Author: Anadolu Agency

An earthquake of 6.9 magnitude struck off Papua New Guinea early Saturday local time, the US Geological Survey said. The depth of the earthquake was recorded at 10 kilometers (6 miles), the USGS said in a brief statement, adding the quake was occurred at 06:04 am, Saturday local time (2004GMT, Friday), some 194 km (121 miles) from Kimbe town. There were no immediate reports of any damage or casualties.

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…

The new tariffs introduced by US President Donald Trump’s administration will not affect Ukraine’s economy or its military aid supply, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday. Talking to the media in Kyiv, Zelenskyy emphasized that the volume of weapon deliveries will not be affected. “The volume of arms supply is not influenced by this; that’s the first thing,” he said. He added that Ukraine’s trade turnover with the US remains “very small,” currently standing at $3.5-3.8 billion. “We understand what tariffs existed before on our metallurgy; there was a 25% tariff even earlier. Then, after the full-scale war began,…

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…

Germany and Austria have decided to ban entry to Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik and two other senior figures from Bosnia’s Serb entity Republika Srpska (RS), according to a statement Thursday. Germany’s Minister of State for Europe, Anna Luhrmann, and Austria’s Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger discussed the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina at a meeting in Sarajevo, the German Foreign Ministry said in a statement. They exchanged views on separatist actions by the RS. The statement noted that Meinl-Reisinger and Luhrmann agreed that it was urgent to take decisive action against the perpetrators of the constitutional crisis and they conveyed…

Arms support to Ukraine will bring more destruction, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said on Friday. Arguing that many European leaders are wrong to think that pouring more weapons to Ukraine would force peace through strength, he said: “It is clear that this will not happen, and that it will lead to more destruction, more casualties, more distancing from peace and the loss of even more territory by Ukraine,” during in his address at the meeting of Aqaba Process for the Balkans Forum in Sofia, according to state-run BTA news agency. Radev warned that regional conflicts can swiftly escalate to global…

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…

Myanmar’s junta leader Min Aung Hlaing attended the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit in Bangkok on Friday, marking his first visit to the Thai capital since seizing power in a 2021 coup. Min Aung Hlaing arrived in Thailand on Thursday to join leaders from across South and Southeast Asia, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nepalese Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli, for the regional gathering aimed at boosting cooperation in economic and technical sectors. The visit came despite speculation that Myanmar’s top general might cancel his appearance due to the recent…

Russian President Vladimir Putin supports a ceasefire in Ukraine, but numerous factors must be addressed before taking this step, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday. In a press briefing in Moscow, Peskov talked about media reports, claiming that advisers to US President Donald Trump advised him not to call Putin until Moscow agreed to a complete ceasefire. Peskov dismissed the reports, saying: “A lot of different fakes, rumors, conjectures, and outright lies are being published in the media.” “President Putin supported the idea of a ceasefire. At the same time, he noted that many nuances must be understood before…

India’s main opposition Congress party said Friday it will challenge in the Supreme Court the recently passed Waqf Amendment Bill, which overhauls laws governing Muslim religious endowments and has been hailed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a major milestone for reform and transparency. The controversial bill, which applies to waqf — land or property donated by Muslims for religious, educational, or charitable purposes — passed both houses of Parliament despite sharp resistance from opposition parties and Muslim organizations. Early Friday, the bill cleared the upper house, the Rajya Sabha, after it was introduced by the Modi-led government amid mounting…