An excessive increase in medical waste such as masks, gloves and hygiene products has occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic which has put environmental health at risk, an expert said Tuesday. 

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Zeynep Ceylan, a professor of environmental engineering at Ataturk University, said many things have changed, such as people's consumption habits, and medical waste has increased more than ever during the COVID-19 period.

"Now, very new concepts such as 'environmentally conscious consumer', 'green consumer’ and 'eco consumer' have emerged. Everyone needs to be extremely careful about the environment," she noted.

Ceylan said purchasing energy saving products should become a widespread habit and buying packaged food should be reduced to keep the environment sustainable.

Citing data on face mask and glove waste, she reminded that last year, three million masks were used every minute around the globe and the amount of waste caused by masks and gloves reached 194 billion monthly in the same period.

"In 2020, 72,000 tons of medical waste was generated in the world...If we can't manage medical waste, it means we are heading towards a disaster," she warned.

She added that in Turkey, around 50 million dirty masks are recorded daily and last year, 198 tons per day of medical waste was generated./aa

France will close seven more mosques and associations by the end of this year suspected of promoting “radical Islamism,” the country’s interior minister announced Tuesday. 

Gerald Darmanin welcomed the decision to close a mosque in the city of Allonnes for six months on the grounds that it defends "radical Islam.”

Darmanin said that the bank accounts of the mosque's administrators were also seized, adding that 13 associations have been closed in the country since President Emmanuel Macron took office.

Noting that 92 of the 2,500 mosques in the country were closed as a result of inspections, Darmanin said that since September 2020, the residence permits of 36,000 foreigners have been canceled on the grounds that these individuals threaten public order.

Anti-separatism law

In August, France’s highest constitutional authority approved a controversial “anti-separatism” law that has been criticized for singling out Muslims, striking down just two of its articles.

The bill was passed by the National Assembly in July, despite strong opposition from both rightist and leftist lawmakers.

The government claims that the legislation is intended to strengthen France's secular system, but critics believe that it restricts religious freedom and marginalizes Muslims.

The bill has been criticized for targeting France's Muslim community – the largest in Europe, with 3.35 million members – and imposing restrictions on many aspects of their lives.

The law allows officials to intervene in mosques and associations responsible for their administration as well as control the finances of Muslim-affiliated associations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). It also restricts the educational choices of Muslims by making homeschooling subject to official permission.

Under the law, patients are prohibited from choosing their doctors based on gender for religious or other reasons and "secularism education" has been made compulsory for all civil servants.

France has been criticized by international organizations and NGOs, especially the UN, for targeting and marginalizing Muslims with the law./agencies

More than 2 million people have been displaced in northeast Nigeria, according to a EU official in the country.

“Hundreds of thousands are living in overcrowded displacement sites, without proper access to sanitation and clean water,” said the head of the EU delegation in Abuja, Samuela Isopi. “More than 3 million people have food insecurity and an equally high number of children are suffering from acute malnutrition. The number of out of school children has also increased exponentially.”

Isopi remarks were made during the premiere of HOPE, a documentary film sponsored by the EU.

It showcases the ravaging effects of insurgency on displaced populations in northern Nigeria.

Isopi said she was happy and proud of the premiere since it was her first official public event, after presenting Letters of Credence to President Muhammadu Buhari.

“The film HOPE tells us about the challenges that the residents of the northeast faced in their daily lives of which their sources of income were destroyed by the insurgency,” she said.

She said the EU, as Nigeria’s partners in development, has committed about €130 million ($151 million) in the past four years to assist the government in rebuilding, rehabilitation and peace efforts.

“This support has contributed to the restoration of basic services, such as health and nutrition, agriculture, sanitation, social protection education, conflict management, among others.

“Thanks to this support we are happy to see people are gradually returning to their communities with hope for a better future,” she said./aa

Climate technology startup companies raised a record $32 billion in 2021, according to a report Tuesday.

That level represents 4.9 times more investment compared to 2016 when the Paris Agreement was signed, said Amsterdam-based global data provider on venture capital, Dealroom and UK-based promotional company, London & Partners.

Europe is the fastest-growing region globally for climate tech with investment growing seven times since 2016, said the report -- Five years on: global climate tech investment trends since the Paris Agreement.

That ratio was 5.8 times for US and Canada and only 1.7 times in Asia.

"London is one of the driving forces behind Europe’s rapid growth in climate tech. London startups have raised $3.3 billion in venture capital investment since 2016, 16% of Europe’s total," the report said.

The growth of climate tech has mostly been driven by global investment in areas of transportation, energy and economic solutions, according to the report.

“The global tech industry has a fundamentally important role to play in the fight against climate change and we need global cooperation and collaboration to drive forward urgent action," London & Partners CEO Laura Citron said in a statement.

While the US is on top for venture capital climate tech investments with $48 billion since 2016, China ranks second with $18.6 billion, the report showed.

They were followed by Sweden with $5.8 billion, the UK at $4.3 billion and France with $3.7 billion./agencies

The Ukrainian Armed Forces shared footage on social media Tuesday of its first ever combat deployment of a Turkish Bayraktar TB2 armed drone to destroy a howitzer used by pro-Russian separatists in Donbas. 

The Bayraktar TB2 was used for the first time to force the separatists to abide by a cease-fire, the armed forces said in a Facebook statement.

One Ukrainian soldier was killed and two others were wounded by howitzers, the statement said.

Russian forces entered the Crimean Peninsula in February 2014, with President Vladimir Putin formally dividing the region into two separate federal subjects of the Russian Federation the following month.

Turkey and the US as well as the UN General Assembly view the annexation as illegal.

Fighting between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists in Donbas has seen more than 13,000 people killed since 2014, according to the UN.​​​​​​​

The region is one of several sources of friction between Russia and Ukraine./aa

The world is on track for a global temperature rise of 2.7°C by the end of the century, according to a report, with the UN chief saying world leaders can still work for a greener future.

"The era of half measures and hollow promises must end," said Antonio Guterres in opening remarks at the launch of the Emissions Gap 2021 Report news conference.

The report said in order to keep global warming below 1.5°C this century -- the goal of the Paris Agreement -- the world needs to halve annual greenhouse gas emissions in the next eight years.

It came less than one week before the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, UK, which Guterres said is "another thundering wake-up call" as world leaders prepare for the conference.

"Now leaders need to be just as clear in their actions. They need to come to Glasgow with bold, time-bound, front-loaded plans to reach net-zero," he said. "The recent IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report already showed that, unless we reduce global carbon emissions by 45% from 2010 levels by 2030 -- 100 months from now -- we will not reach a 1.5-degree future.”

He said humanity’s future depends on keeping global temperature increase to 1.5°C by 2030.

Inger Andersen, executive director of the UN Environment Programme, said in the report that climate change is no longer a future problem but it is a "now" problem.

"The world has to wake up to the imminent peril we face as a species. We need to go firm. We need to go fast. And we need to start doing it now," she said./agencies

Two people were killed and at least four others wounded, including a police officer, in a shooting Monday at a mall in the US state of Idaho, police said.

The incident occurred in the afternoon at the Boise Towne Square Mall in the city of Boise.

At a press conference, Boise Police Chief Ryan Lee said the police are still working with hospitals as well as investigators to notify the families of the victims.

One person is in custody, said the Boise Police Department.

Idaho Governor Brad Little said the state is ready to assist Boise police in the investigation into the shooting.

"Those injured in today’s unthinkable shooting at the Boise Towne Square Mall are in my prayers. The State of Idaho stands prepared to assist the Boise Police Department as they investigate the shooting," Little tweeted.

In an earlier tweet, the department said police officers were responding to a report of shots fired at the mall on North Milwaukee Street and asked people to avoid the area./agencies

Turkey rescued 79 irregular migrants in the Aegean Sea after they were pushed back by Greek authorities, the Turkish Coast Guard Command said late Monday.  

In a statement on its website, the Turkish Coast Guard said that on Oct. 23, Turkish forces rescued 33 people in a rubber boat off Kusadasi district in Aydin province who were pushed into Turkish territorial waters by Greek authorities.

In a separate incident in the same area on Oct. 24, Turkish forces rescued 25 irregular migrants who were pushed into Turkish waters by Greece, the statement added.

Separately, on Oct. 11, coast guard teams rescued 21 irregular migrants in a rubber boat off Didim district in Aydin.

They were transferred to the provincial migration office.

Earlier this month, the European Union expressed concern over migrant pushbacks, saying such incidents damage the bloc's reputation.

"Some of these reports are shocking, and I'm extremely concerned," Ylva Johansson, the EU’s commissioner for home affairs, told reporters, referring to a joint investigation by media outlets Der Spiegel, ARD and Liberation.

The investigation unearthed evidence that Greek, Croatian and Romanian authorities have been violently pushing back asylum seekers crossing the bloc's external borders.

Turkey has been a key transit point for irregular migrants who want to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution./aa

American car rental company Hertz announced Monday that it ordered 100,000 Tesla sedans to be delivered by the end of 2022.

"As consumer interest in electric vehicles (EV) skyrockets, Hertz today is announcing a significant investment to offer the largest EV rental fleet in North America and one of the largest in the world," said the company in a statement.

The investment also includes new EV charging infrastructure across the company's global operations.

"Beginning in early November and expanding through year end, customers will be able to rent a Tesla Model 3 at Hertz airport and neighborhood locations in US major markets and select cities in Europe," said the statement.

"Hertz also is installing thousands of chargers throughout its location network. Customers who rent a Tesla Model 3 will have access to 3,000 Tesla supercharging stations throughout the U.S. and Europe," it added.

With the current order, EVs will make more than 20% of Hertz global fleet, it said./agencies

A poll indicating widespread fervor among youth in G20 nations for their leaders to act on climate change is an "important reminder" ahead of a pivotal summit, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) said on Monday.

The survey, conducted by the UNDP and Oxford University, had over 689,000 people, including more than 302,000 minors. It found that a majority of all those under 18 years-old -- on average, 70% -- in all G20 nations believe climate change is a global emergency.

That is telling given that G20 nations account for some 75% of all carbon emissions worldwide.

Achim Steiner, the agency's top official, said that it is now clear the international community is "not working either fast enough, nor acting collectively sufficiently in unison" to address the crisis.

"This is an important moment, and an important reminder to the G20 that their leadership matters not only within their own countries, but in fact to the whole global effort on climate change," he told reporters virtually at the UN's New York headquarters.

"It is now in Glasgow where countries have been requested to come with NDC’s, these national determined contributions, and deliver more ambition. This is the only way that the reality can catch up with the science that the Paris Agreement designed into it," he added.

The COP26 UN Climate Change Conference kicks off in Glasgow, Scotland on Sunday. The meeting suffered a double-blow last week when Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that they would not be attending the summit in person./agencies