Latest News Headlines of Turkey
SANA, citing an Interior Ministry statement, said the blaze broke out at a commercial facility in central Damascus.
Mohamed Abul Reish of the Damascus Hospital said seven burned bodies were admitted to the hospital. No information was provided about other victims.
SANA said investigations have been launched to determine the cause of the fire.
Source: Anadolu Agency
The United Arab Emirates-based Dragon Oil made one of the largest oil discoveries of the past 20 years in the Gulf of Suez, international media reports said, citing the Egyptian petroleum ministry.
The ministry said the field could contain reserves of around 100 million barrels.
The announcement was made during a meeting on the sidelines of the Egypt 2022 conference in Cairo on Tuesday between the CEO of Dragon Oil, Ali al-Jarwan, and the Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla.
Dragon Oil is a subsidiary of the UAE-headquartered Emirates National Oil Company Group (ENOC). In 2019, it purchased BP’s Egyptian assets.
Source: Anadolu Agency
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Thursday the United Nations is “in a race against time” to prevent millions of Afghans from falling deeper into a severe economic and humanitarian crisis.
“Livelihoods across the country have been lost. More than half the population of Afghanistan now depends on life-saving assistance,” Guterres told reporters at U.N. headquarters. “Without a more concerted effort from the international community, virtually every man, woman and child in Afghanistan could face acute poverty.”
He said the situation has become so desperate that parents have sold their babies in order to feed their other children, and health facilities are overflowing with malnourished children.
Guterres’ call comes two days after the United Nations launched its biggest humanitarian appeal ever for more than $5 billion to assist 28 million people inside Afghanistan and in five neighboring countries this year.
Last year, the U.N. and its partner agencies reached more than 18 million people across the country.
Economic collapse
The secretary-general said the biggest driver of the current crisis is the free fall of Afghanistan’s economy, which he warned must not be allowed to collapse.
“For our part, the United Nations is taking steps to inject cash into the economy through creative authorized arrangements, but it is a drop in the bucket,” he said.
Guterres said the country’s Central Bank must be preserved and assisted, and a way found for the conditional release of Afghan foreign currency reserves.
“Without creative, flexible and constructive engagement by the international community, Afghanistan’s economic situation will only worsen,” he warned.
Over the past two decades, Afghanistan’s economy has been heavily dependent on foreign aid to survive. Some 75% of the former government’s budget was donor-funded, as was 40% of its GDP.
International donors have urged the Taliban to form an inclusive government and respect the rights of women as a condition for the release of more aid, which the group has not done.
Since the Taliban took over the government in August 2021, the suspension of most international aid has contributed to the breakdown in many basic services, including electricity, health services and education. Inflation is rampant, and the price of ordinary goods is beyond the reach of most Afghans.
The U.N. has been raising the alarm for several months, saying there needs to be a mechanism for U.S. dollars from outside Afghanistan to be exchanged for Afghanis, the local currency, inside the country.
In response to a question, the U.N. chief said the United States has a very important role to play in shoring up Afghanistan’s economy because most of the global financial system operates in U.S. dollars, and because Washington has frozen billions of Afghan assets to keep them out of the Taliban’s hands.
The Taliban have repeatedly called for lifting international sanctions and for access to Afghanistan’s Central Bank assets.
Last month, World Bank donors agreed to release $280 million from its Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund. The bank had paused disbursements after the Taliban takeover. The funds were disbursed to UNICEF and the World Food Program. Guterres urged donors to make the remaining $1.2 billion available to assist Afghans in getting through the winter.
The secretary-general also reiterated his call on the Taliban to make good on pledges to respect the rights of women and girls. Their oppression of women during their previous hold on power in Afghanistan is one of the main reasons that donors are reluctant to allow them access to funds.
Source: Voice of America
RABAT, MOROCCO —
Moroccan security forces with U.S. support have foiled a suspected bomb plot by the so-called Islamic State group and arrested an alleged supporter of the outlawed organization, counterterror police said Friday.
“This arrest is the culmination of close collaboration between (Moroccan security forces) and U.S. law-enforcement,” Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ) said in a statement without giving further details about the joint operation.
The arrested suspect was “an extremist belonging to the so-called Islamic State” and from the Sala Al-Jadida region north of Rabat, the statement added.
According to preliminary inquiries, the man had allegedly pledged allegiance to the group.
He had planned to join foreign jihadist training camps “before deciding to join a terror plot in Morocco using explosive devices,” the statement added.
The police subsequently seized electronic devices and materials used for the preparation of explosives.
“This security operation highlights the importance and effectiveness of bilateral cooperation between (Moroccan security services) and US intelligence and security agencies in the fight against extremist violence and the threat of international terrorism,” the BCIJ said.
Moroccan outlets reported a vast nationwide counterterror operation on Dec. 8, but official sources did not confirm the crackdown.
On Oct. 6, counterterrorism police announced the dismantling of a “terror cell” in Tangiers and the arrest of five suspects accused of plotting bomb attacks.
In September, a cell affiliated to the Islamic State group was dismantled in south Morocco, and seven people were arrested.
Since 2002, Moroccan police claim to have dismantled 2,000 “terror cells” and arrested some 3,500 people in cases linked to terror, according to BCIJ data published in February.
Source: Voice of America
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA —
A 29-year-old man has been arrested in the death of philanthropist Jacqueline Avant, who was fatally shot this week at the Beverly Hills home she shared with her husband, legendary music executive Clarence Avant, police said Thursday.
Aariel Maynor, who was on parole, was taken into custody early Wednesday by Los Angeles police at a separate residence after a burglary there, Beverly Hills Police Chief Mark Stainbrook said.
Police recovered an AR-15 rifle at that home that was believed to have been used in the shooting of Jacqueline Avant. Maynor accidentally shot himself in the foot with the gun, police said, and was being treated before he could be booked into jail.
Authorities said they did not believe there were any other suspects in the Avant case, and Stainbrook said there were no outstanding threats to public safety.
Police had not yet determined a motive or whether the Avant home was targeted. It was not immediately known if Maynor had an attorney.
Maynor has previous felony convictions for assault, robbery and grand theft.
Police were called to the Avants’ home early Wednesday after receiving a call reporting a shooting. Officers found Jacqueline Avant, 81, with a gunshot wound. She was taken to the hospital but did not survive.
Clarence Avant and a security guard at their home were not hurt during the shooting.
Reported shooting
An hour later, Los Angeles police were called to a home in the Hollywood Hills — about 7 miles (11.27 kilometers) from the Avant residence — because of a reported shooting. They found Maynor there, as well as evidence of a burglary at that home, and took him into custody.
Jacqueline Avant was a longtime local philanthropist who led organizations that helped low-income neighborhoods including Watts and South Los Angeles, and she was on the board of directors of the International Student Center at the University of California-Los Angeles.
Grammy-winning executive Clarence Avant is known as the “Godfather of Black Music” and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year. The 90-year-old was also a concert promoter and manager who mentored and helped the careers of artists including Bill Withers, Little Willie John, L.A. Reid, Babyface, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.
Tributes to Jacqueline Avant poured in from across the country. She was remembered by former President Bill Clinton, basketball icon Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Democratic Representative Karen Bass of California and music star Quincy Jones.
Source: Voice of America
The 4th International Red Crescent Amity Short Film Festival will kick off in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul on Thursday.
The event, which will run Dec. 2-5, is being organized in collaboration with Turkey’s Culture and Tourism Ministry, and the country’s top news source Anadolu Agency is its global communication partner.
This year’s edition is dedicated to prominent Turkish-Muslim mystic and philosopher Haci Bektas Veli.
Headed by Turkish director Atalay Tasdiken, the festival’s jury consists of Georgian filmmaker Giorge Ovashvili, Kosovar director Isa Qosja, Turkish actor Serdar Orcin and Turkish academic Nazli Eda Noyan.
About 448 films from 50 countries applied for the competition and non-competition sections, and 19 nominees are competing for the best film award.
As many as 11 selected films will vie for the Humanitarian Eye Section, whose winner will receive 20,000 Turkish liras (nearly $1,600).
In the Panorama Selection, awarded short films that made their premieres at important festivals around the world, will be screened.
During the masterclass, Iranian director Majid Majidi will share his experiences with movie lovers at the city’s Atlas Cinema on Dec. 4.
This year, the festival’s Amity Honorary Award will be presented to Turkish actress Selda Alkor and director Engin Ayca.
Source: Anadolu Agency
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention projects that 100,000 Americans died of drug overdose between May 2020 and April 2021 — a nearly 30% increase over the previous year.
While not an official count, the CDC says it can confirm 98,000 deaths so far during the period and estimates the total number will likely be around 100,300 after causes of death are made official. It can take months to investigate and finalize drug fatalities.
Experts say the increased availability of the deadly opioids, particularly fentanyl, is a major driver, accounting for 64% of overdose deaths.
Another factor is the COVID-19 pandemic which made it hard for drug users to get treatment or support.
“What we’re seeing are the effects of these patterns of crisis and the appearance of more dangerous drugs at much lower prices,” Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, told CNN. “In a crisis of this magnitude, those already taking drugs may take higher amounts and those in recovery may relapse. It’s a phenomenon we’ve seen and perhaps could have predicted.”
In a statement, President Joe Biden called the number a “tragic milestone,” and said his administration “is committed to doing everything in our power to address addiction and end the overdose epidemic.”
Overdose deaths are now more common than deaths from car crashes, guns and the flu. Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the U.S., killing 660,000 in 2019.
Source: Voice of America
Mass shootings broke out across the United States during the Halloween weekend, leaving at least 12 people dead and 52 injured.
The Gun Violence Archive, which tracks US mass shootings of four or more victims, reports a variety of circumstances; in the Chicago suburb of Joliet Township, Illinois, someone opened fire from an backyard porch of an outdoor Halloween party, near where a DJ stand had been set up, and killed two party-goers, a man and a woman, both aged 22. Twelve others were hurt in the scramble to safety. Police think gang activity led to the shooting, but no arrests have yet been made.
In Decatur, Illinois, a shooting at a large gathering of people left one person in critical condition and three others with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.
In Texas, a shooting at a Halloween party, at an event center near the Texas border with Arkansas, left one person dead and nine others injured.
In Colorado, two people were killed and two others were hurt in what police say appears to be an attempted murder-suicide.
And in California, separate shootings left three dead and 8 injured.
The Archive reports 599 mass shootings so far during 2021, which far surpasses the 417 mass shootings in 2019 and puts 2021 on track to surpass the 611 mass shootings in 2020.
Researchers have long blamed the rise in shootings on the social and economic pressures brought by the coronavirus pandemic.
On Friday, the Mayor of St. Louis, the largest city in Missouri, was talking to reporters about gun violence prevention when loud gunshots could be heard behind her.
Without flinching, Tishaura Jones remarked: “Oh, isn’t that wonderful.”
When asked if she felt safe standing there, she replied, “My son and I fall asleep to the lullaby of gunshots in the distance every night. It’s a part of my life now and that shouldn’t be.”
Source: Anadolu Agency
The Diaspora International Short Film Festival, an initiative of the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB), will be launched on Aug. 27 in Istanbul for the first time.
The festival, of which Anadolu Agency is a global communications partner, will be organized by the Bosphorus Culture and Art Foundation at the Atlas Cinema on Istiklal Avenue in Beyoglu district.
Speaking at a press conference at Beyoglu Soho House, Abdullah Eren, the head of YTB, said many things that are meant to be told through cinema can be shown in an impressive and aesthetic way in just a few minutes or on a stage.
“The Diaspora International Short Film Festival was designed as a festival that is not only open and embraces the Turkish diaspora but also all other diaspora groups,” Eren said.
He went on to say that the festival aims to meet the need for space to gather young and talented filmmakers from all diaspora groups.
“We set out with important missions and goals. We were met with more interest than we expected. We received 3,123 applications from 120 different countries, from India to Brazil, from China to Senegal, for the two different categories of the festival — Turkish-speaking films and films in foreign languages,” he added.
“Twenty-four short films, which include films dealing with issues that are of particular concern to diasporas such as belonging, multiculturalism, racism, being a refugee, discrimination, living together and Islamophobia, which are closely related to diasporas, were entitled to participate in the festival.”
Pointing out that 2021 marks the 60th anniversary of the Turkish diaspora’s migration to Europe, Eren said that “unfortunately, we live in a period where institutional racism, discrimination, Islamophobia and intolerance towards others have increased in recent years.”
The director of the Diaspora International Short Film Festival, Emrah Kilic, also said that the teams of the 24 films that made it to the finals of the festival competition will be hosted in Istanbul.
Cinephiles will be able to view the film screenings from Aug. 28-29, and the award ceremony of the festival will be held on Aug. 29, Kilic said.
The jury of the Turkish-speaking films competition category consists of director Andac Haznedaroglu; the director of the Baku International Short Film Festival, Fehruz Shamiyev; and directors Haluk Piyes, Maryna Gorbach Er and Murat Seker.
The best picture of the competition will be awarded €5,000 and the winner of the TRT Special Award will be presented with €2,500, the Second Best Film with €1,500 and the Third Best Film with €1,000.
The jury of the films in the foreign language category includes producer Anthony Nti; the director of the Asian World Film Festival, Asel Sherniyazova; the director of the Sarajevo Film Center, Ines Tanovic; director Nariman Aliev and writer and producer Samed Karagoz.
The best picture of the category will be awarded €5,000, while one picture will receive the Jury’s Special Award of €2,500, the second best film €1,500, and the third best film €1,000.
Source: Anadolu Agency