Author: Anadolu Agency
A top Ukrainian delegation on Thursday arrived in the French capital Paris to conduct talks with Western officials. The delegation’s arrival was announced by Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office, who noted that he is accompanied by Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. “As part of the visit, a series of bilateral and multilateral meetings are planned with representatives of countries from the coalition of the willing and able to guarantee security — including France, Germany, and the United Kingdom,” Yermak said on X. He further said meetings are also planned with US representatives who…
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio began talks in Paris on Thursday aimed at reviving stalled negotiations for a ceasefire in Ukraine and addressing growing tensions between the US and Europe. On his first official visit to France, Rubio met with French President Emmanuel Macron and Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot. He was accompanied by Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and the Middle East. “This visit will serve to assess the status of peace talks aimed at ending Russia’s aggression against Ukraine,” the French presidency, or Elysee, said in a statement. The discussions follow recent contacts…
Türkiye’s trade minister said Thursday that Türkiye will help the Syrian government develop institutional capacity and infrastructure deficiencies. On an official two-day visit to Syria’s capital Damascus on Wednesday and Thursday along with Turkish businesspeople, chamber, and union leaders, Ömer Bolat held bilateral and delegation meetings with his counterparts on various issues, including trade, customs, transportation, investment, finance and banking, contracting, and energy. He met with Syria’s Economy and Industry Minister Nidal al-Sha’ar, Finance Minister Mohamed Yasser Barnia, Transportation Minister Yarub Suleyman Badr, and land and sea ports chief Kuteybe Ahmed Badawi. Congratulating Syria on its Dec. 8 revolution last…
The UN special rapporteur on the right to health on Thursday condemned a recent Israeli airstrike on Al-Ahli Hospital, the last functioning medical facility in northern Gaza, calling it a devastating blow to an already collapsed health system. “I am horrified to learn that the war on hospitals, health care providers and civilians continues, making the provision of health services even more impossible in a system that has already been brought to its knees,” Tlaleng Mofokeng said in a statement. Al-Ahli Hospital was struck by two Israeli missiles on April 13. The blasts severely damaged the emergency room, surgical operations…
US President Donald Trump rejected claims Thursday that he discouraged Israel from launching a military strike on Iran. He said his preference is for a peaceful solution but warned Tehran against pursuing nuclear weapons. “I wouldn’t say waved off,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office during a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. “I’m not in a rush to do it, because I think that Iran has a chance to have a great country and to live happily without death, and I’d like to see that. That’s my first option.” He said any alternative to diplomacy “would be…
Russia’s Supreme Court on Thursday suspended the country’s ban on the activities of the Taliban movement, the court’s press service announced. The Taliban has been designated a terrorist organization by Russia, but the ruling effectively suspends that label, though it remains under international UN sanctions. A representative of the Taliban was present at the Supreme Court session. The hearing was held at the request of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office, which had filed a formal request seeking the suspension of the ban on the movement’s activities in Russia. The suspension satisfies “the administrative claim of the Prosecutor General’s Office of…
Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed on Wednesday to exhaust all efforts to secure the release of hostages from Gaza. Meeting in the Kremlin with Russian national Aleksandr Trufanov and his family, who was recently freed from Hamas captivity, Putin credited Russia’s longstanding ties with the Palestinian people for enabling Trufanov’s release. “Certainly, we’ll do everything possible to replicate such successes frequently, ensuring that all those still suffering similar hardships regain their freedom,” Putin said. Expressing gratitude to Palestinian group Hamas for releasing Trufanov, Putin made no political assessment of the broader situation in the region. “I think we have to…
Myanmar’s military government on Thursday released nearly 5,000 prisoners, including some foreigners, while marking their traditional New Year, according to local media reports. Prisoners’ release began from Insein Prison, located in Yangon, where hundreds of their relatives received them outside the jail, Eleven Myanmar reported. Earlier, the junta government said that 4,893 prisoners would be released from prisons to participate in the state-building process. The junta also released 13 foreign nationals from different jails, without sharing the details of their nationality. These foreigners will be deported from the country. According to human rights groups, the military government arrested thousands of…
Georgia on Thursday will host a trilateral meeting in the country’s capital Tbilisi with representatives of Azerbaijan and Armenia. A statement by Armenian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Ani Badalyan on Facebook said the meeting will be held at the level of deputy foreign ministers. She added that the talks will be dedicated to prospects for regional cooperation. No further information was provided on the talks. The meeting comes a day after talks between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his visiting Georgian counterpart Mikheil Kavelashvili in Baku, during which they affirmed the need for peace and security in the South Caucasus.
Rising demand for clean energy technologies to fight climate change is shaping the future with investments in critical minerals, whose demand is set to triple by 2040, according to the International Energy Agency’s Global Critical Minerals Outlook report. Increasing geopolitical competition led critical minerals to become not only an economic but also strategic priority to those seeking to strengthen their position in green energy. Among the 4,000 minerals found across the globe, some are vital for the clean energy sector, such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, copper and rare earths. These all play key roles in green transformation and are…