Author: Anadolu Agency

At least 13 Palestinians, including children, were killed and several others injured in Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, a medical source said. Fighter jets hit a home in the northern town of Beit Hanoun, leaving six people dead, the source said. A mother and her three children were among the victims, while several people were injured in the attack, it added. Medics and residents were unable to reach the site to rescue the wounded due to the intensive Israeli bombardment, according to eyewitnesses. Seven people, including children, also lost their lives in Israeli artillery shelling in the…

One more Israeli soldier was killed and another injured in fighting in the northern Gaza Strip, the army said on Sunday. A military statement said the soldier, from the army’s 9th Battalion in the 401st Brigade, lost his life in clashes in northern Gaza, without giving further details. Another soldier from the 931st Battalion was seriously wounded in clashes in northern Gaza, the army said in another statement. According to Israeli military figures, at least 824 soldiers have been killed and 5,541 others injured since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict on Oct. 7, 2023. The Israeli army has continued…

Lebanese authorities recovered the bodies of five people in southern Lebanon on Sunday and counted three new Israeli violations of a cease-fire agreement. The Lebanese Civil Defense Service said that the bodies of the victims were retrieved in the town of Khiam. It remains unclear whether the five victims were killed by Israeli fire before or after the cease-fire. Meanwhile, Israeli army forces carried out two large detonations in the southern town of Meiss El Jabal, with the blasts heard in nearby villages, the state news agency NNA reported. The Israeli army also blocked a road between the southern towns…

Türkiye’s defense industry has reached 70% domestic production capacity in 2024, according to the Independent Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (MUSIAD)’s Türkiye Defense Industry 2024 report released Friday. It discusses the current situation and future projections of the domestic defense industry and states that significant successes have been achieved in strategic products, with an increase in domestic production capacity to 70%. The report includes an evaluation by the MUSIAD Defense Industry Board, which suggests that foreign dependency in engines and power transmission systems should be reduced. The report highlights that there is still foreign dependence on resources for engine and power…

The White House confirmed Friday that a ninth US telecommunications company was breached as part of an extensive Chinese hacking campaign targeting critical infrastructure in the US and other nations. The cyber-espionage group referred to as “Salt Typhoon,” also known by aliases such as Earth Estries, FamousSparrow, Ghost Emperor and UNC2286), has been active since at least 2019, specializing in infiltrating government and telecom networks globally. White House Deputy National Security Adviser Anne Neuberger disclosed the new breach during a news conference, emphasizing vulnerabilities in the private sector’s cybersecurity practices. “The reality is that China is targeting critical infrastructure in…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged China on Friday to influence North Korea, emphasizing Beijing’s responsibility to ensure the war in Ukraine does not escalate. “The Korean nation should not lose its people in the battles in Europe. And this can be influenced, particularly by Korea’s neighbors, especially China. “If China is sincere in its statements that the war should not escalate, it must exert appropriate pressure on Pyongyang,” Zelenskyy said in an evening address on X, following a meeting of the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief to discuss developments on the frontline. “The Donetsk areas are the most intense, as…

Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino firmly refuted US President-elect Donald Trump’s assertion that Chinese soldiers are controlling the Panama Canal, calling the claim “nonsense.” “There are no Chinese soldiers in the canal. You are free, the whole world is free to visit the canal if you please,” Mulino said at a news conference Thursday. “What [Trump] has said on this issue is nonsense; it does not exist,” he added. The controversy began Christmas Day when Trump posted on Truth Social, sarcastically wishing a merry Christmas to “the wonderful soldiers of China, who are lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal.”…

An injured staff member of the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) was safely evacuated from Yemen on Friday following an attack on the Sana’a airport, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). “Today we managed to evacuate our WFP (World Food Programme) UNHAS colleague who was injured in yesterday’s attack on Sana’a airport in Yemen. We are now in Jordan, where he will receive further medical treatment,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X. The victim was part of a UN mission negotiating the release of detained colleagues in Yemen. Tedros expressed gratitude to the UNHAS team for their…

Elon Musk, a US business magnate who owns SpaceX, Tesla, and the social media platform X, continues to face censorship accusations from conservatives amid a row over immigration on Friday. According to an NBC News review, X reportedly revoked at least 14 conservative accounts’ blue verification badges late Thursday or Friday, cutting them off from a variety of premium features, including the ability to monetize their accounts through subscriptions and advertising revenue sharing. Following these events, Musk posted on X to remind users that the algorithm is programmed to maximize “unregretted user-seconds.” “If far more credible, verified subscriber accounts (not…

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayve on Saturday urged people against relying on disinformation and fake news regarding the Azerbaijani airlines plane and asked authorities to complete a foolproof investigation into Wednesday’s incident. Tokayev instructed the Prosecutor General’s Office and the government commission at a meeting in Kazakhstan’s capital of Astana to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident, his press service said in a statement. The president emphasized the importance of working to prevent disinformation and fake information intended to ‘provoke,'” the statement said. “The Government Commission and the Prosecutor General’s Office, together with other authorized bodies, have been instructed to…