Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday condemned a spate of vandalism and fires at Catholic churches in Canada. 

He said while it is understandable that people are horrified by the findings of 1,148 unmarked graves of First Nations children at three former Indian residential schools, that is no justification for the destructive acts. Most but not all of the vandalism targeted Catholic churches, which ran about 60% of Canada's 139 residential schools.

"It is unacceptable and wrong that acts of vandalism and arson are being seen across the country," Trudeau told reporters as he toured a vaccination clinic in Ottawa. He decried the "rise of intolerance and racism and hatred that we are seeing."

Police said 10 churches were vandalized on Canada Day - July 1 - in Calgary, Alberta. Authorities believe the vandalism is a result of the discovery of unmarked graves at residential schools because the churches sustained red and orange paint damage. Orange is associated with the former residential schools.

And the number 215 was put on some churches. That is the number of unmarked graves found at the former Kamloops, British Columbia residential school in late May.

Four Catholic churches were burned within the last week and all were on First Nations land.

Trudeau said the discoveries have angered people but said "burning down churches is actually depriving people who are in need of grieving and healing and mourning [of] places where they can actually grieve and reflect and look for support.’

"We shouldn't be lashing out at buildings that can provide solace to some of our fellow citizens. But we should be, every day, committing ourselves, each and every one of us, to the hard work that we need to do to actually rebuild a path forward that reflects the terrible intergenerational trauma and present day realities of suffering that we are all collectively responsible for."

Meanwhile, Sovereign Indigenous Nations President Bobby Cameron and other leaders urged a boycott of church services beginning Sunday, until the Catholic Church pays a promised C$25 million ($20 million) to residential school survivors.

About 150,000 Indigenous children were taken from their parents and forced to attend residential schools across Canada, beginning in the 1890s and the last one closed in 1996. In many cases, the children endured beatings and sexual abuse as they were taught white culture. It is estimated that at least 4,000 died./aa

Marine Le Pen has been re-elected as head of France’s far-right National Rally party for the fourth time.

Le Pen won uncontested leadership race with 98.3% votes at the party’s 17th national congress in the southern city of Perpignan on Sunday, just a week after performing badly in regional polls.

Le Pen, who has courted controversies over anti-Muslim and anti-refugee hate speeches, has been heading the far-right party since 2011. After taking over the reins from her father Jean-Marie, who originally founded the party then known as Front National in 1972, she renamed it as National Rally.

She will head the party till September after which she will focus on campaigning for the presidential polls. Jordan Bardella, 25, a member of the European Parliament (MEP), appointed to the position of the first vice-president of the party, will take over the party’s interim presidency.

In a speech at the congress, Le Pen said her candidacy for the presidential polls to be held next year will be “restoration of the authority of the State.”

Known for strong anti-immigrant views, Le Pen said her party will mobilize along with members in Brussels in order to derail the European Union's Immigration Pact.

The New Pact on Migration and Asylum proposed last September seeks to regularize the migration processes for those in need of protection.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​/aa

Turkish security forces "neutralized" at least two PKK terrorists in the country's southeast, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday.

The terrorists were “neutralized” in an operation supported by unmanned aerial vehicles in the Yuksekova district of Hakkari province as part of the Operation Eren-14, said the ministry.

Turkish authorities often use the word “neutralized” in statements to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.


The ministry further said the operation continues in the region.

Weapons and ammunition were also seized in the operation, according to a local governorate statement.

Operation Eren, named after Eren Bulbul, a 15-year-old who was killed by the terrorist PKK on Aug. 11, 2017, began in January with the aim of eliminating terrorism in the country.

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 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.​​​​​​​/aa

The premises of Al Ghazali Institute of the Grand Mosque of Paris was defaced with Islamophobic and racist inscriptions on Sunday.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin condemned the act as “unacceptable degradation” and assured to find the perpetrators of these acts.

The incident took place at the institute’s campus in the southern city of Martigues, close to Marseilles, on Sunday morning.

The Great Mosque of Paris strongly expressed “concern over the increase in acts of intolerance” and urged the “authorities to reinforce in a concrete and consistent way the security of religious places in France.”

“These racist and anti-Muslim tags are an attack on the students who are the future imams of France and who, in the face of such acts, will not give up working for the unity of our society and our country,” it said in a statement.

Chems-Eddine Hafiz, the rector of the mosque, who also heads the Ghazali Institute, organized a support rally on July 11 in Martigues to show solidarity with the imams and students.

This is the fourth such incident this year wherein Islamic cultural and religious places were vandalized by hateful anti-Muslim inscriptions.

In April, the Avicenna Muslim center in Rennes city, and the Arrahma mosque in Nantes, both in the northwestern Brittany region, were attacked with Islamophobic graffiti and arson, respectively, ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Following the incidents, Darmanin had promised security for Islamic places of religion and culture.

Also in February, the under-construction site of the Eyyub Sultan Mosque, which is expected to be Europe’s largest Islamic place of worship, was sprayed with racist inscriptions./aa

The only baby chimpanzee in Iran is being relocated to a chimpanzee care center in Kenya on Sunday, following months-long campaign over unsuitable conditions at Tehran's Eram Zoo.

At a farewell ceremony held on Sunday in the premises of Eram Zoo, the main wildlife center in the Iranian capital, zoo authorities said a decision was made to transfer the four-year-old Baran to the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Kenya, which provides refuge to rescued, orphaned or abused young chimps.

Parviz Qandali, the head of Eram Zoo, said he had contacted several international animal care centers and finally decided to send Baran to Kenya where she will live “in a better environment and among her peers.”

He said the baby chimp will arrive at her new destination on Monday and authorities there have agreed to provide all "necessary updates" about her condition and growth.

The decision to relocate the four-year-old female chimpanzee came after months-long campaign by environmental activists in Iran, who were worried over unsuitable conditions at Tehran's Eram Zoo affecting her health.

Premature birth

The circumstances of Baran's birth in May 2017 had made the already dismal facilities at the Eram Zoo more unsuitable for her.

Baran, born prematurely, was the first baby chimp over the past two decades to survive at Eram Zoo after a wildlife veterinarian, Imam Memarian, came to her rescue.

Memarian took her home and assumed full responsibility for her care. For two years, Baran stayed with him, and developed an emotional bond with him, according to zoo workers and activists.

The bond was broken last year after Zoo authorities filed a lawsuit to bring her back.

Baby chimps, according to vet experts, must spend at least five years with their mothers, but Baran was deprived of that as her mother showed aggressive behavior toward her, according to zoo workers.

Upon her return to the Eram Zoo last year, Baran was put in a small cage to protect her from older chimpanzees, which only led to deterioration in her health condition.

Online campaign

In August 2020, online campaigns were launched to save the baby chimp, who environmental activists and celebrities feared could die in the zoo. The average life expectancy of a chimpanzee is 40-50 years.

Apart from poor conditions at the zoo, Baran did not have any other chimps to socialize with, which can potentially lead to death or developmental issues of baby chimps.

"These highly intelligent, social beings need to live in group, but in Iran there is no suitable group for her," read one of the petitions in August 2020. "Being alone is the worst nightmare for this social and intelligent animal."

Baran's departure, although sad for many of those who campaigned for her, has brought big cheer.

"It's not a happy moment definitely, but it was the right thing under given circumstances," Samiyeh Fakhri, a wildlife activist, told Anadolu Agency. "We hope Baran will be taken good care of by her own family”/agencies

The Somali military on Sunday claimed to have killed 15 al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabaab terrorists in the country's central Galgaduud region.

An operation was conducted by Gorgor, the Somali special forces trained by Turkey, in the El Dhere village, 15 kilometers (9 miles) south of Dhusamareb, the capital of the Galmuduug state.

In a brief statement on Twitter, the Somali army said dozens of al-Shabaab terrorists were also wounded in the operation.

A huge cache of arms were also seized in the operation, a military official told Anadolu Agency over the phone.

Witnesses in the town told Anadolu Agency that they saw at least seven wounded soldiers who were rushed to the hospital for treatment.

Al-Shabaab, for its part, claimed that it has killed seven military troops in the clash./aa

Nine provinces in the southeastern Anatolia region whose history, culture, gastronomy and nature are registered by UNESCO are preparing to gain from tourism activity with "Mesopotamia," --promoted as Turkey's first destination-oriented regional tourism brand.

As part of the Tourism-Oriented promotion and branding project within the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) Region, which was launched to bring the rich cultural heritage of Adiyaman, Batman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Kilis, Mardin, Siirt, Sanliurfa and Sirnak to tourism and to ensure regional development, the tourism values of the region gained a global identity through the brand.

With Mezopotamya, the tourism circulation in the region is gathered under one roof.

The brand provides domestic and foreign visitors a mobile travel guide, including included maps, dining, accommodation and city routes.

Foreign tourists who want to travel the southeastern provinces with their ever-increasing historical and cultural values will be able to visit all of the cities that host beautiful places with their unique history, culture, gastronomy and nature, planned and programmed in a period ranging from three to nine days.

Gobeklitepe, Mount Nemrut, Diyarbakir Castle and Hevsel Gardens, Gaziantep with its unique tastes, Mardin with its churches and monasteries, Halfeti with natural beauties, Hasankeyf, Botan Valley and Mount Cudi stand out as historical and tourist attractions in the region.

Increasing attention

Tourists showed interest, especially in cultural routes in the region, Muslum Coban told Anadolu Agency as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Turkish Tourist Guides Association and President of the Sanliurfa Regional Chamber of Tourist Guides.

“Especially the whole world knows the region as Mesopotamia. It was a very nice launch and promotion. We believe that we will receive the benefits and returns of this in a positive way in a short time,” said Coban.

He added that with the coronavirus pandemic slowly leaving, the attention to the region and the brand would increase.

'Mezopotamya,' world brand

Mehmet Kamil Turkmen, a member of the Mesopotamian Tourism Platform, said the region was previously referred to by GAP tours, but the name is especially difficult for foreign tourists to perceive.

He emphasized that "Mezopotamya" is a concept that expresses the historical and cultural past very well.

“Mezopotamya is a world brand. The region is already called Al Jazeera in Islamic civilization and Mesopotamia in Greek culture,” said Turkmen. “Tourists living abroad can perceive this region when it is called Mesopotamia.”

“If our guests from abroad want to visit the entire region, they travel in nine days. If their time is very limited, they travel in the locomotive provinces of the region, they are subject to four-day travel plan programs,” he said. “We look forward to welcoming all our tourists. Let them come to Mesopotamia, and we will travel through history together.”

Opportunity to travel entire region with one plan

Soner Bacaksiz, a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TURSAB), said the new brand created a new expectation for the region's tourism.

“The brand Mezopotamya contributes to the growth of interest and demand in the region in the coming days. We are talking about a very large destination that completely covers the southern line with the tour route starting from Gaziantep,” he said.

He also emphasized that the brand will allow tourists to visit the entire region with one plan.

Mehmet Akyil, chairman of the Executive Board of the TURSAB Diyarbakir region, believes the brand will help the region’s name to be well-known around the world.

Akyil, who said GAP tours were previously limited to Gaziantep, Sanliurfa and Mardin, expressed that the new brand is much more inclusive with nine provinces./aa