Author: Anadolu Agency

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt blamed former President Joe Biden for the ongoing egg crisis in the US, citing the culling of nearly eight million chickens ahead of President Donald Trump’s inauguration as a key factor. Leavitt shared a graphic on X showing poultry birds culled due to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) and accused the Biden administration of causing supply shortages and higher prices. “The Egg Crisis is Biden’s Crisis — but President Trump and @SecRollins (Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins) are fixing it,” she wrote. The US is grappling with a severe egg shortage driven by a widespread bird…

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Thursday said US President Donald Trump should be convinced to withdraw American troops from Syria, adding that it would be cost-effective for Washington. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Trump had a “highly positive” call, showing Trump’s respect for Erdoğan, which was clearly demonstrated during conversation, Fidan said during an iftar event with journalists. Ankara is cautious about the agreement signed by Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and Ferhat Abdi Şahin, said Fidan, adding that the country will closely monitor the process in the short term. The rights denied to Syria’s Kurds under the ousted…

The European Commission’s coordinator on combating anti-Muslim hatred told Anadolu that Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip have contributed to the rise of Islamophobia in Europe in recent years and warned against normalization of anti-Muslim hatred in Europe. “Anti-Muslim hatred and other forms of racism and discrimination are unfortunately being normalized in discourse which may give a sense of impunity to hateful actors,” Marion Lalisse said in an email. “The polarized environment that we face, especially since 7 October, has had concrete consequences on the levels of hatred affecting several groups in society, including Muslims and Jews and people perceived…

Türkiye’s unemployment rate in 2024 dropped 0.7 percentage points to a 12-year low of 8.7%, signaling a steady recovery in the job market, according to the latest figures released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) on Thursday. The number of jobless age 15 and over fell by 151,000 from the previous year, bringing the total to 3.113 million. Unemployment among men dropped from 7.7% in 2023 to 7.1% in 2024, while the rate for women dropped from 12.6% to 11.8%. Meanwhile, labor force participation declined 0.9 percentage points to 54.2%. However, the employment rate climbed to 49.5%, up from 48.3%…

US warplanes carried out new airstrikes in Yemen’s coastal province of Al-Hudaydah and the northern province of Sadaa on Thursday evening, the Houthi group said. The Houthi-run Al-Masirah television said that four strikes targeted the Al-Kathib area in the Al-Mina district in the Al-Hudaydah province. Al-Hudaydah, overlooking the Red Sea, is one of Yemen’s most strategic provinces, housing an international airport, three key ports, and an extensive coastline. Later, the same channel reported another US airstrike on the Al Asayid area in the As Safra district of Saada province, the group’s stronghold near the Saudi border. No information was yet…

The US continues to press Israel for answers and “full accountability” on the killing of Turkish American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi in the occupied West Bank last September, a State Department spokesperson told Anadolu on Thursday. “We urged the Government of Israel to complete a swift, thorough, and transparent investigation into Aysenur Eygi’s death,” said the spokesperson, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “Israel’s initial inquiry indicated it was the result of a tragic error for which the IDF is responsible,” said the spokesperson. The official added that Washington is still requesting the results of Israel’s full military investigation…

The US and South Korea concluded a major annual combined military exercise Thursday aimed at bolstering their defense capabilities against North Korean military threats. Freedom Shield, a computer-simulated exercise, came to an end after an 11-day “run in the face of North Korea’s evolving nuclear and missile threats and deepening military cooperation with Russia,” the Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency reported, citing South Korea’s military. This year’s exercise marked the first major joint drill by the allies’ militaries since US President Donald Trump returned to office in January. With South Korea deploying some 19,000 troops for this year’s exercise, the two…

Iran has summoned the German and British envoys in Tehran over their support for a draft resolution against Iran at the UN Human Rights Council. Germany’s ambassador to Tehran and the UK’s chargé d’affaires were called to the Foreign Ministry, Iranian state TV reported Thursday. Forouzandeh Vadiati, the ministry’s director-general for women’s affairs and human, conveyed Iran’s objections to the European diplomats, condemning their countries for “misusing human rights to pressure the Iranian people.” Vadiati also accused Germany and the UK of supporting Israel, which she said is committing “genocide and war crimes” in Gaza, arguing that they “are in…

The Kremlin on Thursday accused Europe of “militarizing” itself so much that it has turned into a “war party.” “Europe has so far gone into militarizing itself and has rather turned into a war party,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow. Expressing that Russia hears many signals coming from Europe every day, Peskov argued that signals from Brussels and other European capitals mainly concern plans to militarize the bloc. He said that this is “clearly at odds with the attitude of the presidents of Russia and the US to seek ways to enter into a peaceful settlement process.”…

Russia on Thursday said a fire broke out at an airfield in the country’s Saratov region due to an overnight Ukrainian drone attack. A statement by the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that its air defenses shot down 132 Ukrainian drones over multiple regions of the country amid an overnight attack. It said that 54 of the drones were intercepted over the Saratov region. Saratov Governor Roman Busargin said on Telegram that the attack caused a fire at an airfield in the city of Engels, located about 470 kilometers (292 miles) from the Ukrainian border. The city also houses a military…