Author: tngadmin

In a $1.1 billion deal, South Korean automotive giant Hyundai Motor Group has completed acquisition of a controlling interest in US-based robotics company Boston Dynamics.

While Hyundai became the owner of 80% of the robotics giant, 20% of the company’s shares were retained by Japanese telecommunication firm Softbank, said a press release on Monday.

Hyundai continues to invest in future technologies such as autonomous driving, artificial intelligence, and robots, it added.

“Boston Dynamics is the established leader in developing agile, mobile robots that have been successfully integrated into business operations of many of the world’s leading industrial firms,” it said.

The statement also said Boston Dynamics is a leading company globally “in developing and deploying highly mobile robots capable of tackling the toughest robotics challenges.”

Source: Anadolu Agency

Defining plants as integral to any ecosystem as the primary producers feeding local wildlife as well as humans, experts say that changes in the sustainability of wild plants could have a catastrophic effect on the whole trophic (ecological) pyramid.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency on the occasion of FairWild Week, Anastasiya Timoshyna, a senior program coordinator on sustainable trade at the wildlife trade watchdog TRAFFIC, said the biggest flows of wildlife in trade involve plants, not animals, contrary to general belief.

“Any major changes in this primary food source could have a catastrophic effect on the entire trophic pyramid,” she said, referring to key roles of plants as “producers” within the food chain in nature.

Launched in 2017, FairWild Week is an annual online campaign that aims to raise awareness about the importance of sustainable and equitable trade in wild plant ingredients. This year’s campaign will take place on June 21-25 with the theme “Wild Plants are Our Business”.

Touching on the large-scale use of wild plants in daily life, Timoshyna noted that many common products such as herbal remedies, food, drinks, cosmetics, supplements, and even furniture are derived from wild-harvested plants.

She went on to say that food and medicinal uses and revenue from trade are the main reasons for collecting wild plants.

“International trade, land-use changes, habitat degradation and climate change are some of the key threats facing wild plants. The global increase in the trade in plant resources is an important factor to consider when discussing the threats and trends to this group of species,” Timoshyna noted, citing the TRAFFIC reports “Wild at Home” in 2018 and “The Invisible Trade” in 2020.

Saying that around 26,000 plant species have a well-documented medicinal or aromatic use and approximately 3,000 of these are traded internationally, she stressed that an estimated 60%-90% of internationally traded species are harvested directly from the wild.

Timoshyna went on to say that approximately 11% of wild plant species are considered threatened with extinction in the wild based on International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List criteria.

“The potential loss of any wild plant could significantly impact local ecosystems and the food chains that it supports. Direct or indirect adverse impacts on food chains can be seen all across the globe,” she warned.




– FairWild standards, certification system

As a response to these concerns, working with partners around the world, the FairWild Foundation aims to improve the sustainable use of wild plants both in trade and wild collection via the FairWild Standard and FairWild certification.

The FairWild Standard is a set of guidelines that ensures the continued use and long-term survival of wild plant species in their habitats while FairWild certification means that buyers – from ingredient traders to consumers – know they are dealing with legally, ethically and sustainably harvested products.

“Sustainable wild harvesting under the FairWild Standard can provide the incentive and systems to maintain a wild plant’s habitat to the benefit of other species and entire ecosystems,” said Timoshyna.

Giving an example from China, she underlined that the sustainable collection of Schisandra berries informed by FairWild Standard principles provides 30%-60% of the annual income of villages in the region.

“Consumers and businesses can start down the path to responsible consumption today by using FairWild ingredients or looking for the FairWild label on products,” she said, referring to a way to benefit from the wild without unsustainable harvesting of wild plants.

She said FairWild certification is an important tool for trading in or using wild-harvested plant ingredients in an ecologically sustainable and socially responsible way.


- FairWild Week campaign

Recalling this year’s theme of “Wild Plants are our Business” Emily King, business engagement officer at the FairWild Foundation, said the theme will encourage existing partners along with those not yet engaged with FairWild by participating in the #WeUseWild challenge on social media platforms during the week.

“The aim is to increase consumer and business awareness of wild-harvested ingredients while encouraging sharing of responsible sourcing advice and tips, putting a wider share of the industry on the path towards responsible sourcing,” she noted.

The week will kick off with the “Wild Plants are Our Business” webinar and a discussion on why wild plants are everyone’s business, with the participation of the American Botanical Council’s Sustainable Herbs Program, TRAFFIC and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization as well as the FairWild Foundation, she said.

Until the end of the week on June 25, there will be more webinars, social media challenges and online campaigns regarding the issues on the benefits of wild plant ingredients, fair harvesting, threats to these species and trade volumes.

“The FairWild Foundation works multilaterally throughout the supply chain, working with those who harvest, companies that buy and sell the ingredients, and manufacturers and marketers of finished products,” said King.

She said the foundation also supports harvesters, traders and processors on the ground to ensure that the collection of wild species from nature is ecologically sustainable.

“Consumers can play their part by purchasing FairWild-labeled products and asking brands they buy from what wild ingredients they use, where they’re from, and what they do to protect the species and the collectors involved,” King said, referring to steps, can be taken to protect wild plants.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Dozens of Israeli settlers on Monday forced their way into the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem, according to a Palestinian agency.

The Islamic Endowment Department in Jerusalem said in a brief statement that 56 settlers broke into the flashpoint compound under the protection of Israeli police.

More settlers are expected to enter the site later in the day.

Israeli settlers storm the complex every day except weekends; Friday for Muslims, and Saturday for Israelis.

Israeli police began allowing the settler incursions in 2003, despite repeated condemnations from the Islamic Endowment Department in Jerusalem.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is the world’s third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the “Temple Mount,” claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, 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

As Ethiopians throng polling stations to cast their ballots in the 6th Parliamentary and Regional Councils elections today, different speculations are spread throughout the country about what is going to happen in Ethiopia after all the voting process is over.

Ethiopians are on the verge of hope and frustration as they are voting to decide their leader for at least the coming five years in a row. The populous country with around 114 million people, has entered an era of polarized party politics [1] which has recently boomed, resulting in several deaths and displacements of its citizen, as argued by a prominent political figure, Merera Gudina. The ethnic division (with over 100 ethnic groups in the Ethiopian case) has made it worse for the government to find a way out of the recent instability in the Horn of Africa country.

Different media outlets have already been reporting about how the election is a sham and politicians jog to win public support, appealing to their emotions. Furthermore, campaigns of political parties were more populist and filled with ambitious promises to the country that supposedly influence public decisions. However, most parties were inconsiderate of what the public really wants and what really is looming in the country.

– Post-society era

The Ethiopian political elite is responsible for a surge in the post-society discourse that inculcates extremism and causes instability in the country, according to Jim Macnamara, a prominent Australian communications scholar [2]. According to Macnamara, the post-society era is the fragmentation of society and societal values.

The Ethiopian people are waiting for the post-election promised peace to bounce back and live everyday life. The significant difference between the past and the current elections is the public’s ambivalent situation that hangs between the looming extremist violence and promises of democratization.

Therefore, as various researchers argue, voting behaviors are dependent on the public’s state of being by the time of election. Ethiopia recently is characterized as a state at the juncture of democratization and extremism that has created chaos in the region as a whole.

– Reconciliation course

After Nobel laureate Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed assumed power in 2018 [3], he drastically moved towards reconciliation across the country and the Horn of Africa region, making headlines in media. He released political prisoners, ousted corrupt officials, and made various infrastructural reforms in the country.

He also brought back once “terrorist” labeled parties, vowing to hold a free and fair election in the country. Moreover, Abiy reformed the electoral board and, in a surprise move, named former resistance icon Birtukan Mideksa [4] as chairwoman of the board. The move brought hope for the people to see a long-anticipated free and fair election.

On the other hand, the groups who were dismayed by these changes were awaiting a favorable time to act against the reforms and regain their say in the political arena. TPLF (Tigray People’s Liberation Front) is one of the groups which is now designated as a terrorist organization [5] by the government of Ethiopia.

TPLF, a dominant group during the pre-Abiy leadership time, has been confronting the federal government in the northern Tigray region, resulting in hundreds of deaths and displacement of hundreds of thousands of people. [6] Adding to the crisis, the external pressure to end this conflict has created severe economic problems for an already contracted economy of the country.[7] Furthermore, the arrest of some prominent politicians has dragged the reformation process back to square one, as most opposition parties claim.

– Desire for peace, stability

Nevertheless, what we shall go through is the citizens’ desire and need for a stable and peaceful country. In developing countries like Ethiopia, where unprecedented crises pop out every now and then, solid security becomes the major issue for people while casting their vote.

In his book Risk Society [8], Ulrich Beck argued that society is in search of solidarity and closeness against emerging insecurity. Not to mention external threats, including the GERD (Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam) issue, Ethiopians believe that the interlocked life of the society that for a long time kept the minor cultural differences aside is becoming a security threat recently.

Endale Mekonen, 44, says that Ethiopians are now afraid of moving from place to place freely to make a living. People are killed for their ethnic identity. Mekonen, an agri-products merchant, has been sitting in his home instead of going to various parts of the country to meet farmers and make his living.

“Now I sit in my home with my wife and four children. I’m afraid that extremists will kill me if I travel,” he said. This extremist violence is the result of lawlessness since the regional governments are failing to keep their legitimacy among the public, according to him.

Medina Isa, a mother of two, also believes that the public is already fed up with elite politics, which always threatens unity and harmony among different ethnic communities. “We are in our country and lived in this city [Addis Ababa] for almost 25 years. We have neighbors who are from different ethnic groups and whose kids are friends with mine,” she lamented the deteriorating trust in the community due to mismanaged questions of identity and misused social base.

“This election is expected to give some relief to people from the turmoil triggered by interest groups,” Zerihun Chiksa, a political science student, argues as he believes that interest groups only favor their political goals instead of the public good.

Ethiopians are not much interested in who wins the election and who would take the political power since their trust in political forces for development has been eroded. Rather what is important is the restoration of peace and stability the new legitimate government should ensure after the election.

1- https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/144151812.pdf

2-https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/122293/1/PR%20and%20Post-Communication.pdf

3-https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/4/2/abiy-ahmed-sworn-in-as-ethiopias-prime-minister

4- https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/profile-birtukan-mideksa-ethiopia-s-symbol-of-electoral-reform/2279521

5- https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/ethiopia-designates-tplf-olf-shene-as-terror-groups/2226789

6- https://ethiopia.iom.int/over-17-million-people-displaced-due-conflict-need-urgent-assistance-northern-ethiopia-iom

7-https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/pressure-from-us-eu-could-destabilize-ethiopia/2216638

8-https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/risk-society/book203184

Source: Anadolu Agency

The Atlanta Hawks reached the 2021 NBA Eastern Conference finals after winning the semifinal series 4-3 with a 103-96 victory against top seeded Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.

Hawks shooting guard Kevin Huerter scored 27 points to have a major contribution to his team at Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia.

Trae Young displayed a dominant performance, scoring 21 points and making 10 assists for the Hawks.

Italian power forward Danilo Gallinari added 17 points for the Hawks.

Atlanta’s John Collins racked up 14 points and 16 rebounds in the match.

Three Philadelphia players reached double digits in points section; Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris and Seth Curry.

Embiid was the game’s top scorer with 31 points. He also had 11 rebounds. Harris tallied 24 points and 14 rebounds, while Curry added 16 points for the 76ers.

Philadelphia’s Turkish shooting guard Furkan Korkmaz scored five points against the Hawks.


The Atlanta Hawks will play against Giannis Antetokounmpo-led Milwaukee Bucks in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals.





– Suns take 1-0 lead against Clippers, Booker on fire

The Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker had an emphatic performance to help his team lead the Western Conference finals series 1-0 against the Los Angeles Clippers after a 120-114 victory on Sunday.


Booker, 24, posted his first career triple-double with 40 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists at Phoenix Suns Arena.

Clippers forward-guard Paul George scored 34 points.





– Suns GM honored with basketball executive year award

Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns general manager won the basketball executive year award.

“NBA team basketball executives have selected Phoenix Suns General Manager James Jones as the winner of the 2020-21 NBA Basketball Executive of the Year Award,” NBA said in a statement on Sunday.

In the 2020-21 regular season, Suns came in second in the Western Conference standings with a 51-21 win/loss record to directly qualify for this year’s playoffs.


Jones, 40, is a three-time NBA champion; two with the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013, and one with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016.


He has also played for the Suns, Indiana Pacers, Portland Trail Blazers, Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers.

In 2017, Jones ended his 14-year NBA career as Suns hired him as the vice president of Basketball Operations.


In 2019, Jones was named the Suns’ general manager.

Source: Anadolu Agency

French winger Ousmane Dembele will miss the rest of the UEFA EURO 2020 due to a knee injury, the French football body said on Monday.

In a statement, the French Football Federation (FFF) said that Dembele, 24, sustained a knee injury during the Hungary vs. France match which ended 1-1 on Saturday in Budapest and so he will be unavailable for the rest of the EURO finals.

Dembele, who had 27 caps for France, underwent X-ray examinations in a Budapest hospital on Sunday evening.

The FFF wished Barcelona player a quick recovery.

France on Wednesday will face Portugal in a Group F match in Budapest to end the group phase.

French boss Didier Deschamps’ men are now on top of the group with four points after two matches.

Germany and Portugal have three points each. Hungary come last with one point.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Millions of people in northwestern Syria are “pressed up” against the border and remain in dire need of humanitarian aid to survive, heads of seven UN agencies said in a joint statement.

The officials, including the UN Refugee Agency head and his World Food Program counterpart, said the UN needs cross-border and cross-line access to reach those most in need.

“We call for the renewal of Security Council authorization for cross-border operations from Turkey to northwest Syria,” said the statement issued on Friday.

“A failure to do so would immediately stop UN delivery of food, COVID-19 vaccines, critical medical supplies, shelter, protection, clean water and sanitation, and other life-saving assistance to 3.4 million people, including 1 million children,” it added.

The officials said that the UN continued its engagement with all concerned parties to allow cross-line convoys into the northwest.

“They are critical for the expansion of the overall response, but even if deployed regularly they could not replicate the size and scope of the cross-border operation. There is simply no alternative,” they said.

The officials underlined that a large-scale UN cross-border response for an additional 12 months remains essential to avert a humanitarian catastrophe in northwest Syria.

Syria has been in a civil war since early 2011 when the regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Around half a million people have been killed, and more than 12 million had to flee their homes in the past decade.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Police in Turkey arrested nine people over their suspected links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in the country, a security source said on Monday.

This came after the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in the central Yozgat province issued arrest warrants for the suspects, including active-duty personnel, as part of a probe into the terror group’s infiltration of the military.

In simultaneous operations carried out in the capital Ankara, Istanbul, Tunceli, Kahramanmaras and Elazig provinces, the suspects – including three active-duty soldiers, a retired soldier, a doctor, a teacher and former military students – were arrested, said the source on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people dead and 2,734 injured.

Ankara accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Three people were killed on Monday in the northern Kenyan county of Mandera, which borders Somalia.

According to local media, which cited police, the attack occurred in the Jabibar area of Mandera county, where a road construction project is underway.

Kenya’s Star Newspaper reported that “At least three people were killed Monday in an attack by al-Shabaab militants in Jabibar area, Mandera county.”

In a separate incident, the terrorists set fire to a truck after hijacking the crew working on a road in Mandera South.

Mandera South Deputy County Commissioner Nyamboga Mounda told local media that the police are searching for the attackers who kidnapped a truck driver Ali Mohamed and his companion Kerow Adan Abdi.

In 2013, al-Shabab militants killed at least 67 people during a four-day siege at Westgate Mall in Nairobi.

The al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabaab terrorists were responsible for an attack on Garissa University in Kenya in 2015, which killed more than 140 students.

Source: Anadolu Agency