Tag: Turkey

Erdogan

Turkey Ready For Any Kind Of Mediation On Israel-Hamas Conflict: Erdogan

By LokMarg

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has offered to mediate in the Hamas-Israel conflict. He said that Turkey continues to step up its diplomatic efforts, Turkey-based Anadolu Agency reported.

Erdogan said, “I would like to state that Turkey is ready for any kind of mediation, including prisoner exchanges, if the parties request it.”

“We continue to step up our diplomatic contacts, which we have been maintaining for a while and have intensified even more in the last three days,” Erdogan said. He made the remarks after chairing a cabinet meeting in Ankara.

Erdogan’s remarks come after the terrorist group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, prompting Israel to declare a state of war.

Turkish President emphasised that the war is subject to a moral and ethical code, adding that the “sides are obliged to comply with. As we always say, ‘There are no losers in a just peace’,” Anadolu Agency reported.

Erdogan urged Israel to stop its bombing of Palestinian regions and called on Palestinians to stop their harassment of civilian settlements in Israel. He called for acting with a human conscience and added, “This moderate step will also open the door to peace.”

Erdogan said, “The destruction of Gaza by air and ground attacks, the bombing of mosques, and the deaths of innocent children, women, elderly, and civilians are never acceptable.” He stated that Turkey is making necessary preparations to provide humanitarian aid materials that the Gaza Strip will require amid Israel’s counter-offensive against Hamas.

He said that Turkey’s stance regarding the issue has been clear from the very beginning and stated that Turkey recognised Israel in 1949. He noted that the two nations continue to have diplomatic ties, according to Anadolu Agency report.

He further said, “We believe that there will be no peace in the region without the establishment of an independent sovereign state of Palestine with geographical integrity, within the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital,” Anadolu Agency reported.

Erdogan stressed that problems in the region cannot be resolved by “constantly harassing the Palestinian people, disregarding the safety of their life and property, seizing their homes and lands, destroying their infrastructure, and preventing their development.”

He said, “We have always said and continue to say that we disapprove of letting a single innocent person get harmed, whether in Israel or Palestine’s lands. Our position has not changed.”

Earlier on Monday, Erdogan held separate phone calls with Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the latest situation in the region.

On Sunday, Erdogan stressed that the realization of an independent, and geographically integrated Palestinian state based on 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as the capital, could not be delayed any further, according to Anadolu Agency report.

In his remarks at the opening ceremony of Mor Ephrem Syriac Orthodox Church in Yesilkoy, he said, “Lasting peace in the Middle East is only possible through a final settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.”

He said that Turkey is willing to do its part to stop the conflict between Israel and Palestine and reduce the tensions that escalated on Saturday. He called the Palestine issue the root cause of the problems in the region. He added, “Our region will remain craving peace unless a just settlement is reached.”

The Israel Defence Force (IDF) spokesperson Lieutenant Col. Jonathan Conricus on Wednesday that 1200 Israelis were killed and more than 2,700 wounded and emphasised that the Israeli soldiers are ready to execute mission in Gaza.

“Four days after Hamas breached into Israel, attacked Israeli communities, murdered and massacre Israeli citizens and took dozens of Israeli hostages into Gaza. The dead toll is staggering, a 1200 dead Israelis. The overwhelming majority of them civilians and more than 2700 wounded and sadly something tells me that these are not final numbers,” he said.

The IDF spokesperson said that about 300000 soldiers had been deployed at the Gaza border and claimed that they would ensure that Hamas would not have any military capabilities at the end of the war.

In a live video posted on X, Lieutenant Colonel Conricus added, “We have sent our inventory, armoured soldiers, our artillery cores and many other soldiers from the reserves. 300000 in numbers in different brigades and divisions and they are now close to the Gaza strip getting ready to execute the mission that Israeli government and that is to make sure that Hamas at the end of the war won’t have any military capabilities by which they can threaten or kill Israeli citizens.” (ANI)

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Ukraine

Russia Attacks Ukraine’s Biggest Grain Exporting Ports

By LokMarg

Just hours before talks between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin were scheduled to take place, Russia unleashed a round of drone attacks on one of Ukraine’s largest grain exporting ports, Al Jazeera reported.

Residents of Izmail port, one of Ukraine’s two main grain exporting terminals on the Danube River in the Odesa region, were urged to seek cover by the air force early on Monday.

Oleh Kiper, the governor of Odesa, later claimed that although 17 drones were shot down over the southern region, the attack severely damaged the port’s infrastructure.

“17 drones were shot down by our air defence forces,” Kiper wrote on Telegram, adding, “But, unfortunately, there are also hits. In several settlements of Izmail district, warehouses and production buildings, agricultural machinery and equipment of industrial enterprises were damaged.”

Kiper added that preliminary reports showed no fatalities or injuries.

The drone attack happened as Putin and Erdogan were about to meet in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, to discuss an agreement to export grain from Ukraine, which would have helped alleviate a food crisis in parts of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, as reported by Al Jazeera.

Nearly 33 million metric tonnes (36 million tonnes) of grain and other goods were allowed to leave three Ukrainian ports according to the deal, which was mediated by the United Nations and Turkey in July 2022.

Moscow, however, pulled out of the pact around six weeks ago, citing difficulties with its shipments of food and fertiliser as well as a lack of Ukrainian grain reaching impoverished nations.

Since then, it has launched repeated attacks against the Danube River’s ports, which has emerged as Ukraine’s primary grain export route.

The scale of the attack on Monday – was not known immediately – but it came after Russian attacks on Sunday on Reni, the other major port on the Danube, damaging the port’s infrastructure, and injuring at least two people.

The meeting between the leaders of Turkey and Russia will “play the most important role” in restoring the grain corridor, according to a senior adviser to Erdogan who spoke to Turkey’s A Haber news channel on Sunday, according to Al Jazeera.

“The current status [of the grain deal] will be discussed at the summit on Monday. We are cautious, but we hope to achieve success because this is a situation that affects the entire world,” said Alif Cagatay Kilic, Erdogan’s chief foreign policy and security adviser.

Erdogan has frequently vowed to renew the Black Sea agreement. Erdogan has maintained tight connections to Putin throughout the 18-month war, including by declining to support Western sanctions against Russia.

In July, the Turkish president said that Putin had “certain expectations from Western countries” about the grain deal and that it was “crucial for these countries to take action in this regard.” This was a previous indication of Erdogan’s support for Putin’s stance.

Russia has stated that it would consider reviving the Black Sea Agreement if requests to increase its exports of grain and fertiliser were satisfied. Although Western sanctions do not apply to Russian exports of food and fertiliser, Moscow claims that limitations on payments, logistics, and insurance have hampered shipments.

Reconnecting the Russian Agricultural Bank to the SWIFT global payments network is one of Russia’s primary priorities. The European Union cut it off in June 2022.

Additionally, the UN has increased its efforts to revive the deal.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov received a letter from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday with “concrete proposals” meant to help Moscow’s expoerts reach international markets.

Russian authorities, however, claimed that they were not satisfied with the letter, Al Jazeera reported. (ANI)

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Polling Stations

Polling Stations Closed After Turkey Presidential Election

By LokMarg

Turks have finished voting for one of the most consequential elections in Turkey, a contest that could bring an end to or extend President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s 20-year rule, Al Jazeera reported.

The polling station closed after the general election concluded at 5 pm on Sunday.
The opinion polls have said that Erdogan’s main opposition or the one that could challenge his throne is Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who heads a six-party alliance, a slight lead, with two polls on Friday showing him above the 50 per cent threshold needed to win outright. If neither wins more than 50 per cent of the vote on Sunday, a run-off will be held on May 28, according to Al Jazeera.

Voters will decide the fate of Turkey’s democracy less than three months after a February 6 earthquake killed more than 50,000 people and displaced more than 5.9 million across southern Turkey and northern Syria.

Turkish President held his last election rallies in Istanbul on last Saturday, before a so-called propaganda ban went into effect, accusing the opposition of working with US President Joe Biden to topple him while making a final appeal in the run-up to the biggest challenge to his 20-year rule, according to CNN.

One of his talking points has been that the opposition is receiving orders from the West and that they will bow down to Western nations’ wishes if elected. At a rally in Istanbul, Erdogan also recalled comments made by Biden, and published by the New York Times in January 2020, when he was campaigning for the White House.

Analysts predict a record voter turnout this year, and a tight race between Erdogan and the main opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and presidential nominee for the six-party Nation Alliance bloc.

More than 1.8 million voters living abroad already cast their votes on April 17, the Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah reported Wednesday, citing the country’s deputy foreign minister.

Turkey’s demographics are also expected to play a role. Most of the provinces struck by the February earthquake were strongholds of Erdogan and his AK Party. But Supreme Election Council (YSK) chief Ahmet Yener said last month that at least 1 million voters in quake-stricken zones are expected not to vote this year amid displacement.

And even if Kilicdaroglu wins the election, some analysts say Erdogan may not hand over power to his successor without a struggle, reported CNN.

Apart from Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu, right-wing Ancestral Alliance candidate Sinan Ogan is also running.

Centrist Homeland Party leader Ince said he had withdrawn following a “slander campaign” against him. He has faced weeks of lurid allegations on social media in Turkey and the Ankara public prosecutor’s office said Thursday it had opened an investigation into potential blackmail.

His party, Homeland, will however remain in the parliamentary race.

The 59-year-old ran for president in 2018 but lost against Erdogan. In March this year, he broke away from Kilicdaroglu’s CHP and joined the presidential race. He initially rebuffed calls by his former party to pull out amid concern that he’d take votes away from Erdogan’s rival.

Ince did not endorse any of the remaining candidates; his name will also remain on the ballot. His withdrawal is a potential boost to Kilicdaroglu.

Some analysts say that if Erdogan loses the vote by a small margin, it opens up the possibility for him to contest the results. And if past experience is a gauge, the president and his AK Party may not take a defeat lying down, reported CNN. (ANI)

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Turkey Deployed NDRF Rescue Team Arrives In India

Turkey Deployed NDRF Rescue Team Arrives In India

By LokMarg

The forty-seven-member team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) arrived in the country on Friday after conducting the 10-day-long rescue operation in the earthquake hit Turkey.

The NDRF team has come back along with the dog squad members Rambo and Honey.

Talking to ANI, Sub-Inspector of NDRF, Shivani Agrawal said that the team worked to help the affected persons and also extended them emotional support.

“My whole team has returned. The team included five women as well. The earthquake has devastated Turkey and the situation is very serious. We have worked as a team to help the affected persons and supported them emotionally,” NDRF Sub-Inspector Shivani Agrawal said.

The NDRF personnel were warmly welcomed at Adana Airpot after they returned from rescue and search operations in various earthquake-hit areas of Turkey.

The team had made an all-out effort to save lives and find a living soul in the rubble at the disaster site at Nurdagi and in different parts of Turkey which were badly affected by the earthquake on February 6.

A six-story building collapsed and turned into rubble at the Nurdagi site where the NDRF conducted search and rescue operations after the locals informed NDRF about surviving victims inside the debris, dog squad members Julie and Romeo were tasked to locate the surviving victims.

The specially trained Labrador breed dog squad, which is an expert in sniffing and other key skills during rescue operations in disaster-hit regions, left India on Tuesday for Turkey with two separate teams of NDRF– a 51-member team which arrived there in the morning and another 50-member team which reached by the evening.

While India’s National Disaster Response Force miraculously rescued a six-year-old girl and made headlines, a lot of the credit for the daring rescue ought to be reserved for ‘Romeo’ and ‘Julie’, part of the NDRF’s dog squad.

Romeo and Julie succeeded where machines failed. The dog squad was instrumental in detecting the little girl’s whereabouts under tonnes of rubble. Without their help, the little girl could not have survived.

India announced ‘Operation Dost’ shortly after the magnitude 7.8 quake-ravaged Turkey and sent a team from the Indian Army to set up 60 Para Field Hospital and the NDRF for search and rescue operations, including relief and humanitarian assistance to the ‘Dost’ country.

As Turkey continues to grapple with life in the aftermath of the earthquakes, help has been pouring in from all over the world. India has also sent relief material to Turkey and also dispatched National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team to assist in the rescue operations.

The death toll from the earthquakes in Turkey and northwestern Syria has surpassed 41,000 as rescue efforts continue, Voice of America (VOA) reported.

Meanwhile, Union Health Ministry has provided life-saving humanitarian medical Assistance to quake-hit Turkey and Syria under ‘Operation Dost.’ Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Mansukh Mandaviya said that India is helping Turkey and Syria with medical equipment, and critical care drugs.

Taking to his official Twitter handle, Mansukh Mandaviya stated, “India is helping Syria and Turkey with the concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. @MoHFW_India provided life-saving emergency medicines, protective items, medical equipment, critical care drugs, etc as part of India’s efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to Turkey and Syria.” (ANI)

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Mortal Remains Of Deceased To Be Received Soon: Indian Ambassador On Turkey Earthquake

Mortal Remains Of Deceased To Be Received Soon: Indian Ambassador On Turkey Earthquake

By LokMarg

Terming the development “unfortunate,” India’s Ambassador to Turkey Virander Paul said that the mortal remains of the only Indian, who went missing and later found dead in a hotel, are in the process of being sent to his family member in Uttarakhand.
In an exclusive interview with ANI, Paul said that it is s “very unfortunate” that the only missing Indian national was found dead yesterday.

“We are in the process of earliest transportation of his mortal remains to India,” he told ANI.

Vijay Kumar, a resident of Kotdwar in Uttarakhand, was on a business trip to Turkey at the time of the earthquake. His mortal remains were found and identified among the debris of a hotel in Malatya. He had left Kotdwar on 23 January.

In addition, the ambassador said, “Indian embassy in turkey is in direct touch with the victim’s family.”

The Indian embassy in Turkey is in talks with the Turkish Government about the clearance and other documentation work to send the mortal remains as soon as possible through commercial flights.

The Indian Embassy in Turkey informed on Saturday that the mortal remains of Kumar have been found.

“We inform with sorrow that the mortal remains of Shri Vijay Kumar, an Indian national missing in Turkiye since the February 6 earthquake, have been found and identified among the debris of a hotel in Malatya, where he was on a business trip,” the Embassy said in a tweet.

After hearing the news, Kumar’s family members were in deep shock. They cried inconsolably. Neighbours and relatives came to Kumar’s Kotdwar residence to express their condolences.

Vijay Kumar is survived by his mother, wife, and six-year-old child. He had lost his father about one and a half months back.

The Ministry of External Affairs had said earlier this month that 10 Indians were struck in remote parts of Turkey after the country was hit by two “biggest natural disaster” earthquakes. Still, they are safe while one citizen is missing. (ANI)

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Turkey Earthquake: Death Toll Exceeds 25,000

Turkey Earthquake: Death Toll Exceeds 25,000

By LokMarg

The death toll from the devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria earlier this week surpassed 25,000 on Saturday (local time), reported CNN.

In Turkey, the number of people killed has risen to 21,848, according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Speaking in the southeastern city of Sanliurfa on Saturday, Erdogan added that 80,104 people had been injured.

In Syria, the total number of deaths stands at 3,553, including 2,166 in rebel-held areas in the northwest, according to the White Helmets civil defense group.

There have been 1,387 deaths in government-controlled parts of Syria, according to Syrian state media.

The total number of injured people in Syria across all affected territories stands at 5,273, with 2,326 in government-controlled areas and 2,950 in the rebel-held areas, reported CNN.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the Turkish Embassy in Ukraine on Saturday and honored the memory of those who died as a result of the devastating earthquake that took the lives of more than 25,000 people.

“Please accept my sincere condolences from me personally and on behalf of the people of Ukraine. The awful tragedy that took so many lives in one moment caused deep pain in our hearts. We share the pain of the Turkish people and help in this difficult time. Eternal memory to the deceased. We wish those who suffered, a quick recovery,” Zelenskyy said.

He also spoke with Turkish Ambassador to Ukraine Yagmur Ahmet Guldere during his visit.

Zelenskyy said in his address Saturday that the State Emergency Service of Ukraine is helping with debris removal in Turkey, reported CNN.

He added that the Ukrainian Embassy is looking into information about Ukrainian nationals in Turkey who may have been impacted by the earthquake.

Rescue operations are over in rebel-held areas of northwest Syria, the White Helmets volunteer organization said. Relief efforts there have been complicated by a long-running civil war.

The Syrian government approved sending aid to the rebel-held territories Friday but did not provide specifics.

Workers in Turkey are still trying to pull survivors from the rubble – and there have been some harrowing stories of success. But some organizations paused rescue work due to security concerns Saturday.

Recovery in Turkey after the devastating earthquake has now entered the “humanitarian phase,” according to Jamie LeSueur, the head of emergency operations at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

As his team moves on from search-and-rescue operations, the greatest needs for those affected in Turkey continue to be food, health and water, LeSueur told CNN from Gaziantep.

“We’ve now entered into the humanitarian phase. That is going to last for a couple of months, where we’ll still try to meet people’s basic needs,” LeSueur said.

The United Nations aid chief described this week’s devastating earthquake in southern Turkey and northwestern Syria as the “worst event in 100 years” to hit the region.

The official, Martin Griffiths, made the remark to reporters during a visit to Kahramanmaras, Turkey, on Saturday.

“The response as you have seen here, and as your viewers have seen, is also unique,” Griffiths added. “There has never been an international response, a Turkish response to a natural disaster as we see here in these terrible days.”

Meanwhile, Germany has also suspended rescue and relief work at the site of a deadly earthquake in Turkey due to security concerns, following a similar move by Austria earlier Saturday, reported CNN.

The German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) stopped its rescue operations due to a change in the security situation in the Hatay region, the organization said in a statement Saturday.

It had been operating with International Search and Rescue (ISAR) Germany, in coordination with Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (AFAD).

“In the last few hours, the security situation in the Hatay region has apparently changed. There are increasing reports of clashes between different groups. The search and rescue teams of ISAR Germany and THW will therefore remain in the joint base camp for the time being. ISAR and THW will resume their work as soon as AFAD deems the situation to be safe,” read the statement.

The Austrian Army also cited security risks in suspending its operations, reported CNN.

The Austrian Army has suspended rescue operations in Turkey due to an “increasingly difficult security situation,” according to the Austrian Forces Disaster Relief Unit (AFDRU).

“The expected success of saving a life bears no reasonable relation to the security risk. There is increasing aggression between groups in Turkey,” Lieutenant Colonel Pierre Kugelweis of the AFDRU said in a statement Saturday.

“There was no attack on us Austrians. We’re all fine … The mood among the helpers is good, given the circumstances … We would like to help, but the circumstances are what they are,” Kugelweis continued.

“We keep our rescue and recovery forces ready. We are ready for further operations,” Kugelweis added, stating that a scheduled return to Austria for Thursday remains in place. (ANI)

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India And Its Media Find It Safe To Go Soft On Adani

Weekly Wrap: Why Indian media pussyfoots around Adani; Modi’s Turkey Outreach; and the race for AI-powered Chatbots

By Sanjoy Narayan

Why India and its media continue to be soft on Adani

The phrase “play out” is (and I checked!) the phrasal verb of play and it usually means: 1. To develop in a particular way; and 2. To happen; or take place. Now, let’s examine what India’s Economic Secretary, Ajay Seth, may have meant about the crisis surrounding the Adani Group, which is facing allegations of financial manipulation and fraud, when he said that it (the crisis) would “play out”. That was how one of India’s top bureaucrats was quoted as saying in The Hindu newspaper.

What did he really mean? Did he mean (going by the dictionary meaning) that it would either “develop in a particular way” or would “happen” or “take place”. If he meant any of those things (and I am assuming that he was quoted correctly in the reputed newspaper) then, sorry, but he said nothing. Or, did he use the phrase “play out” in an intransitive verb form, which the Merriam-Webster dictionary informs me could mean “to become spent or exhausted”. Could the good bureaucrat have meant that? That the crisis around the Adani group would become spent or exhausted or, in other words, die out?

Unfortunately, though that is usually the fate of allegations of financial scams and fraud, particularly those against big Indian companies and conglomerates in India. To borrow a bureaucratic phrase, they “play out”. That is, nothing happens. After a short period of controversy and ripples in media and political circles, they die out. 

Will that also happen to the crisis that the Adani group finds itself in? It probably will. Last week, a leading Indian newspaper carried a headline that said “Adani-Hindenburg row: SC to hear pleas on ‘conspiracy that tarnished India’”. That headline says it all. Sanjay Sipahimalani, a writer, tweeted the headline with a comment: “Please note the framing of the headline. When they write a history of the media during this time, it should be titled ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’”. He nailed it. 

India’s mainstream media have been rather subdued about the Adani affair. Besides in their reporting on the business group’s rebuttal (a 400-plus page assemblage of mostly verbiage), there is little insight on the allegations of stock manipulation or obfuscation of debt by the group. In fact, while the tiny activist outfit, Hindenburg Research, was doing its investigation into the group, Indian media was largely celebrating Adani’s meteoric growth and ambitions, which The Economist recently called pharaonic. In a recent leader, the publication said “The media are mostly too cowed to investigate the mighty as they once did. Few Indian newspapers would have touched the story about Mr Adani had an American firm not asked the tough questions. Mr Adani himself recently bought NDTV, a news channel that was once critical of the government but is now supine.”

Part of the hesitancy to investigate charges against Adani and his empire also comes from the fact that Adani is very close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a person that is very rarely put under the scanner by big Indian media groups. Adani, whose business roots are in Gujarat, became close to Modi when the latter was the chief minister of that state. In fact, it is believed that Modi flew to Delhi when he became Prime Minister in 2014 in a plane belonging to Adani. So if the media fight shy of taking on Modi (on any controversy that could involve him) then they probably think it’s safer to give his allies a wide berth too.

Could a tragic natural calamity rebuild Indo-Turkish ties?

When an earthquake of unforeseen dimensions hit Turkey, killing an estimated 180,000 people, the world was shocked. Quickly, foreign aid from across the globe started pouring into Turkey to help the country overcome the massive humanitarian crisis that it faces. India too stepped forward to help Turkey.

Launching what it called Operation Dost, India sent assistance to Turkey as well as Syria after last Monday’s devastating earthquake that toppled buildings, flattened cities, and buried thousands. The aid comprised medical supplies, medical professionals and search and rescue teams.

The significance of Operation Dost (Dost means friend in Hindi) is that relations between India and Turkey have not been great in the past. Turkey under president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has supported Pakistan’s claims in Kashmir and has looked at that nation in its bid to develop nuclear weapons. In the past, Erdogan has often berated India on the Kashmir issue and called for a settlement on the basis of a UN resolution that India considers both dated and untenable.

However, more recently,Turkey has diluted its anti-India stance and also cranked down its support for Pakistan. A few days ago, Turkey snubbed Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and asked him to cancel his visit to Ankara because the government was busy with relief and rescue missions. Observers believe that this and the prompt reaction to the earthquake by the Indian authorities could be the beginning of a rapprochement between the two countries.

Was a Chinese balloon spying on North America?

Last week the US declared that it had shot down a Chinese balloon that it believed was used in espionage operations by China over military bases across the USA. US dispatched fighter jets to shoot down the balloon, which crashed into US territorial waters. China, predictably, claimed that the balloon was an unmanned civilian aircraft. Footage on US TV networks showed the balloon falling to the sea after a small explosion.

The balloon was being tracked for a few days and President Joe Biden was under considerable political pressure to order shooting it down. 

The action set off a diplomatic crisis after the Chinese foreign ministry said: “The Chinese side has repeatedly informed the US side after verification that the airship is for civilian use and entered the US due to force majeure – it was completely an accident.”

The crisis led to the US secretary of state Antony Blinken calling off an official  weekend trip to China. China has denied that the balloon was a spying aircraft, and instead said it was a weather ship blown astray.

The incident, however, puts a spanner in the works as far as improvingUS-China relations is concerned.

Modi gets positive about Pathaan

Remember the controversy raked up by pro-Hindutva activists over the Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone starrer Pathaan? Padukone wore an orange (or a hue of saffron) bikini in a song sequence in the film, which the Hindutva brigade found to be offensive. The film, however, went on to break box office records and provided a huge boost to Khan, a Bollywood superstar whose career had been flagging. 

Now, Prime Minister Modi has weighed in with his comments on how the film has fared. Although many of his fanatical followers (in social media troll-speak they are known as Bhakts), have protested against the film, in a speech in Parliament Modi pointed out that cinemas in Kashmir were full during the ongoing screening of Pathaan.

Modi and his government have been at pains to emphasise that things are normalising in the violence-torn state. Cinemas had been reopened in the state after years but the response of the public had been muted. Now, with Pathaan drawing in the crowds, Modi, a canny politician, is capitalising on the move. The HIndutva brigade must be feeling a bit chagrined.

The race for AI chatbots is on

After OpenAI launched its intelligent chatbot, ChatGPT, tech giants such as Microsoft and Google have been racing to develop and launch their own versions of a chat and search engine that closely resembles a near-human nature and abilities. Microsoft pipped Google to the post by launching an enhanced version of its hitherto underwhelming Bing search engine. The new version is powered by OpenAI software and although the jury is out on how good it is, it has at least won the first round against rival Google.

Google, on its part, has announced that it will soon launch Bard, its own version of an AI-driven search and chat interface but when the bot flubbed an answer in a promotional ad, the share prices of Google’s parent company Alphabet dived!

The race for who has the best chatbot is not over yet and much action from tech’s biggest players is expected in the coming months.

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841 Cartons Of Medicines, Diagnostic Kits Sent To Quake-Hit Turkey, Syria

841 Cartons Of Medicines, Diagnostic Kits Sent To Quake-Hit Turkey, Syria

By LokMarg

Under Operation Dost, India sent 841 cartons of medicines, protection safety tools, and diagnostics to quake-hit Turkey and Syria, according to official sources on Friday.
The official sources told ANI that India had dispatched 841 cartons of medicine, protection safety tools, and diagnostics with a weight of 6.19 tons have been sent to Turkey and Syria.

More than 22,000 people have died in Turkey and Syria after magnitude 7.8 and 7.5 earthquakes struck on Monday, and rescue workers are racing against time to pull survivors from the rubble of collapsed buildings in harsh winter conditions, reported CNN.

The medicines that have been sent include Paracetamol 100 ML IV, Ceftriaxone GM INJ, Propofol INJ., etc. The protection and safety tools that have been sent include gowns, gloves, shoe covers, and caps.

The other medical aid includes Electrocardiographs six channels, Syringe Pump, and a Physiologic monitor system.

Indian army set up a field hospital under ‘Operation Dost’ to provide assistance to Turkey’s earthquake-hit people

On Thursday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, tweeted, “The army field hospital in Iskenderun, Hatay, Turkiye has started functioning with running Medical, Surgical & Emergency Wards; X-Ray Lab & Medical Store. The team will work 24 x 7 to provide relief to the affected people.”

The official spokesperson Arindham Bagchi also tweeted, “The Indian Army team of medical specialists is on the job 24X7, providing relief to those injured.”

He also shared some glimpses from the field Hospital in Iskenderun, Hatay.

Earlier, India’s Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADG-PI) on Thursday tweeted an image of a female Indian Army officer hugging a Turkish woman in the earthquake-affected areas of Turkey.

The tweet read: “#OperationDost We Care. #IndianArmy #Turkiye.”

Jaishankar on Thursday said the sixth plane from India carrying rescue personnel, essentials, and medical equipment for earthquake relief efforts has reached Turkey.

The sixth flight carried more rescue teams, dog squads, and essential medicines for the quake-hit country. (ANI)

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21,051 Dead In Deadly Turkey Earthquakes

21,051 Dead In Deadly Turkey Earthquakes

By LokMarg

The death toll in the deadly Turkkey-Syri earthquakes has climbed to at least 21,051 CNN reported citing authorities on Friday.

At least 17,674 people have died and 72,879 people have been injured in Turkey, according to Vice President Fuat Oktay on Thursday.
In the contrast, according to the White Helmets civil rescue organization, in Syria at least 3,377 individuals were killed, including 2,030 in rebel-held areas in the northwest and 1,347 in government-controlled areas, as reported by Syrian state media.

A three-month state of emergency to speed up rescue and aid efforts in Turkey’s earthquake-hit provinces came into effect on Thursday after the approval of lawmakers, Anadolu Agency reported.

On Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the three-month state of emergency to speed up search and rescue efforts in the quake-hit provinces, as per the news report.

Earthquakes of magnitudes 7.7 and 7.6, centred in the province of Kahramanmaras, were felt by 13 million people across 10 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa, as per the news report. Turkey’s neighbouring countries, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the tremors.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday said that 75 nations and 16 international organizations have pledged aid to Turkey after the earthquakes jolted the nation, CNN reported. He said that 6,479 rescue personnel from 56 countries are in the field. He stated that teams from 19 nations will be in the United States within 24 hours.

“Teams from 19 more countries will be in our country within 24 hours,” CNN quoted Cavusoglu as saying.

Global aid has been pouring into Turkey after Monday’s disaster, which has so far claimed the lives of more than 20,000 people and injured over 70,000 more in the country and neighbouring Syria.

India is assisting Turkey in the ongoing rescue effort due to the crisis that has arisen after earthquakes rattled the nation.

In order to aid those affected by the recent earthquakes that struck the nation, the Indian Army has sent out disaster relief teams and established a field hospital.

India’s Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADGPI) on Thursday tweeted an image of a female Indian Army officer hugging a Turkish woman in the earthquake-affected areas of Turkey. The tweet read: “#OperationDost We Care. #IndianArmy #Turkiye.” (ANI)

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Operation Dost: Sixth Flight Reaches Turkey With Relief Assistance

Operation Dost: Sixth Flight Reaches Turkey With Relief Assistance

By LokMarg

The sixth plane from India carrying rescue personnel, essentials, and medical equipment for earthquake relief efforts have reached Turkey, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday.

The sixth flight carries more rescue teams, dog squads, and essential medicines for the quake- hit country.
Taking to Twitter, Jaishankar wrote, “The sixth #OperationDost flight reaches Turkiye. More search and rescue teams, dog squads, essential search & access equipment, medicines and medical equipment ready for deployment in the relief efforts.”

On his official Twitter handle, the EAM posted pictures of a field hospital in Turkey where medical experts are preparing to treat emergencies.

Following the deadly earthquakes on February 6 the death toll in Turkey and adjoining Syria have surpassed 15,000 lives in both countries.

“This field hospital in Hatay, Turkiye will treat those affected by the earthquake. Our team of medical & critical care specialists and equipment are preparing to treat emergencies,” Jaishankar wrote on Twitter.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Arindam Bagchi said that the field hospital under ‘OperationDost’ has been set up at Iskenderun, Hatay province in Turkiye by the Indian Army.

India is providing assistance to Turkey through the ongoing crisis after earthquakes jolted the country on February 6.

Turkey’s Ambassador to India Firat Sunel has described ‘Operation Dost’ as a “very important operation” and demonstrated the friendship between the two nations.

Firat Sunel made the remarks at the Hindon Airbase in Ghaziabad from where Indian Air Force’s C17 Globemaster aircraft with the NDRF team, medical equipment, relief equipment, took off for Turkey, as part of the ongoing ‘Operation Dost.’ He said, “Operation Dost is a symbolic operation. It already proves that we are friends. We have to deepen our relations.”

Speaking to ANI, Firat Sunel said, “Operation Dost is a very important operation. And this is the operation of friendship because DOST is the word in Hindi and Turkish which means friends. And this operation shows our friendship between India and Turkey and friends always help each other.

“Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan, who was also present at the Hindon Airbase, has said that India stands ready to extend support to the people of
earthquake
-hit Turkey.

Speaking to ANI, Muraleedharan said that there are four teams working on the ground in Turkey, including two rescue teams, dog squads and two medical teams. He said that India has already opened a field hospital in Turkey.

The earthquake of magnitude 7.7 on the Richter scale ripped through Turkey and Syria on February 6, followed by a series of aftershocks that caused huge devastation, loss of lives and damage to infrastructure in the two countries. (ANI)

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