BEIJING/ANKARA – China’s recent decision to extend the COVID-19 lockdown and restrictions in Shanghai for an indefinite period due to the rise in cases triggered a strong response by locals. More than 26 million people in the city, which is the largest metropolis in Asia, are currently facing curfew and isolation. Authorities have been c...
WASHINGTON – Russia has formally protested via a diplomatic note against ongoing US arms shipments to Ukraine, warning of “unpredictable consequences” if they continue. The demarche came as US President Joe Biden signed off on an additional $800 million in military aid to Kyiv. Biden’s decision included heavy armaments ...
MOSCOW – Russia has declared 18 diplomats of the EU office in Moscow persona non grata, a move deplored by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell as “unjustified”. Earlier, the Foreign Ministry summoned EU ambassador Marcus Exeter and expressed its strong protest against the expulsion of 19 Russian diplomats from the country&#...
AMMAN – Jordan and Palestine have called the ongoing escalation in Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem “dangerous” and urged Israel to stop all its “illegal and provocative” measures. The warning came during a phone call between Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and the Secretary-General of the Central Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organ...
WASHINGTON – Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a bill banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, making Florida the latest state to restrict the medical procedure in most cases. House Bill 5, the Reducing Fetal and Infant Mortality Act, “protects babies in the womb who have beating hearts, who can move, who can taste,...
PARIS- France’s Council of State has postponed until next week the verdict in the case of the Pessac Mosque in the Gironde department of southwestern France, which is threatened with closure for allegedly conveying a “Salafist ideology.” More than 100 faithful Muslims gathered to show their support to the mosque. Defense lawyer Sefen Guez Guez...
NEW DELHI – A retired Indian Muslim policeman in the southern province of Kerala is revitalizing and popularizing the ancient martial art Kalaripayattu, believed to be introduced by Hindu gods which remained part of Hindu rituals and customs. Speaking in connection with the World Culture Day on April 15, K V Muhammad Gurukkal, 58, based [&hell...
ANKARA – Japan’s population stood at 125.5 million as of October 1, 2021, down by a record 644,000 from a year earlier according to the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry. The capital Tokyo also saw a decline for the first time in 26 years. In June 2021, Japan had reported that its population declined by […]
ANKARA – China carried out military exercises around Taiwan as a delegation of US lawmakers reached the island for a visit that Beijing termed a “deliberate provocative action.” The Chinese military’s Eastern Theater Command said it sent destroyers, frigates, bombers and fighter jets for drills “in the East China Sea and waters and airspace su...
MOSCOW – Russia has vowed to increase strikes on Kyiv in response to Ukraine’s attacks on the Russian regions bordering Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Ukraine’s combat helicopter that attacked Russia’s Bryansk region yesterday was shot down by the air defense systems. According to Konash...
