Author: Anadolu Agency

A senior Iranian official warned Thursday that Iran may expel inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and suspend cooperation with the agency if “external threats” persist. In a statement on his X account, Ali Shamkhani said the continuation of “external threats and the possibility of a military attack on Iran” could lead to the “expulsion of IAEA inspectors and the suspension of cooperation with the IAEA.” Shamkhani, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and former head of the country’s top security agency, also warned that transferring enriched materials to “secure and undisclosed locations within Iran”…

The first technical meeting between Türkiye and Israel on a conflict prevention mechanism aimed at avoiding “unwanted incidents” in Syria was held Wednesday in Azerbaijan, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said. The ministry on Thursday added that Israel must immediately end its “provocative attacks,” which are threatening Syria’s territorial integrity and destabilizing its security and stability. “To ensure regional security, Israel must abandon its expansionist, occupying stance and the international community must prevent this unlawfulness,” the ministry said. The ministry also added that Israel’s ongoing illegal settlement activities in the West Bank, along with its failure to stop attacks on…

At least 15 more Palestinians were detained in fresh Israeli military raids in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, according to prisoners’ affairs groups. The arrests, which took place in several towns and areas in the West Bank, included a journalist and a woman from Nablus city, the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a joint statement. Journalist Samir Khweira, who works for a local radio station in Nablus, was taken into Israeli custody, a local source confirmed to Anadolu. Thursday’s raids came as the Israeli army has continued a deadly military offensive in the…

The Israeli army released some 80 Palestinian detainees from the Gaza Strip on Thursday morning, local sources said. The detainees were set free at the Israeli-controlled Kissufim crossing in eastern Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the sources added. A medical source said that at least 10 of the freed prisoners were in poor health condition and hospitalized at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central city of Deir al-Balah. “One of the freed detainees is in a very critical condition and unable to move, with his body bearing clear signs of torture,” he told Anadolu. There was no immediate comment…

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on Thursday thanked Türkiye for opening its doors to his country’s citizens, as he attended events in the Turkish resort city of Antalya, where he will also participate in the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF 2025). “Since beautiful Antalya is home to many Ukrainians, I would like to thank you for opening your doors to us,” Sybiha said. “Today, you also wished peace for Ukraine, and we thank you too,” Sybiha said, adding that there has been historical friendship, cooperation and neighborly relations between the Turkish and Ukrainian people for years. “In fact, the summary of…

Italian luxury fashion house Prada reached an agreement to acquire its rival Versace for €1.25 billion (around $1.375 billion), Prada said in a statement Thursday. The transaction will be funded by €1.5 billion in new debt made up of a €1 billion term loan and €0.5 billion in a bridge facility. “Founded in 1978 in Milan, Versace is one of the leading international fashion design houses and epitome of Italian luxury worldwide. Building on a remarkable brand awareness, Versace stands as a distinctive asset in the luxury landscape,” it said. “Deeply rooted in the history of fashion, the brand displays…

A coalition of 77 US House Democrats has formally called on President Donald Trump to remove Elon Musk from his special government role by May 30, citing a federal limit on how long such employees can serve, Axios reported Thursday. The move marks the start of a wider campaign by Democrats to force Musk out of his leadership position at the unofficial Department of Governmental Efficiency-a controversial team to shrink the government-alleging that he has already exceeded the 130-day legal limit for special government employees. “We demand an immediate public statement from your administration making clear that Musk will resign…

At least 40 more Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll from Israel’s genocidal war since October 2023 to 50,886, the Health Ministry said on Thursday. A ministry statement said that 146 injured people were also transferred to hospitals, taking the number of injuries to 115,875 in the Israeli onslaught. “Many victims are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added. The Israeli army launched a surprise aerial campaign on the Gaza Strip on March 18 and has…

The US and South Korea conducted a naval exercise aimed at improving joint salvage and rescue capabilities at sea during both wartime and peacetime. The five-day exercise, which began Monday in waters off Changwon, about 300 kilometers (186 miles) southeast of Seoul, involved the South Korean Navy’s Gwangyang salvage and rescue ship as well as troops from the Sea Salvage and Rescue Unit and the US Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit, the Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency reported Thursday. The drill is designed to train South Korean and US sailors for various joint rescue and salvage operations in the event of…

US Senator Bernie Sanders on Wednesday reiterated his call to end US military support to Israel in its war in the Gaza Strip. “I feel very strongly that the United States government should not give another nickel to the Netanyahu extremist government that has killed 50,000 people in Gaza, wounded over 110,000,” Sanders told a CNN town hall moderated by the news channel’s anchor Anderson Cooper. Last week, the US Senate rejected two resolutions that were introduced by Sanders to block nearly $9 billion in military assistance to Israel. Sanders also opposes President Donald Trump’s plan to move 2 million…