Author: Anadolu Agency

The EU leaders held a video conference on Wednesday to prepare for an emergency summit on March 6, with French President Emmanuel Macron briefing his counterparts on his recent meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington. The virtual meeting, chaired by European Council President Antonio Costa, lasted about 30 minutes and included all 27 EU leaders, as well as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Costa described the discussion as “very useful” ahead of the summit, where the bloc is set to decide on military aid for Ukraine and measures to strengthen European defense. “Continuing to work on…

Türkiye has a strong interest in working with Finland on contracting and technology projects besides carrying out joint projects in other countries, the Turkish trade minister said on Wednesday. Omer Bolat and his Finnish counterpart Ville Tavio met in the Finnish capital Helsinki for the 2nd Term Meeting of the Türkiye-Finland Joint Economic and Trade Committee, which focused on boosting bilateral trade and investments. “Türkiye is are keen to collaborate with Finland in the fields of contracting and technology, as well as to work together on contracting and infrastructure projects in third countries,” Bolat said on X. He underlined the…

The speaker of Russia’s upper legislative house, Valentina Matviyenko, will visit Türkiye on Thursday as the official guest of Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş. After holding a bilateral meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Kurtulmuş and Matviyenko will chair inter-delegation talks and hold a press conference. During his visit to Russia on Sept. 24, Kurtulmuş addressed the opening session of the Federation Council’s new legislative period. He highlighted that Türkiye believes in taking initiatives on every platform for a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine war. He said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was working closely with his Russian counterpart…

Another Palestinian detainee from the Gaza Strip died in Israeli detention, prisoners’ affairs groups said on Wednesday. Rafat Adnan Abu Fannanah, 34, was arrested by the Israeli army on Oct. 7, 2023, and breathed his last in custody, the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a joint statement. Abu Fannanah, a father of one child, was injured during his arrest and was held at Ayalon Prison before he was transferred to the Shamir Medical Center southeast of Tel Aviv, where he was pronounced dead, the statement said. The new death brought the number of Palestinian…

Egg prices in the US are set to rise 41.1% in 2025, according to a new Agriculture Department report. Retail egg prices continue to fluctuate month-to-month, driven by the ongoing and escalating impact of the highly pathogenic avian influenza, also known as bird flu, which began in 2022. Retail egg prices saw a 13.8% increase in January following an 8.4% rise in December, according to the report released on Tuesday. In January 2025, egg prices rose by 53.0% compared to January 2024, surpassing the record set in January 2023, while consumer price index data from the Labor Department revealed a…

Two EU lawmakers, who were denied entry to Israel and sent back to Europe shortly after landing in the country on Monday, called for a “strong” response to the Israeli action. Lynn Boylan, head of the European Parliament’s EU-Palestine delegation, and French-Palestinian lawmaker Rima Hassan were traveling from Brussels to Palestine via Israel for discussions with Palestinian authorities. Upon arrival at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, they were denied entry and deported to Belgium after hours of questioning. Israel’s Interior Ministry said Hassan was barred from entry for boycotting the country but provided no reason for denying Boylan entry. Speaking…

The EU on Wednesday called for the full implementation of the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) orders regarding the situation in Gaza, ‘strongly’ condemning the escalation in the West Bank. EU ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Lotte Knudsen’s remarks came after UN human rights chief Volker Turk presented his annual report on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories—as part of the Human Rights Council in Geneva—highlighting grave violations and calling for independent investigations and accountability. “The EU recalls the need to fully implement the ICJ orders, which are legally binding,” she said while welcoming the recent increase in…

US President Donald Trump lambasted the EU on Wednesday and vowed to implement 25% tariffs “generally speaking” on the 27-member bloc’s exports “very soon.” The EU, Trump said, “was formed in order to screw the United States. That’s the purpose of it, and they’ve done a good job of it. But now I’m president.” “They’ve really taken advantage of us in a different way,” Trump told reporters as he convened his first Cabinet meeting since assuming office in January. “They don’t accept our cars. They don’t accept, essentially, our farm products. They use all sorts of reasons why not, and…

Russia’s upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, ratified a security guarantees treaty with Belarus, strengthening defense cooperation within the Union State. The State Duma, the lower house of parliament, had already ratified the treaty on Feb. 18. “This treaty is of critical importance in the current geopolitical situation. Significant efforts were made in its preparation and coordination,” Federation Council Chairwoman Valentina Matvienko said. Presenting the document, Senator Taymuraz Mamsurov recalled that the treaty was signed on Dec. 6, 2024, in Minsk by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin during a Supreme State Council meeting of the…

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on Wednesday denounced an AI-generated video shared by US President Donald Trump, depicting his vision for the future of the Gaza Strip with golden Trump statues, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and billionaire Elon Musk. The video portrays a rebuilt Gaza with skyscrapers, luxury cars and bearded belly dancers, following images of destruction in the enclave. It also shows Musk celebrating under falling money and Trump drinking shirtless with Netanyahu on a beach. CAIR called the video a fantasy. “If President Trump is serious about pursuing peace, he should stop posting AI fantasies of…