Turkish security forces have prevented 130 terrorist attacks so far this year, including 126 by the PKK, three by Daesh/ISIS and one by an extreme leftist terror group, a spokesman for Turkey’s Justice and Development (AK) Party said Monday. 

"Anti-terror operations carried out by our Interior Ministry continue in 15 regions. Similarly, Pence [Claw] operations launched by the Turkish Armed Forces continue in northern Iraq,” Omer Celik told reporters during a meeting of the AK Party’s Central Executive Board headed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the capital Ankara.

Turkey's counter-terrorism operations continue decisively in coordination with the Interior Ministry and the National Defense Ministry, Celik said.

In northern Iraq, Turkey has carried out a series of offensives under Operation Pence (Claw) since 2019, along with three successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria since 2016: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018) and Peace Spring (2019).

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and the European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.

Relations with Egypt

Underlining that Turkey welcomes the recent normalization process in its relations with Egypt, Celik said: “Egypt is one of the important partners of our country. With 21 flights per week, Turkish Airlines has the highest number of flights in the African continent to Cairo. In 2020, our total trade volume was $4.85 billion.”

“The fact that the second round of consultations between delegations of the two countries was held in Ankara shows that we have gone one step further,” he noted.

Celik stressed that besides bilateral relations, there are other issues the two countries need to discuss, including developments in Libya, Syria, Iraq, Palestine and the Eastern Mediterranean.

Turkey and Egypt last Wednesday ended a second round of exploratory consultations by agreeing to continue the talks.

A joint statement by the Turkish and Egyptian foreign ministries later confirmed the two sides' "desire to make progress in areas under discussion and the need for further steps to facilitate normalization of their relations."

Afghanistan

Celik said Turkey is closely following the recent situation in Afghanistan, especially developments regarding human rights and women's rights.

Turkey expressed its desire for the establishment of an inclusive government in the country, he said.

He stressed the need for the emergence of a new structure in the war-torn country in which all religious, ethnic and local powers are represented.

Celik also called on the international community to act more prudently, not to leave Afghanistan to its fate, and to support the country for a healthy transition period and the emergence of an inclusive government model.

The Taliban took over the war-torn country in August and last week announced a 33-member interim Cabinet./agencies

Hackers originating from China are suspected of breaching internal networks of the Indonesian government ministries and agencies, said the police on Monday.

“We are coordinating with the related ministries to investigate this case,” Inspector General Argo Yuwono, a police spokesperson, told reporters.

According to a team of threat researchers called the Insikt Group, as quoted by cybersecurity news outlet The Record on Sunday, the Chinese hackers breached the internal networks of at least 10 Indonesian government ministries and agencies, including computers from the Indonesian Intelligence Agency.

Insikt linked the security threat to Mustang Panda, a Chinese threat actor known for its cyber-espionage campaigns targeting the Southeast Asian region./aa

The coronavirus pandemic has led to a high amount of bankruptcies in the energy sector, according to Fitch Ratings on Monday.

Weak oil and natural gas demand in early period of the pandemic caused low energy prices, and this led to a spike in the number of bankruptcy filings, the global rating agency said in a report.

"Some filers were struggling for multiple years since the prior oil market price trough," Fitch Senior Director Judah Gross said in the report.

"Persistent cash shortfalls were magnified by the historic coronavirus pandemic-related demand cuts for gasoline and aircraft fuel, and plummeting market prices. Others were unable to refinance or repay looming maturities," Gross added.

Shortly after global quarantine measures, price of international benchmark Brent crude plummeted below $16 per barrel on April 22, 2020, according to official figures.

As rapid vaccination and normalization worldwide increased global oil demand, Brent crude price climbed above $77 a barrel on July 5 this year./aa

A fake news story carried by outlets such as Reuters and Bloomberg claiming that the US’ largest retailer would be accepting cryptocurrency payments rocked financial markets on Monday.

The outlets reported that the Walmart chain had partnered with Litecoin, but the retail giant later denied any such move.

On the news, the price of Litecoin climbed from $175 to as high as $240 at 9.45 a.m. EDT, up 37% in just minutes, before falling back to earth.

Investors and Litecoin holders took their frustration to Twitter, blasting the outlets for the fake news, and the sudden fluctuation of the price of the digital currency.

Many of the offending outlets later retracted their stories, making statements owning up to the blunder.

"Alerts and story on Walmart announcing a partnership with Litecoin are wrong and have been withdrawn after Walmart confirms to Reuters that the press release was fake," said Reuters.

Bloomberg pointed the finger at GlobeNewswire, which issued the fake news release, saying: "The statement that was released via Globe Newswire isn’t authentic, a Walmart representative confirmed to Bloomberg News. The company is in the process of trying to learn more about the release."

CNBC said the fake GlobeNewswire press release has since been removed from its website.

GlobeNewswire describes itself on its website as "one of the world's largest newswire distribution networks, specializing in the delivery of corporate press releases, financial disclosures, and multimedia content to media, investors, and consumers worldwide."/agencies

The Pentagon spent up to $7 trillion on contractors who "took advantage of wartime conditions" in the wake of 9/11, a new study released on Monday suggests.

The figure represents as much as half of the Defense Department's $14 trillion expenditure since the war in Afghanistan began in 2001 and the War on Terror went global, according to Brown University's Costs of War Project.

Its research found that contractors used the military rush "to overcharge the government or engage in outright fraud" amid the Pentagon's demand for rapid assistance and "less rigorous oversight."

Up to one-third of the expenditures granted to contractors went to just five companies: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Dynamics, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman. Lockheed Martin alone received $75 billion in fiscal year 2020, which is more than 150% of the State Department and US Agency for International Development's $44 billion budget for that year, the study said.

With the US completing its withdrawal from Afghanistan last month, and attempting to pivot its military posture away from the War on Terror, there is a new rationale already in place to continue the outsized spending.

"As the U.S. reduces the size of its military footprint in Iraq and Afghanistan, exaggerated estimates of the military challenges posed by China have become the new rationale of choice in arguments for keeping the Pentagon budget at historically high levels," the study said. "Military contractors will continue to profit from this inflated spending."/agencies

“Israeli” forces shot a Palestinian on Monday for allegedly stabbing two Israelis in West Jerusalem, according to the police.

A police statement said two “Israelis” were hospitalized after sustaining moderate injuries.

Police said the attacker was injured, but without specifying his condition.

The incident took place at a commercial store in Yafa Street in Jerusalem./aa

More than 50,000 people in England have died due to the coronavirus in the first half of 2021, according to official statistics released on Monday.

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) data shows that a total of 51,281 deaths were seen in the country between Jan.2 and July 2 this year.

The data also shows that, 38,964 of those who died did not have any COVID-19 vaccine and 11,677 others had only single dose.

The number of those who died after having two doses is 640, a number that corresponds to 1.2 % of the deaths, the ONS said.

The average age of those who lost their lives after receiving two doses is 84.

A total of 214,701 deaths, which were not related to COVID-19, were seen in the same period in England./aa

At least 227 land and environment defenders were killed globally in 2020, an international rights group said on Monday.

“Over half of attacks took place in just three countries: Colombia, Mexico and the Philippines,” Global Witness said in a report.

Colombia saw the highest number of killings in 2020, with 65 land and environmental defenders murdered, according to the report.

The group said it documented 30 lethal attacks against land and environmental defenders in Mexico last year, a 67% increase from 2019.

Meanwhile, in the Philippines, 29 defenders were killed, with over half of the lethal attacks directly linked to their opposition to mining, logging, and dam projects, it added.

The rights group said that 166 land and environment defenders have been killed in the Philippines between 2016 and 2020.

It said that the killings of land and environmental defenders were also recorded in 19 other countries, including Indonesia with three people.

*Writing by Rhany Chairunissa Rufinaldo with Anadolu Agency’s Indonesian language services in Jakarta/aa

The UN human rights chief on Monday deplored the use of "excessive or entirely unwarranted" force by "Israeli" security forces on Palestinians as well as the Palestinian Authority's "crackdowns on dissent," in a verbal report at the 48th session of the Human Rights Council.

"In the Occupied Palestinian Territory, I deplore continued and increasing instances of excessive or entirely unwarranted use of force against Palestinian civilians by Israeli Security Forces," said Michelle Bachelet, the UN high commissioner for human rights, at the start of the session.

She said that in 2021 so far, 54 Palestinians, including 12 children, have been killed by "Israeli" forces in the West Bank -- more than double of last year's figure.

Over 1,000 people have been injured with live ammunition. The regular resort to lethal force is clearly at odds with international standards.

"I am also deeply concerned by crackdowns on dissent by the Government of the State of Palestine in recent months," said Bachelet.

She also said that during protests that followed the "shocking killing" of activist Nizar Banat in June, Palestinian Security Forces used "unjustifiable force" against peaceful protesters.

One of her staff monitoring the protests was among the many who were beaten.

"Arrests of dozens of activists in August suggest that repression is deepening. I call on the authorities to ensure the safety of protesters and to respect fundamental freedoms."

Bachelet's report also had comments on Afghanistan, Belarus, Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Tigray region of Ethiopia, Georgia, Myanmar, Nicaragua, the Philippines, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Yemen.

She also said: "I regret that I am not able to report progress on my efforts to seek meaningful access to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region" in China.

In the meantime, Bachelet's office is finalizing its assessment of the available information on "allegations of serious human rights violations in that region, with a view to making it public."/aa