Author: Anadolu Agency

The NATO chief on Monday reaffirmed Montenegro’s role within the alliance while underscoring the growing threats the country faces from Russia and other elsewhere. “Montenegro faces consistent hybrid threats from Russian and foreign actors. Russia wants to create fear and undermine our support for Ukraine. This will not work,” Secretary General Mark Rutte told reporters after a meeting with Montenegro’s Prime Minister Milojko Spajic at NATO Headquarters. Rutte expressed gratitude for the Balkan nation’s contributions, stating, “We are generally very grateful for everything Montenegro is doing to support Ukraine so far, also through NATO’s comprehensive assistance package.” He further commended…

The Turkish Ministry of Family and Social Services will host a “Children in a Digital World Workshop” on Tuesday, in collaboration with UNICEF. The event aims to address the rapid integration of the digital world into children’s lives, examining its effects, opportunities, and risks, the ministry said in a statement. The workshop seeks to ensure that children can healthily engage with the digital world, benefit from its opportunities, and be protected from potential risks. It follows on from a recent workshop on digital addiction and families and will make a significant contribution to legal frameworks and practices. The ministry explained…

The EU foreign policy chief on Monday said that she tasked the bloc’s top diplomat in Syria to go to Damascus and make contacts with the new Syrian government. “I’ve tasked European top diplomat in Syria to go to Damascus to make contacts with the new government and people there,” Kaja Kallas said in her doorstep speech ahead of the EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels. “Our top diplomat in Syria will go to Damascus today,” Kallas added. Meanwhile, she said the bloc’s foreign ministers will discuss in today’s meeting in Brussels how and on what level they will engage…

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov on Monday relieved Prime Minister Akylbek Japarov from his position in a Cabinet reshuffle. A statement by the presidency said Japarov signed a decree removing the premier, who has held his post since 2021, “in connection with his transfer to another job.” No further details were given regarding what position the former prime minister will be taking. A subsequent presidential statement said Japarov signed another decree nominating Adylbek Kasymaliev as the acting chairman of the Kyrgyz Cabinet of Ministers. The candidacy of Kasymaliev as prime minister was submitted for approval to the Kyrgyz parliament, the statement…

Local authorities in France’s overseas island Mayotte are fearing that Cyclone Chido might leave nearly a thousand dead. Mayotte Prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville told broadcaster Mayotte La 1ere that there might be several hundreds of deaths, “maybe we would approach a thousand.” He stressed that the counting of the human toll was difficult. The powerful storm, which struck the Indian Ocean island on Saturday, brought torrential rains and winds exceeding 200 kilometers per hour (124 miles per hour), according to police. Entire neighborhoods have been flattened, particularly in informal settlements, and key infrastructure has sustained significant damage. After the red alert…

The first batch of US-made Abrams tanks was delivered to the Taiwanese military on Monday, the Defense Ministry confirmed. The 38 M1A2T tanks, a variant of M1 Abrams, reached Port of Taipei in New Taipei’s Bali district on Sunday, and delivery to Taiwanese military began earlier in the day. Taiwan has bought 108 such tanks and related equipment from the US, which has provided arms to the island worth billions of dollars. The sale was approved in 2019 and the delivery is scheduled to be completed in 2026. Taiwan last purchased tanks from the US in 1994. Th M1A2T tanks,…

People in Bangladesh would have to wait a year or more to elect a new government, the country’s transitional leader said on Monday as the South Asian nation marked its 54th “Victory Day.” “I have repeatedly appealed to you to complete all the major reforms and hold the election. However, due to political consensus, if, and I say ‘if’, we have to complete the election on the basis of proper preparation of the voter list with a few reforms, then it may be possible to hold the election by the end of 2025 or early 2026,” Nobel Peace Prize winner…

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro expressed his full support for Palestine during the 24th Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-Peoples’ Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) held Sunday in Venezuela. “The ALBA-TCP Summit will one day be held in Palestine. I believe in this. We will hold this summit in Palestine, in Jerusalem. God willing, everyone will witness it,” Maduro said. “Jerusalem will once again become a sacred city where all ethnic groups live together in peace. It will not remain a city of Zionist, imperialist and war-mongering forces.” Addressing Pope Francis, Maduro called for stronger advocacy for the…

Russian forces stationed at Khmeimim Air Base in Syria’s Latakia province continued to carry out activities Sunday, despite the fall of the Bashar Assad regime. With the Baath regime’s collapse, Russia continued to transfer its troops from Damascus, Homs and other cities across Syria to the base. Russian military vehicles were seen entering the base and a cargo plane was seen landing there as surveillance balloons gathered intelligence and helicopters were on patrol. Airstrips, air defense systems and other vital military equipment are located at the base. – RUSSIA EVACUATES DIPLOMATS FROM SYRIA Russia’s Foreign Ministry also issued a statement…

Protests and boycott calls erupted across Spain on the weekend over the country’s arms sales to Israel. Demonstrators in cities including Barcelona, Valencia, Cartagena and the capital, Madrid, demanded that the government stop all arms trade with the country. Spaniards took to the streets following a call from the Solidarity Network Against the Occupation of Palestine and another pro-Palestinian group demanding a halt to the transfer of weapons that fuel the genocide against Palestine and a ban on the sale of military equipment to Israel. During the demonstration in Madrid, the crowd gathered in front of the US Embassy building…