Arab nations, Türkiye sends aid planes to Libya flood zone
Two aircrafts of the Qatari Air Bridge for flood victims in east Libya arrived at Benina International Airport in Benghazi on Thursday, September 14. Floods in Libya’s Derna has been described as the worst disaster in the 21st century. According to Qatar News Agency report, the total Qatari aid, up to 121 tons, with two planes which arrived earlier, the third and fourth planes carried 54 tons of humanitarian and relief aid as an emergency response to the humanitarian situation.
The planes were loaded with food, relief material and medical equipment provided by the Permanent Committee for Rescue, Relief and Humanitarian Aid, the report added. After the Libyan Presidential Council declared the cities of Derna, Shahat and Al-Bayda disaster zones, several Arab nations and Türkiye offered aid and deployed rescue teams to help survivors and find missing people.
Ankara slams US report that includes Türkiye among child soldier recruiter nations
Ankara on September 16 strongly slammed an update in the 2023 US Trafficking in Persons Report that listed Türkiye as a country that uses child soldiers. “It is regrettable that Türkiye’s significant efforts to prevent human trafficking have been disregarded by placing her in the list of child soldier recruiting states under the ‘Child Soldiers Prevention Act’ through an update of the 2023 U.S. State Department Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“Türkiye is making every effort to prevent the crime of human trafficking, punish offenders and protect victims of the crime while maintaining its activities in an uninterrupted manner towards further strengthening bilateral, regional and international cooperation to this end,” it said. “We categorically reject all allegations of children recruitment attributed to our country who is party to all international documents on the protection of children’s rights including those adopted within the framework of the United Nations and meticulously implements them,” it said.
Central Asian leaders discuss Aral Sea issue in Tajikistan
The Executive Committee of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFSAS) convened in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, on September 15. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev attended the Council of Heads of States-founders of the IFSAS meeting hosted by Tajik President Imamali Rahman.
Rahman highlighted extensive efforts undertaken by the IFSAS and associated organizations to enhance water, environmental and socioeconomic conditions in the Aral Sea basin. “The rapid melting of glaciers, escalating natural disasters, floods, droughts, and landslides pose grave threats. These challenges necessitate a unified approach,” he said. Mirziyoyev expressed concerns about issues arising from glacier melting, natural disasters, rapid population growth, urbanization and industrialization in the region. Mirziyoyev said Central Asia’s water and environmental challenges would intensify in the near future.