Author: Anadolu Agency

China on Thursday decried alleged “persecution” of its citizens by the US after the two sides swapped prisoners in a bilateral deal, state media reported. Beijing has “always firmly opposed the US side’s suppression and persecution of Chinese citizens for political purposes,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters in the Chinese capital. Mao said three Chinese citizens who were “wrongfully detained by the US have safely” returned to China. Her statement came after Washington announced a prisoner swap with Beijing under which three Americans, who were “wrongfully” detained in China, were released. The Americans are now in US custody.…

Türkiye’s foreign trade deficit continued to narrow in October, hitting $65.8 billion for the first 10 months of the year, down 30.1% year-on-year, Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) data showed on Thursday. The country’s exports totaled $216.2 billion in the first 10 months, while imports amounted to $282 billion. In October alone, exports were at $23.5 billion while imports totaled $29.4 billion. The foreign trade gap was at $5.9 billion in October, improving 10.5% on a yearly basis. GERMANY MAIN DESTINATION FOR EXPORTS In January-October, the share of manufacturing industry products in total exports was 94.2%. The share of high-tech products…

The UK, France, and Germany on Thursday urged Israel to renew vital banking ties with Palestinian financial institutions for at least 12 months, warning that failure to do so could lead to the collapse of the Palestinian economy and destabilize the region. The appeal comes as Israel’s indemnification of its banks for cross-border transactions with its Palestinian counterparts is set to expire on Nov. 30, according to a statement by the UK government. It also coincides with Israel’s over year-long assault on the Gaza Strip, leaving most Palestinian institutions on the strip little more than piles of rubble. On Oct.…

New Zealand on Thursday targeted Iranians involved in missile and drone projects in a fresh batch of sanctions on Russia over its war with Ukraine. In a statement, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said the new sanctions respond to recent findings by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons that “illegal riot control agents are being used on the frontlines in Ukraine.” “This is in line with reports that we have been hearing throughout the year that Russia is using chemical weapons on the battlefield in clear breach of the Chemical Weapons Convention,” claimed Peters, adding the new sanctions target…

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said that “decision-making centers” in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv may become targets for future Russian attacks, as he addressed a summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). “The Russian Defense Ministry and General Staff are currently selecting targets for destruction on Ukrainian territory. These could be military facilities, defense industry enterprises, or decision-making centers in Kyiv,” Putin said at a meeting of the CSTO’s Collective Security Council in the Kazakh capital Astana. Earlier, Ukraine said a “massive” Russian airstrike involving almost 100 drones and over 90 missiles of various types targeted the country’s energy…

The US president’s new push for a Gaza Strip cease-fire comes belatedly but is still important, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday. “President (Joe) Biden’s announcement of a new initiative for a cease-fire in Gaza is a step that is long overdue but nonetheless an important one,” Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told a joint news conference in the capital Ankara alongside the visiting sultan of Oman. Regional and global peace cannot be achieved unless an urgent, just, lasting cease-fire is established in Gaza, said President Erdoğan, speaking the day after a cease-fire started between Lebanon and Israel after months…

Pro-Palestinian protesters on Thursday targeted both the Foreign Office and Trade Department in London to call for an immediate halt of arms export to Israel. In solidarity with the Palestinian people, a group of protesters first gathered outside of the Foreign Office. Carrying Palestinian flags, they blocked the entrance and shouted slogans, demanding an immediate end to arms supply to Israel. During the demonstration that took place under intense police presence, the protesters urged the government to not be complicit in the genocide in Gaza where more than 44,300 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since last Oct. 7.…

The Israeli army shelled several towns in southern Lebanon on Thursday as a cease-fire between the two sides entered its second day, local media said. Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported artillery shelling in the towns of Ayta al-Shaab and Bent Jbeil in southern Lebanon. An airstrike also targeted a car in the town of Markaba, leaving two people injured, the state agency said. Israeli tank fire also hit Khiam, Taybe, Wazzani, and the outskirts of Kfarshouba in southern Lebanon. Israeli reconnaissance planes also flew over the districts of Tyre and Bent Jbeil on Thursday morning. The Israeli army, for…

On a landmark visit to Türkiye, Omani Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al Said on Thursday hailed the nation’s stance on international issues facing the region. “Oman would like to express our support for Türkiye’s stance on international issues concerning our region,” Haitham, the very first Omani head of state to visit Türkiye, told a joint news conference in the capital Ankara with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He said it is everyone’s common desire to establish a secure environment in the region, and called for working together to strengthen cooperation in the region. He urged continued cooperation to bring a…

An Israeli minister on Thursday called for the reestablishing of settlements in the Gaza Strip after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. “Jewish settlement here is the answer to the horrific massacre (referring to the Hamas Oct. 7 attack),” Housing and Construction Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf said on X, sharing photos from a visit to the Netzarim area in central Gaza, which separates northern Gaza from the south. The far-right minister also framed the resettlement initiative as a direct response to the ICC’s arrest warrants, which accuse…