Turkey discovers large natural gas reserve off Black Sea coast

News Network
August 21, 2020

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Ankara, Aug 21: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced the discovery of a large natural gas reserves off the Black Sea coast, days after he promised a good news that would usher in a for the energy dependent country.

Erdogan said on Friday that the amount of gas discovered is 320 billion cubic meters, adding that he hopes to start extracting and using the gas by 2023.

If confirmed as recoverable resources, the reserves could ease the country''s dependence on costly energy imports and could ease the financial market jitters that have seen the country''s currency plummet to record lows this summer.

The Turkish drilling ship, Fatih, had been carrying out exploration operations in the Tuna-1 sector in the western Black Sea for the past month. The sector is near where Romania has also found gas reserves.

The discovery comes as tensions between NATO allies Turkey and Greece are running high over oil and gas exploration in disputed waters in the eastern Mediterranean.

Greek and Turkish warships have been shadowing each other after Turkey sent a research ship to look for potential undersea oil and gas deposits. The Turkish ship is scheduled to search for energy reserves there until August 23.

Separately, Turkey is also at odd with Cyprus over energy exploration around the island. It has dispatched warship-escorted vessels off Cyprus''s coast to drill for gas, insisting that it''s acting to protect its interests and those of Turkish Cypriots to the area''s natural resources.

The Greek Cypriot government of the ethnically split island has slammed Turkey for encroaching in its waters and economic rights.

The discovery of the natural gas reserve would come as a welcome respite for the country which is dependent on Iran, Iraq and Russia for its energy and is grappling with economic woes. Last year, energy imports cost the country USD 41 billion.

The Turkish lira has tumbled to record lows this months, fueled by high inflation, a wide current account deficit and the Turkish government''s push for cheap credit to drive an economy that was already fragile before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

The currency however, recovered some losses following reports of the discovery of gas deposits. 

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kushal kumar
 - 
Saturday, 22 Aug 2020

According to news reports , Greece and Egypt signed a deal on 6 August 2020 , to set up a maritime zone in the eastern Mediterranean for exploring energy resources. This seems to have enraged Turkey which is reported to have sent on 10 August 2020 its drilling ship to the disputed territory in the eastern Mediterranean sea for exploration of energy resources. Amid high tensions , Greece is reported to have brought their grievance to Foreign Affairs Council in the EU for appropriate solution. The news reports also suggest that Greece has also moved its naval fleet to the eastern Mediterranean , seeking , direct or indirect , support of Israel , the US and EU. France has already deployed some ships and military jets in the affected area. Later news reports on 21 August 2020 claim that Turkey has discovered large natural gas reserve off Black Sea. It can be reasonably believed that the discovery of gas reserves may have taken shape on 19 or 20 August , the dates predicted as something historic , something rare by this writer on 20 July , 2020. Besides , latest developments of strategic nature having military angle have shaped up on or around 19 August , 2020 , when the U.S. warship , the USS Hershel Woody Williams , is reported to have arrived in the Greek Island of Crete , on a mission to keep an eye on escalating tensions between NATO allies Greek and Turkey over energy resources rights in the eastern Mediterranean sea. The said U.S. warship is reported to have joined other vessels from the European Union and Russia in the region , where Ankara and Athens are locked in the dispute over territorial waters.

It is , however, noteworthy that these developments having war-like tension in the region have taken shape during the period alerted by this Vedic astrology writer on 20 July 2020 , through article -“ Planetary configuration in August-September 2020 suggest something historic , something rare” - published at nirpakhawaaz.com on 20 July 2020. This writer had sought to alert by predicting that months of August and September in 2020 looked to be presenting something historic , something rare amid war-like situations or enterprise across vulnerable countries in the world. The planetary impacts during these two months can be read to imply a mini- WW3 or could have potential of a full-fledged WW3. It may also be observed from the said article that 10 August 2020 was particularly included in the list of dates calling for attention on matters loaded with potential to mini - war or even something like WW3. http://www.nirpakhawaaz.com/2020/07/20/planetary-configuration-in-august-september-2020-suggest-something-historic-something-rare/
In the said article of 20 July 2020 , the dates 10 , 11 , 19 , 20 , 27 , 28 and 29 in August 2020 closely relevant to the alerts for more attention and appropriate strategy , were indicated.
Similarly dates 6 to 8 , 15 to 17 and 24 to 25 in September 2020 were mentioned as precisely relevant.

There is another predictive article of this writer becoming relevant to the ongoing tensions during August 2020 between Greece and Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean sea. This writer’s predictive alerts of 11 November 2019 for the U.S. were published in article - “ Astrological predictive alerts for 2020” - at wisdom-magazine.com/Article.aspx/5176/ on 1 January 2020. As predicted in the said article , the US has been called upon around mid-2020 to address an issue in the Mediterranean sea having oil-gas , which goes to confirm accuracy and meaningfulness of the following:-
“ 3. The months of April to June , particularly May-June or later in 2020 , look to be trending into the scene some serious landscapes. There could be some war or war-like conditions across the world , WHICH THE US MAY BE CALLED UPON TO ADDRESS. SEA OR OIL REGIONS OR SUCH STUFF SEEMS TO BE CALLING ATTENTION”.

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News Network
November 24,2025

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Israeli forces have pushed over the Syrian frontier, erecting a checkpoint and stopping vehicles in the southwestern city of Quneitra, in yet another breach of the Arab country’s sovereignty.

The violation took place on Sunday, when the troops made their way across the border, setting up the outpost near the Ain al-Bayda junction in northern Quneitra, Syrian outlets reported.

According to the al-Ikhbariya paper, an Israeli detachment positioned itself at the junction, halting cars and conducting searches.

The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that three Israeli military vehicles then moved further into the northern countryside, deploying between the town of Jubata al-Khashab and the villages of Ofaniya and Ain al-Bayda. The agency added that a separate Israeli unit mounted a new incursion in the central region, approaching the villages of Umm Batina and al-Ajraf.

Residents said such activities have surged in recent months, pointing to Israeli advances onto farmland, leveling of extensive forested areas, arrests, and spread of mobile checkpoints.

The Israeli regime began markedly increasing its military aggression against Syria last year.

The escalation coincided with increasingly ferocious onslaughts throughout the country by the so-called Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Takfiri terrorist group, which the government of President Bashar al-Assad had confined to northwestern Syria. The HTS, however, managed to overthrow the government as the Israeli attacks would pummel the country’s civilian and defensive infrastructure.

Various reports have shown that, during the escalation, the regime conducted more than 1,000 airstrikes on the Syrian territory and over 400 ground raids into the south.

Following the collapse of the Assad government, Tel Aviv also widened its grip over the occupied Golan Heights by taking control of a demilitarized buffer zone, in defiance of a 1974 Disengagement Agreement. Earlier this month, senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visited the buffer zone, prompting expressions of alarm on the part of the United Nations.

The United States, the regime’s biggest ally, has, meanwhile, been fraternizing the HTS head Abu Mohammed al-Jolani amid the widely reported prospect of rapprochement with Tel Aviv.

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News Network
November 24,2025

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Israel has launched a new act of aggression on a residential neighborhood in Lebanon's capital, Beirut, killing and injuring about two dozen civilians.

The Israeli regime's military said in a statement that its forces carried out a so-called precise strike in a residential apartment in Dahiyeh in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sunday.

The aggression targeted residential areas, killing at least five people and injuring more than 28 people, Lebanon's Health Ministry said. 

Hezbollah announced the martyrdom of senior Hezbollah commander Haytham Ali Tabatabai and four resistance fighters.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun condemned the airstrike, calling it a clear demonstration of Tel Aviv’s disregard for repeated international calls to halt violations on Lebanese soil.

“Israel refuses to implement international resolutions and all efforts aimed at ending the escalation and restoring stability,” Aoun said, urging the international community to take action to prevent further aggression.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement also condemned the attack, holding the international community accountable. 

“The international community bears responsibility and continues to provide cover for these attacks as long as it does not restrain the occupiers,” said Ali Abu Shahin, a member of the group’s political bureau.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that the Israeli army carried out a strike “in the heart of Beirut."

Netanyahu reportedly approved the operation following recommendations from top Israeli security officials.

Two senior US officials commented on the Israeli strike.

The first official said that Israel did not notify Americans in advance about the attack. "We were informed immediately after the strike was carried out."

The second senior official said that the "US knew for several days that Israel was planning to escalate its strikes in Lebanon, but did not know in advance the timing, location, or target of the strike."

Speaking from the site of the Israeli strike, Lebanese MP Ali Ammar condemned the attack as part of a broader campaign of aggression that has targeted "all of Lebanon since the Washington-sponsored ceasefire."

He stated that "any attack on Lebanon is a violation of red lines; this aggression is part and parcel of the entity that targets Lebanon's dignity, sovereignty, and security of citizens."

Ammar went on to say the resistance is responding with "utmost wisdom, patience, and will confront the enemy at the appropriate time."

"Unfortunately, the enemy is emboldened to commit its aggression by voices within Lebanon that have turned themselves into tools that support its aggression," he added.

The Israeli attack on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital is the latest blatant violation of the ceasefire Israel signed with Hezbollah in November 2024, which was intended to end hostilities that had escalated into full-scale war.

An Israeli strike on the Ain al-Hilweh camp near Sidon in southern Lebanon late Tuesday killed at least 14 people. It wounded several others, including young students, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

The military claimed the attack targeted “a Hamas training compound” used to plan and carry out attacks against the regime -- a claim that has frequently been made without evidence.

Hamas rejected the allegations as “a blatant lie aimed at justifying the massacre,” stating it had “no military installations in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon” and that the targeted site was merely “an open sports field.”

According to Lebanese authorities, Israeli attacks have killed approximately 4,000 people and displaced more than 1.2 million residents across the country since October 2023.

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News Network
November 22,2025

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The Israeli regime’s forces have killed two Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip every day since the ceasefire began in early October, UNICEF has warned.

The UN children’s agency said on Friday that Israeli forces continue to attack Palestinians in Gaza even though the agreement was meant to stop the killing.

“Since 11 October, while the ceasefire has been in effect, at least 67 children have been killed in conflict-related incidents in the Gaza Strip. Dozens more have been injured. That is an average of almost two children killed every day since the ceasefire took effect,” UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires said in Geneva, reminding that each number in the statistics represents a child whose life had ended violently.

“These are not statistics,” he said. “Each child had a story, a family, and a future that was stolen from them.”

Data from Palestinian factions, human rights groups, and government bodies recorded since the US-brokered ceasefire deal went into effect on October 10 show that Israeli forces have carried out numerous attacks, each constituting a separate ceasefire violation.

UNICEF teams say they repeatedly continue to witness heart-wrenching scenes of fearful Palestinian children sleeping outdoors with amputated limbs, while others live as orphans in flooded, makeshift shelters.

“I saw this myself in August. There is no safe place for them. The world cannot normalize their suffering,” Pires said, lamenting that the UN could “do a lot more if the aid that is really needed was entering faster.”

The UNICEF spokesperson warned that with the advent of winter, the risks for hundreds of thousands of displaced children will increase.

He warned, “The stakes are incredibly high” for children as winter acts as a threat multiplier, where children have no heating, no insulation, and few blankets. He said respiratory infections rise.

“Too many children have already paid the highest price,” Pires said. “Too many are still paying it, even under a ceasefire. The world promised them it would stop and that we would protect them.”

“Now we must act like it,” the UNICEF spokesperson added.

Since the Israeli regime launched its genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza in October 2023, it has killed nearly 70,000 people in the territory, most of them women and children, and injured over 170,000 more, while reducing most of the structures in the enclave to rubble.

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