Author: Anadolu Agency

South Korean lawmakers Tuesday passed a bill that seeks to appoint a special counsel to probe President Yoon Suk Yeol over failed martial law. The bill requests the appointment of a special prosecutor to “determine the truth about the internal rebellion through the unconstitutional declaration of martial law,” according to the Seoul-based Yonhap News. At least 210 lawmakers voted in favor, 63 against, while 14 members abstained out of 287 parliamentarians who attended the session. The lawmakers also demanded the “immediate arrest” of Yoon and other accused behind the botched-up martial law. The bill came after Yoon survived the first…

China’s President Xi Jinping Tuesday called for embracing global solidarity and cooperation, weeks ahead of former US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House. “Humanity is a closely entwined community with a shared future. Countries are not riding separately in some 190 small boats, but are rather all in a giant ship on which their shared destiny hinges,” Xi told leaders of major international economic organizations in Beijing. “As such,” Xi added, “they should see each other’s development as opportunities rather than challenges, and treat each other as partners rather than rivals.” “Global solidarity, cooperation, mutual benefit, and win-win…

Commodity prices followed a mixed trend last week due to political turmoil and geopolitical tensions, with the agricultural sector diverging positively. South Korea imposed martial law on Dec. 3, which was short-lived as it was unanimously lifted the same night. Additionally, North Korea’s defense agreement with Russia officially came into force. Meanwhile, the French government collapsed following a no-confidence vote, prompting President Emmanuel Macron to accept the resignation of Prime Minister Michel Barnier. However, Macron announced that he would not resign and would instead appoint a new prime minister soon. Analysts noted that the US dollar gained strength due to…

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reiterated the importance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and called those tolerating its violation and remaining bystanders to the atrocities in Palestine a “dark stain in history.” Commemorating the Human Rights Day, Erdoğan addressed key global humanitarian crises occurring around the world in a statement published by Türkiye’s Directorate of Communications on X. “As a state and a nation, we have considered it our humanitarian duty not to remain silent against crimes against humanity in Palestine from the very beginning. We have stood by our Palestinian brothers and sisters with all our means…

The UN special envoy for Syria said on Tuesday that Israel’s occupation of the Golan Heights buffer zone following the ouster of Syria’s Baath regime is a violation of a 1974 agreement signed between Israel and Syria. Asked by Anadolu about Israel’s occupation of the Golan Heights buffer zone and reports of further incursions into Syrian territory, Geir Pedersen told a weekly press conference at the UN Geneva Office that the UN considers this a violation of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement. “The message from New York is the same, that what we’re seeing is a violation of the…

Türkiye will assess the conditions in Syria over reopening its embassy there, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told reporters in the capital Ankara on Tuesday. On Israel’s aggression in Syria and its intentions in the wake of the fall of the Bashar Assad regime, Fidan said Tel Aviv “wants to make all the equipment in the hands of the current (Syrian) administration unusable.” The Israeli military launched airstrikes on at least 250 targets across Syria following the regime’s collapse, according to Israeli Army Radio. The Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned Israel on Tuesday for violating the 1974 Disengagement Agreement by advancing into…

Canada on Tuesday announced new sanctions against Russian individuals and former or current senior Chinese officials for human rights violations. In a statement, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly “announced sanctions under the Special Economic Measures (People’s Republic of China) Regulations against 8 former or current senior officials involved in grave human rights violations in the country.” She said the sanctions were in response to “Chinese government-led repression of ethnic and religious minorities in China, including in Xinjiang, Tibet and against those who practice Falun Gong.” “As we mark International Human Rights Day on December 10, Canada continues to condemn human rights…

Search efforts are still underway by the Syrian National Army (SNA) in the Syrian province of Manbij, which was saved from PKK/YPG terrorists, local sources said on Tuesday. As part of the Operation Dawn of Freedom, the SNA continued its efforts in the region, detecting and destroying mines and booby traps, according to local sources. Calling on the terrorists to “surrender,” the SNA also neutralized those who resisted. The army captured a female terrorist hiding in one of the tunnels, the sources said, adding that the buildings, which were once used as bases of the PKK/YPG terror groups, were left…

Israel has expanded its occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights this week by seizing a UN-supervised demilitarized buffer zone, hours after the downfall of the Bashar al-Assad regime. Assad fled Syria to Russia where he was given asylum after anti-regime groups captured the capital Damascus on Sunday, putting an end to the rule of the Baath Party, which had been in power since 1963. Shortly afterwards, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the collapse of a UN-monitored disengagement agreement, which established a buffer zone between Israel and Syria. The Israeli army took control of the mountain summit of Mount Hermon…

The president of the EU Commission announced on Tuesday that she will visit Türkiye to discuss the latest developments in Syria in the wake of the fall of the Assad regime. Announcing on X that she discussed extensively with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan the latest developments in Syria, Ursula von der Leyen said: “We’ll meet early next week in Türkiye to discuss what this development means for the region and beyond.” She did not give further details on the visit, but added: “Syria’s territorial integrity must be preserved and the minorities, protected.” Following the Nov. 27 outbreak of clashes…