Author: Anadolu Agency

Israeli firefighters have extinguished bushfires that raged in central Israel due to soaring temperatures and high winds. The Israeli Fire and Rescue Authority on Thursday said that nine people were injured, including seven firefighters, and 10,000 dunums (2,500 acres) were destroyed in the fires. It said the flames were brought under control after a 20-hour struggle. The situation “is now under control…(and) will be over in the coming hours,” the authority added. According to the statement, all vacated and affected communities have returned to their areas, and all roads have been reopened. The Israel Meteorological Service had warned of “harsh”…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday that Kyiv supports all peace initiatives proposed by the US that are under its Constitution, while emphasizing that a complete ceasefire is the first step toward ending the war with Russia. During a joint press conference with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Zelenskyy said Ukraine accepted the unconditional ceasefire proposed by US President Donald Trump and his team in Saudi Arabia, but “Russia has not reciprocated.” “And we even signaled through the media that we were ready for mirror steps—if Russia did not shoot, we would not respond,” he added. He said that…

The capacity utilization rate for the Turkish manufacturing industry saw a fall of 0.6 percentage points to 74.6% in April on a monthly basis, a Turkish Central Bank survey said Thursday. The data said that the highest utilization in this month was 74.5% in intermediate goods, and the lowest was 71.7% in durable consumer goods. Broken down by sector, the highest capacity usage was in the manufacture of paper products at 84%, while the lowest, 60.3%, was in leather products. Capacity utilization rate figures are based on responses to a business tendency survey of local units operating in the manufacturing…

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that negotiations with Iran concerning its nuclear program are advancing “very well.” “I think we’re doing very well with respect to Iran, and we’re having very serious meetings. And there are only two options,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “One option is not a good option. It’s not a not a good option at all. And I think we’re doing very well on an agreement with Iran, but that one, we’re doing a lot of things, I will say, but that one is, well on its way. We could have a very,…

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that Boeing “should default China” for not taking finished planes it committed to purchase. “This is just a small example of what China has done to the USA, for years… And, by the way, Fentanyl continues to pour into our Country from China, through Mexico and Canada, killing hundreds of thousands of our people, and it better stop, NOW!” Trump said on Truth Social. Boeing hopes to find new buyers for dozens of planes returned by China after tariffs were imposed that were prompted by Trump’s trade war. Kelly Ortberg, Boeing’s chief executive, said…

The UN granted 17 million euros ($19.3 million) to the Lebanese army on Thursday to equip and train new recruits for deployment in southern Lebanon. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met in Beirut with a delegation representing the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), including Head of the Peace Division Evariste Karambizi and Director of the Diplomatic Division Rabih Haddad. Aoun was briefed by the UN delegation about UNITAR activities in the field of logistics and training, the presidency said in a statement. Karambizi said the grant will be allocated for equipping and training 4,500 new army recruits assigned to…

Türkiye and Russia will hold consultations on the Middle East at the deputy foreign minister level in Istanbul on Friday, diplomatic sources said on Thursday. During the consultations, Nuh Yılmaz will represent Türkiye, and Minister Mikhail Bogdanov will represent Russia, the sources added. The consultations are expected to include a comprehensive exchange of ideas on regional issues, particularly Syria and Palestine. Türkiye attaches importance to consulting with Russia in the context of developments in the Middle East, the sources said.

China on Thursday denied it was holding any negotiations with the US over tariffs, state media reported, a day after President Donald Trump said talks were underway for a potential trade with the world’s second-largest economy. “As far as I know, China and the US have not consulted or negotiated on the issue of tariffs, let alone reached an agreement,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing. The Trump administration has imposed tariffs up to 245% on Chinese imports while Beijing retaliated with 125% tariffs on all imports from the US. “This tariff war was initiated by the…

Egyptian Foreign Minister Bedr Abdelatty said on Thursday that Italy fully supports an Arab plan for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip without displacing Palestinians. Abdelatty’s remarks came during a press conference with his Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani in Cairo. According to a statement from the Italian Foreign Ministry, Tajani confirmed “the support for initiatives for a lasting ceasefire in Gaza and its reconstruction.” Abdelatty said they discussed the regional developments in Palestine, stressing the urgent need to provide the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. He said they also evaluated the developments in the Red Sea region…

A new fleet of tug boats ordered for the Australian Navy was secretly built at a Chinese shipyard under a $28 million contract awarded to a Dutch company last year, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported Thursday. Citing certification documents, the ABC said the first of three “harbor tugs” was completed in late December at the Damen company’s “state-of-the-art” Changde facility in China’s southern Hunan province before being delivered to Australia. In a letter sent from its Netherlands headquarters last year, Damen told Australia’s Defense Department the tug boat build “will be heavily reliant upon established supply chains both in…