregular migrants, including 10 children, had been illegally pushed back into Turkish territorial waters by Greek authorities. They were handed to local immigration authorities for deportation. Trkiye and global rights groups have repeatedly condemned Greece's illegal practice of pushing back asylum seekers, saying it violates humanitarian values and international law by endangering the lives of vulnerable migrants, including women and children. Source: Anadolu Agency

ISTANBUL: French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne and Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa over the phone discussed the situation in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, according to an official statement on Saturday. In a statement on X, the French Foreign Ministry said Sejourne and Mustafa discussed a cease-fire in Gaza, the release of all prisoners, and the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, according to the statement. Sejourne condemned "the unacceptable ongoing violence in the West Bank" during the meeting, it added. Source: Anadolu Agency

ISTANBUL: Trkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday warned of the danger of the tension escalating, and the conflict spreading if Israel continues in its attacks on Palestinians, during his meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. 'President Erdogan stressed the importance of reducing tensions between Israel and Iran to prevent the entire region from descending into conflict, highlighting the essential need for Islamic nations to collaborate in achieving this goal,' said the country's Communications Directorate on X. During the meeting, bilateral relations between the two nations and developments related to Israel's attacks on Gaza, as well as global and regional issues, were discussed, it added. Erdogan stressed the importance of reducing Israel-Iran tensions to prevent the region from falling into a spiral of conflict. 'President Erdogan underlined the vital importance of exercising prudence and strategic thinking for a lasting solution in the region,' added the directorate. Erdo gan also stressed the necessity of establishing an immediate and permanent cease-fire and ensuring uninterrupted humanitarian aid reaches Gaza to end the oppression by Israel in Gaza. Source: Anadolu Agency

ANKARA: Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Saturday stressed the need to open Israeli crossings with the besieged Gaza Strip. 'We demand that the six Israeli crossings with Gaza be opened to humanitarian aid,' said Shoukry in a joint news conference with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Istanbul. The Egyptian official stressed that the 'failure to do so violates international law.' Shoukry said that 'since the beginning of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, Israeli hurdles persisted.' He noted that Egypt has 'engaged international allies in setting up Gaza center for aid distribution.' The Egyptian minister also said: 'We must prevent the displacement of Palestinians and work to establish an independent Palestinian state.' Iran-Israel tension About the Iran-Israel tension, Shoukry said: 'The latest tension got the international community to divert from the tragic situation in Gaza and the Palestinian issue in general.' "There is a possibility that this war, this conflict, this tension wi ll spread," he added. Tensions escalated after Tehran launched a drone and missile attack on Israel last week in response to the April 1 attack on its consulate in Syria, in which several military advisers were killed. The Egyptian minister also stressed: 'We must deal with these problems in a way that would exempt the Palestinian innocent civilians from Israeli destructive actions.' Flouting the International Court of Justice's provisional ruling, Israel continues its onslaught on the Gaza Strip where at least 34,049 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and 76,901 injured since Oct. 7, according to Palestinian health authorities. The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza'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. Hostilities have continued unabated, however, and aid deliveries remain woefully insufficient to address the humanitarian catastr ophe. Source: Anadolu Agency