Syed Yörgüç Tipu Sharif, born in 1978, was separated from his Turkish fashion model mother, Hamret Tugberk, when he was only 6 months old due to her health problems. His mother was obligated to come back to Turkey for treatment, but his Pakistani father, Syed Mushtaq Sharıf, refused to let her take the baby with her.

Ever since, Hamret Tugberk kept sending letters, cards, gifts and clothes to the Turkish consulate in Pakistan, hoping to reach out to her son.

Shariff found out the truth about his biological mother at the age of 9 after his aunt, the woman who raised him as a son, divulged the long-kept secret.

Fourteen years ago, when he was 28 years old, the Pakistani singer sent his visa documents to the Turkish consulate in Pakistan for the first time to attend a theater festival.

The consulate immediately issued his visa, informing him that they have been trying to locate him for "28 years," and Sharif traveled to Turkey, where he met the one woman who changed it all.

"When i finally met my mother, and she held me in her arms and patted my back... then I realized that nothing beats a mother's touch," Sharıff told Demiroren News Agency.

"She had some medical problems and my father was not patient enough to stay with her. That was a long time ago. They were young and didn’t know how to handle it. She tried to take me with her, but she couldn't because my father sent me to his sister's house," he said, adding that there remained no hard feelings.

Hamret Tugberk only spent 12 years with her son before she passed away in April 2019 from lung cancer.

"It's a shame that it’s only kebabs that are seen to represent our cuisine. Our cuisine is so varied and so different from region to region," said Ahmet Dede, who last month won his second Michelin star, the coveted mark of quality in the international restaurant world.

While inarguably distinctive, Turkish cuisine has “influenced and been influenced by the Middle East, Asia and Europe," according to the 35-year-old chef.

"We need more education on our cuisine, more promotion of different dishes, supported by the government, the right ambassadors and more great chefs to showcase globally," Dede told Anadolu Agency in an e-mail interview.

On its website, the iconic Michelin Guides describe the kitchen whiz like so: "Turkish-born chef Ahmet Dede has made himself at home in the coastal town of Baltimore – and the town and its people have in turn taken him to their hearts.”

Praising his “minimal waste approach,” Michelin added that his “original dishes are refined, elegant and beautifully composed with plenty of personality and a subtle hint at Dede’s Turkish heritage.”

The Ankara-born chef, who owns and runs the restaurant Dede in Baltimore, said he was “overwhelmed” when he got the good news alongside his family in Turkey, adding: “I was so proud, excited, grateful, and happy for my family and my team."

Dreams of his own restaurant

Dede decided to become a chef over a decade ago, in 2010, a year after he moved to Ireland. After working with several chefs and restaurants, he felt ready to run his own kitchen and "create dishes that delivered my vision."

Before hanging out his own shingle, Dede worked with five different Michelin chefs in various countries, including the Netherlands, Norway, and Ireland.

It was in March 2017 that he moved to the southwest coast of County Cork to become a head chef.

He got his first Michelin star in 2018, but the restaurant closed at the end of 2019. It was then that Dede decided to "fulfill my ambition and dream of having my own restaurant."

Dede’s love of cooking was born when he was just a boy, watching his mother cook in the kitchen and helping her out.

"It was a great happiness that we shared time together and created food for the family," he remembered.

Coronavirus

The tourism industry and restaurants have been hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, but Dede was undeterred, and stayed busy.

"Once the pandemic started, I volunteered to work with health service and also for a meals on wheels program,” he said.

“We were just asked to be the backup team and kitchen in case they had to close their own kitchen, so I still needed to be productive."

He then started to offer takeaway and opened a delicatessen, which he says kept him "cooking, sane, and productive as well as helping to pay the overheads!"

Later, the coronavirus measures banned indoor dining and "my Turkish instinct was there to build an outdoor kitchen with a wood-fired oven and barbeque."

This offered Dede an opportunity to express a different aspect of his cooking for relaxed family dinners.

His restaurant offers such signature dishes as spiced potato bread, blue lobster kebab with isot pepper (from Sanliurfa, southeastern Turkey), preserved lemon and spiced lobster soup, wild venison, red cabbage, and orange cardamom.

"I use different spices from Turkey, locally caught lobster, oysters, fish, and lots of vegetables," he added.

Mother of invention

According to Dede, his inspiration comes from two mothers; "my mother who cooked to delight her family and to show love, and Mother Nature for its natural produce and ability to show this at its very best."

Dede argued that if the world is concerned about global warming and climate change, there should be a change in "the way we shop and the food that we eat."

"It is obvious that we need to support local producers," he said.

“We need to stop chemical use in food, we need to work with the foods that are produced seasonally, and we can see how climate change is affecting the growing seasons and how it is affecting food production.”

He implored: "If we do not change now, the world will be a much different place for our grandchildren."

But Dede remains optimistic about the future and plans to "write a book this year, start a second restaurant, open a boutique hotel, and inspire the younger generation to stay in this trade and to learn this craft."

Keeping his eyes on the prize, he added: "I, of course, want to earn more Michelin stars and improve and evolve my skills."

Behavioral changes among individuals can help massively reduce the current levels of water waste around the world, Mehmet Ekmeci, a hydrology expert at Turkey’s Hacettepe University told Anadolu Agency.

“Climate change has proven the need for people to alter their water use habits. We stand to suffer less harm the sooner we achieve this goal,” he said.

He said it is imperative to raise awareness among people from a young age and families can play a critical role to that end.

Ekmeci underlined that solid water policies are also key for successful conservation efforts.

In Turkey, he said, over 70% of water use is for agricultural purposes, but the country’s usage efficiency in the field remains low.

“According to a report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Turkey is among the countries using water in agriculture with the least efficiency. We generate $10 in export value per one cubic meter of water,” he explained.

“The efficiency rate falls between $40 to $80 in developed countries, while it is over $80 in Scandinavian states.”

Two of the most significant reasons for natural water loss, according to Ekmeci, are inadequate storage of rainwater and water lost due to evaporation from large bodies such as lakes.

To avoid a future crisis, he said Turkey must develop short, medium, and long-term water management plans that account for the increasing population pressure and climate change impact.

“To ensure water security, Turkey must use all of its resources and mobilize all institutions and organizations that are directly or indirectly linked to this issue,” Ekmeci concluded.

Tuba Geckil, a self-described “cake sugar artist,” told Anadolu Agency that staying indoors allowed her to do what she always really wanted to do but was unable to before due to intense work.

Geckil, 44, shares her hyper-realistic cakes of everything under the sun with the hashtag #everythingisacake with her over 272,000 devoted followers on Instagram plus thousands of others on YouTube.

Her realistic faux fruits, foods, and everyday objects made of cake have set the web on fire, going viral worldwide.

For Geckil, anything can be turned into a cake that will people will greet with amazement and delight.

Although Geckil stresses that she is not a trained painter or sculptor, even her YouTube profile picture shows her carrying paintbrushes, hinting at her amazing feats.

Geckil, originally from Turkey’s central Anatolian province of Eskisehir, grew up in a family full of art, with both of her parents being amateur painters.

Her marriage meant a move to the metropolis of Istanbul, where she now lives and works.

-From painting to baking

The award-winning chef is now the proud owner of Red Rose Cake, boasting two locations in Turkey’s largest city.

Gifted through genes or luck, Geckil received no formal art training, but sees her talent as “normal,” something anyone can do.

When she first moved to Istanbul she opened an art studio where she did large-scale paintings.

After holding her first painting exhibit, she thought “I got my satisfaction from this path,” she explained.

Looking for a new passion, she dove into the art of moldable sugar paste – the raw material for her amazing cakes – for the occasion of her son's first birthday.

After transforming one of her son’s favorite cars into a lifelike cake, she was delighted to see that he thought it was real and even wanted to play with it.

When she first took sugar paste into her hands, she said: “I liked so much that it stays the way I shape it.”

This was Geckil’s first stab at making a 3D cake. Later her friends and family began to ask for similar cakes, which led her to open a workshop.

“I want to do what I dream about. I was taking orders, but I could get up in the middle of the night and make the cake that came into my head,” she said.

“With that car cake, I realized that I could turn anything I saw into a cake,” she said proudly.

Bubbling with excitement, Geckil said: “There was no limit for me.”

She added: “I worked with great excitement and enthusiasm every day until the morning light either to fill orders or to make the cakes that I dreamed of.”

Later, she began working on human modeling, which presented a number of challenges: “The industry had a problem with human modeling. Everybody was complaining about it.”

So when she began working on realistic cakes, Geckil began researching human anatomy to get it just right.

When she began sharing her work, she also began getting training requests. At first, she declined them, saying: “I needed to deepen my research.”

But after laying the foundation for offering coursework, she began. “This all happened about 15 years ago,” she said, and since then, she has shared her expert techniques with people in places as scattered around the map as the US, Nigeria, and India.

For years, she said she also was invited to give courses at baking schools and universities abroad.

“Because of the pandemic we had to take a break, but plans for the future continue. There are projects in various countries,” she added.

What Geckil loves most about making a cake, she said, is creating cakes that are the size of life itself.

“I love life-size cakes,” she enthused. “I like to surprise people when they look at them.”

“That puzzled expression in the eyes of people asking, ‘How did they do this?’ I think I enjoy it,” Geckil said.

She fondly remembered festivals and cake shows she attended across the world where she was awarded for her work on celebrated figures such as a life-size Harry Potter and Lady Diana.

But the world of realistic cakes is not all acclaim and awards.

When Geckil began making realistic cakes for the first time, she also made a traditional Turkish coffee cake, but got a surprising response.

“Nobody liked it,” she recalled. “I was so sad at that time, but later I realized that people didn’t like it because they thought it was really a cup of coffee even though it said it was a cake.”

-Life-size Hansel and Gretel house

Baking a realistic cake for Geckil takes around a couple of hours.

“Even if there are artistic details, it can be completed in a few hours at most,” but human modeling takes longer, at least three days, she explained.

For example, a cake depicting German Chancellor Angela Merkel took around a week, she recalled, explaining: “Her hair, it has very fine details.”

The cakes at Geckil’s workshop have prices ranging from 250 to 10,000 Turkish liras (around $33-$1,350).

Geckil is assertive about the taste of her realistic cakes. “I design cakes like a completely personal haute couture dress design, and I customize them with everything from A to Z, according to taste.”

Most of Geckil’s customers order cakes with their mothers or fathers on them or else want a cake for their children’s first birthday in the shape of the child.

She also gets many orders for realistic cakes in the guise of fruits or other varied objects.

For the future, Geckil has two projects she wants to tackle if the coronavirus pandemic allows.

The first is to hold an international exhibition on Turkish culture where she will fashion cakes showing traditional Turkish food as well as cultural sites such as Pamukkale, the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Denizli known for its mineral-rich thermal waters and white travertine terraces.

Her second project is to bake a life-size house from the classic fairy tale Hansel and Gretel where children can actually stroll inside and see the inside.

Like the rest of the world, Geckil is eagerly awaiting the end of COVID-19 so she can realize her ambitious new projects.

The new instructions announced by the regime's Health Ministry on its social media account compelled all Syrians and foreign nationals in Syria wishing to travel outside the country via the Beirut Airport to take a virus test at one of the four COVID-19 test centers in Damascus.

Many social media users railed against the regime over the decision, saying it was trying to turn the pandemic into an opportunity.

As of July 23, regime officials reported a total of 581 infections and 35 fatalities due to the virus.

The economic crisis caused by decades of corruption in Syria has deepened with the civil war that erupted in 2011.

Tough new US sanctions under the 2019 Caesar Syrian Civilian Protection Act hurt the Syrian economy and currency.

At the beginning of this year, $1 could buy as much as 1,000 Syrian pounds, though recently this soared to as much as 4,000 pounds to the dollar.

This June, under the Caesar Syrian Civilian Protection Act, the US announced a new campaign of "sustained sanctions" against the Syrian regime and its allies for alleged involvement in war crimes.

The act authorized additional sanctions and financial restrictions on institutions and individuals doing business with the regime.

It was named after a military forensic photographer codenamed "Caesar" who leaked photos of people tortured to death in Assad prisons.

These images were first published by Anadolu Agency in 2014 and resounded the world over by providing evidence of war crimes committed by the Assad regime, including the systematic torture and starving to death of prisoners.

In an online interview by the Exodus Deja-vu project, she marked World Refugees Day, observed on June 20, in which she is featured with 11 photojournalists.

The South Korea-based photographer has worked extensively in women's camps in Uganda and gained international recognition with her series of photo-reportage in Afghanistan and Africa.

Exodus Déjà-vu is a project based on the idea that all photographs capture various individuals, moments, stories and situations. But on the other hand, even the photos of different conflict zones in different eras look the same, creating an impression of déjà-vu.

The project aims to bring attention to déjà-vu emotions, and to emphasize that problems refugees face all around the world are still continuing.

The project has garnered international acclaim since it was first held in 2016 and features the works of renowned photographers and photojournalists including Chung, Coskun Aral, Guillermo Arias, Yalda Moayeri and Sergey Ponomarev.

Anadolu Agency is the global communications partner for the event alongside other reputed organizations including the UN Refugee Agency and Amnesty International.

This year, due to the coronavirus outbreak, the exhibition was held online and was opened for viewing on June 20, World Refugees Day.

The photographers, who were interviewed online, talked about their featured work in the project and the significance of World Refugees Day for a photojournalist.

- Women's struggles through photography

The subject of refugee have been covered by many photographers, but as a woman from a former colony (South Korea), she wanted to focus on women's struggle among the refugee groups.

In 2006-2007, she lived in Afghanistan and did photo stories on women concerning maternal health, education and women's rights.

After she visited the Democratic Republic of Congo, since 2008, her work has focused on sexual violence against women.

She also did a photo story in Nigeria about sexual slavery, forced marriages and the consequences of armed conflict for women.

"I wanted to listen to women's stories; listen to them and make their stories heard," she said.

Good photojournalism should show the spirit of the time we live in and the reality of it, Chung added.

- 'Checking statistics, knowing the region important for creating good photography'

Chung covered women's camps in Uganda after South Sudan gained independence in 2011. The country fell into political turmoil and inter-ethnic violence two years later in 2013.

More than 500,000 people fled the country to neighboring Uganda, most of them women and children.

"You have to know what you are up against before going to a conflict zone to take photographs. You have to know the political context. But most importantly, you need to have empathy for people and look at the issues with compassion," she said.

This particular photo story in Uganda was to show the women's courage and trauma, she added.

- Project ongoing with more interviews

The first Exodus exhibition was held in 2016 in Kuala Lumpur, followed by showings in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Ankara and Istanbul.

It was due to tour European and US cities in 2020, but those plans were shelved due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Photographers featured in the project will be interviewed daily on the project's Instagram page.

The exhibition can be viewed online at www.exodus-dejavu.com.

"A divorce pandemic may be around the corner,” Yudum Soylemez, a lecturer of psychology at Istanbul’s Bilgi University, told Anadolu Agency.

"Stressful situations" like living under quarantine can "highlight whatever is under the surface," explained Soylemez, who is also a family and couples therapist.

"If the couple is deeply connected, they become even closer," she said.

"However, if they have distanced from each other, lost their love and attraction towards each other, or they have unresolved issues from the past that create conflict, they may grow even more frustrated with each other."

According to Soylemez, there are many couples who are staying together just because they do not want to face the challenges of the change, and they just "keep themselves busy with children, work, alcohol, and social life" but will eventually "need to confront the real issues" amid the outbreak lockdown.

When the virus emerged in China and forced millions to stay indoors for months at a time, and then they gained freedom, divorce cases skyrocketed, said media reports from China.

Lawyer Ilknur Atis Koyluoglu fears an increase in divorce filings not just after the end of the quarantine process but in the long run.

"Although Wuhan was under complete lockdown, we don’t have a complete quarantine in Turkey," Koyluoglu, said referring to the country's weekend curfews in 31 high-population provinces.

Highlighting the possible economic woes in the virus’ wake, Koyluoglu said: "Divorce demand may rise due to economic difficulties as small business owners having to shutter their businesses and people being laid off or having to take unpaid leave."

Koyluoglu also said that domestic violence seems to be on the rise.

According to a women’s rights group, in March 2020 alone, a total of 29 women were killed in Turkey.

The Istanbul-based We Will Stop Murder of Women Platform called for the better protection of women as people are being urged to self-quarantine to stem the virus’ spread.

- Rise in violence

For psychology lecturer Soylemez, some reasons behind the increase in domestic violence are stress and anxiety, which "reduce our ability to manage our emotions such as anger and frustration."

"Also, being isolated cuts people off from accessing their usual ways of letting off steam and relaxing such as exercise, socializing, hobbies, etc.," she added.

"This increases the chance of people acting out their anger and becoming violent."

Soylemez suggested that couples find a way to discharge their negative emotions by expressing themselves verbally to each other.

"They can have speaker-listener exercises where each partner expresses him- or herself for five minutes without being interrupted. The other needs to be the listener and when finished, repeat what was said in his or her own words. Then, they switch roles," she said.

"However, if the violence has already started and one partner is intimated, they need to open up to a trusted person and call the emergency numbers," she added.

Without revealing names, Soylemez gave the example of a couple who are on the verge of divorce but had to be stuck together at home with their two children.

"The wife had already called her lawyer to initiate legal procedures. But now they can’t proceed and need to be together 24/7," she said.

- Stuck with soon-to-be-ex

Among one of those unexpectedly stuck with their partner due to COVID-19 is "Mehmet", whose name has been changed to protect his privacy.

In March the 43-year-old and his wife decided to get a divorce and filed papers, but they ended up together for the time being as the coronavirus outbreak hit Turkey around the same time.

Now he is living together with his soon-to-be-ex-wife and two children in Istanbul.

"We’re like some distant friends living in the same house," he told Anadolu Agency.

"Most of the time we don’t eat together but we don’t argue either, as communication between us is at a minimum," he added.

The unemployed computer programmer was planning to move out just before the virus outbreak but had to stay because the start of his new job was postponed to May due to the pandemic.

For such cases, Soylemez’s suggestion for couples is to "put an effort into making the quarantine period as peaceful as possible and pretending that they are teammates."

"The partners also can take this time to reflect on their priorities in life and relationships, what they have learned in this marriage about themselves, where they want to see themselves in the future," she added.

"They can write journals about how this relationship has come to this point but try to be objective and not focus on the wrongdoings of their partner.

"When the quarantine days are over, they can reevaluate their decisions," she added.

- Finding balance during hard times

Soylemez also detailed what kinds of problems may lie ahead of isolated couples during the coronavirus times.

They "may expect too much from their partners," she said.

"Now they need to fulfill all the roles of a friend, family, parents, lovers. This creates tension in the relationship. Sometimes the couples get bored with each other’s company. Partners need to accept that many couples go through similar processes.

"They need to find a balance for the times they spend alone, with their friends, as a family, and as a couple," she added.

Soylemez's suggestions for couples who are struggling under quarantine is "learning new things together, creating new rituals, trying different ways of connecting such as asking intimate questions to each other, and keeping their interest and curiosity towards each other."

"If the couples have been ignoring their issues for a long time, these issues may surface during the quarantine," she added.

Isolated couples spending more time together should "face their disappointments and early relational wounds," Soylemez said.

"Couples need to acknowledge that they have issues that they need to address but also accept that this is not the best time to be objective and solve all their problems.

"This forced physical closeness may also lead the couples to know each other better and create better bonding for the future."

Although there is archeological evidence showing coffee was consumed by the Russian nobility in the 15th century, the first record of consumption dates back to 1665, when Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was prescribed to take it as a medicine for headache.

“Brewed coffee, consumed by the Persians and Turks, and usually after dinner, is a fair medicine for bloating, runny noses and headaches,” according to historian Samuel Collins.

Russia then had neither trade nor diplomatic relations with any coffee-consuming countries other than the Ottoman Empire, so the beverage could get to the monarchal table only from the Ottoman Empire.

Alexei Mikhailovich’s son, known as the first Russian Emperor Peter the Great, was a big fan of coffee.

He was believed to have gotten acquainted with the beverage while traveling in Europe. But Europe adopted the tradition of coffee-drinking from the Ottoman Empire.

Another Russian record mentioning coffee also relates to the Ottoman Empire.

In 1709, to support Peter the Great preparing to battle Sweden near Poltava, boyar Ivan Tolstoy sent him half a pod of coffee -- a unit equal to 40 pounds -- from Taganrog, the first Russian naval base and seaport.

Coffee could only get to Taganrog by Turkish merchants. The Ottoman Empire at that time firmly controlled approaches to the Arabian Peninsula and was the principal supplier of coffee to Europe.

Emperor Peter made great efforts to make coffee more mainstream and develop a taste for the beverage in Russia, but coffee remained elite for a long time.

It was also used as a valuable gift at the highest level. For example, when Russia in 1791 signed a peace treaty with the Ottomans, 37 pods of coffee were among the diplomatic gifts of Ottoman authorities to the Russian representatives, along with jewelry and thoroughbred horses.

During Russia-Turkey wars, coffee and "cezve" -- the long-handled pot used to make Turkish coffee -- were often the booty of war.

Having no idea what to call the vessel for brewing coffee, Russians called it "turka," after the nation from which the tradition was acquired. The name is firmly fixed in the Russian language and in use today.

In the southern regions, coffee was first called “kave”, and later Turkish “kahve.” In the northern regions, the word was transformed to “kava", but later replaced by the more European pronunciation “koffe".

And along with the Europeans, Russians call unfiltered coffee, brewed from coffee beans, ground to powder, “Turkish” and consider its taste inimitable.

Kardashian, 38, said she would love to have dinner with Thunberg, who told world leaders at the opening of a United Nations conference last month that they had stolen her childhood with "empty words."

"She (Thunberg) is such an amazing young girl, and so brave and courageous to stand up to these grown-ups that can be very scary and for her to be so open and honest is exactly what we need," Kardashian told Reuters in an exclusive interview during a visit to Armenia.

"Climate change is a serious problem," said Kardashian, who was attending the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) in the Armenian capital Yerevan.

She said she also wanted to talk to Thunberg's parents and to share her thoughts as a social media entrepreneur.

"Speaking on a big platform invites a lot of different opinions and personalities and how they (parents) manage that," Kardashian said.

Kardashian's ancestors came from Armenia and her visit also included seeing three of her four children baptised on Monday in the country's main cathedral Echmiadzin.

Her elder daughter, North, was baptised in 2015 in the Armenian church in Jerusalem.

Kardashian said that all members of her family were very cautious about the environment and she defended other famous people like Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, who have been criticised for using private jets.

They were "very passionate about decisions that change the world," Kardashian said of the royal couple.

"I still love and value the fact that they bring such attention to such important movements that need to happen and they are really passionate about, because they are still changing the world," she said.

Talking about plans for her businesses, which include beauty products and shapewear, Kardashian said she was considering opening a factory and investing in Armenia, which her ancestors left for the United States at the beginning of the 20th century.

"I'm excited as tonight I have a meeting and I'm gonna talk about future investments and opening up a factory here and how to really bring this (business) to Armenia," Kardashian said about her plans in the ex-Soviet country.

Kardashian, who has over 60 million followers on Twitter, said she was very determined to complete her studies as a lawyer, although it was "challenging for her" due to her tight schedule.

She wants to promote the hiring of ex-prisoners so they are able to return to the workforce.

"Some of the (most) enlightened people I've ever met, smartest people, people that know law the best, are people that are spending time in prison," said Kardashian, who in the past has talked about her vocal support for criminal justice reform.

The reality-star-turned-activist said she had no plans to enter politics and does not want to have any more children with her musician husband Kanye West.

Grant Cameron-Smith, 56, also known on social media as “CrazyBikeGuy,” began his challenging journey on March 13, peddling towards Turkey to draw attention to the plight of adults and children suffering from the complex neurobehavioral condition known as autism.

He said his journey aims to highlight the lack of initiatives, to help integrate autistic people into society, as well as to raise funds for an autism charity in South Africa.

On the way, the South African activist was forced to stop in Portugal for two weeks due to bad weather.

"When I started this trip, I never understood how wonderful people really are," Cameron-Smith told Anadolu Agency.

Cameron-Smith, a business consultant and an official at the autism charity, said that people all around the Europe invited him into their homes, despite him being a stranger. He said people who had very little for themselves opened their purse strings to donate to his charity.

As for Turkish people, he called them the friendliest of all the people he met during his 70-day journey.

"I’ve met more people who waved, honked, stopped, and talked to me over the last two days than maybe the whole rest of the trip combined."

Telling how none of his family members has autism, Cameron-Smith said he cycles for those people affected by the condition, as he feels society is not looking after them well.

Tugging at the heartstrings of millions, Víctor Martín Angulo Córdoba, the youngest of three siblings, first caught the attention of Moche police when he was captured by security cameras sitting on the sidewalk.

Victor’s family relies on candlelight because they can’t afford to install an electric meter in their house.

“One day my son said ‘If I continue with the candle, I will lose my mind! I’d better go outside to finish my homework,'” his mother Rosa Angulo Córdoba told Panamericana TV.

After the touched police department shared the video of the hardworking sixth-grader on their Facebook account, the video garnered over 5 million views, leading the mayor of the town to pay Victor and his family a visit.

“I hope they can help me, so I can have light at home and not have to go out to do my homework,” Victor, who wants to be a policeman, said in an interview.

Town Mayor Arturo Fernández Bazán has since offered to help the family with their troubles.

With millions of followers on Vine and Snapchat, Jarre was recognized as Communicator of the Year by the TRT World Citizen initiative for his Love Army movement, which connects people across the world using digital tools.

“I don’t believe that charities or big humanitarian actions are going to change the world, I believe the world is going to change when each one of us starts doing the small acts because means of small actions will always be bigger than one big action,“ he said in an interview with Anadolu Agency.

“So if we want the world in peace we need millions of small steps and we need it to all do it together,“ he added.

Turkey supports Bangladesh during Rohingya crisis: FM

Jarre said that he wanted to use his influence on social media in a more productive way to “do good“ rather than profiting for his own benefits, which is why he started the Love Army movement collectively with a group of influencers.

"We decided we needed to create this pure, uncorrupted place on social media for the world and that’s what LoveArmy is and stays,“ he said.

“We are building this very slowly we are not trying to build this super fast because if we did this we could corrupt it quickly so right now we have a pure seed and we are trying to keep it. It will grow at a natural speed,“ he added.

Support from Turkish Airlines

The Love Army launched a successful campaign last year to raise money to help famine-struck Somalia.

Twitter users from around the world supported the online campaign with #TurkishAirlinesHelpSomalia.

Hollywood actor Ben Stiller also joined the campaign asking the airline to send an aircraft carrying aid to Somalia.

As the campaign picked up, Turkish Airlines sent 60 tons of humanitarian aid worth $2 million to Somalia.

His dispelled rumors that they had taken the airline on board before starting the campaign.

“The truth is Turkish Airlines had no idea […], we had not told them. Suddenly they get this wave on social media: give us an airplane,“ he said.

Jarre said including the audience in the campaign made it interactive as each individual got to help in achieving the goal.

The 28-year-old added that Turkish Airlines also supported them by covering flight costs for them.

“I have nothing but good things to say about them,“ he added.

Video: French social media star leads humanitarian causes

Humanitarian aid

Speaking about the campaign in Somalia, he said they changed their strategy after visiting the affected area.

“You can give money to the families in Somalia and they will start their own business, they will buy animals, they will buy goats and that is more empowering and the money is in this way injected in the Somali ecosystem -- versus if you buy rice in another country or food in another country. It is not helping Somalia that much in the long run,“ he said.

Jarre also led a campaign to help the persecuted Rohingya Muslim community in Myanmar raising more than $1 million.

He said the Love Army employed Rohingya Muslims at the camps in Bangladesh.

“We hired 3,000 people in this camp for cleaning, construction, teaching, doctors etc but this was a turning point because they had so many ideas it inspired us and they were so proud to work,“ he said.

Jarre added that it was important start positive work from the home and neighborhood.

“I know we are doing work on the other side of the world but there is so much that needs to happen locally. Any love action is worth as much as a big humanitarian action."

CHANGING THE WORKFORCE

Foreign workers can help fill some of the gaps, although they make up only about 2 percent of the current labour force, and companies hiring for "unskilled" positions like farm work must rely on trainees under an internship programme that lasts up to five years.

The government has said it will create new categories for foreign workers with more limited skills, but will issue only a small number of such visas.

Mazda Motor Corp's suppliers, which typically operate independently, are cooperating to figure out the best way to use artificial intelligence and robots to remove human workers from the equation altogether.

"Our goal is to create unmanned production lines that can operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year," said Masato Uno, chairman of the Hiroshima Manufacturing Engineering Association, a consortium of Mazda suppliers and IT companies. "We expect this to address problems with productivity and labour shortages."

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Jolie's attorney filed papers in Los Angeles Superior Court saying the actress wanted a judgment "returning the parties to single status during calendar year 2018."

The document also said that Pitt has "paid no meaningful child support since separation" and said that although informal arrangements had been made with him, payments "had not been regularly sustained."

Jolie filed for divorce in September 2016, ending two years or marriage and a 10-year romance that had made the pair one of Hollywood's most glamorous and powerful couples. They have six children for whom she is seeking primary custody.

Mindy Nyby, a spokeswoman for the actress, said on Tuesday that the court filing was intended "to provide closure to the marriage in a way that clears a path towards the next stage of their lives and allows her and Brad to recommit as devoted co-parents to their children."

Pitt's representatives declined to comment. A source familiar with the matter, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said that "Brad is someone who fulfills his commitments."

The divorce filing, citing irreconcilable differences, triggered a bitter custody dispute during which Pitt was investigated and cleared of child abuse. Final custody arrangements have yet to be agreed.

The "Moneyball" actor said in an interview last year that he had quit drinking, was undergoing therapy and that he and Jolie had decided to abandon "vitriolic hatred" and work together to sort out their issues.

Pitt has kept a low profile in the past two years, while Jolie has recently been filming a sequel to fairytale drama "Maleficent" in London and directed a 2017 film about the 1970s Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia in which more than one million people died. Their eldest son Maddox was adopted from Cambodia in 2002.

Every minute, one person arrives to live in Australia, the data shows, underpinning demand for everything from homes to cars, schools and hospitals, and boosting the country's economic fortunes.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates the country's population will reach 26 million in three years' time, based on current trends.

The rapid increase in migrant numbers has sparked a debate on the economic and social impact of migration given inadequate infrastructure has resulted in clogged cities while an expanding labour market has capped wage growth.

"Coping means continuing to invest in infrastructure," Treasurer Scott Morrison said on 3AW Radio on Tuesday, when asked if Australia can cope with 25 million people.

"That's why we've got a A$75 billion infrastructure plan. There has to be to support that growth that we're seeing in our population."

Australia's economic success is built on migration with more than a third of the population born overseas, according to the latest census data which shows England, China, New Zealand and India as the top countries where migrants come from.

A separate ABS study released in June shows net overseas migration now accounts for 62 percent of total population growth. Natural increase makes up 38 percent.

But immigration has become a political hot potato as the ruling centre-right coalition government and the opposition Labor party start campaigning for the New South Wales state election due next March followed by national elections in May.

Far right politician Pauline Hanson has blamed the rising migrant numbers for growing inequality in Australia, while Senator Dean Smith became the first member of the government earlier this year to call for a review into population growth.

Smith has argued the rapid intake has put a huge strain on the infrastructure of the country's largest cities - Sydney and Melbourne - home to the vast majority of newcomers.

"The 25 million milestone is a perfect opportunity to engage in a broad public discussion about what future population growth should look like for Australia and how that can be balanced with preserving high living standards and quality of life," Smith told Reuters.

At least 25 academics and students from both Turkey and abroad are carrying out excavation work in the coastal town of Milas in Mugla province.

The team is led by Abuzer Kizil, a lecturer at Mugla University.

"Euromos is the most important city after Mylasa. These tombs consist of Roman and Hellenistic tiles and sarcophagi," Kizil told Anadolu Agency.

Euromos ancient city, dating back to 5 BC, contains numerous interesting buildings, inluding the temple of Zeus Lepsinos from the Roman times during the reign of Roman emperor Hadrian between 117 and 138.

The temple of Zeus Lespinos, dedicated to the Greek God, stood at the foothill, according to Turkish archaeological news website.

Excavations in Euromos were first carried out by Turkish archaeologists in the 70s. However, it has not yet completed.

Turkey's ancient Roman bath to open for tourists soon

Storied Mt. Nemrut draws global tourists to SE Turkey

The palace, located in Dogubeyazit district, was accepted into the UNESCO Tentative List of World Heritage on Feb. 2, 2000.

According to Turkish Culture and Tourism website, the palace spread across an area of 7,600 meter squares is "one of the most distinguished and magnificent" examples of 18th century architecture.

Agri Culture and Tourism Deputy Director Erkan Kosedag told Anadolu Agency: "There is a significant visitor flow to the palace compared to past years. We are very pleased with both foreign and domestic tourists showing interest in the palace.

"The tourists, who visit the region, especially want to see Ishak Pasha Palace," Kosedag said.

He added the palace contributes to the economy of both Turkey and Dogubeyazit.

"After it was added to UNESCO's tentative list, the palace received more than expected interest," Kosedag said.

He urged more people to visit the "awesome masterpiece".

According to the UNESCO website, the palace on the Silk Route near the Iranian frontier is situated on a high and vast platform of strategic importance.

"It is not at all in the Ottoman tradition but is rather a mixture of Anatolian, Iranian and North Mesopotamian architectural tradition," it said.

Turkey's ancient Roman bath to open for tourists soon

Storied Mt. Nemrut draws global tourists to SE Turkey

Turkey's tourism income increases in second quarter

The 2000-year-old "Basilica Therma" was addded to UNESCO World Heritage tentative list this year.

The excavation work at the bath located in Sarikaya district of Yozgat province started in 2010 which unearthed a semi-Olympic size swimming pool.

The area of excavation expanded in 2014.

Video: Basilica Therma Roman bath in central Turkey

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Metin Halici, provincial head of the Culture and Tourism Ministry, said that a master plan was prepared to introduce the historical bath to international tourism.

Halici said that excavation work is carried out in line with this master plan, stating that a symposium will be organized in November to introduce the Roman bath at the national level, while in January one will be organized at the international level.

"It was important to us that we were included in the UNESCO tentative list because there will be worldwide promotion," he said.

Halici said that the promotional activities will pay back in the form of a large number of tourists.

"Our promotions are rapidly going on and we have a new plan to enter the UNESCO World Heritage list," he added.

"One of the most prominent features of the bath is that thermal water is still boiling inside. We want to present this historic, ancient thermal welfare center, thermal treatment center to the people," he added.

'World's oldest thermal treatment center'

Omer Acikel, the mayor of Sakarya, said that the only similar construction is located in England with 1.5 million annual visitors.

Acikel said that Yozgat’s Roman bath also deserves the same attention, therefore it should be included in UNESCO List of World Heritage.

"We claim that this is the oldest thermal treatment center in the world, even the oldest wellness center in the world," he said.

Acikel said that both health and religious tourism can attract tourists from all around the world.

The "Basilica Therma" is believed to have been built by a Roman king who lived in central Kayseri.

It is believed that after his daughter fell sick the bath was built for her treatment. She was cured through the healing properties of the thermal waters, and so locals call the bath "King's daughter".

During the excavations held between 2010 and 2015, many pieces belonging to Byzantine, Seljuks and Ottoman Imperial Periods were unearthed.

The largest thermal pool in the Roman bath measures 23.30 x12.80 meters and has a depth of 1.34 meters. The temperature of the pool water is about 45 degrees Celsius.

Storied Mt. Nemrut draws global tourists to SE Turkey

Turkey's foreign trade deficit drops 9.1 percent in June

Turkey's tourism income increases in second quarter

In the past 7 years, Zee has collected 16 snakes all of which live with her in her bedroom.

She recalled how she was bitten countless times, but not out of aggression. She called it “love taps.”

“I have been bitten almost every week,” she said.

“Snakes are not out to kill you; they aren’t out to get you. They do tend to be extremely nervous animals.”

When bitten by her precious snakes, Zee would put their heads underwater or put some alcohol on them, which she said was the best way to get them to release her. Much smaller snakes would just let go at some point, so Zee would just wait.

“I do enjoy animals that have a bit of attitude, that have a bit of personality,” Zee explained.

“It’s absolutely fine. It’s not my first bite and it won’t be the last one I get from these guys.”

Zee’s favorite “big girl” is her 16-foot Burmese python named Scarlet.

When talking about the snakes’ diet, Zee said that she feeds her “big girl” an extra-large rabbit once a month, while the smaller ones are given rodents or chicks.

Zee concluded her story by calling the snakes “docile” animals. She said that she learns new things from them every single day.

In an interview to Anadolu Agency in southeastern Kahramanmaraş province, Öcal Oğuz said the country has 18 sites inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as of 2018.

Turkey's Safranbolu hosts nearly 1M visitors annually

Göbeklitepe, the world’s oldest temple, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list on July 1. It was discovered in 1963 when researchers from Istanbul and Chicago universities were working at the site.

Oğuz said public awareness in Turkey about UNESCO has increased in recent years, adding that local governments, civil society organizations, and government agencies are working in harmony in this regard.

Ottoman-era site in northwest Turkey attracts thousands

"When we share the richness of this land with the world, we think we will provide great advantages and opportunities in terms of sustainable development as well as preserving cultural heritage and transferring it to future generations.

Turkey: Seljuk cemetery offers insight into history

"We believe in the benefit of it," Oğuz added.

Turkey's UNESCO Tentative List includes Sumela Monastery in the Black Sea province of Trabzon, Harran in southeastern Sanliurfa, Karain Cave in southern Antalya, Çanakkale (Dardanelles) and Gelibolu (Gallipoli) Battles Zones in the First World War in Çanakkale.

Video: World’s oldest temple ‘Göbeklitepe’ in southeastern Turkey

Of those 30 new infections each hour among 15 to 19 year-olds in 2017, around 20 - or two-thirds - were in girls, UNICEF said, representing a "crisis of health as well as a crisis of agency".

While there has been substantial progress in the fight against AIDS in the last two decades, the failure to prevent so many new infections among children and teenagers is slowing this down, the report said.

It said the epidemic's spread among adolescent girls is being fuelled by early sex, including with older men, forced sex, powerlessness in negotiating around sex, poverty and lack of access to confidential counselling and testing services.

"In most countries, women and girls lack access to information, to services, or even just the power to say no to unsafe sex," said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF's executive director. "HIV thrives among the most vulnerable and marginalized, leaving teenage girls at the centre of the crisis."

UNICEF's report, presented on Wednesday at an AIDS conference in Amsterdam, said that 130,000 children aged 19 and under died from AIDS last year, while 430,000 – almost 50 an hour – were newly infected.

Adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19 account for almost two thirds of the 3 million under-19 year-olds living with HIV. And while AIDS-related deaths among all other age groups have been falling since 2010, those among older adolescents aged 15 to 19 have seen no reduction.

Angelique Kidjo, a UNICEF goodwill ambassador who contributed to the report, said economic empowerment and education were crucial.

"We need to make girls and women secure enough economically that they don't have to turn to sex work," she said. "We need to make sure they have the right information about how HIV is transmitted and how to protect themselves."

UNAIDS says the fight against the AIDS epidemic - in which 37 million people worldwide are infected with the incurable HIV virus - is at a "precarious point", with deaths falling, treatment rates rising, but rates of new HIV infections stubbornly high.

UN says global fight against AIDS is at 'precarious point'

The United Nations' HIV/AIDS body UNAIDS said in an update report that the fight was at a "precarious point" and while deaths were falling and treatment rates rising, rates of new HIV infections threatened to derail efforts to defeat the disease.

"The world is slipping off track. The promises made to society's most vulnerable individuals are not being kept," the report said. "There are miles to go in the journey to end the AIDS epidemic. Time is running out."

Michel Sidibe, executive director of UNAIDS, noted in the report's foreword that there had been great progress in reducing deaths from AIDS and in getting a record number of people worldwide into treatment with antiretroviral drugs.

The report said an estimated 21.7 million of the 37 million people who have the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS were on treatment in 2017, five and a half times more than a decade ago.

This rapid and sustained increase in people getting treatment helped drive a 34 percent drop in AIDS-related deaths from 2010 to 2017. AIDS deaths in 2017 were the lowest this century, at fewer than a million people, the report said.

But Sidibe also pointed to what he said were "crisis" situations in preventing the spread of HIV, and in securing sustained funding.

"The success in saving lives has not been matched with equal success in reducing new HIV infections," he said. "New HIV infections are not falling fast enough. HIV prevention services are not being provided on an adequate scale ... and are not reaching the people who need them the most."

Sidibe said a failure to halt new infections among children was a big worry.

"I am distressed by the fact that in 2017, 180,000 children became infected with HIV, far from the 2018 target of eliminating new HIV infections among children," he wrote.

Data in the report showed that overall among adults and children worldwide, some 1.8 million people became newly infected with HIV in 2017.

Since the start of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, more than 77 million people have become infected with HIV. Almost half of them - 35.4 million - have died of AIDS.

The report said that at the end of 2017, $21.3 billion was available for the AIDS response in low- and middle-income countries. More than half of that came from domestic funding sources rather than international donors. UNAIDS estimates that $26.2 billion will be needed to fund the AIDS fight in 2020.

"There is a funding crisis," Sidibe said. While global AIDS resources rose in 2017, there was still a 20 percent shortfall between what is needed and what is available.

Such a shortfall will be "catastrophic" for countries that rely on international assistance to fight AIDS, Sidibe said.

The U.S. Coast Guard now requires boat captains to stay at least 300 meters (yards) from lava flowing into the Pacific Ocean from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island.

Video: Passenger captures moment 'lava bomb' strikes boat in Hawaii

Up until Monday's injuries, the Coast Guard had set a limit of 50 meters, safety permitting, for experienced lava boat operators such as Shane Turpin, captain of the boat caught in Monday's explosion caused by lava mixing with seawater.

An investigation is under way on whether Turpin was outside the restricted area at the time of the blast, said U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman Amanda Levasseur.

"Once we get the confirmation on that it will be released," she said by phone.

Turpin, owner of Lava Ocean Tours, said he was well outside the zone at the time of the blast.

"We were headed east away from the flows," Turpin said in a text message. "My recollection is we were around 200 meters from the flow."

A video posted on Facebook by Will Bryan, a passenger aboard Turpin's boat the "Hot Spot", shows the blast and the sound of screaming passengers as rocks rain down on the boat.

"We didn't expect to be that close," said Bryan in a Facebook message to Reuters, adding that he suffered a burn and his girlfriend got ash in her eye.

The injuries were the first on a tour boat from flying lava in recent times, according to Levasseur.

Lava Ocean Tours was set to take tourists out on the sunrise trip at 4 a.m., as usual, on Tuesday, although the "Hot Spot" was taken out of service after a basketball-size "lava bomb" tore a hole through its roof, a company saleswoman said.

Asked if the company had seen cancellations, she said "not really".

Kalapana Cultural Tours, which competes with Turpin's company, reported normal boat services and no cancellations.

Ikaika Marzo, president of Kalapana Cultural Tours, witnessed Monday's explosion from a nearby tour boat.

"We try to make things safe for people when we take them out," Marzo said in a Facebook post.

Hawaii's tourist agency reassured visitors it was safe to see Kilauea and its lava, the Big Island's top attractions.

"Today’s unfortunate event is a good reminder about the risks involved with observing a natural wonder like this one and the reason officials are continuously monitoring the eruption to ensure the public is kept at safe distances on land, in the air and while at sea," Ross Birch, executive director of the Island of Hawaii Visitors Bureau, said in a statement.

Salespeople for helicopter lava tour companies Blue Hawaiian Helicopters and Paradise Helicopters said it was business as usual on Tuesday and they had seen no cancellations.

The rhinos, who are part of a critically endangered species, died at Tsavo East National Park, the Daily Nation newspaper reported.

An initial investigation by Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) showed the rhinos died of salt poisoning after drinking water at their new habitat, the statement said, adding that transports of rhinos are being stopped.

The rhinos were among 14 KWS began moving last month from the capital Nairobi to Tsavo East.

Kenya had a rhino population of 1,258 in 2017 of which 745 are black rhinos, 510 are southern white rhinos and three were northern white rhinos, having grown from less than 400 rhinos in the 1980s. The white rhino is a near threatened species.

In May, three black rhinos were killed in Kenya's Meru National Park.

Poaching has risen in recent years across sub-Saharan Africa where armed criminal gangs have killed elephants for tusks and rhinos for horns. Often the animal parts are shipped to Asia for use in ornaments and medicines.

World Wildlife Fund-Kenya said in a statement it was "extremely concerned" by the reports.

Weighing up to 600 kg (1,322 lb), the 60-year old crocodile is the biggest ever removed from the Katherine River in the remote Northern Territory.

It was moved to live out its days at a crocodile farm.

The largest crocodile ever captured in Australia measured 6.4 metres, according to records. It was caught and killed in 1974, also in the Northern Territory.

Rangers caught the 4.7 metre (15.4 feet) male crocodile 60 km (37 miles) downstream from the town of Katherine, on Monday after sedating it, media reported. They had been hunting it since they first spotted it in 2010.

"He was removed downstream from Katherine to help prevent human interaction in the more populated areas," said Tracey Duldig, acting director of the Department of Tourism and Culture.

"He has been taken to a croc farm in the Katherine region."

Known for its exotic and sometimes dangerous wildlife such as sharks and Tasmanian devils, Australia is home to over 150,000 crocodiles.

Authorities routinely move them away from people.

In 2017, 371 crocodiles were captured by rangers in the Northern Territory cities of Darwin, Palmerston and Katherine alone, according to the department's website. This year, 190 have been captured.

Overfishing is particularly bad in parts of the developing world where many people already struggle to get enough nutritious food to eat, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report said.

"There's too much pressure on marine resources and we need significantly more commitments from governments to improve the state of their fisheries," said Manuel Barange, director of the FAO fisheries and aquaculture department.

"We predict that Africa will have to import fish in the future," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, adding that shortages could lead to higher prices, disproportionately affecting the poor.

Barange said Africa had great potential for aquaculture, but needed support in terms of finance, feed and supply of fish.

Fish farming or aquaculture - the fastest growing agricultural sector for the past 40 years - has been largely responsible for making more fish available, said the report.

As catches from the open sea continue to dwindle, more countries are turning to fish farms. In Algeria, the government is encouraging farmers in the Sahara desert to grow fish to increase their income and boost fish production.

Critics say it can damage the environment and put disease and invasive species into the wild, but Barange said the solution was to have "proper regulation, legislation and monitoring and control".

Traditional fishing nations are also promoting the potential of fisheries to improve nutrition and end hunger.

Globally, the percentage of stocks fished at unsustainable levels increased to 33.1 in 2015, from 31.4 in 2013 and 10 in 1974.

Fish consumption reached an all-time high of 20.2 kg (44.5 lb) per person from 9 kg in 1961, said the report, and further rises are expected as health-conscious consumers turn to fish.

Currently, 3.2 billion people rely on fish for almost 20 percent of their animal protein intake.

Shakuntala Thilsted, research programme leader at international nonprofit WorldFish, said reducing losses and waste would go a long way towards making fisheries sustainable, with an estimated 35 percent of catches thrown away.

"Fish heads, fish bones are (the) parts that are most nutritious. Why aren't we using innovative solutions to turn this into nutritious, palatable food?" she said.

The lava poured into a channel oozing toward the Pacific Ocean several miles away. In the eerie orange nightscape in the abandoned community of Leilani Estates, it looked like it was flowing toward the scientist, but that was an optical illusion, Ball said.

"The volcano is doing what it wants to. ... We're reminded what it's like to deal with the force of nature," said Ball, a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey.

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Scientists have been in the field measuring the eruptions 24 hours a day, seven days a week since Kilauea first exploded more than two months ago. They are a mix of USGS staff, University of Hawaii researchers and trained volunteers working six-to-eight-hour shifts in teams of two to five.

They avoid synthetics because they melt in the intense heat and wear gloves to protect their hands from sharp volcanic rock and glass. Helmets protect against falling lava stones, and respirators ward off sulfur gases.

This is not a job for the faint hearted. Geologists have died studying active volcanoes. David Alexander Johnston, a USGS volcanologist was killed by the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington state. In 1991, American volcanologist Harry Glicken and his French colleagues Katia and Maurice Krafft were killed while conducting avalanche research on Mount Unzen in Japan.

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Ball, a graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo, located in upstate New York near the Canadian border, compared Kilauea's eruptions to Niagara Falls.

"It gives you the same feeling of power and force," she said.

WORTH THE RISKS

Kilauea, which has been erupting almost continuously since 1983, is one of the world's most closely monitored volcanoes, largely from the now-abandoned Hawaiian Volcano Observatory at the summit. But the latest eruption is one of Kilauea's biggest and could prove to be a bonanza for scientists.

Ball and the USGS teams are studying how the magma - molten rock from the earth's crust - tracks through a network of tubes under the volcano in what is known as the “Lower East Rift Zone,” before ripping open ground fissures and spouting fountains of lava.

They are trying to discover what warning signs may exist for future eruptions to better protect the Big Island's communities, she said.

Fissure 8 is one of 22 around Kilauea that have destroyed over 1,000 structures and forced 2,000 people to evacuate. They are what make this volcanic eruption a rare event, Ball said.

"They're common for Kilauea on a geologic time scale, but in a human time scale it's sort of a career event," she said.

Meanwhile, the summit is erupting almost every day with steam or ash, said Janet Snyder, spokeswoman for the County of Hawaii, where Kilauea is located.

Scientists had thought the steam explosions resulted from lava at the summit dropping down the volcano's throat into groundwater. This was based on Kilauea's 1924 eruption, to which the current one is most often compared.

But the explosions this time have released lots of sulfur dioxide gas, which means magma is involved, said Michael Poland, scientist-in-charge at Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, one of many volcanologists seconded to Kilauea.

"So we have already made a conceptual leap, leading us to believe it was different from what we had understood," he said.

Poland and other scientists pulled equipment and archives out of the abandoned observatory at the volcano summit after hundreds of small eruption-induced quakes damaged the structure, and have decamped to the University of Hawaii in Hilo on the Big Island.

The archives included photos, seismic records and samples, some 100 or more years old, Poland said. "These materials are invaluable to someone who says, 'I have this new idea, and I want to test it using past data.'"

Now the second longest Kilauea eruption on record, surpassed only by one in 1955, this eruption offers far better research opportunities than previous events, Ball said.

"We've got much better instruments and we've got longer to collect the data," she said.

Muslims faced constant persecution in Crimea

As it is known, it’s been four years since the occupation of Crimea and the war in Eastern Ukraine. I would definitely say that this occupation and military aggression of Russia struck a powerful blow against a community of about 1 million Ukrainian Muslims. About 600,000 live in Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk. These are Ukraine’s largest Muslim regions, with about 400,000 Crimean Tatars in Crimea and up to 200,000 Muslims of Volga Tatar descent and Ahiska Turks.

In terms of war, the Russian occupiers did not guarantee any rights of the Muslims. On the contrary, in Crimea, the Muslims unfortunately faced constant persecution, were being arrested, kidnapped and murdered. They faced systematic violations of their rights and freedoms, including being prohibited from holding gatherings to mourn [the dead] and rallies marking the anniversary of the deportation of Crimean Tatars every May 18. As the 74th anniversary of the deportation was marked this year, due to Russiah occupation over 25,000 Ukrainian Muslims were forced to leave their homes and move to territories controlled by Ukraine, and a large community of Ahiska Turks was forced to move to Turkey.

Currently, all the internally displaced Muslims from the occupied territories have official IDP [internally displaced persons] status and the right to get social support in terms of special state programs. As for the Religious Administration of Muslims of Ukraine “Umma”, where I perform as Mufti, we always organize several charitable events per year in order to help the internally displaced Muslims. Last winter, we held our “Warm Relief” benefit in cooperation with the [German] Charity Fund Muslimehelfen and distributed humanitarian aid such as electric heaters, warm blankets, pillows and bed linen. Last summer, during Holy Ramadan, we also held a benefit for distributing a month’s volume of basic food products among the poor resettled families. Last autumn, during Kurban Bayramı (Eid al-Adha), we distributed korban meat among the resettled families. Briefly, I can say as the representative of Religious Administration in Ukraine, we do our best to inform the global community at the highest level as well as human rights organizations about all cases of persecution of Muslims in the occupied territories and also raise funds for the children whose fathers were imprisoned by the Russian occupational regime due to religious-based persecution.

Several Muslim leaders forced to leave Donbas

In Ukraine, the condition of the Muslims varies from region to region. At the beginning of the occupation, there was pressure on Muslims living in Eastern Ukraine as well as on imams and Muslim community leaders. Some armed Russian mercenaries were raiding mosques in order to subdue the communities to the occupational administration. Several Muslim religious leaders, including myself, were forced to leave Donbas due to the persecution and unlawful imprisonment. The civil population and communities were demanded to be dominated by Russian authorities.

Since early 2016, the situation has become more or less stable. Still, every mosque is kept under close surveillance. Russia does not officially interfere much in the lives of the communities, which greatly differs from the situation in Crimea. As for the situation in Eastern Ukraine, local Muslim communities, due to a dramatic decrease in income, ---rather survive than have a normal religious life--. In the Luhansk region, all the religious communities [not only Muslim] are demanded to get a new registration in terms with the occupational administration.

'Powerful spiritual rise’ among Muslims in Ukraine

Firstly, I want to share some details from history to answer this question. In 1944, all of the mosques in Ukraine were destroyed. The official position of Islam was erased in the Ukrainian Soviet Republic after the deportation of Crimean Tatars. Yet there were some Muslims who were fasting during Holy Ramadan, burying their dead and praying secretly.

After Ukraine's independence, we gained the right to freely practice our religion, open mosques, as well as pray and fast without any fear. For that reason, it must be underlined that Ukraine is now on the edge of a religious renaissance with an increasing number of Muslims who have started to return to their religion each year after they gained independence and were treated equally as a Muslim. Therefore, I am very delighted to share this information that each Ramadan, more Muslims join us to fast in Ukraine. During the summer months, the daylight hours are very long in Ukraine. As you know, in Kyiv, Muslims fast up to 18 hours per day in the summer heat while continuing to perform their professional duties. However, that does not stop our Muslim community, who endured 70 years of chest-thumping atheism and a severe ban on Islam. We now finally feel the joy of our faith, as we deserve religious freedom. Therefore, Muslims in every city gather for the joint iftars to break their fast and tarawih prayers. These gatherings happen even in places where there is not a single mosque nearby because of a lack of money to build it. In such cases, with the aim of being together in a peaceful atmosphere, the Muslims rent some rooms or gather at private homes so they can share the blessings and the joy of Ramadan.

Undoubtedly, Ukrainian Muslims experience a powerful spiritual rise which is why Ramadan in Ukraine is full of joy, brotherhood and strong faith in Allah’s help and support. Unfortunately, in the occupied territories of Ukraine, the situation is not that much joyful but rather grieved and uneasy. In order to feel the spirit of Ramadan in Ukraine, I invite everyone to the Kyiv Islamic Cultural Centre’s mosque to witness what a Ukrainian Ramadan is like. Every Ramadan is really a good chance for us as our Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his progeny) said: "Surely, the month of Ramadan has been named so because it scorches away the sins". I truly believe that it is also a great chance to really enlighten the world that peace is central to Islam and therefore Ramadan as a Holy month of the Islamic religion is a month of solidarity and helping each other create a peaceful atmosphere all over the world.

Ramadan, the ninth and the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, is expected to start in Pakistan on May 17 this year, subject to the sighting of the moon.

Also known as "Sawm," Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam, and requires that individuals abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and sexual intercourse from dawn to sunset.

At sunset, fasting Pakistani families, like Muslims all around the world, gather for 'Iftar', the fast-breaking meal of the day.

Video: Pakistani doctor says Ramadan is a time for sharing with the less privileged

Imran, her husband and four children, all fast during the holy month, and she says the enjoyment of having a lavish 'Iftar' makes all of them aware of those who cannot afford to have a hearty meal at the end of a long day of fasting.

She says the month of fasting calls for Muslims to practice self-discipline and sacrifice, as well as reflect upon -- and show compassion for -- the less fortunate.

This realization has resulted in making many Muslims in Pakistan resort to distributing Ramadan Packets to fasting Muslims who are not so well off.

The packets often contain juices, dates, sugar, tea, rice, flour, oil and ingredients for making tasty snacks for 'Iftar.'

Charity is a very important part of Islam and is even more significant during Ramadan when Muslims are reminded to be generous and to increase their charitable activities.

Pakistan is a pre-dominantly Muslim country where more than ninety percent of its 208 million people practice Islam.

In an exclusive interview with Yeni Şafak daily in Istanbul, Neturei Karta spokesman Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss pointed out that the state of Israel goes against Jewish beliefs.

Neturei Karta was founded in the U.S. by orthodox Jews who oppose Zionism and refuse to recognize the state of Israel.

“The Torah teaches us not to kill, to be honest and work for God wherever we live. However, Israel does the exact opposite. We cannot accept such a state,” Rabbi Weiss said.

Zionism is an occupation project

The rabbi reaffirmed that his beliefs clearly oppose occupying any land or inflicting harm on people.

“Zionism, which is a concept derived from fascism, does not represent Judaism. It’s an ideological occupation project. Turkey is the only country standing up against this entity. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is protecting Palestinian territories without paying any mind to Israel’s threats.”

‘We shamed ourselves in front of Muslims’

Rabbi Weiss described Zionists’ occupation of Palestine as a religious war, stressing that it’s a persecution of Muslims.

“We coexisted with Muslims for centuries. There was no problem. It’s not a religious issue, it’s a political one. Real Jews feel the pain of the Palestinians. We shamed ourselves in front of Muslims.”

Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine

Rabbi Weiss, who does not recognize the state of Israel, concluded his interview by slamming the U.S.’s decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem.

“How can the U.S. open an embassy in Jerusalem? Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine! How can it be Israel’s? We said they should refrain from doing this. It is just rubbing salt in the wound. The Zionist state not only oppresses Arabs and Muslims, it tyrannizes the whole world.”

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In the Russian capital, thousands of people led by Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin marched across the Red Square to commemorate the May Day.

The day, dedicated to workers around the world, is a public holiday in many countries.

It commemorates the struggle of the working class to win fair employment standards, historian Tatyana Sidorova told Anadolu Agency in Moscow on Tuesday.

People who worked most, earned less and did not have time to study and to top up their qualification, she added.

"These unjust conditions resulted in appearance of labor unions and labor movements which met a great resistance from the side of the industrial elite. But when the labor movement became mass, employers were forced to meet the demands and to improve work conditions," she said.

In Austria, over 100,000 people gathered in front of the Municipality of Vienna building, where far-right groups protested.

Thousands of workers and students in the Greek capital Athens protested against the government’s “belt-tightening” policies at the Sintagma Square where the parliament is located.

Some groups protested against NATO outside the U.S. Embassy in Athens.

In the Balkans region, various protests were held in Montenegro, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Albania, and Kosovo, pointing out poor conditions for workers in their countries.

In several major cities of Pakistan, including Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi, labor unions voiced concern over lack of rights of workers.

In Manila, a crowd of around 20,000 individuals from different labor groups -- the biggest number of protesters recorded since Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte assumed presidency in 2016 -- gathered on Tuesday and protested against labor contract executive order.

Earlier Tuesday, Duterte had signed an executive order aimed at ending illegal contracts and providing security to Filipino workers; however, protesters claimed it was "anti-workers" and useless.

A sister organization of the OIC, the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States gathers the parliaments of 54 Muslim countries under one roof, and aims to solve the problems of countries, regions and the world by discussing matters on the agendas of their Muslim nations’ representatives.

We spoke to Prof. Kılıç, who has held the position of secretary general for two terms representing Turkey and is due to leave this position before the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, about what he aimed for in his 10 years of service, and what he could and could not do. We also discussed the situation of the 54 Muslim countries he has been in close contact with for a decade, and the notion of Islamic unity.

THERE IS AN ARAB DOMINANCE IN THE MUSLIM WORLD

As someone who has been in contact with Muslim countries over the course of your 10-year duty, can you categorize Muslim countries?

We have 54 members from a wide-ranging geographical spectrum. As a result of this, we can group them into three vast geographies – Asia, Arabia and Africa. There are differences in culture and viewpoints across these three groups. There is an Arab dominance in the Muslim world, whether you like it or not. Because the Gulf Arabs who have petrol money pay the highest contribution fee; they have an approach that is, for lack of a better term, “talk as much as your money does.” The regimes of the Gulf Arabs do not include opposition and does not meet the expectations of the people. The changes implemented by Mohammad Bin Salman in Saudi Arabia have left the Arab world perplexed. Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have a certain dominance in the Arab world. They are called leader countries. When a dose of Arabism is added into the mix, you may be seen as a second class citizen. The most important factors of Arab identity, and Gulf Arabs’ identity in particular, are based on an anti-Shiite and anti-Iran stance. In doing this, support for Wahhabism is ensured because Shiites are declared as unbelievers. Insults are legitimized by calling them Safavid unbelievers. However, Shiite teachings do not refer to Wahhabis as unbelievers.

I DO NOT WANT THE MUSLIM WORLD TO BE REPRESENTED BY THE MIDDLE EAST

Morocco, Malaysia and Turkey should be new representative models. What about other geographies?

Countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia which we can call the Far East of the Muslim world are making progress in their own right, perhaps with a view that comes from being distanced from the Middle East. Malaysia has advanced in recent years, concentrating on improving the economy and domestic peace. It is also an interesting model in terms of Islamic rights. Malaysia’s model of a Muslim state is quite interesting. If a woman wearing the hijab is talented in a certain field, she can reach that industry’s peak. Her hijab is not an obstacle. If a woman who does not wear the hijab and is talented in a certain field, she may also reach that industry’s peak, and both are seen as equals and no differentiation between them is made. In some countries, women who do not don the hijab cannot succeed regardless of their qualifications, and in other countries women who wear the hijab can hit constant roadblocks.

There are some Moroccan and North African Arabs who stay away from the Arab world. These include Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. I see them on a more moderate line. Personally, I do not want the Muslim world to be represented by the Middle East. Turkey may also play a role here. There should be a new model of the representation of Islam based on Morocco, Malaysia and Turkey. For example, Iran’s insistence regarding the hijab and its persecution of those who do not wear it has started to form a hatred of religion, religious governing and people of religion. This is what I have observed.

ISLAMIC UNITY IS UNLIKELY TO ACTUALIZE

We always talk about Islamic unity. Is such a thing possible?

I follow a madhab (Islamic school of thought), but I have never enforced this on others or said that everyone should think as I do. For this reason, I have called a Shiite my “brother” and received many messages and emails saying “How could you call a Shiite unbeliever your brother?” Thereby the answer to your question is quite easy, yet also very difficult: “Why not?” It correlates with the quality of our humanity. A century ago, hundreds of families in France’s north were killed by Germans during the Protestant-Catholic wars. However they figured out a way to unite by putting the past behind them, and formed the European Union. Why can’t we do this? I miss Islamic unity, but I am aware that it is unlikely to actualize, is a utopia and perhaps even a fantasy that will never come true.

I read that you were the head of a company based in London. What line of work were you doing before you called yourself “Agoraphobic Traveler”?

I was the co-founder of a digital production company in London for ten years. Prior to that I worked in the film industry.

I don’t think your phobia is the only factor that prompted you to start this visual journey. The screenshots you take have amazing scenes with artistic value. The artist within you seems to have found a remedy for your struggle of leaving the house. What do you think?

No, my phobia and anxiety are not the only reason I started this project. I have always been interested in doing things in a different way. My time in the film industry taught me about traditional film and photography craft and then my time in the digital industry opened my eyes to new ways of creating and connecting with people. I've always been a fan of Instagram too but I was just waiting for the right project to come along. I also wanted to use the platform to talk about mental health, so it was the perfect storm. My creativity definitely helps with my phobia and getting out and about. I didn't realize how much I needed it until I started this project. It helps keep me focused and it pushes me all the time. I'm now constantly thinking up new ideas, new worlds and ways to push boundaries. So I'm very glad I discovered Google Street View.

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A photographer can walk the streets with their camera in their hand until they capture the moment. Sometimes, it can take days to capture the perfect picture. It is as if the man who walks with his cow in Kirghizstan, the women who look directly at the camera in Mongolia, the woman playing with her hair next to a lamppost in Mexico or the old couple who watch the street from their door in Belgium are posing for your camera. How long does it take you to find a photo on Google Street View that you love?

It takes me a very long time. Firstly I look for a town or city that has all the elements I love. Lighting is extremely important to me and so is color. Once I've found an exciting place, I search street by street until I find a magic moment, frozen in time. They are incredibly rare and it's such a great feeling when I find it. It can take days or weeks to find something that is really special to me. I have captured 27,000 screenshots and I can honestly say that I only love about 10 of them. To get all the elements working together is almost impossible. Unfortunately I don't have any control because the images already exist and there has been many times when I just want to transport myself to the scene and move a few things around.

I tried to take screenshots from Istanbul, the city where I live, but the traffic and crowds were very tiring. Then, I realized that your photos have a common language for those who have agoraphobia. Most of the streets in the scenes are desolate, or there are only a few people or animals in them. Can I say that you deliberately avoid exploring the crowded cities of the world even from behind your computer?

Yes, true. I'm not a fan of crowds. My images have an isolated feel to them and I guess this is a reflection of the loneliness that can come from having extreme anxiety. It's very hard to communicate what's going on in my head, so my visuals do the talking for me. I didn't actually realize that I was doing this until my Instagram community started pointing it out to me.

There is a lot of research on the negative effects of social media. However, I can say that your story offers an excellent example of the opposite. You formed a space that helps those who want to stay away from people socialize. What types of reactions do you get from people?

Yes, I've always seen the potential of social media for good. There is a lot of research on the negative impact that social media has on your mental health, so it's nice to be able to offer up a more positive example. I think we will see more and more creative ways to help people through platforms like Instagram, it is still early days. The response I get from people has been really amazing. On a daily basis I get contacted by people that share similar struggles and just want to reach out. I'm not a great one for talking or for writing, so I'm glad I can use a visual language to connect with others. I also love transporting people to another world.

What can you say about the progress you’ve made from your starting point to today? How many people’s treatment process have you affected? Can you share a few stories that deeply impacted you?

It has been an amazing journey, especially the last twelve months. I'm feeling really good within myself and it's helped me deal with many obstacles. I think that talking about it openly has been the key, it's almost like it doesn't have the same power over me anymore. I have had a lot of people tell me they don't feel so alone with it anymore, so I know that is a big step right there. I've been sent a lot of really great stories. I spoke to a doctor who told me that she has put my images up on her office wall because she deals with a lot of people that have a fear of flying and likes to share my story for inspiration. It's just nice to know I'm helping both online and in the real world.

When I want to buy your screenshots for the good of agoraphobics, do I need to contact you on your website or Instagram account? Could you please inform me about the process?

I'm currently selling a few of my images on my website. Google kindly gave me permission to sell a select few, with profits going to the amazing Brain and Behavior Research Foundation.

How was the idea to shoot a short movie about imprisoned Palestinian kids born?

It was after a trip to Palestine, for the first time as an adult, when I decided that I must do my part in showing others in the world what is going on in actual fact on the ground to Palestinians. However, I wanted to do it in a way that was not just “news,” but would resonate with people on a deeper and emotional level.

After all, Palestinians have been severely dehumanized and it is important to remind people that they live, love, laugh, bleed and breathe just like anyone else. The idea was not to do a short film on just Palestinian child prisoners in Israeli military detention, but to make short films on a variety of the injustices they suffer so people can receive the information in a way that hits them where they feel, and you can only do that with stories.

Today They Took My Son, one of my first short films, deals with this injustice of child prisoners because it was the story I was most deeply affected by. As a mother, the idea of anyone taking any of my children and putting them through this process breaks my heart. Israel is the only country in the world that processes children through a military detention system that, by its very nature, does not provide the necessary protections to those children. The double-standard and hypocrisy that an Israeli child would never be treated this way, but Palestinian children are, is unacceptable. Yet Israel claims to be the only democracy in the Middle East and is in denial that they are illegally occupying an entire nation of people while treating them with an entirely different and separate set of unfair and inhumane rules and laws than those they apply to themselves.

What kind of Palestine have you seen?

When you visit occupied Palestine you come to realize how widespread, systematic and institutionalized the oppression actually is. The illegal Israeli settlements that emerge from hilltop to hilltop is shocking. From afar they appear simply like nice affluent neighborhoods, but when you recognize that they have no right to be there in international law, that they sit upon stolen land, that all the brutality and oppression that surrounds them like the soldiers, the checkpoints, the Wall, the permit systems, the water shortages, the home demolitions, the destruction of farm lands, and much more that Palestinians have to deal with every day, is BECASUE of those settlements and that the government of Israel encourages and supports them and considers them part of Israel, as well as being the guardian of the Apartheid system that serves those settlements, then you feel truly shocked and deeply saddened.

Palestinians are treated one way because they are Muslim and Christian, and Israeli settlers another way because they are Jewish - That is the Palestine I saw.

Can you tell us about your new short movie published on the Internet?

This short film, Today They Took My Son, is based on a UNICEF report and is about a mother coping with her young son being taken away by a military system. Her helplessness to prevent the cruel and inhumane treatment she knows he is experiencing is more than any mother can bear.

Right now with all the tensions around Trump’s Jerusalem announcement, we have seen a number of Palestinian children in the news being taken by the Israeli military, including 17-year-old Ahed Tamimi, the girl from Nabi Salih who was arrested for slapping an Israeli soldier. She is one of around 10,000 Palestinian children taken since 2000 by the Israeli military whose stories do not reach the news and the painful story I tell in this short film is usually the same for each one of them.

What do you think about Western media's position towards Palestine issue? How can you describe their approach to the issue?

There is simply no context in Western main stream media’s reporting of the Palestine-Israel conflict. Context is everything. Context is a decades-long illegal occupation. Context is checkpoints, home demolitions, the blockade of Gaza, the Wall, settler violence, illegal settlements, military brutality, permit systems, child prisoners and more. Without context, their reporting is misleading and meaningless and as such Palestinian revolt, resistance and even violence is framed as barbarism, terrorism and baseless hatred, rather than resistance to illegal occupation, legitimate struggle for freedom and rejection of the theft of their lands and the inhumane treatment they are subjected to.

Palestinians, who were forced to migrate, want to return to their country and they all live difficult lives. Does your family have a migration story?

I am very fortunate in that my parents ended up in the UK in the early 70s and made a good life for us there. I do not yearn to live in Palestine personally, but I would like all Palestinians to have a choice to visit if they wished and live there if they chose, instead of squalled refugee camps and statelessness. My story is far more fortunate than most and for that I am grateful - which is why I feel even more compelled to do the work I am doing.

What can you say about Trump's decision on Jerusalem?

I released a video blog on my social media with a more complete personal reflections here, but in short, while it is very disturbing, this is just another illegal annexation land grab that is in line with what Israel has been doing since 1948. At least this way we can stop pretending that the U.S. is an honest broker of peace and acknowledge, without a doubt, that the so-called “peace process” and two-state solution has been a smoke screen and a façade simply allowing Israel to build more illegal Israeli settlements on land that is supposed to be for a Palestinian state.

I think it also shows the Palestinian Authority to be totally powerless and they should end their complicity with Israel, working to simply keep Israel secure while receiving nothing positive in return for Palestinians except their own personal incomes, and given the Oslo Agreement is clearly dead. They should hand back the full occupation to Israel with all the headaches and expenses that it involves instead of allowing part of it to be outsourced to them.

A two-state solution wasn’t a bad idea but with this recent Jerusalem move, among other actions, one can clearly see that Israel has other plans. Many of us knew this already, but for the first time, those not so familiar with the conflict can clearly see the imbalance and unfairness of such a unilateral, unapologetic and arrogant move by Trump.

What are your forthcoming works? Do you have a new project?

Yes! I am currently beginning work on my next two short films. “I’m not an animal” that addresses checkpoints and checkpoint humiliation, and the other one is “The Nightmare of Gaza.” I am also working hard on further developing the website I founded, www.oceansofinjustice.com. The site houses the films we release as well as deconstructs all the injustices Palestinians have and continue to suffer. It provides further resources for people to learn more and soon will guide people to the best change making organizations who are working to bring freedom, justice and equality to Palestinians.

Malcolm X is hailed as exemplary for Muslims. How did this aspect of your father impact your life?

My father definitely influenced who I am. My father and my mother, because they instilled the value of primarily self-love and then of compassion and care for others. But in order for you to have compassion and care for others you have to know good things about yourself. So she made sure that I understood who I was as a woman, that many women made great contributions all around the world throughout history, that I understood who I was as a Muslim, that Muslims made significant accomplishments and strides throughout the world throughout history and that I understood who I was as a person of African diaspora that civilization began from the continent. So it is important that children have the opportunity to see good things, good reflections of who they are as Muslims, as wherever they’re from, that they know that they are worthy of goodness. They are worthy of a quality education, that they are worthy of leadership, that they should have compassion and care once they know all of the good things about themselves so that when they see injustice anywhere, they stop it. That they are not those writing bad policies and bad laws that are going to oppress any human being whatsoever.

Would it be correct to describe your father as a defender of human rights as opposed to fighting against racism?

Yes, absolutely [it would be correct to call father a defender of human rights as opposed to fighting against racism] because it was in the late 1950s that in America you had African-Americans who wanted to integrate restaurants. They wanted equality. They asked to go to better schools, for better housing and better healthcare. So it was all about any kind of injustice against any human being. We don’t ask our fellow man to allow us equality because we are already equal. God ordained us human beings all the same. It was important that we understood that. While everyone was fighting for civil rights, my father came along and said “I demand my human rights as your brother. I demand my human rights ordained by God.”

Do you believe that the people in the U.S. are showing enough reaction to purposefully push negative perceptions of Islam?

Just recently there was a protest in Charlottesville. There were people who came from all over to fight against that injustice. When there was the Muslim ban, when the president said Muslims have to go, everyone came and they marched against Muslim bans. They were supporting Muslims, they were supporting women, they were supporting African Americans, they were supporting anyone being oppressed. There are a lot of people who now understand what it is to be oppressed, discriminated against and all of those false targets.

You can no longer say that Muslims are terrorists and have it believed. If you have someone who has just killed hundreds of people at a concert, a white man killed hundreds of people at a concert, he is a terrorist. Now we’re clear that you can’t say if someone shot someone that they’re a terrorist and that it is synonymous with being a Muslim. People are more informed now.

What kind of activities are you doing as an activist and an academician on the subject of Islamic perception?

I’m a professor so I make sure that all of my students understand each person’s identity, each person’s culture. I teach American Cultural Pluralism in the law. How does the law affect those who are being discriminated? Why is it different? So that we understand that we are all the same. The culture that we have, the culture that she has, the culture that I have is something very beautiful.

What do you think of Donald Trump's politics?

I think that there are some who agree with him [Donald Trump], some who share his ideology but there are many who recognize this as an opportunity to come together and have the discussion on our differences.

Do you think Turkey plays an effective role in the Muslim world?

I think Turkey is a model country, it’s just applaudable. It’s so great that they open the door to refugees, they open the door to their brothers and sisters without discrimination or prejudice. I think that this is a very beautiful society, a very beautiful culture. I think it should be mirrored all around the world.

Speaking at an exclusive interview in Berlin, Ford said: “I had never anticipated that we would make a second film. But Ridley Scott, who was director of the first film, had an ambition to make a second story.”

Golden Globe winner Ford had played the character Rick Deckhard, a selfish cop, in the first Blade Runner movie.

“He [Scott] produced a very interesting storyline and gave me the potential to explore the character further,” said Ford.

He said the movie will make sense to a first-time watcher, as it builds on its prequel, but brings something new to the audience.

Speaking about special effects in the film, Ford said it was "a visual treat" as technology had improved immensely in the 35 years since the first movie came out.

Canadian actor Gosling, who was only 2 years old when the first film came out, said “I was a huge fan of the original film and obviously it is an incredible opportunity to be a part of its legacy.”

“I was excited on the level of the script because it was such a wonderful story. There were so many interesting dynamics between the characters, philosophical questions, [and] conceptual ideas. It just was a very rich opportunity for me," Gosling said.

The two actors said that they were not allowed to give away much about the movie because, as Ford put it, they “want the audience to experience the film”.

The movie is expected to release in Turkey on Oct. 17.

Asiye Sutlu, whose Turkish identity card states that she was born on April 17, 1899, says the secret to her long life is the organic food she has grown up eating.

During a birthday celebration organized by the Family Ministry on Tuesday in Hizan district in the southeastern province of Bitlis, Sutlu said she eats only local produce.

"We always ate local food -- homemade yogurt, keskek [a dish of mutton or chicken and ground wheat], ayran [a drink made of yoghurt and water] and medicinal herbs that we pick from the mountains," she said.

"These days the food is so unhealthy that I cannot eat it."

On Tuesday, Sutlu cut a chocolate cake in a celebration delayed by a journey last month to western Turkey.

The frail woman lay in bed as her family cheered. She later recalled how she would walk to the highlands to milk cows and carry firewood back to her village during her childhood.

Sutlu lost her husband 45 years ago when she was 73.

She is now being cared for by her daughter-in-law Zinnet and has 41 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren.

"I take care of her needs," Zinnet said. "She is happy with me."

Her grandson Mekin said his grandmother remained healthy despite suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure. "The municipality takes care of her needs," he said.

Although Sutlu's claim has not been verified by any international bodies, the birth date stated on her Turkish ID card would make her the world's oldest person.

She would be older than Emma Morano, who was officially recognized as the world oldest person before her death in Italy last month at the age of 117. She had been born six months before Sutlu and had been considered the last living person who had been born in the 19th century.

Jamaican Violet Brown, who was born on March 10, 1900, is now recognized as the world's oldest person by Gerontology Research Group, which records the longevity of people with credible birth documentation.