ALIYEV SPOKE ABOUT, SO-CALLED, ‘ZANGEZUR CORRIDOR’ AGAIN
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has again attempted to give a reasonable look to Azerbaijan’s demand for the provision of the ‘Zangezur corridor,’ while not avoiding attributing a potential action or rather, inaction to Iran.
"The Zangazur [(Zangezur)]corridor is not directed against anyone; it will bring good to all interested parties," said Aliyev at the international conference, entitled "Along the Middle Corridor: Geopolitics, Security and Economy."
"We discussed the Zangazur corridor during our last conversation with Russian officials. I don't think that Armenia can block that corridor. As for Iran, I think that it will not do it either considering its interest in regional communication projects. These projects are not directed against anyone; on the contrary, they are only good for all interested parties," said Aliyev.
TURKEY FIRED IN DIRECTION OF KURDISH POSITIONS IN SYRIA
The Turkish military has eliminated 326 terrorists during its air operations in Iraq and Syria, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar told reporters on Friday.
"At this time, as a result of air operation ‘Claw-Sword’, 326 terrorists have been eliminated. The operation to punish terrorists continues from the air with ground fire support," the top military official said.
He refuted reports that the Turkish army had delivered a strike on a US observation center in northern Syria. "Any strikes on allied forces or civilian facilities are out of the question," he stressed.
Overnight on November 20, Turkey embarked on its ‘Claw-Sword’ air operation in northern Iraq and Syria which involved over 50 aircraft and 20 drones with the on-the-ground artillery support. Ankara’s airstrikes hit deployment sites of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is outlawed in Turkey, and its Syrian offshoot, the National Defense Forces.
Earlier this week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan unveiled plans to conduct a ground operation targeting several regions in Northern Syria simultaneously, namely, Tell Rifaat, Manbij and Ayn al-Arab (Kobani).
RESIDENTS OF KYIV WILL GET ELECTRICITY FOR 2-3 HOURS A DAY
In Kyiv, consumes will have their electricity turned on for 2-3 hours until the volume of electricity is increased, DTEK Executive Director Dmytro Sakharuk said on the air of the telethon "Unified News".
According to him, all critical infrastructure in the city has been powered up, and about 30% of the city's consumers have electricity.
"We will gradually switch the power on for 2-3 hours until the amount of electricity coming to Kyiv is increased," Sakharuk said.
After the system is stabilized, DTEK will switch to the schedules of scheduled outages that were in effect until Wednesday morning.
PROGRESS VISIBLE IN ESTABLISHING NUCLEAR SAFETY AND SECURITY PROTECTION ZONE AROUND ZNPP SITE: GROSSI
Experts of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have arrived at all nuclear power plants of Ukraine in order to provide support and assistance to the personnel.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi stated this in a video message published on Twitter, Ukrinform reports.
“Recently, Ukraine requested the IAEA to provide, as well as for Zaporizhzhia, on site assistance and support to Rivne, Khmelnytskyi, and South Ukraine, and to Chornobyl. This assistance has begun. We must do everything to prevent a nuclear accident at any of these nuclear facilities, which would only add to the terrible suffering we are already witnessing in Ukraine,” Grossi said.
He reminded that IAEA experts had been on the ZNPP site since the beginning of September, providing support and assistance to the station's staff. According to the general director, progress is already visible in establishing a nuclear safety and security protection zone around the ZNPP site.
As reported by Ukrinform, on November 23, Russians again attacked Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Due to a frequency decrease in the energy system of Ukraine, emergency protection was activated at the Rivne, South Ukraine and Khmelnytskyi NPPs, and all power units were automatically disconnected.
THANKSGIVING PARADE IN NEW YORK
Spectators lined the streets of Manhattan on Thursday (November 24) for the 96th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, a televised extravaganza of marching bands, floats and performances by stars including Jordin Sparks, Paula Abdul and Mariah Carey, who sang her Christmas classic "All I want for Christmas," Reuters reports.
Altogether, 16 giant inflatables, 28 floats, 12 marching bands, 700 clowns, and Santa Claus, plus many musical stars, entertained spectators who filled several city blocks for a glimpse of their favorite floats and performers.
The giant helium balloons depicting cartoon characters and toys are typically the main attraction, with this year's pageant adding newcomers such as Stuart the Minion from the animated comedy, 'Minions - The Rise of Gru'. Also making a comeback this year, Grogu, otherwise known as Baby Yoda from the Star Wars spinoff series, The Mandalorian, and the ever-popular Peanuts character, Snoopy, the longest-running giant balloon character at the parade.
Other American cities stage parades, but New York's event has become an archetype of the holiday tradition, which is televised across the country to some 50 million viewers as they prepare their Thanksgiving meals.
The official Thanksgiving holiday dates to the Civil War when President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday of November as a day to give thanks and seek healing.
U.S. schoolchildren learn to trace the holiday to Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620 and celebrated the autumn harvest with the Wampanoag peoples. Among Native Americans, Thanksgiving is a day of dark reflection on the genocide that followed.
