Category: General

European Union leaders agreed Thursday to consider options for additional restrictive measures against Russia, including economic sanctions.

The first day of the EU Leaders’ Summit came to a close with the announcement of the summit statement on Russia.

The statement said the European Council expects the Russian leadership to demonstrate a more constructive engagement and political commitment as well as stop actions against the EU, its member states and third countries.

The statement, shared by Barend Leyts, the spokesperson for the European Council president, also called on Russia “to fully assume its responsibility in ensuring the full implementation of the Minsk agreements as the key condition for any substantial change in the EU’s stance.”

Stressing the importance of a robust and coordinated response by EU members against Russia’s “malign, illegal and disruptive” activities, the statement said the EU would do this by making “full use of all instruments at the EU’s disposal, and ensuring coordination with partners.”

“To this end, the European Council also invites the Commission and the High Representative to present options for additional restrictive measures, including economic sanctions,” the statement said.

-‘Eastern Partners’, dialogue with Russia

EU leaders also stressed “the need to further deepen and intensify political, economic and people-to-people ties and cooperation with the Eastern Partners with a view to increasing their resilience.”

“In this context, it recalls the 2017 Eastern partnership Summit declaration which acknowledges the European aspirations and European choice of the Eastern Partners concerned, as stated in the Association Agreements, and in the context of their entry into force.

“It also underlines its commitment to deepening relations with Central Asia,” the statement said.

“The European Council reiterates the European Union’s openness to a selective engagement with Russia in areas of EU interest.

“It invites the Commission and the High Representative to develop concrete options including conditionalities and leverages in this regard, with a view to their consideration by the Council, on topics such as climate and the environment, health, as well as selected issues of foreign and security policy and multilateral issues such as the JCPoA, Syria and Libya,” it said.

“In this context, the European Council will explore formats and conditionalities of dialogue with Russia.”

It also said that “the European Council condemns the limitations on fundamental freedoms in Russia and the shrinking space for civil society.”

“It stresses the need for people-to-people contacts and continues EU support to Russian civil society, human rights organizations and independent media. It invites the Commission and the High Representative to put forward proposals in this regard.”

“The European Council reiterates its full support for all efforts to establish truth, justice and accountability for the victims of the downing of MH17 and their next of kin and calls on all States to cooperate fully with the ongoing legal case,” the statement said, concluding that the council will examine this issue and offer guidance later.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency late Thursday after a residential building partially collapsed during the early morning hours, leaving at least one person dead and dozens missing.

The move will allow for federal assistance amid search-and-rescue operations.

Surfside, Florida Mayor Charles Burkett said the building “pancaked” and squashed individual floors to mere feet between one another, leaving residents trapped in sprawling concrete and metal rubble on the ground.

Search and rescue teams are using dogs to comb the debris for missing persons, but Burkett cautioned that the fact that the building collapsed in the manner it did reduces the likelihood that survivors will be found.

“There’s literally no reason for a building to go down like that unless someone literally pulls out the supports from underneath, or they get washed out, or there’s a sinkhole or something like that,” said Burkett, who has worked in property development. “That kind of thing should not be happening.”

At least 99 people remain unaccounted for as rescuers search the wreckage, which shifted underground into a parking garage after a wing of the 12-story beachfront condominium tower collapsed, authorities said. About half of the building’s 130 units caved in.

First responders have rescued 35 people from inside the building with 11 being injured, four seriously enough to be sent to nearby hospitals, according to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.

In all, 102 people have been accounted for, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told reporters. She has signed an emergency order.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Japan’s population declined by 0.7% during the past five years, dropping out for the first time since 1950 from the world’s top 10 countries in terms of population.

The latest census data of 2020, released by the Internal Affairs Ministry on Friday, showed that the country’s population stood at 126,226,568 as of Oct. 1, 2020, reported Tokyo-based Kyodo News.

Japan, comprising 1.6% of the global population, dropped one place from 10th to 11th in the world ranking of the most populated countries, it said, citing the latest UN report.

According to the report, Japan is the only nation among the top 20 populated countries of the world, while its population dropped by around 868,000 from 2015 to 2020.

But the number of households increased by 4.2 % to 55.7 million.

The average number of members per household fell to 2.27 from 2.38 in the 2015 survey, the lowest since comparable data became available in 1970 as more elderly people lived alone, according to the report.

– Child population

Meanwhile, the country’s child population also decreased, with the number of children aged 14 or younger standing at 14.93 million as of April 1 this year.

The figures released by the government last month indicated that Japan has seen the child population dropping continuously over the past 40 straight years, leaving the world’s third-largest economy grappling with an aging population.

Japan is among 33 countries with the lowest child population ratio, along with South Korea and Italy.

According to the ministry, this ratio fell to its base at 11.9% after 47 straight years of decline.

Out of 14.93 million people aged 14 or younger, there are 7.65 million boys and 7.28 million girls. Those aged up to 2 years old account for 2.65 million.

The child population had peaked in the country in 1954, with 29.89 million, but it has seen a constant decline since 1982.

Japan has measured its population every five years since 1920.

Source: Anadolu Agency

US President Joe Biden said Thursday he agreed to and is supporting a bipartisan infrastructure framework that was formed by a group of senators.

“It’s been a very long time since the last time our country was able to strike a major bipartisan deal on American infrastructure that was so badly needed,” Biden told reporters at the White House. “Investments we will be making as a result of this deal are long overdue.”

He said the agreement will create millions of jobs and modernize the country’s infrastructure to compete with the rest of the world in the 21st century.

“This bipartisan agreement represents the largest investment in public transit in American history. The largest investment in rail since the creation of Amtrak. It will deliver high speed internet to every American home and replace 100% of our nation’s lead pipes,” Biden wrote on Twitter.

The plan includes investments in clean transportation, clean water, universal broadband, clean power, remediation of legacy pollution and a resilience to the changing climate by investing two-thirds of the resources that Biden proposed in his American Jobs Plan, according to a White House statement.

Some other areas include repairing and rebuilding roads and bridges, modernizing and expanding transit and rail networks while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, electrifying buses across the US, upgrading the power infrastructure, connecting reliable high-speed internet and preparing for cyberattacks.

A group of senators announced Wednesday that they had reached an agreement on the plan that would see $1.2 trillion spent in eight years, which includes $579 billion in new spending for the first five years.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said Thursday that Venezuela received an unspecified number of the first shipment of the new Cuban coronavirus, Abdala.

“I have the honor to share the arrival of these doses of the Abdala vaccine, which, just a few days ago, was presented to humanity with an efficacy and efficiency of more than 92 percent,” Rodríguez said in a televised address.

That information comes from the Cuban Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, which presented a study that found the effectiveness of the vaccine.

That was reiterated by Cuba’s Health Ministry and the island’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel.

Cuba’s Ambassador in Venezuela, Dagoberto Rodríguez said, “We continue in the fight for the health of our people and a deep political will to do more every day to strengthen these ties between Venezuela and Cuba.”

Rodriguez said that the shipment would be the first of 12 million doses.

Venezuela is the first country to receive the Abdala vaccine.

Other Latin American countries, including Argentina and Mexico, have expressed an interest in the vaccine.

If the success of the Abdala vaccine is proven, Cuba would be the first country in the region to develop and manufacture a vaccine for the virus.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has yet to comment about the effectiveness of the vaccine.

Venezuela has 265,000 confirmed infections since the start of the pandemic.

A total of 16,000 cases are still active.

Venezuela also reached 3,000 deaths from the virus this week.

Source: Anadolu Agency

EU leaders agreed Thursday to provide support to third-party countries to reduce migratory pressure at the bloc’s borders.

EU heads of states and governments began a two-day summit by discussing migration and encouraged a new migration strategy that opens the way for the EU to sign similar deals with third party countries as the one struck with Turkey in 2016.

According to published migration chapters of the summit’s conclusions, the bloc will aim at intensifying “mutually beneficial partnerships and cooperation with countries of origin and transit” to “prevent loss of life and to reduce pressure on European borders.”

Leaders instructed the European Commission and the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, to immediately “reinforce concrete actions with, and tangible support for, priority countries of origin and transit.”

They also asked the EU executive body and Borrell to present an action plan to further support countries that tackle root causes of migration, support refugees and displaced persons in the region and eradicate human smuggling and trafficking.

Without naming any country, they condemned and rejected attempts to “instrumentalize migrants for political purposes.”

Due to a diplomatic spat between Morocco and Spain, Rabat suspended border controls and nearly 9,000 people tried to enter the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on May 17.

Despite the condemnation, the North-African transit countries of Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya might be the main beneficiaries of the EU’s renewed approach to migration and the bloc might also boost development aid to sub-Saharan countries.

The 2016 deal between Ankara and the bloc was reached to stop irregular refugee flows and improve the conditions of Syrian refugees in Turkey.

The EU pledged €6 billion ($6.5 billion) in aid for refugees hosted by Turkey.

EU leaders are also expected to discuss the bloc’s future relations with Turkey, including the renewal of support for refugees.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Three years since its establishment under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2018, TOGG, Turkey’s Automobile Initiative Group, continues production activities without slowing down.


Turkey’s first domestically-produced car project was announced on May 15, 1961 called “Devrim” (Revolution). It took a team of Turkish engineers only 129 days to plan, organize, build and manufacture 4 Devrim cars ready for public presentation on Oct. 29, 1961 during Republic Day celebrations in Ankara.

However, the project was shelved after inadequate gasoline caused a car to get stranded on the road and led it to receive negative views.

Seen as the country’s “second automobile revolution” that was revived by Erdogan, TOGG was officially established on June 25, 2018. Mehmet Gurcan Karakas was appointed as its chief executive officer on Sept. 1, 2018.


Erdogan unveiled TOGG’s electric C-SUV and C-Sedan models on Dec. 27, 2019 to the public in an event that was attended by over 2,000 individuals.

TOGG is expected to enter the automotive market in C segment, and plans to increase the number of models to five in coming years. Plans are ready for a 15-year investment that includes three phases.

Construction of TOGG’s engineering, design and production facilities began on July 18, 2020. The facility, built on an area of 1.2 million square meters (12.9 million square meters) in the Gemlik district of Bursa, is planned for completion in early 2022.


Around 4,300 staff will be employed within TOGG, which will include at least 30% women employees.

As for suppliers, TOGG had deals with 10 global corporations – 75% of them from Turkey, and remaining 25% from Europe and Asia.


TOGG named Sergio Rocha, a leading name in auto industry who managed projects in the US, Europe and Asia, its chief operating officer.

Murat Gunak, the former head of design for the Volkswagen Group and previously Mercedes-Benz, was appointed as head of design at TOGG by April 1.

Talin Yildiz returned from France to Turkey to become chief marketing officer.

TOGG chose advanced lithium ion battery technology company Farasis as its business partner for the battery.


Turkey’s new car will reach 80% charge in under 30 minutes with fast-charging. The car will have 300 kilometers and 500 kilometers range.

Acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h will be in 7.6 seconds with 200 horsepower, and under 4.8 seconds with 400 horsepower engine.

First vehicle is planned to come off the production line in the last quarter of 2022.

TOGG announced in April it has become the first Turkish brand to receive iF Design Award 2021, one of the most prestigious design awards in the world, with its C-SUV model.

“All features are tailored with a modern and prestigious design, inspired by its Anatolian heritage,” iF World Design Guide wrote on its website about TOGG C-SUV.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said he was outraged by the assassination of his party man by unknown gunmen Sunday in the country’s southeastern Owerri city.

“I’m repulsed by such premeditated and gruesome murder of (Ahmed) Gulak by evil people who are determined to undermine the peace, unity and territorial integrity of our country,” the president said in a statement released by his spokesman Garba Shehu.

Buhari described the killing of Gulak, a chieftain of the president’s All Progressive Congress party, as “outrageous and disgusting.”

He vowed to deploy all resources to fish out and brought to justice killers of the politician.

Police said Gulak was intercepted and killed by six armed bandits on his way to the airport in Owerri on Sunday morning, minutes after leaving his hotel room.

“He left his hotel without informing the police nor sister agencies, in view of the fragile security situation in the southeast,” the police said.

The killing has generated a huge outcry in parts of the country.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Hundreds of unmarked graves have been found at a former Indian residential school in western Canada, Cowessess First Nations Chief Cadmus Delorme said Thursday.

About 751 graves were discovered at the Marieval Indian Residential School in the province of Saskatchewan. The school operated from 1899 to 1997.

“This is not a mass grave site. These are unmarked graves,” said Delorme at a virtual news conference.

It is the second such discovery in recent weeks, with 215 unmarked children’s graves found at another residential school in British Columbia. First Nations children were taken from their families and forced to attend the schools beginning in the 1820s, where officials tried to obliterate their culture.

Delorme said it was not yet known if all the graves are those of only children.

There were 139 residential schools operating across Canada and the last one closed in 1996. About 150,000 First Nations children were put into the schools and at least 4,000 died under sometimes mysterious circumstances. Many were physically, mentally and sexually abused. The schools were operated by various religious groups including the Catholic, Anglican, United and Presbyterian organizations.

Last month, 215 unmarked graves of children were found at a residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia.

Thursday, Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Chief Bobby Cameron called what happened to the children a “crime against humanity” and said many more graves would be found.

“There will be hundreds more unmarked graves and burial sites located across our First Nations land at the sites of former Indian Residential Schools,” Cameron said in a prepared statement.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had already said the residential schools represented a “genocide” against the First Nations.

Cameron said many First Nations families in Saskatchewan do not know what happened to their children.

“There are thousands of families across our Treaty territories that have been waiting for their children to come home. Saskatchewan had the highest number of residential schools and highest number of survivors,” he said.

Source: Anadolu Agency