A German court sentenced five defendants up to four years and three months in prison on Saturday for being members of the PKK terror organization.

The Higher Regional Court in Stuttgart said Veysel S. was sentenced to four years and three months, Agit K. to four years, Ozkan T. received three years, Evrim A. and Cihan A. to one-and-a-half years for being members of the terror group that is involved in kidnapping and abducting.

The court said the PKK, "which has repeatedly harmed civilians in southeastern Turkey, is carrying out attacks on Turkish police officers and soldiers. The PKK aims to commit murder through attacks in Turkey."

"The PKK also has organizational structures in Germany and other Western European countries. It aims to raise funds for the organization, recruiting supporters for the PKK, and planning campaigns to influence public opinion," it said.

The decision is open to appeal, it added.

Turkey has repeatedly urged German authorities to take action against the PKK, which has been outlawed in Germany since 1993.

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

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday that it listed the Moderna vaccine for emergency use for the coronavirus -- the fifth injection to receive emergency validation from the UN agency.

"One of the things done under the process is to review how the manufacturing is done," WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told journalists at a UN news conference.

The WHO said the Emergency Use Listing assesses the quality, safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines -- a prerequisite for COVAX Facility vaccine supply. .

COVAX is a global initiative aimed at equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines led by Gavi, the vaccine alliance, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and the WHO.
It also allows countries to accelerate their regulatory approval to import and administer COVID-19 vaccines.

The US pharmaceutical company’s vaccine has already been reviewed by the WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE), making recommendations for vaccines' use in populations.
The US Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for the Moderna vaccine on Dec. 18.

And a marketing authorization valid throughout the European Union was granted by the European Medicines Agency on Jan. 6.
The Moderna vaccine is an mNRA-based vaccine, a new type of shot to protect against infectious diseases.

SAGE found it to have an efficacy of 94.1%. 

Although the vaccine is provided as a frozen suspension at -25 C to -15 C (-13 F to 5 F) in a multidose vial, vials can be stored refrigerated at 2 - 8 C (36 - 46 F) for up to 30 days before the withdrawal of the first dose.
WHO has also listed the Pfizer/BioNTech, Astrazeneca-SK Bio, Serum Institute of India and Janssen vaccines for emergency use./aa

The Syrian offshoot of the PKK terror group, YPG, has hired its first lobbyist in the US capital of Washington, DC. 

According to a report by the Foreign Lobby website, YPG/PKK signed an agreement with the Jim Dornan Strategies lobbying firm effective April 30.

The company is owned by Jim Dornan, who the report said is a longtime Republican campaign operative and former congressional staffer.

It aims to lobby "US/KDF (Kurdish Defense Forces) cooperation regarding ISIS," according to the report. The client is registered as "​Kurdish Defense Forces/YPG SDF" based in Al Hasakah, Syria.

US support for PKK affiliates in Syria has long strained relations with Turkey. Ankara says a NATO ally cannot back a terror group fighting against another ally.

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

More than 300,000 workers living in the Gaza Strip are unemployed because of the ongoing Israeli blockade and coronavirus measures, a Palestinian group said Friday.

The international community ignores the humanitarian situation of more than 2 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, said the head of the Popular Committee to End Gaza's Siege, Jamal al-Hudari, in a statement issued for the annual Labor Day on May 1.

He called for international assistance through trade unions for workers in Palestine, especially the Gaza Strip.

Authorities imposed additional measures to curb the coronavirus outbreak in Gaza as the enclave has seen a surge in daily infections since the beginning of March.

The densely populated Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli blockade since 2006.

The blockade has undermined living conditions in the coastal enclave./aa

Seventeen African heads of state on Friday signed on to the commitment to boost agricultural production by doubling current productivity levels through the scaling up of agro-technologies.

The signing took place at the end of a two-day virtual dialogue on Feeding Africa where panelists discussed ways to expand activities, financing, and partnerships to further leverage technology and innovation for food systems transformation.

Banks and development partners pledged over $17 billion to address rising hunger on the African continent and to improve food security.

It will include investing in access to markets as well as promoting agricultural research and development.

"Of the overall amount pledged, more than $10 billion came from the African Development Bank, which said it would invest $1.57 billion on scaling up 10 selected priority commodities over the next five years.

"Another $8.83 billion will go towards building strong value chains for these commodities over the next five years. This will include programs to create opportunities for young people – particularly women," the African Development Bank (AfDB) said in a statement.

AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina said: "Let us now create today, a stronger partnership: a partnership for greater scale; a partnership to take technologies and innovations to hundreds of millions of farmers."

"You have seen a global alliance, a global partnership that has come together under very strong leadership from Africa. ... We must Feed Africa. We don't have an option. We have a moral obligation and responsibility," Adesina said during the dialogue on Friday.

Sub-Saharan Africa has a quarter of the world’s arable land but only produces 10% of its agricultural output but the low productivity of staple crops makes African agriculture uncompetitive, according to the AfDB.

As a result, the region imports one-third of the calories that it consumes, which makes food systems more vulnerable and dependent on external food supply chains.

The two-day (April 29-30) virtual dialogue on Feeding Africa brought together government officials, heads of multilateral development banks, development partners, regional organizations, research institutions, business leaders, private sector operators, investment agencies, participants from academia, civil society organizations, and experts from across Africa and beyond./aa

Security forces rescued at least 56 irregular migrants in Turkey's northwestern province of Canakkale on Friday.

Turkey's Coast Guard Command detected the presence of a group of irregular migrants on a rubber boat off the coast of Kadirga in the town of Ayvacik.

The irregular migrants, who had been pushed back to Turkish territorial waters by Greek elements, were rescued and taken ashore.

After routine procedures, the migrants were transferred to the local repatriation center.

Turkey and human rights groups have repeatedly condemned Greece's illegal practice, saying it violates humanitarian values and international law by endangering the lives of vulnerable migrants, including women and children./aa

One hundred million adults in the US have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a White House official on Friday.

Jeff Zients, the White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator, said 55% of American adults now have at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

"That's 100 million, nearly 40% of all adult Americans who are now fully vaccinated with protection from COVID-19 two weeks after getting their last shot," he said.

More than 305 million doses have been distributed in the US, while 143.7 million have been administered as of early Thursday.

Almost 32.3 million cases have been recorded in the US since the start of the pandemic with more than 575,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Global cases are more than 150 million, with over 3.1 million deaths./aa

Turkey’s state-run aid agency has helped bring life back to historic Palestinian homes in the old city of Hebron.

Palestinian Abdullah al-Suweiti, who lives next to the Ibrahimi Mosque in the occupied city, was relieved after his house was restored by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA).

The house was part of the first phase of a four-stage restoration process funded by TIKA for historic homes in Hebron dating back to the Ottoman era (1516-1917).

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, al-Suweiti said he has lived in the house for 30 years and estimates that it was built around 150 years ago. He said the Hebron Reconstruction Committee did some restoration work on it last year.

The Israeli occupation authorities prevent Palestinians in the city from building as well as restoring their old homes.

However, they allow the reconstruction committee to carry out limited restoration work according to strict restrictions.

"I left the house for a month [until the restoration work was completed]. I thank the Turkish people and the Turkish government for their support for this project," he said.

TIKA, which was established in 1992, is a sponsor and main coordinator of many charitable projects that it implements in various regions of the world, including Palestine.

Imad Hamdan, head of the Hebron Reconstruction Committee, said TIKA funds the restoration of homes located east of the Ibrahimi Mosque, and "so far, more than 30 apartments and housing units have been restored."

Hamdan thanked TIKA and the Turkish people "for this support to the Palestinian people and the old city of Hebron in particular."

He pointed to the continuation of the projects which started about a year ago despite some obstacles due to the coronavirus, adding there are other upcoming projects.

He said the area targeted for restoration by the Turkish government is one of the most important areas of the old city and "contributed to protecting these buildings and preserving the cultural heritage, as most of them date back to the Ottoman era."

In July 2017, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee decided to include the Ibrahimi Mosque and the old city of Hebron on the World Heritage List.

Hamdan also pointed out that the restoration of the houses contributes to the return of residents to reside in them and thus protects them from Israeli ambitions.

He noted that most of the restored homes were deserted because their owners had left them due to the harassment of the occupation and settlers, but they return to them after the restoration.

"We are targeting this area adjacent to the Ibrahimi Mosque to strengthen the steadfastness of the people in these homes...and to preserve the architectural heritage in these homes while improving them, such as windows and doors, and maintaining them periodically," the Palestinian official said.

In some cases where homeowners are unable to return, the reconstruction committee brings families for free housing, and in this way, since its establishment in 1996, the committee has returned about 10,000 Palestinians to about 2,000 housing units that have been repaired.

He touched on the daily challenges from the Israeli occupation authorities during work, most notably preventing work, arresting workers and preventing the entry of restoration materials.

Montaser Maraka, an engineer supervising the restoration projects, said the projects are approved according to priorities and after studying the architectural status of the homes and the needs of their inhabitants.

He mentioned that most of Hebron's old houses date back to the Ottoman, Ayyubid and Mamluk eras, which requires preserving their architectural character.

He said the first phase of the project funded by TIKA targeted 10 houses in 2019, and 10 more in 2020, and soon the third phase will be completed, and the fourth phase of 10 houses adjacent to the Ibrahimi Mosque will begin.

According to the Youth Against Settlements NGO, the occupation and settlement measures in the heart of Hebron have caused the closure of all the old city's approximately 1,800 shops, 530 of which were closed by orders of the Israeli army.

It said there are about 800 settlers in the heart of Hebron who live in five settlement outposts that they established on Palestinian property.

Under the Hebron Agreement signed in 1997 between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel, the city was divided into two areas -- H1 subject to Palestinian control and H2 under Israeli control -- which is estimated at 20% of the city’s area, in which the old city and the Ibrahimi Mosque are located./aa

The bodies of two Spanish journalists and an Irish environmental activist, who were killed in an ambush in Burkina Faso earlier this week, arrived in Madrid on Friday.

The Spanish journalists, Roberto Fraile, 47, and David Beriain, 44, were filming a documentary about poaching in Burkina Faso’s national parks.

They were killed alongside Irish citizen Rory Young, the co-founder of an anti-poaching organization, and another man from Burkina Faso.

“David and Roberto did so much to give voice to the voiceless, shine a light on the tough realities that surround us but are often invisible, and with that, give our democracy the strength it needs,” said Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya, who took part in the official ceremony to receive the bodies at the airbase.

Irish Ambassador to Spain Sile Maguir, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles and the families of the deceased journalists also attended the ceremony.

Gonzalez Laya said Spain is working with Burkina Faso to investigate what happened and bring the culprits to justice.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Burkina Faso authorities said the men were “executed by terrorists.”

Since 2015, Burkina Faso has been dealing with a growing insurgency. It had mostly been limited to the north of the country but has been spilling to other areas, such as the Arli National Park, where the four men were killed.

Landlocked Burkina Faso is also one of the poorest countries in the world and activists say climate change is severely aggravating the humanitarian crisis.

“If we’ve learned anything from this terrible act, it’s been the importance of supporting peace and stability in the Sahel. The Sahel is the neighbor of our neighbors. It’s a zone that is incredibly turbulent and that poses big geopolitical and geostrategic risks for our country,” said Gonzalez Laya.

Spain, France, Germany and Italy released a joint statement on Friday, reiterating their commitment to supporting the Sahel region, both by supporting local armies and promoting socio-economic development./aa

India on Saturday recorded 401,993 daily cases, Health Ministry figures show -- a new global record.

The ministry said the overall coronavirus mark has now surpassed 19 million, while the death toll stands at 211,853, including 3523 new fatalities.

India has added more than 300,000 daily cases for nine consecutive days beginning April 22, pushing the health system to its limits and causing an acute shortage of hospital beds, oxygen and treatment drugs like Remdesevir.

As per the figures, the national capital, New Delhi, which has been seeing an acute shortage of oxygen in hospitals, reported more than 27,000 new infections late Friday.  -

Along with the rising number of cases, the number of daily fatalities has also witnessed a massive increase, strained crematoriums and burial centers.

Amid the battle against the virus, foreign medical aid has arrived. In the last few days, a number of countries, including the US, have sent medical help.

While government officials say they would receive oxygen generating plants and oxygen concentrators in coming days, the navy has deployed warships to bring medical oxygen from abroad.

Starting Saturday, a Phase 3 vaccination drive will begin that will allow residents older than 18 to be vaccinated.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is facing huge criticism for failing to manage the second wave is announcing more steps to deal with the situation.

A statement by the government on Friday said the Council of Ministers who met noted the present situation is a “once in a century crisis./aa