Category: General

Flights to and from Catania in Italy’s Sicily region were halted after the nearby Mt. Etna erupted on Sunday.

Flight operations were suspended as volcanic ash covered the airport’s runways, public broadcaster RAI reported.

The city of Adrano was also affected, with many cars and roads covered with ash, it added.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The government does not share the statements of Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi on the East Med pipeline, Energy, Commerce and Industry Minister George Papanastasiou said on Saturday. He also described the proposal to transport Eastern Mediterranean gas through Cyprus as the “East Med corridor”, which includes the creation of a natural gas pipeline between Israel and Cyprus and its subsequent distribution in liquefied form via LNG ships.

In a statement to CNA, the Energy Minister described the recent statement by Claudio Descalzi in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Italian Parliament, that without the consent of Turkey the project cannot be implemented, as an opinion of a private entity, adding that there are many other companies before which this solution exists, as there is the solution for Egypt for the Eastern Mediterranean fields and the solution recently put forward by Cyprus, namely liquefaction on the island and transport by ships to European markets.

“The decision on how this pipeline will actually be implemented will be based on a techno-economic study, certainly it touches on geopolitical issues, where according to Mr. Descalzi’s judgment Turkey’s agreement is needed, a view which we as a government do not share,” he stressed.

Asked whether these statements call into question Eni’s presence in the projects to be developed in the region, Papanastasiou replied in the negative, adding that where there is energy wealth there are different perceptions.

He added that Eni has previously stated through Descalzi that Turkey should be part of the arrangements that are being made in Cyprus, but reiterated that the Cypriot government does not share this view, stressing that decisions on the solutions for the transfer of natural gas from the Eastern Mediterranean to the markets, as an alternative for Europe’s autonomy from Russia, will be taken by private companies and investors. “Eni may express one opinion, some other companies say something different,” he added.

Responding to a question about the prospect of a “virtual” East Med, Papanastasiou said that the transportation of natural gas from point A to point C can be done through a point B called Cyprus, adding that this can be done either through a pipeline, as in the case of East Med, or through the solution recently proposed by Cyprus and adopted by Israel, whereby natural gas is transported by a subsea pipeline to Cyprus and liquefied and transported by LNG ships to Europe, describing the proposal as an “East Med corridor”.

Asked if Cyprus’ plans are affected by different views of companies, the Energy Minister replied “not at all”, adding that East Med was a public utility project funded by the European Commission, worth several billion euros and 1900 km long, while the solution recently put forward by Cyprus is more realistic as it is a smaller project, it will be implemented much earlier and it follows the same corridor, since gas from the Eastern Mediterranean will reach European markets in liquefied form.

Asked if East Med as a physical pipeline tends to be abandoned as an idea, Papanastasiou said there is still the section between Israel and Cyprus, which may well be the first phase of East Med, adding that the second phase from Cyprus to Greece may be decided at a later stage.

“What we are proposing with the new alternative is essentially an East Med, the first phase of which ends in Cyprus, and until it is implemented, if it has to be implemented and is techno-economically justified, then it stops at liquefaction and goes back to the pipeline, which is unlikely since the liquefaction is done in Cyprus and the LNG can be transported to any market, while the pipeline will only end at one point,” he said.

Asked whether there is still a dimension of utilising East Med for hydrogen transportation, the Energy Minister said that any pipeline construction should include hydrogen transportation specifications, as natural gas is a transitional product, while the final destination is greener products, such as renewable energy and hydrogen.

“Therefore, if we consider the alternative we are putting on the table as the first phase of East Med, it goes without saying that what applies to East Med will also apply to the pipeline connecting Israel and Cyprus,” Papanastasiou concluded.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Two Palestinians were injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, according to local medics.
In a statement, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its medics treated two Palestinians in Al-Arroub refugee camp near Hebron city.
Clashes erupted in the camp between angry Palestinians and Israeli forces following the funeral procession for a teen killed by Israeli fire a day earlier, witnesses said.
A 16-year-old boy was killed by Israeli army fire at the entrance of the refugee camp on Saturday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
According to witnesses, Israeli forces deployed snipers around the cemetery where the teen was buried.
Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in recent months amid repeated Israeli raids into Palestinian towns.
More than 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the start of this year, the Health Ministry said. At least 35 Israelis have also been killed in Palestinian attacks during the same period, the highest toll since 2005, according to Israeli figures.
*Writing by Ahmed Asmar

Source: Anadolu Agency

Cyprus and Greece have launched an initiative for the appointment of a European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs from 2024, President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides said on Saturday in his address at the opening of the “Thalassa” festival in Limassol.

Congratulating the organisers of the event, President Christodoulides noted that the aim of both the festival and the Government is to do much more to bring the country’s young people closer to the professions that arise from working with the sea.

According to a Presidency statement, the President of the Republic also said that Cyprus as an EU member state believes that the Union does not attribute the required importance to the geostrategic role and geostrategic importance of shipping, adding that he had recently had the opportunity to meet with the Prime Minister of Malta in Iceland and has also discussed the issue with the Greek Prime Minister.

He added that an initiative has been launched which immediately after the elections in Greece will be transformed into a specific letter request of the two countries to the European Commission, a request, as he noted, of the private sector that deals with shipping issues both in Cyprus and Greece, so that within the framework of the new European Commission that will be appointed in 2024, there will be a Commissioner who will deal with shipping issues.

“It is not only its importance in the EU economy, there is a geostrategic importance, you see what is happening today, you see the implications that are arising through the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the implications that arose previously because of the coronavirus crisis, and we believe that the EU clearly through the existence of a Commissioner who will deal with maritime issues, will also show the required importance,” the President concluded.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

China and five Central Asian nations have agreed to collaborate on issues concerning their core interests.

Following the two-day China-Central Asia summit, the leaders of the six countries agreed to enhance cooperation in different sectors including security and trade.

“The six countries will firmly support each other on issues concerning our respective core interests such as sovereignty, independence, security and territorial integrity, respect the development path chosen based on each other’s national conditions,” said the Chinese Foreign Ministry, citing a transcript issued after a joint press meet late on Friday.

The summit was held in China’s northwestern Xi’an city.

It was attended by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and Turkmenistan’s President Serdar Berdimuhammedov.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said that the six countries are determined to work together to rise up to challenges and foster a closer China-Central Asia community with a shared future.

The leaders officially inaugurated the China-Central Asia Summit Mechanism with its permanent secretariat in China.

The next summit will be held in Kazakhstan in 2025, it was decided.

Source: Anadolu Agency

President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, called for a display of practical solidarity from EU member states and for a rapid implementation of the Eastern Mediterranean Action Plan to address migratory flows towards Cyprus, while informing on Friday Ambassadors of 26 EU member states, Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou said after the meeting at the Presidential Palace.

Ioannou said first that the briefing was focused on migration issues, specifically on the migration problem in Cyprus and the promotion of the Republic of Cyprus positions in relation to the Eastern Mediterranean Action Plan. He reiterated that the Action Plan, which was decided last February, aims to limit migration flows to Cyprus, adding that the Republic of Cyprus submitted the positions it believes should be included, which he officially transmitted to Brussels during his visit three weeks ago.

The Interior Minister went on to say that during his visit to Brussels, he was pleased to note that the EU was also oriented towards the same package of measures, adding that the aim is to complete the action plan by June and to start implementing it.

In response to a question, he explained that according to figures presented, there has been a 490% increase in the arrivals of illegal immigrants during the last seven years, 95% of whom enter the territories controlled by the Republic of Cyprus through the Green Line, with Turkey instrumentalising the migration issue, while in the last six years Cyprus has been the first country in terms of illegal immigrant arrivals in proportion to its population.

He further noted that 6% of the population of Cyprus are asylum seekers or persons under protection compared to other frontline countries, where the corresponding percentage is 1% and other EU countries where it is lower than 1%, adding that “we have conveyed that if something is not done in relation to the action plan in the coming months, then Cyprus will be the next country to face a huge problem in terms of migration”.

In response to another question, the Interior Minister said that it was clear from the Ambassadors’ statements that they understood the extent of the problem.

“They all express solidarity,” he said, adding that “we are asking for this solidarity to be demonstrated in practice.” Ioannou said he believes that there is a will as Cyprus is receiving financial and technical assistance, but he added that “by presenting the size of the problem and the fact that there are no borders and the existence of the Green Line, which is being exploited by Turkey by sending illegal migrants to Cyprus, we aim to implement more practical measures.”

He also noted that according to the data, 70% of illegal migrants are so-called students and said that among the measures submitted by the Republic of Cyprus is the screening of passengers at Istanbul airport and other airports in Turkey, so that they can be certified with documents that they are students.

He also said that it was requested that information be provided to the migrants’ countries of origin, as it was observed that too many of them are victims of exploitation who come to Cyprus deceived by false representations, thinking that Cyprus is a country within Schengen, and that from Cyprus they can take the train and go to Germany and that it is a transit station.

On the issue of informing the countries of origin, he said that an information campaign would be launched on social media through the Press and Information Office, adding that in this respect Cyprus is also asking ‘for the EU’s clout, along with the EU’s financial assistance, for a more comprehensive information campaign in these countries.”

Responding to a question, he said a voluntary relocation plan is being implemented, which was agreed under the French EU presidency and includes about 1,600 people being relocated to other EU countries, adding that through this plan about 500 were relocated mainly to Germany and some to France.

At the same time, he noted that the government is investing heavily in the voluntary return plan, which is showing encouraging results, as in the last four months twice as many irregular migrants have voluntarily left the country compared to the same four months of last year.

He also said that the target is as from June either through voluntary returns or deportations to return 800 to 1,000 people per month.

Asked about the speed of processing asylum applications, Ioannou said that two weeks ago the number of examiners had been increased so that twice as many applications could be processed, and noted that following arrangements made by the President of the Supreme Court, the number of appeals processed had increased by 60 per cent.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

Turkish nationals living abroad started casting their votes at the country’s foreign missions and customs gates on Saturday for the second round of Trkiye’s presidential election scheduled for May 28.

Voting overseas will continue until May 24. Those who want to vote at the custom gates will be able to cast ballots until May 28.

Voters started to cast their votes at the ballot boxes set up at the Turkish Embassy in Baku and the Turkish consulates in Nakhchivan and Ganja as of 8 a.m. local time.

Also, Turkish voters began to head to the polls in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan on Saturday.

Europe

In Spain, Turkish nationals started casting their vote at the polling stations in the Turkish diplomatic missions in Madrid and Barcelona.

Polling stations in the country will be closed on Sunday.

In Germany, the country with the highest number of Turkish overseas voters, polling stations will be open between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m local time until Wednesday.

In Aachen and Regensburg, voting started at 9 a.m. and will continue until to 6 p.m. from Saturday to Sunday

Turkish citizens in the Netherlands also started to vote for the second round as of 8 a.m. local time in Amsterdam, the Hague, and Deventer.

Voting in these cities will take place between from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. until Wednesday.

Voters will also be able to vote in Eindhoven between 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time from Saturday to Sunday.

In France, voters started casting their ballots for the second round of the presidential election in Paris, Marseille, Strasbourg, Lyon, Nantes, and Bordeaux as of 8 a.m. local time.

Voting in these cities will take place between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. until Wednesday.

Turkish expatriates will also be able to vote in Mulhouse, Clermont-Ferrand, and Orleans from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday-Sunday.

Voting has also started in Greece, Trkiye western neighbor across the Aegean Sea, and will be held every day until Wednesday at 8 a.m.-10 p.m. local time.

Overseas voters in Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, and Belgium started heading to the polls, too.

The polls opened in Stockholm at 8 a.m. to close at 10 p.m. local time from Saturday to Wednesday.

In Switzerland, Turkish nationals will be able to vote at the embassy in Bern and consulates in Zurich and Geneva at 8 a.m.-10 p.m. local time from Saturday to Wednesday.

They will also be able to vote in Helsinki between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. local time until Tuesday.

Also, some 153,443 registered voters in Belgium will cast their ballots at 8 a.m.-10 p.m. local time on Saturday-Wednesday.

Voting in Poland and Romania will be held between the same hours but will be limited to the weekend.

In Lithuania, 795 eligible voters also started turning up at polling stations in the Turkish Embassy in Vilnius.

Voting will end on Sunday at 10 p.m. local time.

Turkish nationals in Ireland also started casting their ballots on Saturday for the election.

Polling booths have been set up at the embassy in the capital Dublin, and voting will continue until May 22, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time.

Western Balkans

Turkish voters also started casting their ballots in the Western Balkans, including Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Polling stations were opened in Trkiye’s Embassy in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, as well as the consulates in Mostar and Banja Luka.

In Montenegro, they will be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time from Saturday to Sunday.

Middle East

Turkish expats in Middle East started casting their ballots for the runoff elections as well.

Voting in Jordan and Lebanon will be held at 8 a.m.-10 p.m. local time over the weekend.

Approximately 3,000 Turkish voters are registered in Jordan.

In Lebanon, turnout was at around 35% in the first round of the election earlier this month.

Turkish nationals living in Israel began voting for the second round at the Turkish Embassy in Tel Aviv and will end at 10 p.m. local time on Monday.

US, Canada, Asia Pacific

Across the US and Canada, meanwhile, overseas Turkish voters will start heading to the polls at 8 a.m. local time (1500-1200GMT).

Polling stations have been set up at US diplomatic missions, including the Turkish Embassy in Washington, and consulates in New York, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, and Los Angeles.

Across Canada, voting will begin at 8 a.m. local time, while polling stations at the Turkish Embassy in Ottawa, and consulates in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver will close as of 10 p.m. local time on Wednesday.

Voters in Australia also started heading to the polls on Saturday.

In Japan, Turkish expats already started voting in Tokyo and Nagoya at 8 a.m., with polling stations to remain open until 10 p.m. local time on Saturday to Sunday.

More than 1,200 Turkish nationals began voting in Pakistan, too. Polling stations were set up in the embassy and consulate generals in Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi.

Voting will be held from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday-Sunday.

Ballot boxes will be set up at 167 points by Trkiye’s 151 representatives in 73 countries for the election.

Voting overseas will continue until May 24. Those who want to vote at the custom gates will be able to cast a ballot until May 28.

Millions of voters went to the polls on May 14 to elect the country’s president and members of its 600-seat parliament.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s People’s Alliance won a majority in parliament, while the presidential race is headed to a second round on May 28.

In the first round held on May 14, no candidate won an outright majority, although Erdogan was leading.

Erdogan will face Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and joint candidate for the six-party opposition Nation Alliance, in the runoff vote.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Turkey, in violation of international conventions, is promoting the Islamization of the territories it occupies in Cyprus, President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides said on Friday, addressing an event on the genocide of the Greeks of Pontus, and stressed that the entire Cypriot people condemn the Turkish cruelty “against our brothers and sisters of the Pontic Hellenism.”

President Christodoulides said in his address that “in Cyprus we have experienced and continue to experience the Turkish policy of altering the religious and cultural identity of our country”, adding that Turkey, in violation of international conventions, is promoting the Islamization of the occupied territories by confiscating churches and other sacred sites and converting them into mosques or using them for other functions.

The President of the Republic pointed out that more than 520 churches and monasteries and all Greek Cypriot cemeteries were looted and desecrated in the occupied territories “in a massive and systematic effort characterized as institutionalized eradication and which aims at the complete disappearance of the Greek Christian cultural identity”.

He also noted that “we are experiencing at the same time the Turkish revisionism, the expansionist policy, the illegal actions in Varosha, the colonization of our homeland”, saying that the “pain and heartbreak of Pontic Greeks is familiar to us, we recognize and share it.”

Moreover, he recalled that the Cypriot House of Representatives, in this context, by a unanimous decision, has established 19 May, the day when Mustafa Kemal landed in Samsun, as a day of honour and remembrance of the genocide of the Pontic Hellenism.

President Christodoulides also added that the Plenary of the Greek Parliament unanimously established on 24 February 1994 the 19th of May as the day of remembrance of the victims of the Genocide of the Greeks of Pontus from 1914 to 1923.

Characterizing as shameful recent statements by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his election speech in Giresun, who said that “the ancestral lands of Giresun had defeated the Pontic gangs”, the President stressed that instead of provoking with such statements, “Mr. Erdogan should apologize for the crimes against humanity committed by his forefathers.”

This, he added, has already been indicated to him since 2006 by the European Parliament, which in its annual report on Turkey’s progress towards accession to the European Union, explicitly states that Turkey should come to terms with its historical past and acknowledge that what happened against Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks of Pontus, initially by the Young Turks and then by the Kemalists, constituted acts of genocide.

At the same time, President Christodoulides said that in 1948, the UN General Assembly passed the “Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide”, which entered into force in 1951.

As he explained, this convention recognizes genocide as an international crime in either peacetime or wartime, which is neither justified by military necessity nor by the purposes of war. The commission of genocide, he said, is manifested by the collective and indiscriminate extermination of the members of a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.

In conclusion, President Christodoulides warmly congratulated the Institute of Greek Culture, the Association of Pontic Greeks in Cyprus and the “Nikos Kapetanidis” Association, whose work, he said, ensures that the memories, history and traditions of the Pontic Hellenism remain alive.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The US unveiled Friday hundreds of new sanctions against Russia alongside its international partners, seeking to punish Moscow for the ongoing war against Ukraine.

The economic penalties draw on multiple US agencies, including the Treasury Department which blacklisted 22 individuals and 104 entities with activities in over 20 countries and jurisdictions in an attempt to further clamp down on efforts to evade existing US sanctions.

‘From the beginning of President Putin’s illegal and unprovoked war, our global coalition has focused on supporting Ukraine while degrading Russia’s ability to conduct its invasion,’ said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.

‘Our collective efforts have cut Russia off from key inputs it needs to equip its military and is drastically limiting the revenue the Kremlin receives to fund its war machine. Today’s actions will further tighten the vise on Putin’s ability to wage his barbaric invasion and will advance our global efforts to cut off Russian attempts to evade sanctions,’ she added.

Those sanctioned include members of what the Biden administration called a ‘covert procurement network’ tied to Swiss-Italian businessman Walter Moretti that has been used to facilitate procurement of sensitive technologies and equipment restricted by the West and its allies for export to Russia.

Dirk Troendle, a German national, has been placed under sanctions for having helped Moretti, as have two India-based companies used by Moretti – Mavasal Impex Private Limited and Innoedge Cloudserve Private Limited, according to the Treasury. The firms are alleged to have helped Moretti buy advanced technologies for re-sale to Russian firms, including those involved in nuclear weapons-related research and development.

The Lichtenstein-based Trade Initiative Establishment is also being designated for helping US sanctioned Russian entities purchase semiconductor and nanotechnology production equipment.

In the Netherlands, the US is sanctioning businessman Edwin Onno Van Ingen and three of his companies for assisting Russian labs the Treasury Department said are focused on nuclear weapons development, as well as the development of advanced conventional weapons.

The State Department separately issued sanctions over 200 entities, including individuals, ships and aircraft.

The sanctions target Russia’s defense and related industries, as entities involved in expanding Russia’s energy sector, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

‘Today’s actions implement new commitments made at the G7 Leaders’ Summit and demonstrate our shared resolve to hold Russia accountable for its mounting atrocities in Ukraine,’ he added.

The actions are part of larger efforts from the G-7 group of wealthy democracies seeking to further punish Russia for its war against Ukraine, now well into its second year.

The US and its international allies have imposed biting sanctions on the Kremlin in retaliation, and imposed sweeping limits on the items that can be exported to Russia.

Source: Anadolu Agency

A UN-led Joint Coordination Center (JCC) in Istanbul overseeing shipments has registered six new vessels out of 15 applications to participate in the grain deal, a spokesperson said on Friday.

UN associate spokeswoman Stephanie Tremblay told reporters that operations are partially restarting.

The Ukraine Black Sea grain deal has been extended for two more months until July 18.

“There are currently three loaded vessels that are preparing for inspection in Istanbul. No ships though are currently loading at any of the three Ukrainian ports under the terms of the initiatives,” she said.

“Teams from the Joint Coordination Center checked and cleared today three new vessels to proceed to the ports of Odessa and Chornomorsk”.

She called for the full use of the capacities of the three ports.

Trkiye, the UN, Russia and Ukraine initially signed the agreement in Istanbul last July to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports, which were halted after the Russia-Ukraine war began in February 2022.

Source: Anadolu Agency