Author: Anadolu Agency

The Israeli army is in “its worst position” to confront Hamas as the Palestinian group continues to rebuild itself amid a Gaza ceasefire deal, an Israeli military source said on Monday. “The Israeli army has not conducted any effective combat operations for about two weeks, allowing Hamas to bolster its military capabilities in preparation for a new round of fighting,” the public broadcaster KAN quoted the source as saying. A ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement has been in place in Gaza since Jan. 19, pausing Israel’s brutal military campaign that has killed more than 48,500 people, mostly women and children,…

Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek on Monday had a phone call with Scott Bessent, the US Treasury secretary, to discuss economic relations. Simsek congratulated Bessent on his new position under the Trump administration, Treasury and Finance Ministry sources told Anadolu. Bessent took office in late January. The officials also agreed to meet face-to-face at the first opportunity. They are expected to meet during next month’s annual IMF-World Bank meetings in Washington, DC. During the phone call, which lasted for about a half-hour, they discussed the issue of further deepening economic cooperation between Türkiye and the US.

A transformer explosion at the Pan-Am thermoelectric plant in La Chorrera has led to a widespread power outage across Panama, reports said Sunday. Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino described the damage as severe in a statement on X, criticizing the situation. “I am without electricity in Boquete. This is unacceptable. The damage is reportedly extensive,” he said, adding: “I will immediately request a report from the National Public Services Authority (ASEP) and the Energy Secretariat, and they will act accordingly. This poor service is enough.” ASEP General Administrator Zelmar Rodriguez Crespo confirmed that the power outage affecting most of the…

UN-appointed experts on Monday branded US authorities’ arrests of foreign students for pro-Palestinian protests on campus “disproportionate” and called for their rights to be respected. US campuses including Columbia University in New York were rocked by student protests against Israel’s war in Gaza following the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian resistance group Hamas, drawing accusations of anti-Semitism. Immigration officers arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a leader of protests at Columbia, on the weekend of March 9-10 after US President Donald Trump vowed to deport foreign pro-Palestinian student demonstrators. The White House later said authorities had supplied a list of other Columbia…

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas called on the US on Monday to pressure Israel to implement a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement. “The US must compel the (Israeli) occupation to implement the ceasefire agreement as signed rather than expanding the scope of aggression,” senior Hamas member Izzat Al-Rishq said in a statement. “Preventing the occupation from evading the agreement’s requirements is the only way to save the lives of the captives and ensure their return to their families,” he added. Al-Rishq condemned Israel’s tightening of its blockade on Gaza, calling it an act of “sadism and a complete disregard…

A joint Egyptian-American archaeological team from the University of Pennsylvania has uncovered a royal tomb from the Second Intermediate Period in the Jebel Anubis necropolis in Abydos, southern Egypt, the Egyptian Tourism and Antiquities Ministry said Sunday. Another archaeological team from Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities also discovered a pottery workshop from the Roman era in the nearby village of Banaweet in Sohag governorate, according to a statement by the ministry. “The discovery of the royal tomb in Abydos provides new scientific evidence on the development of royal burials at the Jebel Anubis necropolis,” the statement said, adding “these tombs…

The Vatican shared an image Sunday of Pope Francis praying in a chapel at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he has been receiving treatment for respiratory issues for more than a month. The 88-year-old head of the Catholic Church, who was diagnosed with double pneumonia after being admitted on Feb. 14, remains under medical supervision. The Holy See Press Office confirmed that his condition is stable and that he continues to receive respiratory physiotherapy to help with his breathing and physical therapy to help with his mobility. The photo marks the first visual confirmation of the Pope’s condition since his hospitalization,…

The US said Monday that its approach to Houthi attacks on commercial and military ships in the Red Sea has undergone a “complete shift,” stressing that such assaults are unacceptable and must come to an end. Speaking at a daily press briefing, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce contrasted the Trump administration’s response with that of its predecessor, which she said had engaged in a “tit-for-tat dynamic” when responding to Houthi missile strikes. “If the Houthis would be sending missiles or attacking both commercial and military ships, what the previous administration did is they would do one strike as a tit-for-tat…

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Monday told lawmakers that G7 foreign ministers were able to find “common ground” on supporting Ukraine when they met in Canada last week, despite doubts that this would not be possible. Lammy confirmed that a ceasefire offer is now on the table, saying that Ukraine is “serious about peace,” and emphasized that the ball is now in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s court. “Now it is Putin who stands in the spotlight, Putin who must answer, Putin who must choose. Are you serious, Mr Putin, about peace? Will you stop the fighting? Or will you…

Recent US strikes on the Houthi rebel group in Yemen are “not an endless offensive” and “not about regime change in the Middle East,” the chief Pentagon spokesman said on Monday. “We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective. With that said, and this is a very important point, this is also not an endless offensive. This is not about regime change in the Middle East. This is about putting American interests first,” Sean Parnell told a news briefing. The initial wave of strikes hit over 30 targets at multiple locations, degrading a variety of Houthi…