Author: Anadolu Agency

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that China is eager to make a trade deal but uncertain about its timing, after Washington raised tariffs on Chinese imports to 125%. “We have a tremendous amount of spirit from other countries, including China. China wants to make a deal. They just don’t know how quick to go about it,” Trump said in front of the White House as he welcomed a group of race car drivers ahead of the 2025 Daytona 500. “President Xi’s a proud man, I know him very well … they’ll figure it out,” he said. Trump said he…

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…

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…

Türkiye plans to finalize an agreement with Iraq “very soon” on the Development Road Project, a strategic infrastructure initiative aimed at strengthening regional connectivity, the country’s transportation minister said Thursday. Speaking at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Emerging Markets Forum in Istanbul, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu emphasized that transit routes and transport corridors are essential to global economic development. He said that every penny spent on transportation infrastructure will contribute to reducing trade costs, increasing economic growth, promoting regional integration and achieving sustainable development goals. Uraloğlu described Türkiye as a natural bridge in the east-west…

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…

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…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday said Kyiv is preparing decrees to further impose sanctions on Russia as the war between the two countries continues for more than three years. Speaking in an evening video address to his nation shared on Telegram, Zelensky said he ordered his government to prepare further sanctions packages against Moscow. He described the packages as “strong,” which intend to target Russia’s shadow tanker fleet and what he described as “war propagandists.” Zelensky said Ukraine is working to synchronize its sanctions packages with the decisions of partners, primarily in the EU. He said Defense Minister Rustem…

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…

US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that more than 200 migrants were sent to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador by US immigration agents should remain incarcerated “for the rest of their lives,” according to Axios. In March, Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which grants sweeping authority to expel individuals during wartime or in the face of hostile threats. The move has led to the removal of more than 200 Venezuelan nationals, according to court filings, some of whom were sent to the El Salvador prison. “We’re confident that people imprisoned there should be there,” Noem…