Families in southeastern Turkey whose children were kidnapped by the PKK terror group are longing Thursday to spend the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha together.

They have been protesting for 687 straight days since Sept. 3, 2019, encouraging their children to give up their weapons and surrender to Turkish authorities.

Protests outside the office of the opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in Diyarbakir started with three mothers who said their children were forcibly recruited by terrorists.

The Turkish government accuses the HDP of having links to the PKK terror organization.

Nihal Ciftci said her son, Emircan, was kidnapped by the terror group 10 years ago at the age of 14 when the family was celebrating the Eid al-Adha holiday together for the last time and the holidays have never been the same ever since.

The holiday commemorates the willingness of the Prophet Ibrahim, or Abraham, to sacrifice his son at God's command before the last-minute divine substitute of a ram.

“My son was kidnapped by HDP. Do they have the right to out us through this struggle? I want my son from HDP. I will not leave this place unless I take my son back,” she said. “I suffer more each and every holiday. If my son returns, I’ll be reborn.”

Guzide Demir also said she joined the protest in southeastern Diyarbakir province for her son for whom she longs to be with for the holidays.

“My son,” she said in a direct appeal to her son, “come before I die and I shall see you again. I haven’t seen my son for 12 holidays. I’m longing to see his face.”

“If my son had come on this holiday, the world would have been mine. I would be so happy,” she added.

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

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Thursday called on the UN to work for the release of a former Anadolu Agency editor who has been detained in Egypt for the last two months.

In a statement, the group said Egyptian Tawfiq Ghanem, former Middle East editor and correspondent for Anadolu Agency, was forcibly taken from his home early on May 21, and detained and brought before a state security prosecutor five days later.

His imprisonment has been renewed every 15 days since then, the group said, urging the UN special rapporteurs on freedom of expression, torture, the independence of judges and lawyers and the right to health, as well as the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Arrests, to press for his release.

The group called on the UN to take all necessary measures towards Egypt to work for Gamin’s immediate and unconditional release, the statement added.

On the night of May 20-21, security forces raided 65-year-old Ghanem's home without being able to produce an arrest or search warrant, remanding the former reporter in custody on May 21.

Kept in an unknown location until his interrogation at the Supreme State Security Prosecutor’s Office on May 26, Ghanem was investigated on the accusation of joining a terrorist group.

His interrogation focused on Ghanem's career as a journalist and his work for Anadolu Agency rather than the accusations, according to prosecutors.

As part of his more than 30 years in journalism, Ghanem acted as head of Media International, a media company which pioneered the development of digital publishing and online journalism in the Arab world from 1999 to 2010.

He served as Middle East news editor at Anadolu Agency from 2012 until his retirement in 2015./aa

The US-led coalition against the Daesh/ISIS terror group provided military training to 400 YPG/PKK terrorists in the Al-Hasakah province of northeastern Syria, according to sources on Thursday.

The 3-month armed training was conducted on Mount Abdulaziz, said sources.

Terrorists learned how to use light, medium, and heavy weapons and methods of raiding and infiltrating villages.

A so-called graduation ceremony was held after the training and was attended by US commanders and Ferhat Abdi Sahin, code-named "Mazlum Abdi", one of the ringleaders of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is under YPG/PKK control.

The US and France, which are in the coalition against Daesh/ISIS, previously supported YPG/PKK terrorists with military training in areas of Al-Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor to the east of the Euphrates River.

French soldiers, who are currently acting under the auspices of the US in Syria, frequently give artillery training to YPG/PKK terrorists.

The YPG is the Syrian branch of the PKK, a designated terror group in the US, EU, and Turkey. US support for the YPG-led SDF has significantly strained relations with Ankara.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants./aa

Prison authorities in South Africa on Thursday granted permission to jailed former President Jacob Zuma to attend the funeral of his younger brother.

“As a short-term, low risk classified inmate, Mr. Zuma’s application for compassionate leave was processed and approved following the correctional services prescripts,” Department of Correctional Services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said in a statement.

Nxumalo said Zuma, 79, will not wear a prison uniform while attending the one-day burial ceremony he was granted permission for.

The former leader’s brother Michael died days after he was jailed. Zuma was put in prison two weeks ago for contempt of court after he refused to attend a judicial commission of inquiry probing corruption during his nearly decade in power.

His incarceration sparked widespread riots that saw sporadic looting and destruction of property estimated to cost billions of dollars.

Thousands of demonstrators have been arrested for violent protests and looting.

Justice Minister Ronald Lamola told parliament’s Justice Committee on Tuesday that some could face terrorism or related charges./aa

Vaccine inequity is the biggest obstacle to ending the global coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organization chief said Thursday.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued his statement from Geneva along with data released by the UN Development Program (UNDP) and the University of Oxford.

It found that COVID-19 vaccine inequity will have a lasting and profound impact on socio-economic recovery in low- and lower-middle-income countries without urgent action to boost supply and assure equitable access for every country, including through dose-sharing.

"Vaccine inequity is the world's biggest obstacle to ending this pandemic and recovering from COVID-19," said Tedros, who is in the Japanese capital to attend the Tokyo Olympics. "Economically, epidemiologically and morally, it is in all countries' best interest to use the latest available data to make lifesaving vaccines available to all."

Accelerated manufacturing and sharing enough vaccine doses with low-income countries could have added $38 billion to their GDP forecast for 2021 if they had similar vaccination rates as high-income countries, the group said.

At a time when richer countries have paid trillions in stimulus to prop up flagging economies, now is the time to ensure vaccine doses are shared quickly, it urged.

The group called for removing barriers to increase vaccine manufacturing and secure financing support so vaccines are distributed equitably for a truly global economic recovery to occur.

"In some low- and middle-income countries, less than 1% of the population is vaccinated – this is contributing to a two-track recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic," said UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner.

He called for "swift, collective action."

Richer countries to recover quicker

New data from entities, including the IMF, World Bank, UNICEF, and Gavi, the vaccine alliance, show richer countries are projected to vaccinate quicker and recover economically quicker from COVID-19.

At the same time, poorer countries have not been able to vaccinate their health workers and most at-risk population and may not achieve pre-COVID-19 levels of growth until 2024.

"Meanwhile, Delta and other variants are driving some countries to reinstate strict public health social measures,” said the report.

"This is further worsening the social, economic and health impact, especially for the most vulnerable and marginalized people.”

Steiner said the Global Dashboard for COVID-19 Vaccine Equity – an initiative by the UNDP, WHO, and the Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government – combines the latest COVID-19 vaccination information and socio-economic data.

It illustrates why accelerating vaccine equity is critical to saving lives and driving a faster and fairer recovery from the pandemic with benefits for all.

The groups also said a high price per coronavirus vaccine dose relative to other vaccines and delivery costs – including the health workforce surge – could place a massive strain on fragile health systems and undermine routine immunization and essential health services./aa

In a strategic move to neutralize the impact of US sanctions on oil shipments overseas, Iran on Thursday inaugurated an oil terminal in the Sea of Oman, bypassing the restive Strait of Hormuz.

The long-awaited $2 billion project, which will allow Iran to export oil directly from the Sea of Oman, had faced impediments and delays due to sanctions imposed by the former US administration.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani termed the new oil terminal as an “important step” for his sanctions-battered country, which he said will "secure the continuation of our oil exports".

"The first shipment of 100 tons of crude oil is being loaded today outside the Strait of Hormuz," Rouhani said during the inauguration ceremony. "This shows the US sanctions (on Iran) have failed."

Rouhani said Tehran aims to ship 1 million barrels (of oil) per day (bpd) from the Port of Jask, which will be an alternative to Kharg terminal inside the Strait of Hormuz.

The new facility on the Makran coast, equipped with three pipelines, can export heavy crude, light crude, and gas condensate, according to officials.

It is the first time in the 110-year history of Iran's oil industry that oil exports will take place outside the Strait of Hormuz, according to Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh.

The newly-built pipeline stretches from Goureh oil terminal in Iran's southwestern province of Bushehr to the Jask terminal, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow channel at the entrance of the Persian Gulf, which has seen frequent confrontations between the naval forces of Iran and the US.

Nearly a third of world's oil trade goes through this volatile channel, with shipments moving from the oil-rich Middle East to Asia, Europe, North America and beyond.

The work on the 100-km pipeline and the oil terminal in Jask, carried out by Iran's Petroleum Ministry, began in June 2020, at a time of heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington.

Rouhani, whose second term in office ends in two weeks, had vowed to make it operational before he leaves the office.

The outgoing president also fired a parting salvo at the conservative-controlled parliament, with which he has shared a difficult relationship since last year.

He said his administration did everything to have the US sanctions lifted, but the law passed by the country's parliament last year created hurdles in his path.

"If the parliament law had not stopped us, we would have lifted the sanctions almost before Nowruz (Iranian New Year on March 21)," he said, referring to the law that called for increasing uranium enrichment to 20 percent, as a counter-measure to the US sanctions, which has now jumped to 60 percent.

Rouhani's reformist administration had initially opposed the parliament's bill but had to implement it after it became a law, escalating tensions both at home and abroad./aa

At least 17 Bengali migrants drowned off Tunisia’s coast on Thursday while trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe, the Tunisian Red Crescent said.

Coast guards, in cooperation with the Libyan Navy, also managed to rescue 366 other migrants after their boat broke out off Tunisia’s Zarzis coast, Munji Salim of the Tunisian Red Crescent said in a statement.

The migrant boat set off from Libyan shores to Europe with around 400 migrants, mostly from Bangladesh, on board along with migrants from Syria, Mali, Eritrea and Sudan.

Every year, thousands of migrants use Tunisia and Libya as a gateway to cross the Mediterranean to Europe in overcrowded boats, often dying in the process./aa

Human rights groups on Thursday accused Israeli authorities of torturing a Palestinian detainee to death.

Abdu al-Khatib, 43, lost his life during interrogation at al-Moscobiyeh interrogation center in occupied East Jerusalem.

“Testimonies gathered from his families and other detainees show that he was electrified and beaten,” Amani Sarahneh, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Prisoners Society NGO, told Anadolu Agency.

She said causes of the death will be determined after conducting an autopsy on al-Khatib’s body.

“Palestinian NGOs and Jerusalem governorate accuse Israel of killing al-Khatib,” Sarahneh said.

A father of four, al-Khatib, from Shufat refugee camp in East Jerusalem, was detained by Israeli forces for a traffic violation.

Around 4,850 Palestinians are estimated to be held in “Israeli” prisons, including 41 women, 225 children and 540 administrative detainees, according to Palestinian rights groups./agencies

Beijing: The toll in central China’s unprecedented flash floods triggered after the heaviest rainfall in 1,000 years has reached 33 with eight people missing, officials said on Thursday.

The torrential rain has affected about three million people in Henan province and a total of 376,000 local residents have been relocated to safe places, the provincial emergency management department said.

Rainwater has damaged more than 215,200 hectares of crops, causing a direct economic loss of about 1.22 billion yuan (about $188.6 million), state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The massive floods, described by meteorologists as a once-in-a-lifetime event, have resulted in apocalyptic scenes in Henan and its provincial capital Zhengzhou, a metropolis of 12.6 million, with its public avenues and subway tunnels getting submerged with surging waters.

China's People’s Liberation Army (PLA) blasted a damaged dam to divert the surging waters of a flooded river after the province received the heaviest rainfall in 1,000 years.

Twelve people were killed and five others injured when subway stations were hit by the floods. The victims died when their subway train was hit with rapidly rising floodwaters on Tuesday night. Two people were killed when a wall collapsed.

Videos posted on Chinese social media showed petrified passengers trapped in subway trains clinging on to handlebars desperately waiting for help as floodwaters raised up to their necks.

Official media released videos of rescue workers helping people stuck in subway tunnels to safety.

Videos showed people trying to wade through floods in the downtown of the city while scores of cars and other vehicles washed away. Some videos also showed people falling into the massive cave-ins of the roads.

Rainwater poured into the subway tunnel of the city's Line Five, trapping an unknown number of passengers aboard a subway train.

Terming the flood situation as grim, President Xi Jinping ordered the deployment of the PLA and said authorities at all levels must give top priority to ensuring people's safety and property as massive floods ravaged the province and Zhengzhou city.

Xinhua quoted President Xi as saying that the rainfall has made the flood control situation very severe, causing massive waterlogging in Zhengzhou and other cities, water levels in some rivers exceeding the alarm levels, and damages to dams of some reservoirs.

He said that sections of railways have also been shut down, and some flights have been cancelled.

Henan is home to many cultural sites and a major base for industry and agriculture. Reports said Shaolin Temple, known for its Buddhist monks' mastery of martial arts, was also severely hit by the floods.

Heavy waterlogging has led to the virtual paralysis of the city's road traffic.

Over 80 bus lines have been suspended, more than 100 temporarily detoured and the subway service has also been temporarily suspended.

Police officers, firefighters and workers from the local sub-district have arrived at the site for the rescue operation, the report said.

The water level inside the subway carriage is receding, and the passengers are temporarily safe, it said.

More than 160 train services were stopped at Zhengzhoudong Railway Station. The airport in Zhengzhou cancelled 260 flights into and out of the city, and local railway authorities also halted or delayed some trains.

Affected by the rainstorms, several residential communities in the city are without tap water and electricity.

Both Henan provincial and Zhengzhou municipal meteorological bureaus have raised the emergency response for meteorological disasters to the level I.

Hospitals also ran out of electricity, the Post reported.

The Zhengzhou flood control headquarters issued a text message on Wednesday, warning residents there was a grave safety hazard in the Guojiazui reservoir and calling on them to evacuate the southwestern part of the city immediately./agencies