Author: Anadolu Agency

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is set to attend the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Arab League Gaza Contact Group Ministerial Committee Meeting, which will be hosted by Egypt in Cairo on Sunday. According to diplomatic sources, Fidan will reaffirm Türkiye’s support for the Gaza reconstruction plan adopted at the Arab League Extraordinary Summit on March 4. He is also expected to emphasize the urgent need to implement the next phases of the ceasefire in Gaza and ensure its permanence. Additionally, he will highlight the critical importance of resuming humanitarian aid deliveries to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the…

At least 16 Palestinians, including six children, were killed on Saturday in Israeli airstrikes on the northern and central Gaza Strip. Medical officials confirmed to Anadolu that the children alongside three Palestinians lost their lives when Israeli forces bombed the Mashharawi family home in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood, east of Gaza City. Two more Palestinians were killed in another Israeli airstrike that targeted the Al-Maghraqa area in central Gaza, according to medical sources. These attacks are part of an ongoing Israeli offensive that has intensified in recent days. Meanwhile, another Israeli airstrike hit western Rafah in southern Gaza. Initial reports have…

France, Germany and the UK, collectively known as the E3, called for an immediate return to a ceasefire in Gaza on Friday, urging Israel to fully respect international law and allow immediate access to humanitarian aid. “The resumption of Israeli strikes in Gaza marks a dramatic step backward for the people of Gaza, the hostages, their families and the entire region,” said a joint statement by the three countries. “We are appalled by the civilian casualties and urgently call for an immediate return to a ceasefire,” it added. All parties were urged to resume negotiations to ensure the full implementation…

Scientists extracted deep ice cores from Antarctica as part of the Beyond EPICA – Oldest Ice project, aiming to uncover Earth’s climate history spanning more than 1.2 million years. The project, funded by the European Commission and coordinated by the Institute of Polar Sciences of the National Research Council of Italy (Cnr-Isp), is expected to contribute significantly to climate science. The ice cores, drilled from a depth of 2,800 meters (9,186 feet), are being transported to Europe aboard the research vessel Laura Bassi, where they are being stored in containers at -50°C (-58°F) to maintain their integrity. They will first…

Amnesty International condemned the European Council’s conclusions on the Middle East on Thursday, calling them a “shameful attempt” to justify Israel’s actions in Gaza while failing to explicitly condemn airstrikes and a blockade of humanitarian aid. “After 17 months of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, the fact that the EU refuses to name Israel, condemn airstrikes wiping out entire families, or denounce Israel’s blocking of vital humanitarian aid is extraordinary,” said Eve Geddie, the director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office. She accused EU leaders of “selective compassion towards victims, particularly when they are Palestinian,” and called for immediate action to…

A federal jury in New York Thursday convicted two men of plotting to assassinate Iranian American journalist Masih Alinejad at her home in New York City, according to CBS News. Rafat Amirov and Polad Omarov, both alleged members of a Russian mob, were found guilty of murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and firearms offenses. Amirov and Omarov face decades in prison, with sentencing scheduled for September. During closing arguments, prosecutors told jurors that Alinejad has been the subject of several plots by Iran, including kidnapping, and that the Iranian government placed a $500,000 bounty on her head to silence…

Russia’s largest oil company, Rosneft, saw its net profit fall by 14.4% in 2024, according to its financial results released Thursday. The company’s net profit fell to 1.08 trillion rubles ($12.71 billion) from approximately $14.7 billion the previous year. Rosneft’s revenues from sales and equity share in profits of associates and joint ventures rose 10.7% in the same period, reaching $119.3 billion. The company produced 184 million tons of oil and 87.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas last year. “In the reporting year, the company operated against the backdrop of an oil production cap under the OPEC+ agreement, increased…

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday voiced outrage over the latest Israeli attacks in Gaza that have killed hundreds of people, calling for an immediate restoration of the ceasefire and urgent humanitarian assistance. “I am outraged at this week’s Israeli attacks in Gaza, which killed hundreds of people,” Guterres said in remarks delivered in Leuven, Belgium, where KU Leuven and UC Louvain universities jointly awarded an honorary doctorate to the UN. He also mourned the death of a UN staff member and the wounding of five others after Israeli strikes hit two UN guesthouses in Deir al-Balah. “The ceasefire had…

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Friday ordered the army to occupy more areas in the Gaza Strip after expelling Palestinian residents, as Israel resumed its genocidal war on the Palestinian enclave earlier this week. The Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported Katz ordered further occupation of Palestinian areas in Gaza under the pretext of protecting Israeli soldiers and communities near Gaza. “The more Hamas insists on refusing to release the hostages, the more land it will lose, which will be annexed to Israel,” KAN quoted Katz as saying. He added that the Israeli military operation in Gaza “will escalate until…

US President Donald Trump is looking at lifting sanctions on Türkiye and selling fighter jets to the country, even the fifth-generation F-35s, Fox News reported on Friday. Citing two sources, Fox News said that, following last Sunday’s phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Trump expressed an intent to help finalize the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye, a deal that has long been in the works. Trump is also open to the idea of selling Türkiye F-35 jets, “if the two sides can come to an agreement that renders Türkiye’s Russian S-400 system inoperable,” it added, referring…