Dhaka, Bangladesh (Anadolu News)

Bangladesh on Saturday extended the suspension of passenger movement through land borders with neighboring India for eight more days until May 31 amid surging infections in the South Asian country.

On April 26, Bangladesh had suspended land links with India to contain the spread of the Indian variant of COVID-19, according to an official statement.

However, goods transports have been allowed with strengthened safety measures, according to an official notification of the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in the Indian state of Tripura on Saturday.

"Bangladesh citizens now stranded in India [and] who want to return to the country will have to submit a COVID-19 negative certificate with QR code to obtain a no-objection certificate from Bangladesh missions in New Delhi, Kolkata, and Agartala," the notification read.

Some 3,350 Bangladeshis returned from India through the Benapole border gate since April 26. Seventeen among them have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Saturday.

The returnees will be allowed to go to their homes only after a 14-day quarantine and after testing negative for the coronavirus, according to the government instructions.

COVID situation in Bangladesh

With a population of 165 million, Bangladesh registered 38 more deaths and 1,028 infections in the last 24 hours, raising total deaths to 12,348 and infections to 787,726, according to the country's Health Ministry on Saturday.

Bangladesh has been facing difficulties in conducting its mass vaccination program due to the shortage of doses, the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said.

Bangladesh requested India resume commercial shipments of coronavirus vaccines under the tripartite agreement immediately.

Dhaka had earlier signed a deal with India to purchase 30 million doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.

As of yet, it has only received 7 million doses in two installments, though India has separately gifted 3.2 million doses.

According to the ministry, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has also requested the US, UK and Canada provide the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine on an emergency basis.

Guzelyurt, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus / Ankara

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," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said via live video link to the site of the event in the TRNC."

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."

Noting that Turkey has delivered an annual 75 million cubic meters of water to the TRNC via undersea pipeline, he said Ankara was determined "not to leave Turkish Cyprus in need of others," with its projects to eliminate the risk of water shortage.

"Our aim is for the TRNC to develop and strengthen for the Turkish Cypriot people to have a more prosperous future," he added.

New irrigation system

Speaking during 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 trickle 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.

Beijing, May 22 (APP): The made-in-Pakistan showpieces featuring Pakistani textiles, costumes, carpets, jewelry, gemstones, handicrafts have fascinated the Chinese visitors at an exhibition held in Shanghai.

The exhibition titled “Threads of Pakistan – Pakistan National Costume Culture Exhibition” was kicked off to celebrate the 70th anniversary of establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties between Pakistan and China.

The exhibition – featuring Pakistani textiles, costumes, carpets, jewelry, gemstones, handicrafts – witnessed the participation of many Chinese visitors who had heaped praise on the gorgeous Pakistani showpieces.

“We had three types of main gemstones, which represent the highest quality of Pakistani gemstones,” noted a Pakistani exhibitor.

At the opening ceremony, commemorative coins made of pure gold were also released by co-organizer Atlantis Co., Ltd.

As a Pakistani jeweller, it’s amazing to promote these tremendous and beautiful Pakistani products to a foreign country like China, said Aqeel Ahmed Chaudhry, founder of WINZA Jewelry and CEO of Atlantis Co., Ltd. while participating in an exhibition held in Shanghai, China lately to showcase the beauty of Made-in-Pakistan products and Pakistani culture, according to CEN.

“2021 marks the 70th anniversary of China-Pakistan diplomatic ties which started on May 21, 1951. So on this special occasion, we designed memorial gold coins written 70th anniversary of partnership in Chinese, English and Urdu,” said Aqeel, adding that the two countries always move ahead together rain or shine.

Scheduled from May 18 to June 17, the exhibition is organized by Ita National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage – Lok Virsa, Consulate General of Pakistan in Shanghai, Shanghai Textile Museum, co-organized by Atlantis Co., Ltd. and Pakpersian Carpets Shanghai Co., Ltd.

Istanbul, 16 May 2021 (Anadolu News)

By Associate Prof. Yusuf Ozkir

“Please remain,” the owner of the New York Journal, William Randolph Hearst, is claimed to have said in a telegram to an illustrator in Cuba at the time, during the last years of the 19th century; “… You furnish the pictures and I’ll furnish the war.”

This unproven narration is one of the most obvious examples of how important the image or visual evidence is in journalism. It really emphasizes the importance of the image. It is this very reality that lies behind Israel’s ongoing massacre in Palestine on the one hand while intensifying its attacks on the media on the other. Israel has over the years come to believe that the more it can conceal its war crimes and massacres, and the more “bullets” it can fire at truth-telling content, the more “right” and “justifiable” it can remain. That is why, simultaneously with its massacres, Israel seeks to silence the media and prevent visual evidences from circulating far and wide. Many examples of this have been taking place right before the eyes of the world. Rather than listing them all one by one, I will just give a few examples to demonstrate that Israel’s aggressive attitude toward the media is guided by a specific strategy.

Interruption of communication and information flow

In many ways, Israel’s attacks in Palestine will go down in history as dark stains. Without a doubt, the massacre of civilians is the most heinous of these stains. In the second place is the bombing and destruction of all locations related to supplying water, electricity, and food, which, needless to say, people need in order to survive even in the direst of circumstances. These are also facts that fit neatly into the category of war crimes. Another striking feature of Israel’s attacks, however, is its media strategy, which I want to enlarge on.

We might argue that Israel has implemented a three-pronged strategy in this regard. The first prong aims to ensure that there is no news flow to the world from Palestine and Gaza, which has long been an open-air prison. To this end, Israel has been implementing an unrelenting policy of violence and aggression since day one to force journalists into leaving the area. Also to this end, bombardments have been carried out and real and plastic bullets have been fired with no distinction made between resistance fighters, civilians, or journalists. Turgut Alp Boyraz, Anadolu Agency’s (AA) Middle East News Editor, was hit and injured twice by plastic bullets, to give just one example. Anadolu Agency cameraman Muhammed Al-Aloul and photojournalist Mustafa Hassuna, as well as their driver, were also injured in Israel’s air strikes on the blockaded Gaza Strip. In addition, Israel bombed TRT Arabic’s office in Gaza, and TRT Arabic’s correspondents were seriously injured in those attacks.

TRT (Turkish Radio and Television Corporation) and Anadolu Agency, Turkey's two global media brands, are the most effective in conveying the Israeli massacres, occupation, and aggression against innocent civilians to the rest of the world. The fact that Anadolu Agency and TRT have broken the monopoly of one-dimensional pro-Israel journalism is behind The Jerusalem Post’s attempt to put them in the crosshairs in an analysis published on May 15.  Most studies of the media-power relationship emphasize “the media of the powerful”, rather than “the power of the media”. Israel and Zionist Jews are so convinced of their position as the world’s only absolute sovereign power as a result of their global connections and relations that they cannot bear the disruption and exposition of their domineering fictions by rights-based journalism conducted by TRT and Anadolu Agency in accordance with universal journalism principles. In the analysis in question, comparison is made between Iran and Turkey, and it is stressed that Turkey, not Iran, defends Palestine in both traditional and social media.

Under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s leadership, Turkey has increased its investment in international broadcasting in recent years, resulting in an increase in the number of correspondents and channels broadcasting in foreign languages, and in the quality of the technical equipment used, as well as the expansion of the news network in parallel with these increases in quantity and quality. With the help of these, Turkey has achieved a capacity with which it is now able to generate a strong impact. It is worth noting that some of the world’s media outlets that are brave enough to discuss the incidents from a perspective other than the Israeli one use photographs and videos with the Anadolu Agency logo (AA), and some even use Anadolu Agency texts in their stories. This reality demonstrates Anadolu Agency and TRT’s journalistic success.

Bombing of the media

On May 15, Israel escalated its campaign to silence the media by bombing a building in Gaza that housed the offices of the Associated Press (AP) and Al Jazeera. Apart from the offices of these two international media outlets, this 60-flat building also housed cell towers that provided internet access to a large portion of Gaza, as well as offices of lawyers and doctors. Thus, with this bombardment, Israel has taken yet another step to prevent information and news from coming out of Gaza and to cut off Gaza’s communication with the rest of the world.

“The occupying Israel, which targeted the Associated Press and Al Jazeera offices in Gaza, is also dealing a blow to the freedom of the press,” Turkey's Communications Director Prof. Fahrettin Altun tweeted in response to the attacks. “I strongly condemn Israel’s heinous attacks on press buildings in order to conceal its massacres,” he also said, implying to the world that Israel has committed war crimes and is attempting to conceal them.

Israel's bombing and destruction of this media tower (the Jalaa building) while the entire world was watching on live television has become one of the most visible examples of Israel's "libertarian" approach to journalism and global press freedom. Al Jazeera reporter Linah Alsaafin posted on her Twitter account that Israeli soldiers did not even allow the evacuation of the technical equipment of the media organizations, as requested by the owner of the building, Abu Husam, revealing once again that Israel’s main fear is the transmission of facts to the world public.

Disinformation machine

Israel’s second strategy towards the media is the disinformation bombardment. Israel is using its disinformation machine in addition to its efforts to silence independent media outlets and journalists who are not under its control by driving them out of the region, and bombing and directly targeting their technical facilities and capabilities. The journalism of global media outlets in line with Israeli interests, including renowned organizations such as Reuters, BBC, The New York Times, The Guardian, CNN and Agence France-Presse (AFP), has now become an obvious fact. Global media outlets that do not see the occupation and massacres of Israel construct the discourse of their content by placing the Palestinians at the heart of the problem. Without knowledge of or access to alternative media outlets, a Westerner cannot help but see the situation in Palestine in a completely different light. In other words, the media portrays Palestine as an occupier-aggressor, while Israel is portrayed as an oppressed victim and an entity merely defending itself against attacks. This unreal narrative has infiltrated so deeply into news stories and the angles of the visuals used that it takes some serious effort to avoid succumbing to the alluring power of these fictions. That is why, when creating content, it is critical to use words and concepts strategically. Otherwise, it will be impossible to avoid the repetition of the established news agencies’ discourse and the replication of this fabricated reality in the global news network.

The fact that Anadolu Agency and TRT chose to expose this fabricated reality and did not toe the line of the usual global media order lies behind the fact that The Jerusalem Post published an analysis targeting Turkey through Anadolu Agency and TRT on May 15. The Jerusalem Post team appears to be perplexed by objective journalism that shouts the truth to the world rather than merely serving as a conduit for the content of the global media order, one of whose primary functions is to justify the occupation of Palestinian lands. The truth, on the other hand, stands right next to them; once they are able to remove their “occupation-colored” glasses and see the truth for what it is, they will also be able to see the truth about Palestine.

Social media companies

Social media companies make up the third prong. Israel has been collaborating with these companies through its global connections and Zionist lobbies in order to prevent the circulation of anti-Israel content on social media. Many articles and images depicting Israel’s crimes and murders have been removed from circulation on the Internet by social media companies. Accounts depicting Israel’s massacres have had their interaction features restricted, and some accounts have been closed. The close collaboration between social media companies and Israel will undoubtedly be discussed more in the future. Restrictions and bot attacks on English-language posts stand out as particularly revealing of Israel’s relationship with social media companies. Without a doubt, this analysis could be expanded significantly in the context of the relationships between the owners of social media companies and Israel and Zionists.

Anadolu Agency and TRT convey facts

Ultimately, by cutting off the communication flow, Israel hopes to prevent the world public from learning about the massacres and crimes it has been committing in the Palestinian territories. That is why it is doing its best to silence the free and independent media. That is why Anadolu Agency and TRT, which work to ensure that the global public’s right to information is preserved, are being targeted. The goal of reporting is to convey information as accurately as possible. Anadolu Agency and TRT aim to convey reality as it is, without exaggeration or discrimination, and without concealing or fictionalizing anything. In this regard, they have worked to protect the international community’s right to remain informed about facts. That is why it is highly uncomfortable to Israel that some choose to go beyond the “embedded” journalism of “the guardians of the order”, which Israel has long been accustomed to.

 Opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Anadolu Agency.

Ankara, 14 May 2021 (Anadolu News)

Turkey will gradually begin lifting lockdown restrictions starting next week, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.

"We will start implementing our normalization calendar as of Monday," Erdogan said while addressing a virtual meeting of his ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party.

The restrictions will be eased in phases until the end of May and significantly as of June.

He praised the country's state-of-the-art health care facilities and social security system for preventing a crisis.

Turkey has so far registered 44,059 deaths from COVID-19, while over 4.85 million people have recovered from the disease. There have been over 5 million confirmed cases in the country.

Turkey has administered over 25.6 million coronavirus jabs since launching a mass vaccination campaign on Jan. 14, according to official figures.

More than 14.8 million people have received their first doses, over 10.7 million people have been fully vaccinated.

Turkey began a 17-day lockdown that will last until May 17 and cover this week's Eid al-Fitr holidays.

The restrictions led to a drop in 80 of Turkey's provinces between May 1-7, according to the latest Health Ministry statistics.

Ankara, 14 May 2021 (Anadolu News)

Turkey's president has intensified diplomatic efforts in a bid to end the Israeli onslaught on Gaza which has killed at least 119 Palestinians, including 31 children and 19 women.

As Turkey continues its efforts to rally support from all relevant institutions, chiefly the United Nations and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to support Palestine, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has held phone talks with the leaders of nearly 20 nations, including Palestine, Russia, Pakistan, Kuwait and Algeria.

He urged the leaders to take a united stance against Israeli raids and attacks on Palestinians in Gaza, the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem.

Erdogan first got in touch with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas' political chief Ismael Haniyeh.

In contacts made since May 8, Erdogan has discussed the matter with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Jordan's King Abdullah II among others.

Erdogan also spoke with Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Malaysia’s King Al-Sultan Abdullah, Indonesia's President Joko Widodo, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan.

He continued his diplomacy traffic with President of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Ersin Tatar, Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov, Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani, Iraq's Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari, Libya's Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, Oman’s Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq and Malaysia's former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad.

Describing the attacks as "terrorism," Erdogan condemned the atrocities against Palestinian Muslims.

Erdogan reiterated Turkey's support for the Palestinian cause and the sanctity of Jerusalem.

He stressed the need for the UN Security Council to intervene before the crisis escalates further and efforts to send an international peacekeeping force in the region.

Moreover, the Turkish Directorate of Religious Affairs organized an emergency meeting on Jerusalem upon the directives of Erdogan.

Ongoing Israeli attacks have killed 119 Palestinians so far, including 31 children and at least 19 women, according to Palestinian health officials. Over 620 others have been injured, in addition to heavy damages to residential buildings across the enclave.

Besides that, Israel detained hundreds of Palestinians in recent days.

Tensions have been running high in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem over the past month as Israeli settlers swarmed in following a court order for the eviction of Palestinian families in the area.

Most recently, tensions further escalated, moving from East Jerusalem to Gaza after Palestinian resistance groups there vowed to retaliate against Israeli assaults on Al-Aqsa Mosque and Sheikh Jarrah if they were not halted.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and annexed the entire city in 1980 -- a move that has never been recognized by the international community.

Doha, 12 May 2021

Ankara, 12 May 2021 (Anadolu News)

Turkey's communication director critisized the US early Wednesday for considering Israeli attacks on Palestinians self-defense.

Massacring civilians, forcing Palestinians to leave their homes and occupying their lands, attacking mosques, murdering innocent children, since when all are all those attrocities considered self-defense ?," Fahrettin Altun said on Twitter.

Does the US have not any reaction to these massacres and terrorist acts ?" he said.

Tensions have been running high in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem since last week, when an Israeli court ordered the eviction of Palestinian families, which was later delayed.

Palestinians protesting in solidarity with residents od Sheikh Jarrah have been targeted by Israeli forces.

Tje escalation resulted in airstrikes by Israel on Gaza, which has left scores of people dead and hundreds of others wounded.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and annexed the entire city in 1980 - a move that has never been recognized by the international community.

Istanbul, 08 May 2021 (Anadolu News)

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's president on Saturday strongly condemned Israel’s recent violence against worshipers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

"We strongly condemn Israel's heinous attacks against our first qibla Al-Aqsa Mosque, that are unfortunately being carried out every Ramadan," he said in a tweet.

The president also expressed solidarity with the people of Palestine, saying: "As Turkey, we will continue to stand by our Palestinian brothers and sisters in all circumstances."

Erdogan also shared the same message in Turkish, Arabic and Hebrew via social media.

The International Jurists Union on Saturday condemned Israel’s “heinous attack” on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem.

“As the International Jurists Union, we condemn the heinous attack on the Masjid al-Aqsa and its worshipers … [by] the Israeli occupation forces,” Necati Ceylan, the head of the Turkish group, said in a statement.

“This raid is a clear legal violation of the status of the Masjid [mosque] and against the universal legal norms.”

The group called on the international community and organizations to support Palestinians and play a part in stopping such unlawful attacks by Israel.

Israeli forces fired stun and gas grenades in a bid to disperse Muslim worshippers inside the Haram al-Sharif area of Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday evening.

At least 205 people have been injured in Israeli attacks on Al-Aqsa and in other parts of occupied East Jerusalem, including the Damascus gate of the Old City and the Sheikh Jarrah district, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

Tensions have run high in the Sheikh Jarrah area all through the week as Israeli settlers swarmed in after an Israeli court ordered the eviction of Palestinian families.

Al-Aqsa is the third-holiest site for Muslims. Jews call the area the “Temple Mount” and claim it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It annexed the entire city in 1980, a move that has never been recognized by the international community.

Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Saturday said Israel will pay a price for its attacks on Palestinians in the occupied East Jerusalem.

The Palestinian people are "capable of deterring the [Israeli] occupation and drawing new equations in the conflict with” Israel, senior Hamas member Moussa Abu Marzouk said in a statement.

“The occupation will pay a price for desecrating the Al-Aqsa Mosque and its assaults on worshipers,” he added.

Abu Marzouk slammed Arab and Islamic silence towards the current developments in Jerusalem, saying that this silence “encourages the occupation to assault Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Palestinian people and Judaize Jerusalem”.

He went on to call on the Palestinian people "to support Jerusalem with all possible means and to rally efforts to confront the occupation."

Several Arab and regional countries including Turkey and Iran condemned Israeli attacks on the Palestinians in Jerusalem and held Israel fully responsible for the current escalation in East Jerusalem.

Doha, 06 May 2021 (AlJazeera News-Reuters)

Qatar’s attorney general has ordered the arrest of Finance Minister Ali Shareef Al Emadi as part of an investigation into alleged misuse of public funds and abuse of power, according to state media.

Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported on Thursday that the decision had been taken after the review of documents and reports regarding crimes related to the public sector. An “expanded” investigation was under way, it added.

Emadi has been minister of finance in the wealthy Gulf Arab state since 2013 and sits on the board of its powerful $300 billion sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority.

He is also chairman of the board of directors of Qatar National Bank, the largest lender in the Middle East and Africa.