ANKARA: Turkey’s broadcasting watchdog has fined a TV station nearly one million lira ($266,000) over footage of young girls dancing in shorts in a talent competition after viewers complained of “child abuse,” a board member said on Thursday.
Citing moral dangers for the children, it penalized TV8 channel for footage in the “Yetenek Sizsiniz” (“You Got Talent“) program which showed a group of girls, aged from 7 to 11, who peformed in shorts and tank tops, the board member who did not want to be named told Reuters.
The move by the Turkish Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTUK) is likely to further anger government critics, who accuse President Tayyip Erdogan and his Islamist-rooted ruling AK Party of trying to roll back secularism and civil rights for minorities, gay people and women.
Last year, hundreds of Turkish women marched in Istanbul to protest against violence and threats from men demanding they dress more conservatively.
RTUK ruled that the footage had violated its ethical broadcast regulations and fined the channel 2 percent of its advertising revenues, amounting almost to 1 million lira.
The regulations state that “programs which contain content that could harm the physical, mental and moral development of children and youth cannot be broadcast.”
RTUK said in a report that it had received complaints that the channel had exploited the children in an “immoral” show.
“There were reactions from citizens for making minor children, aged 7-8, dance half-naked for ratings, amounting to child abuse,” the report said.
Turkey’s Family and Social Policies Ministry said the children were “dancing with clothes that were not appropriate for their age and development level.”
Hurriyet newspaper said RTUK also fined several music channels for broadcasting a music video which it described as “one tick below an erotic film.”
The video of the “Sifir Tolerans” (“Zero Tolerance“) song by Belgium-born singer Hadise depicts the artist in intimate scenes with her male co-star. The video includes scenes of the singer in a bed with the male actor and in a bathtub.
Turkey fines TV channel over girls in shorts in talent show
Turkey fines TV channel over girls in shorts in talent show
Turkiye’s opposition set to defy protest ban on Wednesday
“April 23 cannot be banned,” he said
ISTANBUL: Turkiye’s opposition has called on supporters to rally outside the parliament in Ankara on Wednesday in defiance of an official ban on gatherings on a symbolic day for the republic.
A month after the arrest of Istanbul’s mayor Ekrem Imamoglu — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s biggest political rival — the president of Imamoglu’s Republican People’s Party (CHP) said he would speak outside parliament as the country marks National Sovereignty Day.
Ozgur Ozel, who was recently named as leader of the CHP, which was established by the founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Ozel reiterated a call to stage the rally in a post on X late Tuesday despite a government banned on gatherings.
“April 23 cannot be banned. Our gathering in front of parliament and our march to Anitkabir (Ataturk’s Tomb) cannot be stopped,” he said.
“I invite all residents of Ankara, especially young people and students, and everyone who will be in Ankara tomorrow, to go to Parliament at 5:00 p.m. (1400 GMT), Turkish flags in hand. Sovereignty belongs to the nation.”
Imamoglu also referenced the rally from his cell at Silivri prison in Istanbul, where he has been held on corruption charges since March 25.
“I will watch this march for national sovereignty from prison. I will be at your sides. I will be marching with you,” Imamoglu said on X.
Imamoglu’s arrest has triggered a wave of protests in Turkiye’s main cities primarily driven by young people.
‘Heartbroken’ Christians in Gaza recall Pope Francis’ nightly calls during Israeli war
- Holy Family Church pays tribute to late pontiff, who died on Monday
- Pope Francis’ phone calls to check on Gaza’s Christian community became routine
LONDON: Christians in the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip have told of their heartbreak following the death of Pope Francis, who had called them “every day” during the Israeli conflict that began in late 2023.
Gaza’s Holy Family Church paid tribute to the late pontiff, who passed away on Monday.
Father Gabriel Romanelli, the pastor of the parish, shared details about the pope’s last phone call with the Catholic community, revealing that he called them on Saturday and said: “Thank you … for all that we made here.”
During an interview with Sky News, Romanelli added that the pope had “asked (for) prayer and gave the blessing for all the people, for the Christian community and for all the citizens in Gaza.”
He added that the late pope “was a very humble servant of the Lord.”
Romanelli said: “All the time he told us, for more than a year-and-a-half (of the Israeli war), and he called every day, every day. He asked to help people, to protect the children.”
Pope Francis called for peace in conflict-ridden areas, including the Middle East and Sudan, throughout his 12-year tenure as head of the Catholic Church.
He called for an investigation into whether Israel had committed genocide in Gaza following the attack by Hamas on Israel in October 2023. He also called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages during his final public appearance on Easter Sunday.
He said: “I express my closeness to the sufferings of Christians in Palestine and Israel and to all the Israeli people and the Palestinian people.
“I appeal to the warring parties: call a ceasefire, release the hostages and come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace.”
Pope Francis died on Monday at the age of 88 after enduring a severe bout of double pneumonia.
George Antone, the head of the emergency committee at the Holy Family Church in Gaza, told the Vatican News Service: “We lost a saint who taught us every day how to be brave, how to keep patient and stay strong.”
The pope’s nightly phone calls to check on Gaza’s Christian community had become routine during the conflict. He also made it a point to speak to everyone in the room and not just the priest, Antone said.
He added: “We are heartbroken because of the death of Pope Francis, but we know that he is leaving behind a church that cares for us and that knows us by name, every single one of us.
“He used to tell each one: I am with you, don’t be afraid.”
Israel shares, then deletes, condolences over pope’s death
- The foreign ministry said the pope had made 'statements against Israel' and that the social media post had been published in 'error'
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who leads a far-right coalition of religious and nationalist parties, has not commented on the pope’s death
JERUSALEM: The Israeli government shared and then deleted a social media post offering condolences over the death of Pope Francis, without saying why, though an Israeli newspaper linked the decision to the late pontiff’s criticism of the war in Gaza.
The verified @Israel account had posted on Monday a message on social media platform X that read: “Rest in Peace, Pope Francis. May his memory be a blessing,” alongside an image of the pope visiting the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
The Jerusalem Post quoted officials at the foreign ministry as saying that the pope had made “statements against Israel” and that the social media post had been published in “error.”
The foreign ministry, which social media platform X states on its website is linked to the verified @Israel account, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Francis, who died on Monday aged 88, suggested last November that the global community should study whether Israel’s military campaign in Gaza constitutes a genocide of the Palestinian people, in some of his most explicit criticism yet of Israel’s conduct in its war with Hamas that began in Oct. 2023.
In January the pope also called the humanitarian situation in Gaza “shameful,” prompting criticism from Rome’s chief Jewish rabbi who accused Francis of “selective indignation.”
Israel says accusations of genocide in its Gaza campaign are baseless and that it is solely hunting down Hamas and other armed groups.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who leads a far-right coalition of religious and nationalist parties, has not commented on the pope’s death.
However, Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday sent a message of condolence to Christians in the Holy Land and around the world, describing Francis as “a man of deep faith and boundless compassion.”
Relations between the Catholic Church and Judaism have improved in recent decades, after centuries of animosity.
Pope Francis was usually careful during his 12-year pontificate about taking sides in conflicts, and he condemned the growth of antisemitic groups, while also speaking by phone with Gaza’s tiny Christian community every evening during the war.
Francis in 2014 visited the Western Wall — the most sacred prayer site in Judaism — and also prayed at a section of a wall built by Israel in the occupied West Bank dividing Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
Detained Palestinian activist in Vermont prison says he’s ‘in good hands,’ focused on peacemaking
- “I’m staying positive by reassuring myself in the ability of justice and the deep belief of democracy,” Mahdawi said
- The US Justice Department has not said why he’s being detained
VERMONT, USA: A Palestinian man who led protests against the war in Gaza as a student at Columbia University and was recently arrested during an interview about finalizing his US citizenship says he’s “in good hands” at the Vermont prison where he is being held.
Mohsen Mahdawi, a legal permanent resident, was arrested April 14 in Colchester, Vermont. He met Monday with US Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont, a Democrat, who posted it on X.
“I’m staying positive by reassuring myself in the ability of justice and the deep belief of democracy,” Mahdawi said in Welch’s video. “This is the reason I wanted to become a citizen of this country, because I believe in the principles of this country.”
Welch’s office said Mahdawi was being detained at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans, Vermont. His case is scheduled for a status conference Wednesday. His lawyers have called for his release.
The US Justice Department has not said why he’s being detained. The New York Times reported April 15 that Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote a memo that says Mahdawi’s activities could “potentially undermine” the Middle East peace process.
“We do not comment on on any ongoing litigation,” the State Department press office said in response to an email seeking comment.
Rubio has cited a rarely used statute to justify the deportation of Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil. It gives Rubio power to deport those who pose “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”
An immigration judge ruled April 11 that Khalil can be forced out of the country as a national security risk, after lawyers argued the legality of deporting the activist who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. His lawyers plan to appeal.
Mahdawi said that in studying for his citizenship test, he learned “that the freedom of speech and religion and assembly is guaranteed to everyone in the United States, which is part of the foundation of this country.”
Mahdawi said his work “has been centered on peacemaking.”
“My empathy, as I mentioned before, extends beyond the Palestinian people and my empathy extends to the Jews and to the Israelis,” he said. “And my hope and my dream is to see this conflict, if one might say, to see an end to the war, an end to the killing, to see a peaceful resolution between Palestinians and Israelis. How could this be a threat to anybody, except the war machine that is feeding this?”
Welch responded, “It would be good for everybody for us to have peace.”
Mahdawi said, “I want to tell everyone that I feel so loved and so supported. And I am here in good hands. I am centered, I am clear, I am grounded. And I don’t want you to worry about me.”
According to the court filing, Mahdawi was born in a refugee camp in the West Bank and moved to the United States in 2014. He recently completed coursework at Columbia and was expected to graduate in May before beginning a master’s degree program there in the fall.
As a student, Mahdawi was an outspoken critic of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and organized campus protests until March 2024.
Man missing after reported shark attack off Israel’s coast
- Shark attacks have not been reported in Israel for decades
- Police spokesman Aryeh Doron said that “several findings have been sent for examination“
HADERA, Israel: Israeli police have been searching for a man reported missing following a suspected shark attack off the country’s Mediterranean coast, the force said on Tuesday.
Shark attacks have not been reported in Israel for decades.
Police spokesman Aryeh Doron said that “several findings have been sent for examination,” without specifying the nature of the recovered evidence.
Search operations continued Tuesday in the southeastern Mediterranean, near the area of the central city of Hadera where the swimmer had disappeared.
“The search area is very large, very complex, especially due to the danger posed by diving near sharks,” said Doron Elmashali, commander of the fire and rescue unit involved in the operation.
He said underwater cameras were being used in the operation.
Emergency organizations Magen David Adom and Zaka on Monday said they had been informed of a man’s disappearance off the coast near Hadera, after witnesses said he had been attacked by a shark.
An AFP journalist at the site saw shark silhouettes with dorsal fins breaking through the water’s surface.
Israeli media have broadcast several videos in recent days showing sharks swimming near bathers, including children. One video appears to show a swimmer being attacked.
Police said Tuesday that a ban on entering the sea along large stretches of the coast would remain in effect.
Shark attacks in the calm waters of the Mediterranean are rare, but shark sightings, particularly off the coast of Hadera, are well documented, as dozens are known to gather near the local power station in winter months.
The plant uses sea water to cool its turbines, then discharges the warm water which is believed to attract sandbar and dusky sharks.
Although these species can grow to several meters in length, they are generally not aggressive toward humans.
The seasonal shark population off Hadera has increased in recent years, likely due to the expansion of the power plant and the implementation of legislation prohibiting their capture.
The Israeli Nature and Parks Authority and the Israeli diving association have issued warnings urging divers drawn by the presence of the sharks not to approach them.
