Author: Anadolu Agency

Mehmet Kubasik, one of eight Turkish victims murdered by the far-right NSU terrorist group in Germany, was remembered on the 19th anniversary of his death on Friday. The ceremony took place in the city of Dortmund. A ceremony was held at the site where Kubasik was killed in front of his kiosk on Mallinckrodt Street on April 4, 2006. His daughter, wife, Türkiye’s Consul General Taylan Ozgur Aydin, and Dortmund Mayor Thomas Westphal attended the commemoration. Aydin and family members laid flowers at the memorial dedicated to Kubasik and offered prayers. In a written statement, the Turkish Consulate General in…

The first convoy of the YPG/PKK-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) withdrew from Aleppo on Friday under the supervision of the Syrian Defense Ministry, Syria’s state-run SANA reported. According to the report, the convoy began its withdrawal from the northern city of Aleppo towards the eastern Euphrates region, with the Syrian Arab Army securing the route from the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods. On Thursday, Aleppo witnessed a prisoner exchange between internal security forces and the SDF, marking the beginning of “prison clearing,” with approximately 250 prisoners released. On March 10, the Syrian presidency announced the signing of an agreement for…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces are containing 64,000 Russian soldiers in Russia’s Kursk region, preventing them from attacking other parts of the front line. “We are holding a large number of troops, 64,000 Russians in the Kursk direction. This is a very serious group that could otherwise spread out and attack us from different directions,” Zelensky told reporters Friday evening, praising Ukrainian troops operating in the area. Zelensky also rejected reports that Ukrainian units operating in Kursk are surrounded, saying: “There is no encirclement of our group in Kursk Oblast.” Ukrainian forces have maintained a limited presence on…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday announced the launch of a new trilateral cooperation format involving the military leaderships of Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and France, highlighting a significant step toward deeper strategic coordination. “Regarding the meeting with our colleagues from France and Britain… At first, our military worked deeply, very thoroughly; our commander-in-chief Syrsky worked; Palisa Pavlo also worked; and Chief of the General Staff Andriy Hnatov also worked… They worked for quite a long time,” Zelensky said during a press briefing as quoted by Interfax-Ukraine. “This is not the first meeting, but it seems to me that such…

The death toll from a Russian missile strike on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih has risen to 16, the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk regional administration, said on Friday. “Currently, there are more than 40 victims of an enemy attack in Kryvyi Rih,” Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also condemned the attack, saying: “A Russian missile struck an ordinary city. Just a street. A residential area. Preliminary information says it was a ballistic missile strike.” He said emergency crews were continuing search and rescue efforts, and at least five buildings had been damaged. “There are…

Türkiye’s Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said the tariff increases are expected to have a negative impact on global growth by raising market risk perceptions and driving down commodity prices. “Tariff increases, which are expected to negatively affect global growth, are heightening risk perceptions in markets and exerting downward pressure on commodity prices,” he said. Stating that weak global growth poses a risk to Türkiye’s exports, Şimşek said that Türkiye’s relatively low tariff rate might result in a comparative advantage in some sectors. “On the other hand, the decline in commodity prices and tightening domestic financial conditions are expected to weaken…

NATO is an essential part of the European defense, the EU foreign policy chief reiterated on Friday. “Of course the EU and NATO are natural partners as a majority of the EU members are also (in) NATO. So our collective defense (is) based on NATO,” Kaja Kallas said in doorstep remarks on day two of a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels. Citing US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s Thursday remarks that the US remains committed to NATO but its European members should spend more on defense, she stressed that the EU’s White Paper on defense, presented last month, is…

Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Thursday called on the international community to take “immediate action” to stop the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza. “Israel’s war on Gaza must stop, the ceasefire must be reinstated, and humanitarian aid must resume,” the Jordanian king said at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz following their talks in Berlin, according to a statement issued by the country’s Royal Court. “Jordan is doing everything in its power to help alleviate the critical humanitarian situation in Gaza by providing aid through all possible means, commending Germany’s support for humanitarian efforts in the Strip,” he…

US President Donald Trump has voiced support for controversial right-wing French politician Marine Le Pen after she was convicted of embezzlement and prohibited from seeking political office. On social media, Trump branded Le Pen’s case a “Witch Hunt”-the same phrase he used to condemn numerous investigations and court cases against him-and wrote: “FREE MARINE LE PEN.” “It is all so bad for France, and the Great French People, no matter what side they are on,” he wrote. He added: “It is the same ‘playbook’ that was used against me by a group of Lunatics.” A Paris court on Monday barred…

Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Thursday called on the international community to take “immediate action” to stop the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza. “Israel’s war on Gaza must stop, the ceasefire must be reinstated, and humanitarian aid must resume,” the Jordanian king said at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz following their talks in Berlin, according to a statement issued by the country’s Royal Court. “Jordan is doing everything in its power to help alleviate the critical humanitarian situation in Gaza by providing aid through all possible means, commending Germany’s support for humanitarian efforts in the Strip,” he…