Day: May 24, 2023

A series of events are being organized in several countries in Europe and Africa as part of Turkish Cuisine Week to introduce and promote Turkish cuisine, according to Anadolu Agency. The annual gastronomic event is being held for the second time under the auspices of the Turkish Presidency and with the support of the Culture and Tourism Ministry from May 21-27. Turkish Cuisine Week, which features presentations by the country's leading chefs, is hosting various events abroad, including in Croatia's capital Zagreb, where Trkiye's award-winning chef Yunus Emre Akkor prepared dishes from the 11 Turkish provinces hit by devastating earthquakes on Feb. 6. The culinary event aims to draw attention to Turkish cuisine from a waste-free, ecological and sustainable perspective. Turkish first lady Emine Erdogan in a tweet on Monday hailed the special week, saying: "The gate that opens to a country's cuisine also opens to a geography, civilization, ecology, tradition, mores and belief." Trkiye's ambassador to Croatia, Yavuz Selim Kiran, hailed Turkish cuisine for its varieties, which he said is "enriched with the interaction of different civilizations and cultures through centuries." "Our quake-hit cities are well-known for their cuisine," Kiran told the event in Zagreb. "Today's menu contains special dishes from Hatay and 10 other quake-hit cities." An event was also held at NATO headquarters in Brussels hosted by Trkiye's Permanent representative to the military alliance, Levent Gumrukcu. Representatives of other member states, diplomats and military and civilian staff of NATO participated in the event. "When it comes to Turkish cuisine, I do not think I need to be modest," Gumrukcu said. Turkish cuisine was also introduced at the Paris headquarters of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), in the Hungarian capital Budapest, and at Sweden's Orebro University. The event in Paris, which was hosted by Trkiye's Permanent Representative to the OECD, Kerem Alkin, was attended by Trkiye's Ambassador to France, Ali Onaner, International Energy Agency (IEA) President Fatih Birol and OECD Deputy Secretary-General Yoshiki Takeuchi as well as various countries' permanent representatives to the OECD. Hungarian officials were also among the attendees at the two events in Budapest as well as Turkish representatives. Swedish master chef Ayla Canpunar, who is of Turkish origin and finished second in the 2021 MasterChef Sweden competition, introduced Turkish cuisine at an event that was held at Sweden's Orebro University. Turkish cuisine was also promoted in Burkina Faso, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa. Trkiye's ambassador to Burkina Faso, Nilgun Erdem Ari, held a dinner for many guests including the West African country's Foreign Minister, Olivia Rouamba. Trkiye's ambassador to Egypt, Salih Mutlu Sen, told Anadolu: "Organizing an event to promote Turkish cuisine in Egypt can also be considered as an important contribution to the close ties between the two brotherly countries." Turkish ambassador to Nigeria Hidayet Bayraktar hosted guests at a hotel in the capital Abuja to introduce Turkish cuisine.

Source: Azerbaijan State News Agency

Ministry of the Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan continues to cooperate successfully with the UN institutions, said Vilayat Eyvazov Minister of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan as he met with Ashita Mittal, Regional Representative in Central Asia, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The Minister added that Azerbaijan is a member of various conventions and protocols of the UN against terrorism, transnational organized crime, the circulation of drugs, illegal migration and the struggle against human trafficking. Ashita Mittal noted Azerbaijan successfully tackles security challenges and hailed the work of law enforcement bodies. She expressed her confidence for expanding cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs. During the meeting, the sides discussed a range of issues of mutual interest.

Source: Azerbaijan State News Agency

Everton can confirm the Club has activated the option to extend Abdoulaye Doucoure's contract until the end of June 2024, according to the club's official website. The Blues moved to add a further 12 months to the midfielder's existing deal before the stipulated deadline. Doucoure, who has made 94 appearances and has 18 goal involvements (nine goals, nine assists) for Everton since completing a switch from Watford in September 2020, has become a key figure since the arrival of manager Sean Dyche in late January. Goals from the Mali international at Nottingham Forest and Chelsea helped earn the Toffees a pair of 2-2 draws, while an excellent double at Brighton and Hove Albion set Everton on their way to a 5-1 victory.

Source: Azerbaijan State News Agency

The Baku Court of Appeal today held a preliminary hearing on the complaint of Muslim Unity Movement activist Abbas Huseyn. The complaint was filed against the decision of the court of first instance to toughen the punishment regime for Huseyn and transfer him to the Gobustan indoor prison. Lawyer Fakhraddin Mehdiyev told reporters that Huseyn told the court that he had been beaten and tortured in colony number 7. "We have already filed a complaint in this regard with the prosecutor's office. Depending on the results of the investigation, we will take further action. If the prosecutor's office refuses to open a criminal case, we will appeal against this decision in court," the lawyer said. In turn, the activist's sister Yasemen Huseynova said that her brother still has traces of violence on his face and hands. A hearing on the merits is scheduled for May 30. *Head of the Muslim Union movement, Taleh Bagirzadeh, Abbas Huseyn and a number of other religious figures were detained on 26 November 2015 as a result of an Interior Ministry special operation in the village of Nardaran. The detainees were accused of participating in a criminal group organised by Bagirzadeh. The court found them guilty of terrorism, illegal possession of weapons, attempting to violently change the constitutional order, resisting police and violating other articles of the Criminal Code, and sentenced them to imprisonment ranging from 12 to 19 years. Abbas Husein was sentenced to 20 years of' imprisonment. And he spent the first seven years already in Gobustan prison. He and a number of other activists are recognised as political prisoners.

Source: Turan News Agency

On the evening of May 23, the leader of the Karabakh separatists, Arayik Harutyunyan, joined the voice of the rest of the separatists in the region, who the day before condemned Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for his readiness to recognize Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan. Arayik Harutyunyan stated in his address that Karabakh was never been and never will be a part of Azerbaijan. 'I appeal to the Armenian authorities to refrain from any actions and statements on recognizing Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan, to adhere to the obligations assumed by internal and international documents,' he said. Harutyunyan also appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a call to ensure the fulfillment of the obligations undertaken by the tripartite statement of the heads of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia dated November 9, 2020. 'We are ready for dialogue in an international format, conflict resolution and peace, but based on the norms and principles of international law. We do not pose any threat to Azerbaijan, but the people of Artsakh have the right to self-defense,' Harutyunyan said. It is noteworthy that Harutyunyan did not mention Pashinyan's name, but only made a call to the leadership of Armenia. Unlike other Karabakh figures, Harutyunyan did not accuse Pashinyan of betraying the national interests of the Armenian nation.

Source: Turan News Agency

Chief of the General Staff of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces Kerim Veliyev and Commander of the Pakistani Ground Forces Asim Munir discussed issues of expanding and strengthening military cooperation on Tuesday. The meeting was held in Islamabad as a part of Veliyev's official visit to Pakistan. According to the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan, the meeting stressed the importance of expanding ties between the types of troops of the armies of the two countries, holding joint exercises Azerbaijan-Pakistan-Turkey and further development of trilateral cooperation. Also,the sides discussed issues of cooperation in the military, military-technical and military-educational fields, as well as issues of combating terrorism.

Source: Turan News Agency