Author: Anadolu Agency

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…

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Friday expressed Ankara’s support for the US-led peace negotiations to end the three-year Russia-Ukraine war. “We support the ceasefire talks led by the US,” Fidan said at a joint news conference with his Hungarian counterpart in the capital Ankara. He added that Ankara will support both a ceasefire and comprehensive peace negotiations on the Russia-Ukraine war. On European security, Fidan said: “We believe that planning all steps regarding Europe’s security together with Türkiye is essential for our common interest.”

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…

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday met in Istanbul with Umaro Sissoco Embalo, his counterpart from the West African nation of Guinea-Bissau, according to Türkiye’s Communications Directorate. Relations between Türkiye and Guinea-Bissau as well as regional and global developments were discussed during the meeting, the directorate wrote on X. Stressing efforts to expand trade between the two countries, Erdoğan said: “The progress made in Türkiye’s relations with Africa over the past few years is favorable.” Decrying the ongoing massacre of Gaza’s civilian population by Israel, Erdoğan called on the international community to “step up its pressure to stop the…

US President Donald Trump “fully supports Israel” as Tel Aviv resumes its attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip, the White House said Thursday amid an escalating death toll. Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt continued to blame Hamas for Israel’s decision to renew its offensive following a breakthrough ceasefire that endured for roughly two months, saying Trump “has made it very clear that he wants all of those hostages to come home.” “And he fully supports Israel and the IDF and the actions that they’ve taken in recent days,” she added, using an acronym to refer to Israel’s military. More than 700 Palestinians…

North Korea warned Japan on Thursday against deploying long-range missiles on the southernmost Kyushu Island, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. The policy section chief of the Institute for Japan Studies under the Foreign Ministry issued a statement harshly criticizing Japan’s consideration of deploying the missiles. Japanese media reported Sunday that Tokyo was considering deploying an upgraded version of the GSDF’s Type-12 land-to-ship guided missile, with an extended range of 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) in North Korea and China’s coastal range, in efforts to acquire “counterstrike capabilities” to hit enemy targets if a need arises. “Japan, a war criminal…

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt blamed former President Joe Biden for the ongoing egg crisis in the US, citing the culling of nearly eight million chickens ahead of President Donald Trump’s inauguration as a key factor. Leavitt shared a graphic on X showing poultry birds culled due to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) and accused the Biden administration of causing supply shortages and higher prices. “The Egg Crisis is Biden’s Crisis — but President Trump and @SecRollins (Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins) are fixing it,” she wrote. The US is grappling with a severe egg shortage driven by a widespread bird…