Author: Anadolu Agency

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounced on Wednesday Israeli gunfire near a diplomatic delegation visiting the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. “The secretary-general is alarmed by these reports that the IDF (Israeli army) fired what they called warning shots at diplomatic personnel, which included UN personnel as well,” spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said during a news conference. Stressing that “diplomats who are doing their work should never be shot at, attacked in any way, shape or form,” Dujarric noted that diplomatic immunity “must be respected at all times.” “Any use of force against them is unacceptable, and we urge…

Italy on Wednesday renewed its call for Israel to stop attacks on Gaza and allow humanitarian aid into the besieged Palestinian enclave. “I once again called on Israel to halt military operations involving civilians and to immediately open all crossings to allow humanitarian aid to enter,” Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on X. “We want a ceasefire and the release of the hostages: the war in Gaza must end,” he said. Tajani also announced that 52 Palestinians, relatives of those who were evacuated from Gaza to Italy for medical treatment, were transferred to Jordan. They will eventually be brought to…

Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani said that former US Ambassador Robert Ford’s visits to liberated areas in northern Syria were meant to learn about the revolution’s model. In early May, Ford said during a lecture at the World Affairs Council that he had participated in a UK-based conflict resolution initiative aimed at “rehabilitating” Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa and integrating him into formal political life. “The visits by Mr. Robert Ford, like those of other foreign delegations, were part of firsthand observation of the Syrian revolution’s experience and its development in the liberated areas, as well as an attempt to understand…

Türkiye’s benchmark stock index opened Wednesday at 9.494.13 points, down 0.21% or 19.87 points from the previous close. On Tuesday, the BIST 100 went down by 1.60% to 9,514.01 points, with a daily transaction volume of 98.7 billion Turkish liras ($2.54 billion). As of 09.55 am local time (0655GMT), exchange rates stood at 38.8775 liras to the US dollar, 44.1275 to the euro, and 52.3605 to the British pound. The price of an ounce of gold was $3,319.15, while Brent crude oil was trading at $65.65per barrel.

German authorities arrested five suspected members of a far-right terrorist group, called “Last Wave of Defense,” in coordinated raids across several cities, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. The suspects, identified only by their first names due to German privacy laws, were arrested in the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg and Hesse. The group’s alleged leaders — Benjamin H., Lenny M. and Jason R. — are accused of planning violent attacks against migrants and political opponents. “The members of this group see themselves as the last line of defense for the German nation,” federal prosecutors said in a statement. “Their goal was to…

The US State Department highlighted a “new era of partnership” in Türkiye-US relations following a meeting Tuesday of the Türkiye-US Syria Working Group in Washington, DC. The meeting brought together Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz and US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau. According to a State Department readout, Landau “underscored the strong U.S.-Türkiye bilateral relationship as a new era of partnership, advancing cooperation between our two nations across a broad range of issues toward common goals of peace, trade and commerce.” “The two sides discussed the importance of fulfilling President (Donald) Trump’s announcement of sanctions relief for Syria…

China, Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday agreed to extend the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project into Afghanistan, according to an official statement from Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry. The agreement was reached during a trilateral meeting of the countries’ foreign ministers in Beijing, hosted by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi also attended. “They agreed to deepen Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation and extend the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan,” the ministry said. A separate readout from Beijing said the three countries would “deepen cooperation in jointly…

Greece’s leftist opposition parties on Wednesday slammed the government for opposing an EU decision to review trade ties with Israel amid the “catastrophic” situation in the embattled Gaza Strip. Decrying how nine member states opposed the EU decision, including Athens and the Greek Cypriot Administration, main opposition party PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis said on X: “The government is exposing our country internationally with its stance. We have a duty to the Greek people to always be on the sidelines of respecting international law and human rights.” He added: “The government must condemn the heinous events in Gaza, actively supporting every…

The government of Australia on Wednesday has been urged to target at least two Israeli ministers with sanctions amid Tel Aviv’s ongoing genocidal campaign against Palestinians in Gaza. “The need for such action has been reinforced by the Ministers’ recent alarming statements in relation to Israel’s ongoing military assault on Gaza,” said the Australian Centre for International Justice (ACIJ), referring to Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Smotrich called for the destruction of the Gaza Strip “within a few months,” while Ben-Givr has publicly demanded a complete stop to humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. “Israeli…

South Korea and the US have begun a search for the remains and belongings of soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War, the South Korean Defense Ministry said on Wednesday. The six-week search project was launched in Mungyeong area, where a US F-51D fighter jet crashed during the war, according to the Yonhap news agency. During the search, officials from the South Korean Defense Ministry and the US Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) will focus on recovering components of the fighter jet to help with identification efforts for the aircraft’s pilot. Last year, similar search efforts failed, according to the…