Category: Culture

US stocks opened higher on Friday to kick off the last trading day of the week on a higher note, while US dollar index has continued to climb.

The Dow Jones rose 121 points, or 0.3%, to 34,587 at 9.43 a.m. EDT (1343GMT). Walt Disney shares gained 1.1%. The S&P 500 added 6 points to 4,245, but electric carmaker Tesla fell 0.6%.

The Nasdaq increased by 16 points, or 0.1%, to 14,036 with GameStop and AMC Entertainment adding 3.5% and 1.5%, respectively.

The US dollar index has continued to increase by adding 0.3% to 90.36.

Despite recovering Thursday from its lowest level in three months, the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note was down 0.4% to 1,454% shortly after opening bell.

Bitcoin was down 1.1% to $37,428 at the time, while some altcoins were down as much as 17%.

Source: Anadolu Agency

An adviser to Tunisian Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi warned Thursday of “a serious assassination threat” against Ghannouchi.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Riyad al-Suaybi said he received information from the Interior Ministry officials who came to Ghannouchi’s office in the Tunisian parliament.

“There is a serious threat of assassination against the speaker of the parliament,” he said, adding that officials will strengthen measures to protect Ghannouchi.

“If we want to know who could be involved in or benefit from such a criminal plot, we must remember the political and national significance of Ghannouchi as one of the symbols of the democratic transition in Tunisia,” he said.

“Those who target the democratic transition in Tunisia are also those who plan to assassinate the speaker of the assembly,” he added.

The Interior Ministry has yet to make a statement on the issue.

Tunisia was the birthplace of the Arab Spring revolutions that swept the leaders of several Arab countries from power in 2011.

Ghannouchi, who has served as parliament speaker since Nov. 13, 2019, is one of the most prominent political figures in the country who opposed the rule of deposed President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (1987-2011).

After 20 years in exile, Ghannouchi returned to Tunisia on Jan. 14, 2011.

Meanwhile, night protests have continued for a third night in a row in the district of Sidi Hussein west of the capital Tunis after the death of a young man following his arrest by the security officers on Tuesday.

The protesters clashed intermittently with the security forces who have in return fired tear gas to disperse the protesters, Anadolu Agency correspondent reported.

Eyewitnesses said protests intensified after a video showing the arrest of another young man by the police on Wednesday during the protests with his clothes stripped went viral on social media.

Source: Anadolu Agency

A wanted PKK terrorist was neutralized Friday in an operation led by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) in northern Iraq, according to a security source.

Following a period of surveillance, MIT conducted a surgical strike near Makhmur camp — which serves as a recruitment and training area for the PKK — to neutralize Hasan Adir, alias Salih Cizre, said the source on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The terrorist, who was sought by Interpol with a red notice, was responsible for activities in Makhmur, the source added.

It was found out that Adir carried out his activities in coordination with Selman Bozkur, the so-called senior executive of the PKK and general manager of Makhmur district, who was neutralized on Saturday.

Adir also operated the terror group in Sulaymaniyah province of northern Iraq, the source said.

Turkish authorities use the word “neutralize” to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

– 3rd senior terrorist neutralized recently

In May, Turkish security forces neutralized Sofi Nurettin, alias Halef al-Muhammad, a senior operative of the terror group.

Muhammad was wanted under the highest category of Turkish Interior Ministry’s color-coded list.

Another senior PKK operative, Selman Bozkur, was neutralized by the Turkish intelligence on Saturday.

Codenamed Doctor Huseyin, he was acting as general manager of Makhmur district.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said that Turkey would not allow the “treacherous and separatist organization” to use Iraq’s Makhmur district as an “incubation center” for terrorism.

“We will continue to eradicate terrorism at its source,” Erdogan stressed.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU — has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

Source: Anadolu Agency

US stock market closed higher on Friday as S&P 500 hit record and posted a third straight weekly gain.

The index hit an all-time high of 4,247 points before closing at 4,246 with a daily gain of 0.2%. It rose 0.4% this week.

The Dow Jones increased 13 points to end the day at 34,479, but the blue-chip index lost 0.8% for the week.

The Nasdaq added 49 points, or 0.3%, to 14,069. The tech-heavy index rose 1.9% this week.

AMC Entertainment gained the most during the day to close Friday with a 15% increase. Zoom Video and GameStop added more than 5% apiece.

Despite oil prices resuming their rally, oil majors Chevron and ConocoPhillips were down around 0.4%, while ExxonMobil shed 0.9%

Brent crude was at $72.58 per barrel with a 0.1% gain. The US’ West Texas Intermediate closed the day at $70.79 with a 0.7% increase before hitting its 52-week high at $71.23 during trading hours.

The US dollar index gained further by adding 0.5% to 90.51, however the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note was down 0.6% to 1,450%.

VIX volatility index also declined 2.8% to 15.65, indicating higher risk appetite of investors. Bitcoin was up 1.7% to $37,290.

Source: Anadolu Agency

An adviser to Tunisian Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi warned Thursday of “a serious assassination threat” against Ghannouchi.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Riyad al-Suaybi said he received information from officials from the Ministry of Interior who came to Ghannouchi’s office in the Tunisian Parliament.

“There is a serious threat of assassination against the speaker of the parliament,” he said, adding officials will strengthen measures to protect Gannouchi.

“If we want to know who could be involved in or benefit from such a criminal plot, we must remember the political and national significance of Ghannouchi as one of the symbols of the democratic transition in Tunisia,” he said.

“Those who target the democratic transition in Tunisia are also those who plan to assassinate the speaker of the assembly,” he added.

The Interior Ministry has yet to issue a statement on the issue.

Tunisia was the birthplace of the Arab Spring revolutions that swept the leaders of several Arab countries from power in 2011.

Ghannouchi, who has served as parliament speaker since Nov. 13, 2019, is one of the most prominent political figures in the country who opposed the rule of deposed President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (1987-2011).

After 20 years in exile, Ghannouchi returned to Tunisia on Jan. 14, 2011.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Oil prices on Friday were volatile, fluctuating rapidly in a narrow range from mixed signals over positive oil demand estimates for the rest of the year countering concerns over the resurgence of a new virus wave.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $72.41 per barrel at 06.48 GMT for a 0.15% loss after closing Thursday at $72.52 a barrel.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $70.19 a barrel at the same time with a 0.14% decrease after ending the previous session at $70.29 per barrel.

On Wednesday, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said its weekly petroleum status report that US crude oil inventories decreased by 5.2 million barrels, or 1.1%, signaling a demand rebound in the country.

However, the report also revealed that the country’s gasoline inventories rose by 7 million barrels, or 3%, during the week ending June 4.

Although the hefty build was caused by less driving activity during the country’s Memorial Day weekend last week, it pressured oil prices and raised questions over the demand recovery.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), on the other hand, predicted in its Monthly Oil Market Report that oil demand would surge by 6% during the second half of the year.

Although the report did not rule out a possible negative outlook for the rest of the year, taking into account unforeseen developments from COVID-19 due to the emergence of new variants, it said positive mobility developments on the back of easing restriction measures and border openings in OECD Americas and Europe encouraged an upward revision to the second-quarter data.

Investor concerns about a new virus wave potentially hitting the world’s big economies are still fresh, given there has not yet been a full recovery from the pandemic.

Although more than 400 million doses of coronavirus vaccines have been administered across Europe in the last six months, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday warned that vaccination rates across the continent are still insufficient to prevent a resurgence of COVID-19.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Turkey’s current account balance is projected to post a deficit of $2.43 billion in April, an Anadolu Agency survey found on Friday.

The Turkish Central Bank will release the balance of payments figures on Monday.

Estimates of a group of 14 economists for April ranged between $1.95 billion and $3.8 billion.

The end-2021 current account balance is expected to show a deficit of $27 billion, with estimates ranging between $23 billion and $35.2 billion.

In March, the current account balance posted a $3.3 billion deficit, bringing 12-month rolling deficit to $36.2 billion.

* Writing by Tuba Sahin in Ankara

Source: Anadolu Agency