Author: Anadolu Agency
Türkiye on Friday “strongly” condemned a raid carried out by Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on the Al-Aqsa Mosque. “We strongly condemn the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by an Israeli Minister under the protection of security forces,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The ministry said the ongoing genocide in Gaza, along with Israeli authorities’ provocative actions intended to change the historical status quo of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, pose a threat to regional security and stability. The statement also called on the international community to take necessary measures against Israeli officials’ actions that will further escalate tensions…
Dozens of left-wing Israelis protested in West Jerusalem on Friday, demanding an end to the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip. The protesters held signs reading: “Stop the genocide; Stop ethnic cleansing; Stop the war now, and Stop the massacre,” according to an Anadolu reporter. Israeli police forces were stationed around the protest, and officers attempted to disperse the crowd by confiscating the signs, leading to a scuffle between the police and protesters. The Israeli left-wing group “Free Jerusalem,” which opposes the Israeli occupation, reported that police arrested three protesters. “This will not deter or silence us. We will continue…
The EU is focusing on ironing out problems and facilitating visa access for Turkish citizens, according to its ambassador to Ankara, stressing that the bloc has as much interest in fostering the exchange of people as Türkiye. Many Turkish citizens have been facing problems in securing visas, such as increased scrutiny of applications and months of waiting to get an appointment date, hampering essential movement of businesspeople, academics, students, and others. “The EU has as much interest in furthering the exchange of people as Türkiye. We want Turkish businessmen to come to Europe. We want Turkish students to study at…
Italy has approved the sale of Piaggio Aerospace, the country’s aviation giant, to the Turkish unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) producer Baykar. “The world’s largest UCAV company, Baykar outbid rivals from multiple countries in a competitive tender for the sale of Piaggio Aerospace, which was established in 1884,” Baykar said in a Friday press release about the approval, which came from Italy’s Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy. Baykar worked with Pragma Consulting on financial valuation during the process. Piaggio Aerospace is the best known in the aviation industry for producing P.180 Avanti business jets, also known as Ferrari…
Estonia announced on Friday that the country will send its naval patrols near the Estlink 1 electricity cable connecting it to Finland in the Baltic Sea, following the suspected sabotage of a parallel cable, Estlink 2, on Christmas Day. “We’ve decided to send our navy close to Estlink 1 to defend and secure our energy connection with Finland,” Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said on X. The disruption of Estlink 2 marks the latest in a series of incidents targeting underwater infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. The incident comes just over a month after two telecommunications cables were severed in…
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake on Friday struck the Kuril Islands, off the coast of East Asia. The powerful quake occurred at 1247GMT at a depth of 162 kilometers (100 miles), the US Geological Survey reported. No immediate casualties or tsunami threats were reported from the tremor. Geoscience Australia measured a quake at magnitude 6.9 at a depth of 142 kilometers (88 miles). The Kuril Islands are a volcanic archipelago where earthquakes and tidal waves are common. The islands are currently disputed territory between Russia and Japan.
China on Friday launched a first-of-its-kind amphibious assault ship, state media reported. The domestically built Type 076 dual-use assault ship, equipped with an electromagnetic catapult, is named after the southwestern province of Sichuan, where it was launched into the water at the Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard. According to state-run Xinhua News, the ship has a full-load displacement of over 40,000 tons and features a dual-island superstructure alongside a full-length flight deck. Described as a “key asset” for the Chinese military, the vessel is capable of carrying fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and amphibious equipment, bolstered by its dual-island structure and full-length flight deck. Separately,…
The Afghanistan interim government on Friday announced that the country has built its first domestic railway engine and soon will operate its own trains. Afghan Taliban chief spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid posted on X a video of the railway engine carrying three bogies and said their National Development Company has manufactured its first train. “The country’s National Development Corporation built a train for the first time. With the ongoing construction of railway tracks, Afghanistan will soon operate its locally-made trains as well,” he said. According to the Afghan state-run media, Afghan and Kazakhstan senior officials met in Kabul on Thursday and…
In the wake of a high-profile crash in the region, an Azerbaijan Airlines flight en route to the Russian city of Mineralnye Vody was forced to return to the Azerbaijani capital Baku, the airline announced in a statement. According to the airline, the flight from Baku to Mineralnye Vody was forced to return to its departure airport due to the closure of airspace over Makhachkala, a Russian Caspian Sea city lying on a route between the two cities. According to Flightradar24, Flight J28717 departed from Baku at 9.45 am (0545GMT) and was scheduled to land in Mineralnye Vody at 10.20…
The UK’s National Trust has reported alarming declines in insect populations and seabird species in 2024, attributing the losses to unstable weather patterns driven by the ongoing climate crisis. Bees, butterflies, moths, and wasps have seen significant drops in numbers, while seabirds, including the globally threatened Arctic tern, have been severely affected by the unpredictable conditions. In its annual report on the weather’s impact on flora and fauna, the trust painted a grim picture of the year’s ecological health. The report highlighted “shocking” declines in biodiversity, with diseases affecting species such as the white-clawed crayfish and sycamores compounding the crisis.…