Author: Anadolu Agency

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…

A powerful earthquake measuring 7.3 in magnitude struck 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) west of Vanuatu’s capital, Port Vila, early Tuesday, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). The tremor in the South Pacific island nation occurred at a depth of 43 kilometers (26.7 miles), USGS said. Geoscience Australia also reported a magnitude of 7.3 with a depth of 54 kilometers (33.5 miles), while New Zealand’s earthquake authority estimated the quake at a magnitude of 7.7. The earthquake occurred at 0147GMT. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, and no tsunami warnings have been issued so far. Vanuatu, located…

Türkiye assumed the command of Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2 (SNMCMG-2), which is in charge of naval training and mine operations in the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, and the Aegean Sea. At a Monday ceremony held at the Mine Fleet Command in the Turkish coastal city of Erdek, Naval Capt. Kürşat Kurnaz assumed the command from Romania’s Capt. Sebastian Barote. Türkiye will lead the group for the seventh time until July 5. During the ceremony, Kurnaz received the SNMCMG-2 Commodore pennant aboard the flagship TCG YZB Güngör Durmuş. Rear Adm. Stefan Pauly, the chief of operations for NATO’s Allied…

The international community has caused the Cyprus problem and continues to “misdefine” it, according to the top diplomat of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). “It is the international community that created the Cyprus problem and they continue to misdefine the problem,” Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu said Saturday at the 4th International Strategic Communication Summit (Stratcom Summit ’24) organized by the Turkish Presidential Communications Directorate in Istanbul, Türkiye. Emphasizing that international platforms have failed to support the Turkish Cypriot people or provide opportunities for them to give voice to their cause, Ertuğruloğlu stated that, on the contrary, these platforms…

Middle Eastern countries must come together and commit to protecting one another to avoid “outside interventions,” Türkiye said Sunday amid regional uncertainty following the ouster of Bashar Assad in neighboring Syria. “It is time for the countries in the region to come together, embrace a culture of cooperation and commit not only to respecting each other’s borders and sovereignty but also to protecting one another,” Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hadath television channel in an interview. Pointing out the need to establish “own interests and order” in the region, Fidan said: “We do not want Iranian domination in…

The command of NATO’s Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2 (SNMCMG-2), responsible for naval mine operations and training in the Mediterranean, Black Sea, and Aegean, has been transferred from Romania to Türkiye. At a Monday ceremony held at the Mine Fleet Command in the Turkish coastal city of Erdek, Naval Capt. Kürşat Kurnaz assumed the command from Romania’s Capt. Sebastian Barote. Türkiye will lead the group for the seventh time until next July 5. During the ceremony, Kurnaz received the SNMCMG-2 Commodore pennant aboard the flagship TCG YZB Güngor Durmuş. Rear Adm. Stefan Pauly, the chief of operations for NATO’s…

Syria’s fallen Bashar al-Assad regime airlifted approximately $250 million in cash to Moscow between 2018 and 2019, amid escalating Western sanctions and deepening financial dependence on Russia for military and economic support, according to records uncovered by the Financial Times. Documents obtained by the British daily reveal that Syria’s central bank flew shipments of U.S. dollars and euros, weighing nearly two tons, to Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport. These funds were deposited into Russian banks sanctioned by the U.S. The transfers came during a period when Syria, struggling with depleted foreign reserves, relied heavily on Russian military backing, including support from the…