Turkish doctor detained over Kosovar organ trafficking released
A Turkish doctor detained for alleged links to an international organ-trafficking organization based in Kosovo was released Wednesday pending trial, HurriyetDailyNews reports.
Almaty. January 13. Kazakhstan Today - A Turkish doctor detained for alleged links to an international organ-trafficking organization based in Kosovo was released Wednesday pending trial, HurriyetDailyNews reports.
Yusuf Ercin Sonmez, who was detained on Tuesday evening in a raid in the Kartal district of Istanbul, denied the allegations.
Sonmez testified for two hours at the Sultanahmet Courthouse on Wednesday. Prosecutors demanded his arrest on charges of "organized organ-trafficking," but the court overruled the request and released him.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Sonmez said he was involved in no crime. "There is no organ-trafficking, hence there is no evidence," he was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency. "I was here to testify on a probe ongoing in Kosovo. I did not get the subpoena since my address changed, that is why I was detained."
In statements posted on his website, Sonmez said he has also worked at a clinic in Baku, Azerbaijan. He further said he was being unfairly hounded by the Turkish media and denied any wrongdoing in the Kosovo case.
As informed earlier, Sonmez, was the subject of an Interpol arrest warrant issued by the District Court of Pristina in Kosovo. The offenses listed by Interpol: Crimes against life and health, people smuggling, trafficking and illegal immigration.
BBC informed that the donors, said to have come from Moldova, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkey and to have lived in "extreme poverty or acute financial distress", were allegedly promised up to 14,500 euros ($19,900) while recipients were required to pay between 80,000 and 100,000 euros.
This information may not be reproduced without reference to Kazakhstan Today. Copyright of materials of News Agency Kazakhstan Today.
relevant news
Fire brokes out in Kostenko coalmine in Karaganda, 187 evacuated
Images | Ministry of Emergencies of Kazakhstan
187 workers have been evacuated from the Kostenko coalmine in Karaganda due to fire, Kazinform News Agency learned from the press service of the Ministry of Emergencies.
As the Ministry informed, smoke occurred on the 4th conveyor drift of K3 coalbed.
Electrician Aibar Kossanov managed to extinguish the smoke using emergency fire extinguishing equipment.
The cause of the smoke was eliminated at 07:45 pm. Despite that, a decision was taken to evacuate 194 miners who were underground at the moment.
As of 09:47pm, 187 miners were brought to the surface, 7 workers including site managers and supervisors remained underground to control the incident and mine support system.
As per preliminary version, a foreign object blocked the operation of the conveyer band and caused the fire.
Six divisions of professional emergency and rescue services, local emergency personnel were attracted to the evacuation works. The incident is settled. The decision on the resumption of operation of the 4th shift will be adopted after the circumstances are assessed," the Qarmet press service added.
As reported, 46 miners died and 28 were injured as a result of the blast, which occurred in ArcelorMittal Temirtau's Kostenko coal mine in Karaganda region on October 28. 252 people were in the mine at the moment of the blast, of whom 205 were evacuated and taken to safety.
The Prosecutor General's Office launched a criminal investigation into the accident. According to the company, gas-methane explosion occured in the lava. Rescue operations at the scene were carried out in a non-stop regime.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev visited the accident site and met with the families of the victims. The President expressed his condolences to the families and friends of the deceased miners and tasked to provide them with all-round support.
ArcelorMittal Temirtau was officially renamed as QARMET. The Kazakh company Qazaqstan Steel Group (QSG) became an investor of the enterprises of the former ArcelorMittal Temirtau. The company, represented by Kazakh businessman Andrey Lavrentiev, reached an agreement with the Kazakh Ministry of Industry and Construction on the acquisition of AMT assets.
This information may not be reproduced without reference to Kazakhstan Today. Copyright of materials of News Agency Kazakhstan Today.
Over 110 summer house communities in Uralsk flooded
Images | Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Kazakhstan
116 summer house communities in the floodplain of the River Ural are inundated, Kazinform News Agency reports.
2,073 families or 6,888 people live at those summer houses in Uralsk, deputy governor of West Kazakhstan Kaliyar Aitmukhambetov said.
As earlier reported, 1,920 homes were flooded in six districts and the city of Uralsk. Owners of 902 homes returned.
Of which 276 homes were condemned as unfit for people to live in, 74 are subject to master overhaul.
75,962 pupils in 108 schools shifted to online learning. 161 evacuation centers were opened in the region. Since the beginning of the floods 13,380 people, including 5,748 children, were evacuated to safer places. Currently, 2,363 people are staying at 14 temporary shelters and provided with food and medical assistance.
The risk of flooding remains at 84 settlements in Uralsk city, Akzhaiyk, Borlinskiy, Baiterek, and Terekty districts along the River Ural. A dam 135 km long and 2-4.5 m wide has been built there since April. 1.1 million sandbags were laid. 1,336 pieces of equipment were deployed in dam fortification efforts.
Above 7,000 people and 3,500 military are involved in mitigating flood aftermath.
According to the emergencies department, 13,044 summer cottages are flooded. 10,647 people, 1,919 pieces of equipment, 213 motor pumps, 194 floating crafts, and 5 helicopters are deployed in rescue and flood relief operations.
This information may not be reproduced without reference to Kazakhstan Today. Copyright of materials of News Agency Kazakhstan Today.
8,821, including 3,885 children from flood-hit regions staying at temporary shelters, Kazakh Emergencies Ministry
Images | Akorda
Kazakhstan continues rescue efforts, flood relief operations and mitigation of flood aftermath in flood-stricken and flood-prone regions, the Kazakh Emergencies Ministry’s official spokesperson Dinara Nurgaliyeva told a briefing.
Since the beginning of the floods 118,180 people, including 44,254 children, were rescued and evacuated. 113,852 farm animals were moved to safer places, she added.
Currently, 8,821 people, including 3,885 children, from flood-hit areas are staying at temporary shelters.
Water was pumped out of 4,370 homes and 2,737 household plots. Over 10.5 million cubic meters of meltwater were pumped away, and over 3.4 million sandbags and 1.4 million tons of inert material were laid.
5,989 homes and 1,091 household plots remain flooded in Akmola, Aktobe, Kostanay, Atyrau, North Kazakhstan.
44,137 people, 4,642 pieces of equipment, 858 motor pumps, 341 floating crafts, 18 aircraft, and volunteers are deployed in rescue and flood relief operations.
A local state of emergency was declared in 38 districts in Aktobe, Kostanay, West Kazakhstan, Akmola, Karaganda, Atyrau, North Kazakhstan, and Ulytau regions.
The Emergencies Ministry urges all to keep flood safety rules, not to leave homes and evacuation centers without permission and not to leave children alone.
This information may not be reproduced without reference to Kazakhstan Today. Copyright of materials of News Agency Kazakhstan Today.
Second wave of floods hits N Kazakhstan region
Images | Ministry of Emergencies of Kazakhstan
Water level has increased on the Sergeyev Reservoir in the North Kazakhstan region. Flood situation in the region remains complicated, Deputy Governor of the region Kanat Duzelbayev said it at a briefing today, Kazinform News Agency reports.
He said water overflow on the Sergeyev Reservoir has decreased to 250 centimeters.
Due to the second wave of flooding, water level rose again with the overflow at 278 centimeters having increased by 21 centimeters," Kanat Duzelbayev said.
He emphasized the situation remains complicated in Kyzylzhar district and Petropavlovsk city.
A number of villages in Kyzylzhar district and micro-districts Podgora, Kozhevenny, Zarechny, Kossogor are still under water, with 2,886 residential buildings affected by the flood. A total of 14,388 people have been evacuated in the region, with 1,037 accommodated in temporary shelters. All of them are provided with meals and essential supplies. 149 families have already received lump-sum social payment. 470 tons of humanitarian aid were sent to the region from Astana, Almaty, East Kazakhstan, Kyzylorda, Zhambyl, Pavlodar, and Akmola regions, as well as from Russia’s Omsk," said Duzelbayev.
This information may not be reproduced without reference to Kazakhstan Today. Copyright of materials of News Agency Kazakhstan Today.
8th-grader plunges from fourth floor window in Astana
An eighth-grader jumped out of a fourth-floor window in the school lyceum no.72 in the Kazakh capital of Astana, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports citing the health and education department of the city.
On April 17, an eighth-grader climbed out of a fourth-floor window in the school lyceum no.72. An ambulance was called immediately to the scene; the child is in the hospital, said the department.
The child sustained a brain concussion, thorax and abdominal injuries, right forearm and right tibia fractures. His condition is regarded as stable. The child is under medical supervision.
A criminal investigation into the accident has been launched.
This information may not be reproduced without reference to Kazakhstan Today. Copyright of materials of News Agency Kazakhstan Today.
Over 12,000 people evacuated in N Kazakhstan due to massive floods
Images | Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Flood situation remains complicated in the North Kazakhstan region, according to Yevgeny Zhuravlyov, press secretary of the local emergencies department, Kazinform News Agency reports.
In his words, the Sergeyev Water Reservoir is full at 149%. Water overflow across the dam crest is 2 meters 61 centimeters. Water level has decreased by 9 centimeters in a day.
He said that water level on the Yessil River is raising, due to which settlements of Kyzylzhar district and some areas of Petropavlovsk city have been flooded.
2,401 residential buildings, 1,115 courtyards remain flooded. 12,235 people including 2,919 children were evacuated in the region. 1,890 people including 591 children have been evacuated in the past day. 26 adults and 8 children have returned their homes, while 12,191 people remain evacuated. 3,590 farm animals were taken to a safe area," he said.
The worst hit areas are Teplichnoye, Pribrezhnoye villages in Kyzylzhar district, where 565 residential buildings have been flooded, and 2,287 people have been evacuated.
In the past 24 hours, water has already reached Bolshaya Malyshka, Sokolovka, Vishnyovka, Olshanka villages, where 317 residential buildings have been flooded. 1,562 people including 299 children have been evacuated.
This information may not be reproduced without reference to Kazakhstan Today. Copyright of materials of News Agency Kazakhstan Today.