Author: Anadolu Agency

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday reassured that the risk of human infection from H5N1 avian influenza remains low for the general public despite 76 cases reported globally in 2024. However, there is a heightened risk for farm workers and others exposed to infected animals, warned Maria Van Kerkhove, the acting director for epidemic and pandemic threat management at WHO, speaking at a UN briefing in Geneva. Van Kerkhove said that the majority of this year’s cases occurred in farm workers, with the U.S. reporting 61 infections amid outbreaks in wildlife, poultry, and more recently, dairy cattle. “While there…

Pope Francis revealed in a forthcoming memoir an assassination plot he faced in Iraq in 2021, according to media reports Tuesday. The pope, who turned 88 on Tuesday, noted in the book that will be published in January that he went to Iraq in March 2021, despite recommendations against it, the Corriere della Sera newspaper reported after receiving excerpts. Iraq’s second city, Mosul, was under the control of the Daesh/ISIS terror group between 2014 and 2017. British intelligence informed Vatican police that a kamikaze attack was plotted in Mosul during Francis’ visit, and cautioned that a young woman equipped with…

Preparatory meetings for the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation summit continued on Tuesday in the Egyptian capital Cairo. The summit is scheduled to open on Thursday with the participation of Egypt, Türkiye, Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Nigeria. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said the preparatory meetings, which began on Monday, discuss the issues that will be included in the summit’s agenda, particularly ways to enhance economic cooperation among member states. “Egypt attaches great importance to the D-8 organization, and its presidency until the end of next year stems from the existence of significant and extended opportunities to advance economic…

France raised its flag at its Damascus Embassy on Tuesday, according to media reports. France’s Special Envoy to Syria Jean-Francois Guillaume and his delegation went to the Syrian capital for the first time in 12 years, after Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot made an announcement last week, French broadcaster TF1 reported. The delegation retook possession of the embassy, reopened its gates and the tricolor French flag was raised. Guillaume said he could not give an exact date for the official reopening as long as security criteria were not fulfilled, according to TF1. Barrot announced Sunday that a delegation comprised of four…

Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said on Tuesday that Russia is transferring its military presence in Syria to Libya, emphasizing that the presence of Russian ships and submarines in the Mediterranean is always a “source of concern.” “Moscow is relocating resources from its Tartus base in Syria to Libya. This is not good. Russian ships and submarines in the Mediterranean are always concerning. It’s even more alarming when they are just two steps away from us instead of a thousand kilometers away,” Crosetto said on reports of Moscow transferring its military assets from Syria to Libya. Speaking to the Italian…

The Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, has begun investigating a mass grave discovered on Tuesday near Damascus’ Baghdad Bridge neighborhood. Documented by Anadolu, the mass grave contains trenches filled with human remains and sacks marked with prison codes, indicating that the victims likely died due to torture or in notorious prisons such as Sednaya. Following the grim discovery, White Helmets teams began securing the site and recovering the remains, which were thought to be victims of the Assad regime’s brutal torture. The mass grave is part of the ongoing search and recovery efforts in Syria following…

Syrians who sought refuge in Türkiye during the 13-year civil war are continuing to return home on Tuesday following the collapse of the 61-year Baath Party regime. They are crossing through the Cilvegozu, Yayladagi, and Zeytindali border gates in Türkiye’s southeastern province of Hatay, bordering northern Syria. At the Cilvegozu Border Gate in Reyhanli, Syrians wait in orderly lines for customs procedures, guided by corridors set up by gendarmerie forces to maintain order. Teams from the provincial migration office assist returnees in transporting their belongings, including clothes and household items, using wheeled carts. Once customs procedures are complete, Syrians cross…

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday said the Israeli army will keep security control over the Gaza Strip after “defeating” Hamas in the enclave. In a statement on X, Katz said his position on Gaza remains clear: “After we defeat Hamas’s military and ruling power in Gaza, Israel will have control security in Gaza.” He said Israel will have “full freedom of action, just as it did in Judea and Samaria,” in reference to the Israeli control over the occupied West Bank. Katz, who is known for his anti-Palestinian stance, said Israel won’t “allow a return to the pre-Oct.…

French lawmakers have passed a special law to keep essential government functions running, following a political crisis that resulted in the ousting of former Prime Minister Michel Barnier in a no-confidence vote in parliament. The bill was unanimously approved by 481 lawmakers in the National Assembly on Monday, with parliamentarians from the far-left France Unbowed party abstaining. The special law will now be debated in the Senate, the upper house of parliament, on Wednesday. The legislation enables the government to levy taxes and continue social security operations based on the previous year’s budget, avoiding a financial shutdown. The law also…

Indonesia’s anti-corruption agency, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), raided the headquarters of Bank Indonesia on Monday evening as part of an investigation into the alleged misuse of social responsibility funds intended for community projects. A spokesperson for the agency, Tessa Mahardhika, confirmed the raid on Tuesday, stating, “Yes, the KPK investigative team conducted a search at Bank Indonesia’s office last night,” the Jakarta Globe reported. The investigation, which has been ongoing since September, focuses on how these funds—earmarked for community initiatives such as housing, infrastructure, and places of worship—were allegedly diverted for personal gain. KPK Director of Investigations Asep Guntur…