Turkiye is an important target country for foreign direct investments (FDIs) not only for US companies but also for firms from all parts of the world, especially European and Asian companies, the head of the Presidential Investment Office, Ahmet Burak Daglıoglu, said Tuesday.

Under the coordination of the Turkish Presidency of Communications and the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM), commercial diplomacy events were organized in the US.

A delegation of senior officials and members of parliament and business are in the US to hold talks on commercial diplomacy and bilateral economic relations in Washington and New York.

Daglıoglu noted that investments will have a significant share in the targeted $100 billion trade volume between the US and Turkiye.

"The presence of American companies in Turkiye dates back many years,” he said, adding more than 2,000 American companies operate in the country.

The US has been one of the main sources of FDI in Turkiye over the past two decades with the total amount of FDI inflows between 2006 and 2021 reaching $14 billion.

"Turkiye is an important target country in terms of international direct investments not only for US companies but also for companies from all geographies of the world, especially European and Asian companies," he added.

The delegation, which met with Turkish and American businesspeople, visited the US State and Commerce Departments as well as the US Chamber of Commerce.

The delegation will also hold talks at the Atlantic Council think tank on increasing commercial relations between the US and Turkiye and will meet with members of the American and international press.

Within the framework of the program, panels and trade diplomacy workshops will be organized to increase Turkiye's role in transatlantic exports.

Panels titled "Joining Forces for Prosperity: Turkiye-America Relations" and "Turkiye and America's Initiatives for New Horizons: $100 Billion Trade Target" will be held at Turkevi Center, known as Turkish House, in Manhattan.

The four-day program, jointly organized by the Presidency of Communications and TIM, is expected to contribute positively to the dynamics of commercial relations between the two countries./aa

American stock exchanges closed Tuesday with gains a day ahead of a US Federal Reserve meeting.

The Fed is expected to make a 25-basis point rate hike to start monetary tightening.

US producer prices were up 10% in February on an annual basis, according to Labor Department figures.

Investors were fast to shake off the record inflation data, which came in line with market expectations, as they focused on the Fed's two-day meeting slated to conclude on Wednesday.

Investors continued to monitor the Russia-Ukraine war, with the two countries to resume talks on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden signed a sweeping federal government spending bill on Tuesday that includes $13.6 billion in additional funding to assist Ukraine in the war with Russia.

Given these developments, the Dow Jones industrial average surged 600 points, or 1.8%, to 33,544.

The S&P 500 increased 2.1% to 4,262 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 2.9% to 12,948.

The VIX volatility index, known as the fear index, fell 6.1% to 29.83, while the yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 2.15%.

On the commodities side, the West Texas Intermediate crude was trading below $100 a barrel./agencies

Ninety-seven children in Ukraine have been killed in attacks by the Russian army, authorities said Tuesday.

The office of the chief prosecutor in Ukraine said more than 100 children have also been injured between Feb. 24 and March 15.

"At least five children die every day under bombardments,” it added.

The Russia-Ukraine war, which began Feb. 24, has drawn international condemnation, led to financial sanctions on Moscow and spurred an exodus of global firms from Russia.

At least 636 civilians have been killed and 1,125 injured in Ukraine since the beginning of the war.

More than 3 million refugees have fled to neighboring countries, according to the UN./aa

A Russian court fined journalist Marina Ovsyannikova on Tuesday after she interrupted a live broadcast to protest the ongoing war in Ukraine. 

The Ostankinsky district court found Ovsyannikova, an employee of the Pervy TV station, guilty of organizing an unauthorized public event and fined her 30,000 rubles ($270).

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the incident "a show" and "hooliganism."

The Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against Ovsyannikova under the "public dissemination of deliberately false information about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation" which was recently added to the Russian Criminal code. Those charged under the new law can receive up to 15 years in jail.

Ovsyannikova stormed into the studio of the Vremya news program Monday evening and stood behind anchor Ekaterina Andreeva with a poster that demanded an end to Russia's special operation in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that Paris was ready to offer consular protection or political asylum to Ovsyannikova.

"We are obviously going to launch diplomatic steps to offer protection either at the embassy or asylum protection. I will have the opportunity during my next meeting with President Putin to propose this solution in a direct and very concrete way," Macron said in a statement to reports following his visit to a reception center for Ukrainian refugees in La Pommeraye (Maine-et-Loire) in Western France.

He said Moscow will be asked to provide clarity on Ovsyannikova’s case so that Paris can undertake steps accordingly.

Macron also expressed France’s support to journalists covering the war.

In a tweet Sunday, he offered condolences to a US journalist killed in Ukraine and lauded journalists for their courage.

He said journalism’s ideal of the freedom to inform is "fundamental to our democracies."/aa

China is not a party to the Russia-Ukraine crisis and does not want to be affected by sanctions against Moscow, according to the nation’s foreign minister. 

Wang Yi has told his Spanish counterpart, Jose Manuel Albares, that China does not want to be affected by Western sanctions imposed on Russia because of the war with Ukraine.

“China is not a party to the crisis, nor does it want the sanctions to affect China,” Yi told Jose Manuel Albares, according to a statement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Stressing that China has never supported a resolution to problems with sanctions, Yi said Beijing has always opposed unilateral sanctions that have no equivalent in international law.

Such steps will reduce the importance of international rules, he said, adding that they will adversely affect the welfare of all the people of the country.

“China has the right to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests,” he said.

Yi underlined that China, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has encouraged peace talks since the beginning of the conflict.

He hopes the fourth round of talks will lead to acceptable progress for all parties.

Albares said the situation in Ukraine threatens peace and stability in Europe and Spain hopes the war will end as soon as possible through dialogue and diplomatic means.

On Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian accused the US of spreading “disinformation” to “smear China.”

His accusation followed major Western media outlets reporting that Russia had asked China for military equipment and support for its war in Ukraine.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN on Sunday that Beijing will pay “consequences for l large-scale sanctions evasion efforts or support to Russia to backfill them.”

The Russia-Ukraine war, which began Feb. 24, has drawn international condemnation, led to financial sanctions on Moscow and spurred an exodus of global firms from Russia.

At least 636 civilians have been killed and 1,125 injured in Ukraine since the beginning of the war.

More than 3 million refugees have fled to neighboring countries, according to UN estimates./aa

As a court in southern India upheld the ban on wearing hijabs or headscarves in class in the state of Karanataka, a number of Muslim organizations in India cried foul at the ruling, vowing to challenge it in the Supreme Court.

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday upheld a ban on hijabs in classrooms, stating that wearing them was not an essential religious practice in Islam.

Late Tuesday afternoon, a student filed a petition with the Supreme Court against the ruling, local news outlet NDTV reported.

Balking at the High Court ruling, Indian Muslim leader and parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi said:

"Banning headscarves definitely harms devout Muslim women and their families as it prevents them from accessing education."

"I disagree with Karnataka High Court's judgement on hijab. It’s my right to disagree with the judgement & I hope that petitioners appeal before SC (Supreme Court)," he wrote on Twitter.

Owaisi said he hoped not just his organization, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen, but "organizations of other religious groups appeal this judgment."  

‘Denying women their choice' 

Haseena Hashia Sahiba, a New Delhi-based member of the umbrella scholar body All India Muslim Personal Law Board, told Anadolu Agency that Muslims are equal citizens of India and that Muslim groups would approach the Supreme Court to challenge the ruling./aa