The UN Human Rights Council (HRC) on Friday called for the immediate and unconditional release of all those arbitrarily detained in the Feb. 1 coup in Myanmar, including de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint.

At a special session, the 47-strong HRC passed a resolution without any opposition.

The resolution called “upon the Myanmar military and other security forces and authorities to take steps immediately to protect the rights to freedom of opinion and expression, religion or belief, association and peaceful assembly.”

It also called for the immediate and permanent lifting of internet restrictions, telecommunication and social media, and the avoidance of any further violations of the rights to freedom of opinion and expression.

The resolution also demanded a "safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to all people in need, including through the re‑establishment of United Nations relief flights.”

While not voting against the resolution, Bolivia, China, the Philippines, Russia and Venezuela "dissociated" from it, saying it is an internal matter of Myanmar.

At the session, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar Tom Andrews called on the UN Security Council to evaluate sanctions such as an "arms embargo and travel ban" against the country.

‘A profound setback’

Nada al-Nashif, the deputy high commissioner for human rights, at the start of the debate called by the EU and the UK, said: "The seizure of power by the Myanmar military earlier this month constitutes a profound setback for the country, after a decade of hard-won gains in its democratic transition."

The gains made by Myanmar had been reviewed by the HRC less than three weeks earlier in its Universal Periodic Review.

"The military authorities must not be allowed to exacerbate the situation of the Rohingya people, after the extreme violence and decades of discrimination that they have endured," the HRC official said.

U Myint Thu, Myanmar’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, said: "In light of the post-election irregularities and the following complex situation in the country, Tatmadaw [the Myanmar military] was compelled to take the State responsibilities, in accordance with the State Constitution."

Rui Macieira, Portugal's envoy to the UN in Geneva, said, however, the military takeover threatens to reverse 10 years of democratic transition.

The US made its first statement since it announced on Monday it would re-engage with the HRC as an observer after the administration of former President Donald Trump withdrew from the body in 2018.

Mark Cassayre, charge d'affaires of the US mission in Geneva, said Washington condemns the military's coup against "the democratically elected government of Myanmar."

Urging targeted sanctions against coup leaders, Cassayre called on HRC members to "urge the military to immediately release all those unjustly detained, including politicians, civil society representatives, journalists, foreign nationals, and human rights defenders."

The HRC does not have the power to impose sanctions on individuals or states, which the UN Security Council can do./aa

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Friday welcomed US President Joe Biden's migration policy, praising the Democrat's decision to halt the construction of the southern border wall.

"It is an issue that we celebrate because the wall has been built for some time. To be objective, both the Democratic and Republican presidents have built its sections. And now President Biden decides that he is no longer going to build the wall on the border. So, it is a historical event," said Lopez Obrador in a press conference.

The Mexican leader also celebrated the end of the Migrant Protection Protocols, or MPP, a "remain in Mexico" policy enforced by then-President Donald Trump in 2019.

The policy coerced by Trump through the threat of implementing tariffs to imported goods from Mexico forced migrants trying to get into the US to wait in Mexico for their migration resolution or deportation. The initiative saw 65,000 non-Mexican migrants contained in Mexican territory.

"We have in Mexico around 6,000 migrants waiting for their issues to be resolved. It would be convenient that this agreement is fulfilled and that they wait in the United States," said the president.

Lopez Obrador called on Central Americans planning to cross the US border on Thursday to not do so. He noted US authorities are not authorizing entry to American territory, saying: "The policy is to support migrants, but it will take time to apply the immigration policy."

Lopez Obrador said he expected Biden administration to support Central American countries./aa

A bomb explosion on Friday evening targeted a local government office near Somalia's biggest market in the capital Mogadishu.

Confirming the blast, Somali police spokesman Sadaq Adan Ali told Anadolu Agency by phone a grenade was hurled at a local government office near Bakaara market in the Hodan district.

No casualties were reported, he said, adding further investigations were underway.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. However, Somali-based al-Qaeda-affiliated militant group al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for many recent attacks in the Horn of Africa country.

Al-Shabaab militants have stepped up attacks on security forces as operations by Africa Union Mission Forces and the Somali National Army continue pushing the group from its strongholds in the country.
/aa

As most of Europe pursues mass vaccination targets, COVID-19 deaths remain worryingly high across the continent.

Fatality numbers have been particularly alarming in countries such as the UK, Germany, Spain, Poland, Italy, France, Portugal, and Slovakia.

These states accounted for a majority of the around 4,000 virus-related deaths reported across Europe on Feb. 11.

The UK’s death toll of over 115,000 is, by far, the highest on the continent, and shows no signs of slowing.

In two months, the country of over 66 million, the first in the European Union to begin immunizations, has administered some 13.5 million vaccine doses, but its death rate is still soaring.

According to data from the online resource Worldometer, the UK reported its highest daily fatality count of 1,820 on Jan. 20.

Over the past week, the country reported an average of 790 deaths per day – 1,052 on Feb. 9, 1,001 on Feb. 10, and 678 on Feb. 11.

In Germany, where coronavirus curbs have been extended until at least March, some 3.5 million vaccine doses have been administered to date.

The daily fatality figure peaked at 1,244 on Dec. 29 and averaged around 540 over the past week – 674 on Feb. 9, 708 on Feb. 10, and 534 on Feb. 11.

Germany’s overall death toll is now over 64,500, according to the latest figures.

Spain, Italy, France

The fatality count in Spain, where 2.2 million vaccine doses have been administered so far, has crossed 64,200.

The country reported an average of 480 deaths over the past week – 766 on Feb. 9, 643 on Feb. 10, and 513 on Feb. 11.

In Italy, some 2.7 million doses have been administered since vaccinations started in late December.

While the overall death toll is now over 92,700, fatalities in the country have dropped significantly over recent days.

The daily average was 360 in the past week – 422 deaths were reported on Feb. 9, 336 on Feb. 10, and 391 on Feb. 11.

In France, more than 80,800 lives have been lost to COVID-19 and the country has administered some 2.3 million vaccine jabs to date.

An average of 390 virus-related deaths were reported in the country over the past seven days – 508 on Feb. 9, 296 on Feb. 10, and 360 on Feb. 11.

Portugal, Poland, Slovakia

As the overall death toll crosses 40,000, the situation remains grim in Poland, despite some 1.7 million vaccine doses having been administered so far.

The daily average was 260 over the past week, with 228 fatalities reported on Feb. 9 and 360 on Feb. 10.

Portugal, one of the worst-hit countries in a new wave of infections, has administered some 400,000 vaccine doses.

The death toll in the country is now over 15,000, following a spike this January that culminated in a peak of 303 on Jan. 31.

An average of 210 people died of virus-related complications per day over the past week – 203 on Feb. 9, 161 on Feb. 10, and 167 on Feb. 11.

In Slovakia, the daily fatality count is still above the 100 mark – 111 deaths were reported on Feb. 9, 120 on Feb. 10, and 127 on Feb. 11.

The country’s death toll is now over 5,700 and the number of vaccine doses it has administered is close to 250,000./aa

The Turkish ambassador to the UN in Geneva condemned the recent military coup in Myanmar, saying his country is against any such type of takeover and military intervention.

Turkish envoy Sadik Arslan was speaking at a "special session" of the UN Human Rights Council on "implications of the crisis in Myanmar" on Friday.

"We are deeply concerned about and strongly condemn the military takeover that took place in Myanmar on 1 February 2021. Turkey is against any kind of coup d'etats and military interventions as a matter of principle," he said.

Arslan said Turkey expects the immediate release of all detained elected officials, political personalities, and civilians.

Turkey is particularly concerned about the fate and political future of the state counselor and de facto leader of the country, Aung San Suu Kyi.

"We hope that this grave development will not worsen the plight of Rohingya Muslims living in Myanmar," said Arslan.

The envoy said Turkey is ready to support the international community to take a firm stance against the military coup.

"We are deeply concerned about the prospects of escalation of the crisis by the violent suppression of protests following the declaration of martial law," said Arslan.

Turkey would continue to closely monitor developments in Myanmar and encourage the country to return to the democratic path as soon as possible.

Around 50 countries supported the 29th special session of the UN Human Rights Council on Myanmar requested by the EU and the UK./aa

All 15 remaining crew members of the Liberian-flagged ship the Mozart were rescued Friday after the cargo vessel had fallen victim to a pirate attack off Nigeria, two involved maritime companies announced.

Borealis Maritime and Boden Maritime stated that the entire crew was now safe in contact with their families, adding that they would return to Turkey as soon as possible.

"We thank the Turkish and Nigerian governments for their support during these challenging three weeks, all government agencies and officials, the entire Borealis community working on the land and at sea, and everyone who helped us solve this problem," the statement said.

The statement also expressed the firms' condolences for one crew member who lost his life during the attack, while commending three others who remained on board for their courage and discipline in bringing the ship back to a secure area.

It added that another statement would be issued once the released personnel return to their families.

Separately, Turkey's foreign minister said the crew members were in good health and would be brought to Turkey from Nigeria's capital Abuja by flag carrier Turkish Airlines.

Mevlut Cavusoglu told TRT Haber, Turkey's state-run news channel, that ships sailing in the area needed to take additional security measures.

Noting that after this incident, efforts had been launched to increase the intelligence precautions to prevent such incidents, Cavusoglu underlined that cooperation would be necessary to prevent these events in the future.

"Though we saved our citizens, Turkey will provide the necessary support to avoid these incidents."

Also, Cavusoglu spoke by phone with the families of the crew members, according to diplomatic sources.

In a separate statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said the 15 Turkish nationals were at a safe point and had undergone medical examinations.

It added that they would be transferred from Nigeria to Turkey as soon as possible.

In cooperation with maritime companies, a team from the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT) was sent to the field, it said, adding that developments were being followed in real-time.

Family rejoice at news

The family of Gokhan Burhan, one of the rescued sailors, rejoiced at the news.

Nadire Burhan, the sailor's wife, thanked Cavusoglu and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"I'm very happy, thousands of thanks to God. I thank everyone for their help [...] I'm speechless with delight," she said.

Counting the hours to see his son, Burhan's father said: "We received very good news. I hope God will bring my child to us soon."

In a pirate attack on Jan. 23, 15 of the Mozart's 19 crew members were abducted, while one of them, an Azerbaijani national, was killed.

The vessel was managed by Borealis Maritime, a firm based in London and Hamburg, Germany/aa

US-based multinational banking and financial services company JP Morgan on Friday revised its estimate for Turkey's economic growth for 2020 from 1.1% to 1.9%.

According to a report published by the firm, despite containment measures such as lockdowns, domestic demand was quite resilient in the fourth quarter of 2020.

The Turkish economy's growth figures always "surprises to the upside," mirroring the robustness and flexibility of the Turkish private sector, it noted.

Underlining the country's experience in handling crises in previous years, the report highlighted it was not particularly surprising that Turkey outshined its peers amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

It pointed out that one of the main reasons for this outperformance was the massive government-led credit growth in the first half of last year, supporting the economy to recover from the pandemic.

Growth forecast for 2021

JP Morgan also revised up its 2021 growth figures for Turkey from 3.3% to 4.6%, noting that more rigid financial conditions and ongoing lockdowns will stay a drag. The carry-over from 2020 will, however, be much larger than previously predicted and the support from net exports could be higher.

The report also underlined that this year, the economy could see higher growth, given the more promising expectations for the tourism sector's performance, as well as the vaccination process./aa

The UN Human Rights Council began a special session Friday following the seizure of power in Myanmar by the military, with the coup widely condemned there.

"The seizure of power by the Myanmar military earlier this month constitutes a profound setback for the country, after a decade of hard-won gains in its democratic transition," Nada al-Nashif, the deputy high commissioner for human rights, said at the start of the debate called by the EU and the UK.

Gains made by Myanmar had been reviewed by the HRC less than three weeks earlier in its Universal Periodic Review.

That "had been reinforced by the clear results of the general elections of November 2020 -- now effectively betrayed by the coup -- and the declaration of a one-year State of Emergency," said al-Nashif.

Myanmar's democratically elected political leadership, including de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, have been detained on "politically motivated charges."

"Additionally, the military authorities must not be allowed to exacerbate the situation of the Rohingya people, after the extreme violence and decades of discrimination that they have endured," said the HRC official.

She called on the military authorities "to return power to civilian control and to immediately release all individuals arbitrarily detained."

Myanmar's military declared a state of emergency on Feb. 1, hours after detaining Wyint, Suu Kyi, and senior members of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD).

U Myint Thu, Myanmar’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, said: "In light of the post-election irregularities and the following complex situation in the country, Tatmadaw (the Myanmar military) was compelled to take the State responsibilities, in accordance with the State Constitution."

Rui Macieira, Portugal's envoy to the UN in Geneva, said, however, the military takeover threatens to reverse 10 years of democratic transition.

"To remain silent about violations of fundamental human rights, such as freedom of opinion and expression, religion or belief, and association and assembly, is not an option," he said.

Sadik Arslan, the Turkish ambassador to the UN in Geneva, said: "We are deeply concerned about and strongly condemn the military takeover that took place in Myanmar. Turkey is against any kind of coup d'etats and military interventions as a matter of principle.

"We hope that this grave development will not worsen the plight of Rohingya Muslims living in Myanmar."

The US made its first statement since it announced on Monday it would re-engage with the HRC as an observer after the administration of former President Donald Trump withdrew from the body in 2018.

Mark Cassayre, charge d'affaires of the US mission in Geneva, said Washington condemns the military's coup against "the democratically elected government of Myanmar."

Urging targeted sanctions against coup leaders, he called on HRC members to "urge the military to immediately release all those unjustly detained, including politicians, civil society representatives, journalists, foreign nationals, and human rights defenders."

The HRC does not have the power to impose sanctions on individuals or states, which the UN Security Council can do.

A Russian delegate opposing the debate said: "We believe that attempts to face the latest events which are linked to the declaration of the state of emergency on the human rights plane is hardly justified and very political."

As well as EU countries in the 47-strong HRC, the request for the debate was also supported by states such as Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Japan, Israel, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Switzerland, Turkey, Pakistan, the US, and other nations.

China, Belarus, Cuba, Eritrea, the Philippines, Russia, and Venezuela said they opposed holding the special session./aa

A scientist specializing in Arctic studies said research on Antarctica has shed light on global climate change as well as the Earth’s history. 

Burcu Ozsoy, a member of Istanbul Technical University’s Faculty of Maritime Studies and chairperson of the TUBITAK Marmara Research Center’s Institute of Arctic Research, has been conducting studies on sea ice on the white continent.

Having been to Antarctica six times and taken charge in the four scientific expeditions Turkey has organized on the continent, she was awarded by the Turkish Academy of Sciences for her arctic studies.

With regard to the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, Ozsoy told Anadolu Agency about her studies on the pole.

Working on oil pollution in seas in her master’s studies, Ozsoy started working on remote sensing for her doctorate degree at Texas University in the US and examined Antarctica through NASA’s satellites.

After informing the launcher of a satellite about a problem with its functioning, she was invited to NASA and went to the US base in Antarctica in 2006.

“I returned to Turkey in 2010. I gained a serious amount of knowledge and wanted to initiate an enterprise in my home country,” she said.

Ozsoy said when she went to Antarctica and saw the bases of countries, she wished for Turkey to have a base on the white continent.

With this purpose in mind, she founded the Istanbul Technical University Polar Research Center (ITU PolReC) in 2015.

Later, ITU PolReC carried out three national expeditions in Antarctica with the Industry and Technology Ministry. Evolving into the TUBITAK MAM Institute of Arctic Research, they conducted the fourth national expedition on the continent.

“As Antarctica is a continent dedicated to peace and science, as Turkey, we made it possible for scientists from other countries to join our expeditions,” Ozsoy said.

They have enabled more than 70 researchers, scientists, teachers and experts to conduct scientific research studies on the white continent. Ozsoy noted that a total of 48 scientific articles were published after the studies.

She said the main purpose of the project is for Turkey to acquire a consulting status and establish a Turkish scientific base on the continent.

- Antarctica represents Earth’s history

Underlining that the poles are the regions where climate change can be monitored, Ozsoy said more elements that trigger the climate are present on the poles, which makes the studies on these regions important.

She said information related to millions of years ago is hidden in the 4,000-meter-thick ice in Antarctica.

“You take a sample from 3,000 (over 9,800 feet) meters below, and it takes you 800,000 years back in time. The memory of the Earth’s past is hidden in it; formations, geological and atmospheric structures.”

“The biggest hole in the ozone layer is in Antarctica. On land with an area of 14 million square kilometers, only 1,000 scientists live. The polar regions are precious in climatic, economic and scientific terms,” she added.

- 'Stop telling yourself you can't do it'

Ozsoy also noted that the number of women in the field of science is fewer than men.

“This is why we should be motivated more. I call on our young girls to stop telling themselves ‘I can’t do it, I can’t be a scientist,’ but rather do research, improve themselves, ask questions and contact scientists,” she said.

“We need to shed light on the world. I want our youth to be motivated and our young girls to question and contact us, the scientists. If they have role models, I have no doubt that they will be in better positions than we are.”/aa

Turkish police arrested a suspect in Istanbul for his alleged links to the far-left DHKP-C terrorist group, a security source said early Friday. 

Caferi Sadik Eroglu, a senior member of the group responsible for operations in Turkey, was arrested in Istanbul’s Sariyer district on the European side of the city.

Eroglu was in the gray category of the Interior Ministry's wanted terrorist list with a bounty of up to 500,000 Turkish liras (roughly $ 71,000) on his head. He had already been arrested and remanded in custody by a Turkish court but was later released on bail.

The wanted list is divided into five color-coded categories, with red as the most wanted, followed by blue, green, orange and gray.

Eroglu was arrested on Feb. 26, 2018 during a raid at the Idıl Culture Center along with Umit Ilter, who was in the gray category of the ministry's wanted terrorist list and was a senior member after the death of the group’s founder Dursun Karatas in 2008.

The DHKP-C is responsible for a number of terrorist attacks in Turkey, including a 2013 attack on the US embassy in Ankara in which a Turkish security guard was martyred.

The group is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and the EU./aa