Author: Anadolu Agency

The US president’s new push for a Gaza Strip cease-fire comes belatedly but is still important, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday. “President (Joe) Biden’s announcement of a new initiative for a cease-fire in Gaza is a step that is long overdue but nonetheless an important one,” Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told a joint news conference in the capital Ankara alongside the visiting sultan of Oman. Regional and global peace cannot be achieved unless an urgent, just, lasting cease-fire is established in Gaza, said President Erdoğan, speaking the day after a cease-fire started between Lebanon and Israel after months…

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said that “decision-making centers” in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv may become targets for future Russian attacks, as he addressed a summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). “The Russian Defense Ministry and General Staff are currently selecting targets for destruction on Ukrainian territory. These could be military facilities, defense industry enterprises, or decision-making centers in Kyiv,” Putin said at a meeting of the CSTO’s Collective Security Council in the Kazakh capital Astana. Earlier, Ukraine said a “massive” Russian airstrike involving almost 100 drones and over 90 missiles of various types targeted the country’s energy…

New Zealand on Thursday targeted Iranians involved in missile and drone projects in a fresh batch of sanctions on Russia over its war with Ukraine. In a statement, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said the new sanctions respond to recent findings by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons that “illegal riot control agents are being used on the frontlines in Ukraine.” “This is in line with reports that we have been hearing throughout the year that Russia is using chemical weapons on the battlefield in clear breach of the Chemical Weapons Convention,” claimed Peters, adding the new sanctions target…

The UK, France, and Germany on Thursday urged Israel to renew vital banking ties with Palestinian financial institutions for at least 12 months, warning that failure to do so could lead to the collapse of the Palestinian economy and destabilize the region. The appeal comes as Israel’s indemnification of its banks for cross-border transactions with its Palestinian counterparts is set to expire on Nov. 30, according to a statement by the UK government. It also coincides with Israel’s over year-long assault on the Gaza Strip, leaving most Palestinian institutions on the strip little more than piles of rubble. On Oct.…

Pro-Palestinian protesters on Thursday targeted both the Foreign Office and Trade Department in London to call for an immediate halt of arms export to Israel. In solidarity with the Palestinian people, a group of protesters first gathered outside of the Foreign Office. Carrying Palestinian flags, they blocked the entrance and shouted slogans, demanding an immediate end to arms supply to Israel. During the demonstration that took place under intense police presence, the protesters urged the government to not be complicit in the genocide in Gaza where more than 44,300 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since last Oct. 7.…

China on Thursday decried alleged “persecution” of its citizens by the US after the two sides swapped prisoners in a bilateral deal, state media reported. Beijing has “always firmly opposed the US side’s suppression and persecution of Chinese citizens for political purposes,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters in the Chinese capital. Mao said three Chinese citizens who were “wrongfully detained by the US have safely” returned to China. Her statement came after Washington announced a prisoner swap with Beijing under which three Americans, who were “wrongfully” detained in China, were released. The Americans are now in US custody.…

The international community and the European Union “cannot undermine the International Criminal Court,” the EU foreign policy chief said on Thursday in the wake of the ICC issuing arrest warrants for Israel’s premier and former defense minister. Josep Borrell, before attending a meeting of Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution in Brussels, told reporters that the international community, particularly the EU, “cannot undermine the International Criminal Court.” The ICC, in a landmark move last week, issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity…

Calm returned to the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Thursday as supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan returned to their homes after a security operation by the government. Businesses and roads inside and outside the capital reopened after Islamabad remained under lockdown for at least four days. However, people are complaining that social media apps are still not working properly due to slow internet. Thousands of protesters, who were dislodged during a security operation on Tuesday night, returned to their homes as Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said it plans to “continue” with its protest. Khan had called for…

The Foreign Ministry said the declaration adopted at the 10th Global Forum of the U.N. Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) expressed commitment to all forms of discrimination. “The Declaration highlights the contribution of dialogue and interaction among different cultures to a peaceful and harmonious coexistence,” a ministry statement said. The declaration affirmed the commitment to continue combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, religious intolerance and all forms of discrimination. “The Declaration also underlines that violent extremism cannot be associated with any religion, nationality, civilization, or ethnic group,” it further said. The ministry statement said that Türkiye will continue to fight against all…

The “Gaza-Istanbul Declaration,” which was jointly issued by the Union of NGOs of the Islamic World (UNIW) and the Foundation for Volunteer Organizations of Türkiye (TGTV) called for global action against Israel’s massacres in Gaza. The declaration condemned the ongoing Israeli onslaught on Gaza and emphasized the need to halt all military trade with Tel Aviv. The 4th International NGO Fair was held between 21-23 Nov at the Atatürk Airport Terminal C with over 150 NGOs from Türkiye and 26 other countries. Shortly after the fair, a specific program, held at the Turkish Youth Foundation (TÜGVA) headquarters in Eyüpsultan district,…