Author: Anadolu Agency

A powerful 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck Türkiye on Wednesday, with the epicenter being Istanbul’s Silivri district, the country’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said. The quake hit at 12.49 local time (0949 GMT) and was felt strongly across Istanbul and neighboring provinces, prompting residents to flee buildings in fear. Another earthquake of magnitude 4.9 struck at 13.02 (10:02 GMT), with the epicenter off the coast of Buyukcekmece in the Sea of Marmara. AFAD said all relevant institutions and response teams had been mobilized and field scans were underway to assess potential damage and ensure public safety. “As of now,…

Russian military intelligence orchestrated parcel fires targeting European air cargo shipments last year, German public broadcasters NDR and WDR reported on Wednesday. According to the exclusive report, German authorities and their European partners have identified several suspects following a fire at a DHL logistics center at Leipzig airport in July 2024. The suspects sent multiple packages containing incendiary devices from Lithuania — two parcels were destined for Poland and two for the UK, according to the investigators. During a stopover in Leipzig, one of the London-bound packages ignited. The incident occurred before the cargo was loaded onto the aircraft, and…

Elon Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent engaged in a heated shouting match at the White House last week near President Donald Trump and top officials, according to a report Wednesday. “It was two billionaire, middle-aged men thinking it was WWE in the hall of the West Wing,” an anonymous witness told Axios about the confrontation, which erupted Thursday about who would lead the US tax agency — the IRS. The “loud” spat reportedly began in the Oval Office and escalated into the hallway. Tensions flared April 16 after Trump appointed Musk’s pick, Gary Shapley, as acting IRS commissioner –…

The UN on Wednesday emphasized aid operations must adhere to humanitarian principles and independence amid reports that aid in the Gaza Strip would be distributed by the Israeli military or American companies. Asked by Anadolu whether reported remarks from Israel’s security cabinet meeting would affect UN aid efforts and how the distribution would be viewed given the roles of the Israeli military and the US in Gaza, spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at a news conference that the UN was not present at the meeting and could not verify the claims. “I can’t speak to the veracity of what was reported.…

Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday said that children will make the world a better place despite all of the “evil and wrongdoing” that exists. Erdoğan made the remarks during his speech at TRT’s 47th International Children’s Festival, which was held on the occasion of April 23 to commemorate National Sovereignty and Children’s Day. He congratulated every child in Türkiye and around the world. “I remember with gratitude our founding father Gazi Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who dedicated this holiday to you, along with all our statesmen, martyrs, and veterans,” he said. Erdoğan said over 130,000 children from 120 different…

US Sen. c on Wednesday called the detention of Turkish student Rumeysa Ozturk a “national disgrace.” “What has happened to Rumeysa Ozturk is … a national disgrace,” Markey told reporters at Logan Airport in Boston. A delegation of Democratic lawmakers, including Markey, congresswoman Ayanna Pressley and Rep. Jim McGovern, traveled Tuesday to the state of Louisiana to meet Ozturk and Mahmoud Khalil, who remain in custody at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers. Ozturk, a Fulbright scholar and PhD student in child and human development at Tufts University, was detained March 25 by masked ICE agents outside her…

Official Israeli data presented on Wednesday revealed that only 232 Haredi (ultra-Orthodox Jewish) men responded to 18,915 military draft orders issued in recent weeks, underscoring persistent refusal to serve in the Israeli army, according to a Knesset statement. Col. Avigdor Dickstein, head of the Haredi branch in the Israeli army’s Personnel Directorate, shared these figures with the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Security Committee. “Out of 18,915 draft orders issued recently, only 232 Haredim responded, while 1,840 ignored the summons, 962 were declared draft dodgers, and 68 were exempted for various reasons,” he said, citing the Knesset release. Dickstein pointed out…

Spain’s decision to proceed with the purchase of 15.3 million rounds of ammunition from an Israeli company has triggered a crisis within the country’s left-wing coalition government. Despite the government claiming that military trade with Israel has been halted since the start of the war in Gaza, Spanish media outlet Cadena Ser reported Wednesday that Spain’s Guardia Civil police force purchased the pistol rounds for €6.6 million (about $7.53 million). Last October, the ammunition contract already made headlines, and government officials vowed it would be canceled. Interior Minister Fernando Grande Marlaska, from the Socialist Party, reportedly sought to halt the…

A delegation of Democratic members of Congress travelled to Louisiana on Tuesday to meet with Rumeysa Ozturk and Mahmoud Khalil, who remain in custody at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers, calling their imprisonment a “national disgrace” and demanding their immediate release. Ozturk, a Turkish national pursuing a Ph.D. at Tufts University, and Khalil, a Palestinian green card holder and recent Columbia University graduate, were separately detained last month by federal agents as part of the Trump administration’s growing crackdown on pro-Palestinian students. Neither of them has been charged with a crime. The delegation — led by Rep.…

At least 39 more Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll from Israel’s genocidal war since October 2023 to 51,305, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday. A ministry statement said that 105 more injured people were also transferred to hospitals, taking the number of injuries to 117,096 in the Israeli onslaught. “Many victims are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added. The Israeli army resumed its deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip on March 18 and has since killed…