RAMALLAH: Palestinians have marked the anniversary of their uprooting almost seven decades ago with sirens and low-key marches.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were driven out in the Mideast war over Israel’s 1948 creation. The refugees and their descendants now number several million and most still live in the region.
Sirens wailed for 68 seconds Sunday in the West Bank to mark the passing of 68 years since what Palestinians call their “nakba,” or catastrophe.
Cars stopped and pedestrians stood still in the cities of Ramallah and Bethlehem during the commemoration.
Marchers used keys and other props to symbolize their demand to return to what is now Israel.
Israel says it will never accept a “right of return,” arguing it would threaten the state by diluting its Jewish majority.
Palestinians mark Nakba with sirens, marches
Palestinians mark Nakba with sirens, marches
Turkiye seals preliminary deals for largest foreign-funded railway project
- The funding will support the 125 km (78 mile) long Northern Ring Railway Project, which will carry passengers and freight from Gebze to Halkali via the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge connecting Istanbul’s two main airports
ISTANBUL: Turkiye has reached preliminary agreements with six international lenders to secure $6.75 billion for a new railway line across the Bosphorus in what would be Turkiye’s largest foreign-financed railway project, Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said on Tuesday.
Once completed, the line that will pass through north Istanbul is expected to carry 33 million passengers and 30 million tons of freight annually, he said, adding that it will open “a new era in logistics” by boosting the country’s rail capacity between Asia and Europe.
The funding will support the 125 km (78 mile) long Northern Ring Railway Project, which will carry passengers and freight from Gebze to Halkali via the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge connecting Istanbul’s two main airports.
Preliminary deals were reached with the World Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Asian Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, OPEC Fund for International Development and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the minister said.
“We aim to complete the tender process and hand over the site this year so that (construction) work can start,” Uraloglu said.
An uninterrupted rail freight across the Bosphorus Strait is currently possible through the Marmaray railway tunnel and only during limited hours daily. According to the ministry’s website, a total of just 1.7 million tons of cargo were transported through Marmaray between 2020 and October 2025.
