Author: tngadmin

WASHINGTON (AA) – The top US diplomat on Saturday underlined the importance of Turkish-American relations.

“Continuing cooperation with our NATO ally Turkey on common priorities is of utmost importance,” Antony Blinken wrote on Twitter after having a telephone call with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

He reiterated American support for talks between Turkey and Greece, which are American NATO allies.

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price also issued a readout of the Blinken-Cavusoglu call.

“Secretary Blinken spoke with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to discuss areas of cooperation in Syria and Afghanistan and the importance of human rights and democratic institutions,” he said.

Source: Anadolu Agency

_:TRIPOLI, Libya (AA) – The Libyan army announced on Saturday that militias loyal to Khalifa Haftar, leader of the illegitimate armed forces in the east, killed one person in central Jufra province.

Spokesman for the army’s Sirte-Jufra Joint Operations Unit, Gen. Abdulhadi Dirah, told Anadolu Agency that pro-Haftar forces’ 77th division killed Mohammed Juma in Jufra.

The current situation is tense in Jufra and residents started to assembly in the city center, he added.

In a separate development, Operation Anger of Volcano, affiliated with the Libyan army, reported an unspecified type of fighter plane and a helicopter flown by Haftar forces were spotted in Jufra skies 600 kilometers (373 miles) southeast of Tripoli.

Source: Anadolu Agency

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AA) – Eleven crew and officers aboard a Nigerian military plane were killed Friday when it crashed in northwestern Kaduna state, according to media reports.

The dead included army chief Lieut. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru.

The air force said the plane crashed near Kaduna Airport and that it was investigating.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, described the crash as a “mortal blow … at a time our armed forces are poised to end the security challenges facing the country.”

It was the third air force plane crash in three months.

* Writing by Ahmet Gencturk

Source: Anadolu Agency


ANKARA (AA) – Turkey’s president on Saturday spoke virtually at the opening ceremony of an irrigation tunnel to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), commenting on the Cyprus issue.

“If there are to be new talks on Cyprus, these should no longer be between the two communities, but between the two states,” he said.

Underlining that the equal status and sovereign equality of Turkish Cypriots must be confirmed before fresh negotiations could begin, Erdogan said the latest Cyprus talks held informally in Geneva last month had been inconclusive due to the “intransigent attitude of the Greek side, detached from the facts on island.”

Erdogan said the recent unofficial 5+UN meeting on Cyprus in Geneva at the end of April marked a turning point in the struggle for independence and the future.

“As Turkey, we have fully supported the proposals made in Geneva by the Turkish Cypriot side under the leadership of my dear brother, Mr. [Ersin Tatar]. On this occasion, I would like to congratulate Mr. President Tatar on his leadership in Geneva and his determined stance,” said Erdogan.

“Rejecting a two-state solution means rejecting the sovereignty, equality, independence and state of the Turkish Cypriot people. Neither we nor the TRNC consent to such injustice, such usurpation of rights.

“In particular, we will never allow the Turkish Cypriots’ existing rights to energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean be defeated,” the Turkish president said.

“We have never seen the fate of the TRNC separate from our own. The welfare of the people of Northern Cyprus, their ability to stand on their own feet and their development are our primary goals,” he added.




– Possible water shortage

Erdogan also made comments on Turkey’s help to Turkish Cypriots in dealing more effectively with the risk of possible water shortage.

He stated that the TRNC has been experiencing an increasing water shortage for the past 30 years due to the fact that it is in an island country and due to its limited natural resources.

He noted that Turkey has delivered an annual 75 million cubic meters of water to the TRNC via pipeline, which is 80-kilometer long [49.7-mile] and passes 250 meters below [nearly 821 feet] below the sea surface.

“In addition, with a modern drinking water treatment plant and a 529-kilometer-long [nearly 329-mile] distribution line, we provided drinking and potable water of upstream water quality to the whole of Northern Cyprus,” said Erdogan.

He said Ankara was determined “not to leave Turkish Cyprus in need of others,” with its projects to eliminate the risk of water shortage.




– COVID-19

With the Lefkosa Emergency Hospital, which was opened on Nov. 15, 2020, Erdogan stressed that the Turkish people were on Turkish Cypriots’ side during their most troubled days due to the pandemic.

He recalled that at a time when almost 100 countries did not have access to the first dose of the vaccine Turkey shares its doses of vaccines with the Turkish Cypriots, and said a wide range of important projects from industry to education, from defense to information technology, agriculture to tourism have been implemented.

“As the motherland and guarantor, Turkey will stand by the TRNC and the Turkish people of Cyprus.”




– New irrigation system

Apart from Tatar, Erdogan also thanked protocol members and contractor company managers involved in the irrigation tunnel project.

“On this occasion, I hope that the drought will end and the land will become much more fertile. May God bless you all,” he said.

Meanwhile, speaking at the opening ceremony, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said the TRNC’s territory, which have long been in need of water, would become fertile with the new sprinkler system and drip irrigation.

Economic and development cooperation between the two countries will contribute to the rise of the sovereign TRNC that can stand confidently on its own feet, Oktay said.




– Quality of life improved

TRNC President Ersin Tatar also thanked everyone who contributed to the implementation of the project.

He recalled that on Jan. 6, 2020, a failure occurred in the Water Supply Project, and with the great support of the Turkish government, the problem was solved.

Stating that the structure in TRNC will be strengthened with these works with its homeland Turkey, Tatar stressed that these efforts will also have a positive impact on TRNC’s economy.

Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ersan Saner noted the “Project of the Century” was seen by many as impossible to realize, saying this project was opened on Oct. 17, 2015 and all the targets set out continued to be realized one by one.

“The transfer of Anatolian water to the TRNC is a complete revolution. This resource has improved the quality of life of our people, especially in the TRNC. Today, the opening we will do together will enable our Green Island Cyprus to flourish,” Saner said.

“It is of great importance that our homeland Turkey is with us as we walk towards our goals with determination in a period of social, economic and political difficulties triggered by the greatest epidemic in the history of the world,” he added.

– Cyprus issue

Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long struggle between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the UN to achieve a comprehensive settlement.

The island has been divided since 1964, when ethnic attacks forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety. In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aiming at Greece’s annexation led to Turkey’s military intervention as a guarantor power. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was founded in 1983.

The Greek Cypriot administration, backed by Greece, became a member of the European Union in 2004, although most Greek Cypriots rejected a UN settlement plan in a referendum that year, which had envisaged a reunited Cyprus joining the EU.

Source: Anadolu Agency

_:KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – A prove-your-identity condition may leave 3 million people in Pakistan without coronavirus vaccines, including mainly unregistered refugees, jeopardizing the country’s fight against the pandemic.

Currently, only Pakistani nationals or immigrants who have either computerized national identification cards (CNIC) or official refugee status can receive the jabs.

The country of over 207 million people has so far vaccinated nearly 3 million people, a ratio well below that of neighboring India.

Over 1.5 million unregistered refugees living in Pakistan, particularly from neighboring Afghanistan, will miss out on the vaccination for not having identity documents.

Besides, thousands of CNIC have been blocked in recent years by the country’s registration authority, the National Database Registration Authority (Nadra), for different reasons.

There are around 2.8 million documented and undocumented Afghan refugees in Pakistan, making it the world’s second-largest refugee population after Syrians in Turkey.

Only around half of the refugees are registered, with the rest living undocumented, mostly in northeastern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southwestern Balochistan provinces, which border the war-torn Afghanistan.

The southern Sindh province, of which the commercia hub Karachi is the capital, also hosts nearly 500,000 Afghan refugees.

UN suggest that more than 3.8 million refugees have been repatriated to Afghanistan since 2002. However, many have returned to Pakistan due to ongoing violence, unemployment, and lack of education and medical facilities.

Apart from Afghan refugees, the South Asian country, and mainly Karachi, has a sizable population of unregistered Bengali, Nepali, and Rohingya immigrants.

As per the current procedure, citizens before being vaccinated must register themselves by sending their CNIC numbers to a designated official portal.

When asked about any alternative ways to get vaccinated for unregistered refugees or citizens who do not have the CNIC, Faisal Sultan, the prime minister’s special assistant on health affairs, told Anadolu Agency that the refugees with “Proof of Registration (PoR)” cards issued by the Pakistani government were allowed to get vaccinated.

In the brief message, he did not respond to a query about an alternative way for unregistered refugees.

– Dangerous move

The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), a nationwide body of health professionals, has demanded that the registration process be halted because it “may deprive millions of people” of COVID-19 vaccines.

“We have long been demanding that unnecessary conditions for vaccination will discourage millions to get vaccinated,” Dr. Qaisar Sajjad, the PMA’s secretary-general, told Anadolu Agency.

According to Qaisar, around 3 million locals and refugees would not be eligible to receive vaccinations under the current system.

The large numbers of Afghan, Bengali, Nepali, and Rohingya refugees will not be the only ones unable to get vaccinated against the highly contagious COVID-19. So will a significant number of the country’s own citizens, mostly those living in rural areas and who have not yet obtained a CNIC, he said.

“It will simply tatter the benefits of the large-scale vaccination and the relentless efforts of the health professionals if such a huge portion of the population is not vaccinated just because they do not have identity cards,” Sajjad opined.

“To achieve the goal, we have to vaccinate every single adult. The government must remove this [identity card] condition and simply let everyone get vaccinated,” he maintained.

– Identity condition be revoked

Zahir Pashtun, who works for a non-governmental organization dedicated to refugee welfare, supported the call to remove the identification card requirement for vaccinations.

“The government has included the Afghan refugees with PoRs in the vaccination program … a welcome step. However, nearly half of the refugees in Pakistan are unregistered. They should be vaccinated,” Pashtun told Anadolu Agency.

Echoing Pashtun’s views, Noor Mohammad Arakani, the head of the Rohingya Solidarity Forum that works for the welfare of the group displaced from Myanmar, said: “A large number of Rohingyas still don’t have refugee identification cards. The government should either remove this condition or announce an alternative vaccination program.”

“Even among those who have identification cards, the vaccination rate is still very low. The card condition will further sink this ratio,” he told Anadolu Agency.

Karachi is home to more than 400,000 Rohingya Muslims — often referred to as Burmese — the highest number after Myanmar and now Bangladesh — unofficial estimates suggest.

The Chief Commissioner for Afghan Refugees Saleem Khan said the government could not do anything for “faceless” refugees.

He told Anadolu Agency that the problem would have been resolved automatically if the refugees had registered with the government. They can still register with the government, but the “problem is that they are faceless,” according to Khan.

However, he underlined that nearly 850,000 Afghans with Afghan citizen cards have been included in the ongoing vaccination drive.

UNHCR Spokesman Qaiser Khan Afridi said the inclusion of registered Afghan refugees in the country’s vaccination program was a “positive step.”

In some parts of the country, he added, Afghan refugees who meet the criteria for receiving the jab have already started to register themselves and some of have received their first vaccine dose.

Nonetheless, unregistered refugees are not covered by the UNHCR’s mandate, he added.

“The virus doesn’t know whether an individual is a refugee or a local. It is a challenge to everyone. Nobody is safe until all of us are safe,” Afridi told Anadolu Agency.

Source: Anadolu Agency

ANKARA (AA) – Nature and biodiversity do not top the global agenda despite the peril they face, says an official from a conservation organization who warns that losses to the natural world pose a major threat to the global economy, as well as people’s health.

“The loss of nature is increasing our vulnerability to disease outbreaks, undermining efforts to tackle the climate crisis, and threatening livelihoods,” Gavin Edwards of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) told Anadolu Agency.

Speaking on the occasion of the International Day for Biological Diversity, observed annually on May 22 to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues, Edwards pointed out the nature-based solution to the sustainability of a healthy planet.

“From nature-based solutions to climate, health issues, food and water security, and sustainable livelihoods, biodiversity is the foundation that sustains us all and in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the safety net upon which we can build back better,” said Edwards, who currently serves as the WWF’s New Deal for Nature & People global coordinator.

This year’s theme is “We’re part of the solution,” a slogan chosen to be a continuation of the momentum generated last year under the over-arching theme, “Our solutions are in nature,” according to the UN.

Underlining that there is a strong link between nature loss and the risk of zoonotic diseases, which jump from animals to humans, Edwards said the novel coronavirus has shown that it was time for transformative action to preserve natural ecosystems and build nature-positive, carbon-neutral and sustainable societies.

– Systematic change needed

“The COVID-19 crisis demonstrates that systemic changes must be made to address the environmental drivers of zoonotic disease outbreaks — land-use change, expansion and the intensification of agriculture and animal production, and the consumption of high-risk wildlife,” said Edwards.

Touching on how COVID-19 affected wildlife and biodiversity conservation efforts, he said thousands of rural tourism-based jobs would be at risk if action is not taken.

“Conservancies use their nature-based tourism income to sustain their natural resource management activities as well as supplement members’ livelihoods and wellbeing with direct payments, or support for food, schooling and more,” he added.

Citing a last year’s report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) on the potential of a nature-positive economy that could generate more than $10 trillion in annual business value, he said the green recovery would not only create more jobs and more economic opportunity, but also help the world avoid future pandemics.

In response to a question about possible steps on protecting biodiversity and nature, Edwards said the Conference of Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity was scheduled to take place Oct. 11 – 24 and added that world leaders were scheduled to make critical decisions on the climate and environment.

“Countries are due to adopt a post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework,” he said, adding that the WWF was urging nations to secure a biodiversity agreement that tackles both direct and indirect drivers of nature loss.

Around 1 million species already face extinction, with many at risk of being wiped out within decades unless action is taken to reduce the intensity of drivers of biodiversity loss, according to a report by Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.

Source: Anadolu Agency

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) – Homayoun Sameyah Najafabadi, a Jewish-Iranian lawmaker and chair of the Tehran Jewish Association gave an exclusive interview to Anadolu Agency on Friday in which he railed against Israeli attacks on Palestinians.

He said that Israel disrespected the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the first qibla of Muslims, and killed innocent Palestinians.

“Any authentic faithful Jew, who believes in the Torah should condemn the brutal attacks on Palestinians,” he said.

Najafabadi underlined the importance of having respect for things, places and people — not only religions but those recognized as sacred, while noting that the Israeli government acted otherwise toward Palestinians.

“Palestinians’ pride and belief were insulted,” said Najafabadi.

He argued that Israeli attacks caused more tension between Muslim Arabs and Jewish, and warned Jewish people about supporting Israel.

While it is an undeniable fact that some segments of the world’s Jewish population support Israel, faithful Jews, who do not have regional and ethnic biases, support Palestinians, he said.

“The Jewish community in Iran condemn brutal killings of Palestinians,” he said.

Najafabadi criticized the world’s stance regarding the Palestinian issue and maintained that global superpowers benefit from tension in the Middle East.

“World powers are concerned only about their national and individual interests. They should be sincere about human rights and oppose the inhuman killings,” he said.

Najafabadi maintained that Israeli domestic politics and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political ambitions are mixed up with the most recent aggression against Palestinians.

“I am convinced that war and attacks were pre-meditated. Escalation of the tension and eruption of war consolidate feelings of solidarity in a country. Netanyahu wanted to take advantage

of a war to form a coalition government, which he couldn’t do so far,” he said.

Palestinians’ return to their lands is the only solution to the problem, Najafabadi said, noting that Israel would accept it only under pressure, and by power.

Tensions that started in East Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan spread to Gaza as a result of Israeli assaults on worshippers in the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound

and the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.

The Israeli military staged airstrikes across the Gaza Strip since May 10, leaving behind a massive trail of destruction across the seaside territory.

The death toll from Israeli attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip which ended after a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas rose to 248, including 66 children and 39 women, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Friday.

At least 1,948 people have been injured, the ministry said in a statement regarding the loss of lives in 11 days of attacks by Israel.

A cease-fire between Israel and Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, started early Friday.

* Writing by Ahmet Gencturk

Source: Anadolu Agency

ANTALYA, Turkey (AA) – The southern Antalya province of Turkey, often regarded as one of the top tourism destinations in the world, has retained its ranking with the most blue-flagged eco-friendly beaches in the world, with a total of 213.

According to the latest figures by the International Blue Flag jury, a total of 519 beaches in Turkey will fly Blue Flags this year. The country is ranked third in the world after Spain’s 614 blue-flag beaches and Greece’s 545.

Antalya remained the top recipient of the award on a city basis, increasing its total from the 202 last year.

It was followed by the southwestern Mugla province with 106 blue-flag beaches, western Izmir with 66, southwestern Aydin with 39 and northwestern Balikesir with 36.

The Blue Flag certification, an international program implemented in 47 countries, is an exclusive international eco-label given to beaches and marinas after meeting certain criteria set by the International Foundation for Environmental Education, an independent non-profit organization.

– ‘Additional rules introduced amid outbreak’

Mustafa Ergiydiren, the Antalya Blue Flag Coordinator for the Foundation for Environmental Education in Turkey (TURCEV), told Anadolu Agency that the country’s global ranking was a great success, especially for Antalya.

Ergiydiren said the city’s considerable infrastructure facilities, as well as the quality of its beaches and businesses played an “important role in Antalya being first in the world.”

Underlining that precautions against the novel coronavirus were being meticulously implemented on Antalya’s beaches, he said: “We’ve set additional criteria such as distance between sunbeds, provision of sanitizer materials at the entrances of beaches, and the cleaning of showers and toilets at least once every half hour.”

He emphasized that the Blue Flag was the most well-known national and international environmental award, adding that locals and tourists were conscious of award-winning beaches and attached importance to them.

Ergiydiren said beaches must meet 33 criteria to fly a Blue Flag, stressing that environmental management and information, beach cleanliness and safety were a must for award-winning beaches.

“After we deliver the award, we don’t let it go. We carry out surprise inspections. Inspectors from international organizations also come. They conduct separate inspections.

“If there are missing points in the criteria, we temporarily lower the Blue Flag. If the criteria isn’t met in the given time, we cancel the award during the season, and announce this on our website,” said Ergiydiren.

– Konyaalti Coast 10 blue flags

Ergiydiren said Blue Flags had also started to rise along Turkey’s Black Sea coast as well.

The award requires outstanding infrastructure investments, with good water analysis results over the past four years and all criteria met, he underlined.

Blue Flag public beaches are growing rapidly with the efforts of local governments, Ergiydiren said, adding that the world-famous Antalya’s Konyaalti Coast having ten beaches with Blue Flags.

Source: Anadolu Agency

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AA) – The Ethiopian government on Saturday awarded a telecom service license to the Global Partnership for Ethiopia, a consortium of telecom companies.

The consortium, which includes Vodafone, Vodacom, Safaricom, Sumitomo Corporation, and the CDC Group, won the bid offering $850 million, two million dollars more than the second-highest bidder, the office of the prime minister said in a statement.

The move will create jobs for 1.5 million citizens and activate over $8 billion in domestic investment, the statement said.

“Global Partnership for Ethiopia has been selected as having the potential to provide high-quality telecom services to the people of Ethiopia,” it added

The country’s Council of Ministers also unanimously decided to expedite tasks that would enable the issuance of the second telecom license through the Ethiopian Communication Authority.

In mid-2018, Ethiopia floated the partial privatization of the country’s giant telecom through sale of two licenses for prospective international operators.

“The Council of Ministers has unanimously made a historic decision today allowing Ethiopian Communications Authority to grant a new nationwide telecom license to the Global Partnership for Ethiopia which offered the highest licensing fee and a very solid investment case,” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on Twitter.

“With over USD 8 billion total investment, this will be the single largest FDI [foreign direct investment] into Ethiopia to date. Our desire to take Ethiopia fully digital is on track. I would like to thank all that have taken part in this and for pulling off a very transparent and effective process!” Abiy added.

Source: Anadolu Agency