A Turkish defense firm on Tuesday released images of its conceptual design for an unmanned combat aircraft system.

The images were released by the company, Baykar, on the first day in Turkey of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, or the Festival of the Sacrifice.

"We wish our nation and the entire Islamic world a healthy and happy Eid al-Adha," the manufacturer said on Twitter.

Baykar, established in 1984, produces armed and non-armed drones, control systems, simulators, and avionics systems./aa

The majority of the 751 bodies that lie buried in unmarked graves at a former Indian residential school in Canada are those of children, Canadian media reported Tuesday.

Cowessess First Nation Chief Cadmus Delorme made the statement in an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

In the wake of more than 1,000 unmarked graves found at four former residential schools since May, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would support a criminal investigation into the 139 schools. It is the first time he has acknowledged his backing for a probe.

“I will support anything that families need to move forward, for Canadians to understand the truth and to actually move forward on reconciliation,” he said Monday in an interview with Global News. He had faced growing pressure for a probe.

The first residential school opened in the 1820s and the last one closed in 1996. About 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend and it is estimated around 4,000 died from disease, malnutrition and neglect.

There are also stories from survivors that students were subjected to beatings and sexual abuse. The idea was to strip the children of their Indigenous identity and replace it with white culture. About 60% were run by the Catholic Church.

Many of the officials that worked in the schools have died, but some are still alive and Indigenous leaders want them to face criminal charges.

As for the criminal investigation, Trudeau said while he would support it, it is up to government lawyers and police to call for a probe.

Delorme said stories have been told for generations that there were unmarked graves at the former Marieval residential school at Cowessess in Saskatchewan.

He believes 75 percent of the 751 graves found to date are children, but until the area is fully searched by ground-penetrating radar, "I cannot confirm that."/aa

The Turkish Muslim community in Germany mobilized volunteers to help flood victims in the western and southern regions on Tuesday.

Volunteers of DITIB, the largest Turkish-Muslim association in the country, are distributing food and water and helping victims clear homes of debris in the worst-hit areas, the group said in a statement.

DITIB’s support for disaster victims continues in the hardest-hit towns and municipalities, including Sinzig, Stolberg, Erftstadt, and Ahrweiler.

Germany’s worst flooding in decades has claimed 165 lives and caused widespread devastation in the western states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate.

Tens of thousands of people are still without power and clean water in flood-hit villages and small towns./aa

Billionaire Jeff Bezos and a crew that included an 81-year-old former astronaut-in-training and a Dutch teen whose father paid for the flight, completed a successful launch to the edge of space Tuesday from the US state of Texas.

"Whoo-hoo! Oh my God, it's dark up here!," marveled Wally Funk, the oldest person in space, as the crew spent a few minutes in weightlessness about 100 kilometers (62 miles) above the surface of the Earth.

"You have a very happy crew up here," Bezos said. His brother, Mark, was the fourth crew member.

A long, tubular rocket blasted the New Shepard space capsule to its maximum height before drifting back to Earth, guided by two parachutes, before landing with a thud and a cloud of dust on a prairie.

No one seemed more awed by the trip than Funk, who trained to be an astronaut in the 1960s but was denied the opportunity to fly to space because she is a woman.

After she and the others emerged from the capsule, surrounded by a small gaggle of friends, family, co-workers and reporters, she threw her hands in the air, beaming, and exclaimed: "Oh my God, it was so great! You have to go!"

Champaign bottles were quickly uncorked under the Texas sun.

Bezos was beaten to personal space travel by nine days by his billionaire rival Richard Branson, although Branson flew in an airplane-type craft that did not go quite as high as Bezos' capsule.

Both flights are considered "sub-orbital," since they did not travel to deep space.

Bezos, the former CEO of Amazon, has always been fascinated by space travel. It was the subject of his high school valedictorian speech.

He founded his Blue Origin space company in 2000 and he said he has been liquidating billions of dollars in Amazon stock for years to fund Blue Origin.

This week, Bezos' acknowledged the criticism that he and Branson are simply very rich space tourists, but they have said there are real-world consequences behind their space flights, namely, taking ordinary people and products to space regularly.

For now, the price tag for space tourism is enormous. Both men have said prices for tickets, starting as early as next year, will be upwards of $250,000 per person.

But Col. Chris Hadfield, a retired NASA astronaut, told CNN that what Bezos and Branson have done is similar to early airline travel in the 1920s, when it, too, was only for the wealthy.

 "There's still a lot of things to solve ... but it's the start of something. It's laying the foundations for what comes next," he said../aa

Mali’s interim President Assimi Goita has been targeted in an attempted stabbing attack at the Grand Mosque in the capital Bamako on Tuesday, his office said.

“Attempted stabbing against the President of the Transition, Colonel Assimi GOITA at the Great Mosque of Bamako. The assailant was immediately subdued by close security,” said a statement by the presidency on Twitter.

“Investigations are ongoing,” the statement added.

According to Malijet, an online news website, Latus Toure, the manager of the mosque, said: "The attacker tried to stab the president … but it was another person who was hit.”

The attack took place while Mali, a predominantly Muslim country, was celebrating the Muslim holiday of Eid El-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice.


Goita is behind two previous coups in his country. He notably overthrew Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in August 2020 and Bah Ndaw in May 2021.

He was sworn in as "president of the transition process" on June 7 and officially took office./aa

A local government in Kenya buried in mass graves a total of 61 unclaimed bodies following the green light from a court.

Speaking to journalists, Kisumu County Director of Public Health Fredrick Oluoch said that the bodies had been buried in mass graves across cemeteries in Kisumu County to free up space in morgues.

“We went to court … we were given an order and allowed to bury the unclaimed bodies, I want to confirm that of course we buried at least 61 unclaimed bodies,” Oluoch said.

The health official added that there still are around 16 unclaimed bodies in the morgues in the Kisumu County.

“We are going to bury 16 more if they are not collected, we have been given a go-ahead by the court.” He said.

Kisumu County is among the worst affected by COVID-19 with the presidency putting it under heightened containment measures as of June 17, 2021./aa

Turkish security forces have neutralized a total of 39 terrorists in northern Syria over the last five days, Turkey’s National Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

“In the last five days, the heroic Turkish Armed Forces, which resolutely continues its fight against terrorism at home and across the border, neutralized a total of 39 terrorists who were preparing to attack in northern Syria,” the ministry said on Twitter.

“Our fight against terrorists will continue with perseverance and determination,” it added.

Though the terrorists' affiliation was not specified, the YPG/PKK terror group has been active in the region.

Turkish authorities use the term “neutralize” to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

Since 2016, Turkey has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: 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 EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the PKK's Syrian offshoot./aa

Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay on Tuesday condemned a ruling by the top EU court allowing the banning of headscarves under certain conditions.

“I strongly condemn such an ambivalent decision that destroys the freedom of religion and conscience,” Fuat Oktay told reporters in the capital Ankara after offering Eid prayers.

Oktay stressed that the decision itself is “violence and discrimination” and an example of injustice.

The European Court of Justice on Thursday ruled on two cases brought by Muslim women in Germany who were suspended from their jobs for wearing headscarves.

It ruled that companies in member states can ban employees from wearing headscarves if they “need to present a neutral image to customers.”/aa

The Turkish Coast Guard on Sunday rescued 26 irregular migrants illegally pushed back by Greek forces, according to a Turkish security source.

After learning that a boat carrying a group of irregular migrants was sailing near the village of Kizilagac on the Datca peninsula, in waters off the western Mugla province, the regional coast guard command deployed teams to the location, added the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media

Arriving at the location, coast guard teams rescued the irregular migrants, the source said.

Two Turkish nationals who were attempting to flee to Greece were also held, said the source.

Turkey has been a key transit point for asylum seekers aiming to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.

Turkey has repeatedly condemned Greece’s illegal practice of pushing back asylum seekers – also condemned by international human rights groups – saying that it violates humanitarian values and international law by endangering the lives of vulnerable migrants, including women and children./aa

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunk, chancellor of the exchequer, have been forced to self-isolate after having been in contact with the health secretary, who tested positive for coronavirus on Saturday.

The two were forced to make a U-turn after having earlier refused to self-isolate, arguing they were part of a so-called pilot testing scheme. Their refusal prompted a public outcry and a backlash from fellow Conservative MPs.

“(Johnson) will continue to conduct meetings with ministers remotely. The chancellor has also been contacted and will also isolate as required and will not be taking part in the pilot,” said a Sunday Downing Street statement.

The pair’s self-isolation came just hours after Downing Street was engulfed in confusion and chaos over the imminent dropping of almost all Covid restrictions on Monday, dubbed “freedom day,” with many government officials defending their plans to continue work despite the surge in cases.

The pair’s earlier refusal to self-isolate was met with anger and criticism, with many calling out the government’s hypocrisy when following coronavirus rules and guidance they created for the public.

Speaking to Sky News, Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, said: “There will be workers across the country that have to isolate because they’ve been pinged, including in public services, including the NHS. For many of them, waking up this morning to hear that there is a special rule, an exclusive rule, for Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, they will be saying that this looks like one rule for them and something else for the rest of us.”

“There will be parents across the country who have struggled this year when their children have been sent home because they were in a bubble and had to self-isolate,” he added.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid tested positive for the virus on Saturday and is self-isolating at home with his family while awaiting a PCR test. Javid had earlier been visiting an elderly care home where he is believed to have contracted the virus.

Coronavirus cases are currently surging across the UK, in the main part due to the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant and also the country’s reopening. On Friday, infections passed the 50,000 mark – the highest since this January, when the UK was in the grips of a third wave and national lockdown.

England is set to drop the majority of its coronavirus restrictions on Monday, making it the most unrestricted country in Europe. Under this plan, the two-meter distancing rule has been ditched, people will no longer be required to wear masks except on public transport, and entertainment venues will reopen their doors./aa