Author: Anadolu Agency

The US continues to press Israel for answers and “full accountability” on the killing of Turkish American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi in the occupied West Bank last September, a State Department spokesperson told Anadolu on Thursday. “We urged the Government of Israel to complete a swift, thorough, and transparent investigation into Aysenur Eygi’s death,” said the spokesperson, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “Israel’s initial inquiry indicated it was the result of a tragic error for which the IDF is responsible,” said the spokesperson. The official added that Washington is still requesting the results of Israel’s full military investigation…

The effects of human-induced climate change are being felt by one in five people worldwide, a new report revealed on Wednesday. The report published by Climate Central, an independent science organization, found that at least 1.8 billion people—22% of the global population—faced temperatures significantly influenced by climate change every day from December 2024 to February 2025. Over the past three months, human-induced climate change, primarily from burning coal, oil, and methane gas, caused widespread extreme heat across most regions. During this period, almost 394 million people faced 30 or more days of “risky heat” intensified by climate change, with 74%…

The World Meteorological Organization reported that in addition to 2024 setting a new heat record for hottest year, the past decade from 2015 to 2024 marked the warmest period on record. In its latest report, the organization highlighted that the effects of climate change have rapidly intensified over the past decade, with 2024 seeing global temperatures increase by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial era from 1850-1900. “The annually averaged global mean near-surface temperature in 2024 was 1.55 °C ± 0.13 °C above the 1850-1900 average. This is the warmest year in the 175-year observational record, beating the…

US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz dismissed reports Wednesday that President Donald Trump waited an hour for a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin as “completely false garbage, fake news.” Waltz told Fox News that the call started on time and lasted “for a very long time,” covering critical issues such as relations, regional stability and the war in Ukraine. “Donald J. Trump does not sit and wait for an hour for any head of state,” he said, underlining that there might have been some technical difficulties. He described the call as “historic” and detailed discussions on implementing a ceasefire,…

US and Russian security advisors discussed efforts Wednesday to end the war in Ukraine, following a call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Mike Waltz, US national security advisor, wrote on X that he spoke with his Russian counterpart, Yuri Ushakov. “We agreed our technical teams would meet in (the Saudi Arabian capital of) Riyadh in the coming days to focus on implementing and expanding the partial ceasefire President Trump secured from Russia,” Waltz wrote. The discussions follow a call Tuesday between Trump and Putin, where the two leaders addressed normalizing ties, resolving the war and the Middle East. Trump…

The Israeli army renewed its evacuation orders for Palestinians on Wednesday to leave several areas in the Gaza Strip ahead of airstrikes. Israeli warplanes dropped leaflets ordering residents of the towns of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza and Khuza’a and Abasan in the south to leave immediately, according to an Anadolu reporter. “These are dangerous combat zones. For your safety, leave immediately,” the leaflet reads. Army spokesman Avichay Adraee also published on his X account the same warning, asking Palestinians in Beit Hanoun to head towards western Gaza City, and people in eastern Khan Younis to move towards its western…

China on Wednesday urged the US to end its restrictions on Cuba and remove Havana from the “state sponsors of terrorism” list. Allegations of “forced labor” have become “an excuse and a tool” for the US to “suppress dissenting voices,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a news conference in Beijing, expressing China’s opposition to “coercive diplomacy.” The US expanded visa restrictions against Cuba on Feb. 25, citing Cuba’s overseas medical services as being suspected of “forced labor linked to the Cuban labor export program.” “Cuba’s labor export programs, which include the medical missions, enrich the Cuban regime,…

Finland’s President Alexander Stubb on Wednesday urged Russia to agree to the US-backed ceasefire plan without putting any conditions. Speaking at a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Stubb said a ceasefire was the first step toward peace and praised US President Donald Trump’s leadership and recent negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Yesterday’s phone conversation between President Trump and President Putin was a step in the right direction toward a full, unconditional ceasefire,” he said. “There are only two ways to respond to the proposal of the president of the US: it’s a yes or a no,…

Radio Free Europe has filed a lawsuit against the US Agency for Global Media and its officials to prevent the termination of its federal grant, it announced Wednesday. The case, filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, argues that cutting funding for Radio Free Europe (RFE/RL)-including Radio Liberty-violates federal law and the US Constitution, which grants Congress exclusive control over federal spending, said a statement. “The complaint makes the case that denying RFE/RL the funds that Congress appropriated for it violates federal laws-including the US Constitution, which vests Congress with exclusive power over federal spending,” it…

The presidents of the EU Commission and the EU Council on Wednesday stressed the need for a “just and lasting peace” for Ukraine. “A comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Ukraine must be the outcome of this terrible war,” said Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa on X. In reference to Tuesday’s phone call between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, they said: “We hope that yesterday’s phone call is progress in this direction” “We remain steadfast in our support for Ukraine,” von der Leyen and Costa added. In a 2 ½-hour phone call, Putin…