Anadolu Agency's Morning Briefing - Aug. 12, 2022

Anadolu Agency is here with a rundown of the latest developments around the world.

The start date of the 2022 Qatar World Cup was moved one day earlier, the world governing body of football confirmed.

US-based multinational fast food chain McDonald's announced that it is planning to reopen some restaurants in Ukraine.

A recent decision by Israeli authorities to demolish a school in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah amounts to a "war on Palestinian identity," said Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh.

The US Justice Department asked a federal court in the state of Florida to make public the search warrant used to carry out the FBI raid on former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago property, Attorney General Merrick Garland said.

Garland said he "personally approved" the decision to seek a search warrant on Trump's property.

The European Commission has officially asked for information about the wiretapping scandal from the Greek government, Anadolu Agency learned.

France is reeling under the disastrous effects of wildfires, with more than 60,000 hectares (148,263.23 acres) burned since the start of 2022 and 10,000 hectares destroyed this week, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Greece is 'uneasy' after Türkiye sent a new drill ship to the eastern Mediterranean.

With Sweden and Finland agreeing to cooperate on Türkiye's fight against terrorism to secure their NATO inclusion, the three countries are set to convene on Aug. 26 for the first meeting of the joint mechanism committed under the trilateral memorandum, the Turkish foreign minister said.

Sweden's Supreme Court decided to extradite a man who is wanted by Türkiye for fraud, the country's state-run broadcaster said.

Estonia and Latvia withdrew from a Chinese diplomatic forum that was established to engage with Central and Eastern European nations because of rising concerns about Beijing's relations with Moscow.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged that all military activities immediately stop at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant as Russia and Ukraine traded blame for shelling at Europe's largest nuclear facility.

US monitors have detected no evidence of increased radiation levels at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant as Ukraine and Russia exchange blame for recent shelling there, the State Department said.

Russia accused Kyiv of "nuclear terrorism," claiming that Ukrainian shelling of the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant could lead to a disaster worse than the notorious 1986 Chernobyl accident.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic accused authorities in Pristina of preparing the liquidation of Serbs in northern Kosovo "under the guise of the fight against crime."

Iran has dismissed as "baseless" and "politically motivated" charges pressed against an Iranian citizen by the US government for an alleged assassination plot against former US National Security Advisor John Bolton.

It is exclusively EU countries' right to decide on visa applications and eventually refuse Russian citizens, an EU official said in response to a recent initiative from Estonia, Latvia and Finland to prohibit the entry of all Russians to the bloc's territory.

Latvia's parliament officially designated Russia as a "state sponsor of terrorism."

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz turned down calls for an EU ban on tourist visas for Russians, saying sanctions should target Russian President Vladimir Putin and supporters of the war on Ukraine, not innocent citizens.

Iraqi actress Enas Taleb is suing The Economist after the British weekly used a photo of her for an article on "fat" Arab women, she announced.

Brazil's economy minister has discounted criticism from France over logging in the Amazon rainforest, calling Paris "insignificant," according to reports picked up by French media.

Canada needs to overcome its fear of infiltration by Russian spies and speed up issuing visas for Ukrainian refugees, according to a report.

Global oil supply in July increased to the highest level since January 2020 by 1.35 million barrels per day (bpd) to 100.5 million bpd, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said.

Ethiopia said no "parallel" effort would be pursued for talks with Tigray rebels other than the mediation by the African Union with former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo as the facilitator.

Election observers on Thursday commended the people of Kenya and the electoral commission for conducting free, fair and credible elections.

Turkish Cypriots welcomed the Abdulhamid Han drill ship setting off for drilling activities in the Mediterranean Sea, said the prime minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Türkiye projects an export income of more than $1 billion from boron this year, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Donmez said, adding the country has enough boron reserves to cover global demand for about 500 years.

Türkiye will be able to start using natural gas from its Black Sea discovery in March next year, the energy minister added.

Thailand confirmed that former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been allowed to temporarily stay in the country upon his request, local media reported.

North Korea declared victory over COVID-19 and lifted all restrictions across the country, state media said.

The death toll from record rainfall that lashed South Korea this week has risen to 11, with eight more people still missing, local media reported. -