Three more PKK terrorists have surrendered to Turkish security forces, the Interior Ministry announced Saturday.

After fleeing the terror group, the terrorists turned themselves in thanks to the persuasion efforts by Turkish police and gendarmerie teams, a ministry statement said.

The terrorists joined the PKK between 2013-2015 and were active in Syria and Iraq, the statement added.

The number of terrorists who have surrendered through persuasion this year has now reached 89, it added.

In its more than 30-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 nearly 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants./aa

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued apology Friday and rebuked Canada's historic deplorable treatment of First Nations peoples. 

Trudeau's apology comes after the latest discovery by the Cowessess First Nation of 751 unmarked graves at the former Marieval Indian residential school in the province of Saskatchewan. In May, the unmarked graves of 215 children were discovered by the Tk'emlups te Secwepemc First Nation at another school in British Columbia.

"To the members of the Cowessess community and Treaty Four communities, we are sorry," the prime minister said. "It was something that we cannot undo in the past, but we can pledge ourselves every day to fix it in the present and into the future." Treaty Four represents a historic treaty between Queen Victoria and some First Nation tribes.

Beginning in the 1820s, at the direction of the government, First Nations' children were in some cases forcibly taken from families and put in various residential schools in a bid to instill in them European culture. It is believed that as many as 4,000 children died from disease and psychological, physical and sexual abuse. In a significant number of cases, parents never knew what happened to their children - they just disappeared.

There were around 140 schools set up across the country, with around 150,000 eventually attending. The last one closed in 1996. The schools were run by various religious groups including the Catholic Church.

"This was an incredibly harmful government policy that was Canada's reality for many, many decades and Canadians today are horrified and ashamed of how our country behaved, from their culture and their language and forced assimilation upon them," Trudeau said in a statement from his cottage in Ottawa.

In another development, the Catholic order, Missionary of Oblates of Mary Immaculate, which was in charge of 48 residential schools including the two where the unmarked graves were discovered in British Columbia and Saskatchewan, finally agreed to disclose historical documents relating to the schools. In all, the order ran 48 of them.

The order had previously kept the records secret.

"We remain deeply sorry for our involvement at residential schools and the harms they brought to Indigenous peoples and communities," the order said in a statement on its website.

Trudeau and First Nations leaders have pressed Pope Francis to officially apologize for the Catholic Church's involvement, but so far he has not responded.

Schools were also run by Anglican and United churches and they have issued formal apologies./aa

Turkish security forces have neutralized more than 18,000 terrorists since July 24, 2015, the national defense minister said Friday 

Hulusi Akar, accompanied by Land Forces Commander Gen. Umit Dundar, Naval Forces Admiral Adnan Ozbal and Air Forces Commander Gen. Hasan Kucukakyuz visited a military base in the eastern province of Malatya.

After holding video conferences with commanding officers of military contingents stationed within and beyond Turkey's borders, Akar addressed personnel at the base.

He stressed that at least 18,220 terrorists had been neutralized since July 24, 2015, including 1,366 since the beginning of 2021. "No one should doubt that our struggle will continue until the last terrorist is neutralized," he said.

Turkish authorities use "neutralize" to imply terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

Akar said that the Turkish Navy sailed for roughly 200,000 hours last year, with the number of commando divisions in the military increasing from just two to 17, all of which are on active duty and engaged in missions.

The Turkish Armed Forces has grown stronger, more efficient and motivated since the July 15, 2016 defeated coup by the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), he remarked.

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people dead and 2,734 injured.

Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.  

PKK and YPG

Turkey respects its neighbors' territorial integrity and expects them to reciprocate with the same policy toward Turkey, noted Akar.

Underlining that the PKK and YPG in Syria are the same terrorist organization, Akar said that some countries, some of which are Turkey's allies, continue to provide YPG with arms and equipment despite the proof of their connections.

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 a peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018) and Peace Spring (2019).

In its more than 30-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.  

Afghanistan

On Afghanistan, Akar reiterated Turkey's military contribution to NATO missions there since 2002.

Turkey's primary aim has been to contribute to Afghanistan's security, prosperity and peace, he added.

Turkey, whose forces in Afghanistan have always been consisted of noncombatant troops, is reported to have offered to guard the Kabul airport as questions remain on how security will be assured along major transport routes and at the airport, which is the main gateway to the capital.

Ankara has been running the military and logistic operations of the Kabul airport for six years as part of the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission./aa  

S&P 500 posted its best weekly gain since February as major indexes in the US stock market closed Friday with strong weekly gains. 

S&P 500 increased 14 points, or 0.3%, to close at 4,280 before hitting a new record high level of 4,286 points. The index posted a 2.7% gain for the week.

The Dow Jones rose 237 points, or 0.7%, to 34,433. The blue-chip index added 3.4% this week.

The Nasdaq, on the other hand, fell 9 points to 14,360, but the tech-heavy index increased 2.4% for the week.

Technology companies' shares were on the rise with Netflix and Uber adding 1.7% each.

The dollar index was flat at 91.78, while the VIX volatility index was down 2.2% to 15.62.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury, however, was up by 2.6% to 1.526%.

Precious metals have continued their increase as gold was up 0.3% to $1,780 per ounce and silver added 0.6% to $26.1.

Price of Brent crude was at $76.07 per barrel with a 0.7% daily gain. US' West Texas Intermediate was at $73.94 with a 0.9% increase./aa

IDLIB, Syria

Civilians who took shelter in camps on the Turkish borderline of Idlib province in northwestern Syria face the risk of starvation. 

The woes of millions of civilians, who fled attacks by the Bashar Assad regime and its supporters, were raised after Russia wanted to prevent aid from entering the country only from the Bab al-Hawa, Syrian border crossing - Cilvegozu Border Crossing in the Turkish province of Hatay, in line with United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.

Civilians, mostly women and children, living in tents filmed by Anadolu Agency with a drone, want the vital UN aid to continue.

Ali Shami, who took shelter in the Atma Refugee Camp near the Turkish border in Idlib four years ago due to the forced evacuations in the Eastern Ghouta region of the capital, Damascus, told Anadolu Agency that Russia now wants to kill the civilian population by starving them after the attacks.

Stressing that Russia wants to close the border crossing from which humanitarian aid, albeit a little, comes, Shami said: "If the Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing, which is a breather for the people in the region as the Bashar Assad regime does not exist, is closed, millions of civilians will face starvation."

Stating that the UN should treat civilians and the oppressed fairly, Shami said, "Russia wants to starve the Muslim community."

Ahmet Abu Ratib, who was forcibly displaced from Eastern Ghouta after six years of the regime's blockade and took shelter at the same camp, said the last humanitarian aid door through which civilians could breathe should not be closed.

Reminding that civilians living in tents received food and medicine aid from Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing, Abu Ratib said, "civilians were sentenced to live in tents. Who wants to live on the top of the mountain in dust, soil, among snakes and scorpions."

Emphasizing that they are struggling to survive in difficult living conditions in tents, Abu Ratib said, "Russia wants to starve our children by closing the humanitarian aid gates as if it wasn't enough to kill them with warplane attacks."

He urged the UN not to leave the oppressed people alone.

Khalid Abu Muhammed, who was forcibly displaced and settled in the camp said, "Russia left children orphaned by attacks. They forcibly displaced civilians from their homes. Now they covet a bite of bread that will come from the Baba al-Hawa Border Gate."

He called on the UN not to leave the civilians living in tents alone and not to close the last humanitarian aid door.

Stating that Russia is using all its veto rights against the Syrian people, Abu Mohammed said, "Russia has devastated the people. It destroyed our homes. Our children have been orphaned. They want to close the door of humanitarian aid that comes to children with milk, food and medicine."

Noting that civilians living in tents have difficulty finding jobs, Abu Mohammed said, "the UN needs to take action to find a crumb of bread for the people struggling to survive."

- UN humanitarian aid to Syria

Humanitarian aid has reached millions since 2014 through a mechanism authorized by UN Security Council resolutions that allow international aid to Syria.

In particular, people who have taken refuge in Idlib in northwestern Syria after being forcibly displaced rely on the aid.

By 2020, international humanitarian aid such as food, medicine, medical and hygiene supplies were sent through four border crossings, two of which were from Turkey.

The number of border crossings was first reduced to two upon Russia's veto and objections. Later, Russia only authorized Bab al-Hawa to be kept open for another year.

More than 1,000 humanitarian trucks cross the Bab al-Hawa border crossing into Syria every month but the mechanism that keeps the crossing open expires in July.

The Security Council needs to renew the mechanism so that the border crossing remains open and aid can continue.

The UN, international aid agencies, Turkey, the US and other Western countries want to increase the number of crossings where aid will be sent.

But China, which has sided with Russia in Security Council decisions on Syria, does not look favorably on keeping the Cilvegozu border crossing in Turkey's southern Hatay province open.

As before, Russia defended the argument that humanitarian aid should be provided from regime-controlled areas inside Syria, shortly before the expiration of the cross-border aid mechanism.

The only border crossing where more than 1,000 international humanitarian aid convoys are sent to Syria each month will be closed to aid crossings if Russia objects.

The US and Western countries in the UN also want the Bab al-Salam crossing across from the Oncupinar Border Crossing and the Al-Yarubiyah crossing between Iraq and Syria, which was closed in December 2019, to be reopened.

-Civil war

Syria has been ravaged by a civil war since early 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters.

Hundreds of thousands have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, according to UN estimates.

Idlib falls within a de-escalation zone forged under an agreement between Turkey and Russia. The area has been the subject of multiple cease-fire understandings which have frequently been violated by the Assad regime and its allies./agencies

Shots were fired late Friday at the presidential helicopter that was carrying Colombian President Ivan Duque.

Military sources reported that the chopper received fire during Duque's trip to the Catatumbo region in the northeastern part of the country, according to media reports.

Duque and those with him suffered no injuries in the attack, it said.

Officials said Duque later paid a visit to the municipality of Sardinata in the Norte de Santander Administrative Region.

Duque said the "cowardly" attack was conducted as he was about to land in the border city of Cucuta.

"The capacity of both the aircraft and the helicopter prevented anything fatal from happening," he said at a news conference.

“The truth is, there are traces of a cowardly attack in which bullets were seen on the presidential helicopter," he said.

Delivering a message of determination in the fight against drug traffickers and armed organizations, Duque emphasized such attacks would not deter his government.

Images released by authorities showed six bullets hit the helicopter.

Officials are reportedly trying to identify those who carried out the attack./aa

More than 300 homeless refugees have pitched tents in front of City Hall in Paris as they seek a solution for housing accommodations from authorities. 

Families with children, single women and unaccompanied minors were among undocumented migrants and refugees forced to live on the streets who set up a camp in front of the building.

Hitting the road for a better life with his wife, Mehtap, two years ago, Ali from Afghanistan told Anadolu Agency that the couple came to France via Iran, Turkey, Greece and Italy.

After their application for residences was rejected in Turkey, the couple illegally crossed into Greece where authorities told them that they could make an appointment for residence in 2024.

"We faced a lot of difficulties in Greece. We couldn't stand it and went to Italy with my wife and then we came to France," said Ali.

"Here you see us in France. We are left all by ourselves," he said as he highlighted their plight ​on the streets.

"We were living in filth, living in makeshift tents. Since we came here, we have been staying in tents for almost 10 days. It is the duty of the state to provide shelter to these people," said Mehtap.

Mael de Marcellus, French association Utopia 56's Paris coordinator, complained of the state's indifference.

"It is the state's duty to provide shelter to these people who are left around, but the state is not doing its duty. Many people apply to us for help, but our means are also limited," he said.

Although they asked for help several times, the group did not get a response from the government nor the municipality, he said.

Security forces have not yet intervened with immigrants and that is pleasing, Marcellus stressed.

TIMMY Association's head Esperance Minart said, in Paris, unaccompanied minors are interviewed shortly after arrival and seven out of 10 are rejected and abandoned to the streets.

They expect the related units to protect and integrate them as required by their responsibilities, said Minart.

As with the presumption of innocence, these children should be considered "vulnerable children" and should be enrolled in school like their peers, unless there is evidence showing that they are of age, she stressed.

She demanded that the government act responsibly. "We are not talking about millions of people here, we have the means to do everything right,” she said. “So let's stop getting in the way of these young people, they will come anyway and they have no family. We have to integrate them [into society], they are already integrating quickly and beautifully. Unfortunately, we do the work that the governorships should do, voluntarily."

Paris police cleared a migrant camp on Nov. 24, 2020, set up on the Place de la Republique in the center of the capital.

Several hundred tents were removed from the pavement, some with people still in them, as law enforcement sought to evacuate 500 people who set up just an hour before the operation.

Police used teargas and dispersed grenades to move migrants from the area.

Journalists, activists and politicians also expressed support for the refugees and condemned police violence.

The Place de la Republique is a large square located on the border between the 3rd, 10th, and 11th arrondissements in Paris./agencies