Author: Adem Efe

A Turkish court blocked access to 82 accounts operated by Kurdish politicians, journalists, publishers and media houses on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on the grounds of “protecting national security”. Eighty-two accounts on X operated by Kurdish politicians, journalists, publishers and media houses have been blocked in Turkey by a court for “making terrorist propaganda”. “The decision was made on the grounds of ‘protecting national security and public order’ and claimed that these people ‘made propaganda for a terrorist organisation with all their posts’”, Free Web Turkey, a platform established by the Media and Law Studies Association, MLSA, to monitor…

New Zealand’s international relations are under new management and Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-United States positioning when it comes to the Pacific — where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align New Zealand more closely with the US under his Pacific Reset policy that he launched while serving as foreign minister under Jacinda Ardern’s Labour-New Zealand First coalition government from 2017-2020. Peters is wasting no time in getting back on the foreign affairs horse. Just three days after being sworn…

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday called on the international community to pressure Israel to stop the bloodshed in the Gaza Strip. Sisi made the remarks during the Arab-Islamic summit held in the Saudi capital Riyadh to discuss the current deadly Israeli attacks on the Palestinian coastal enclave, said the Egyptian presidency in a statement. “Egypt has repeatedly warned against the consequences of unilateral policies and it warns now that failure to stop the war in Gaza portends the expansion of military confrontations in the region,” the Egyptian president told the summit attended by leaders and senior officials of dozens…

More than 46,000 permanent houses built in 11 cities affected by the Feb. 6 earthquakes will be handed over to their rightful owners by the beginning of 2024. The construction of 680,000 permanent houses has begun in 11 provinces affected by the earthquake. By the end of 2023, 41,000 houses in provincial and district centers and 5,000 village houses in rural areas will be given to earthquake victims. Permanent housing construction continues in the region, where 216,881 people have applied for the reconstruction of their homes to date. The rubble of the buildings that collapsed in the earthquake and those in urgent need…

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan Sunday discussed the latest developments in Gaza with his Egyptian and Jordanian counterparts. In a call with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, the two top diplomats exchanged views on the transportation of humanitarian aid to Gaza as well as efforts for a cease-fire to stop attacks on civilians. Similarly, Fidan discussed cease-fire efforts in a call with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi. Fidan is engaged in intense diplomatic efforts with his counterparts from the region and around the world for a solution to the ongoing conflict. He visited Lebanon, Egypt and Qatar and attended high-level meetings…

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said he may soon visit Egypt to discuss the latest developments regarding the Israeli offensive on Gaza as well as Türkiye’s efforts to transferthe Palestinian patients to Turkish hospitals. “I may organize a visit to Egypt very soon. The issue we will discuss in Egypt will be ‘How can we evacuate patients [from Gaza]?’ We want to bring all of them as soon as possible,” Erdoğan told reporters on his return from Algeria on Nov. 22. Türkiye has already transferred around 100 patients and their companions to the Turkish hospitals as there are no efficient health centers left in Gaza due…

Donald Trump is scheduled to be questioned under oath Tuesday as part of lawsuits from two former FBI employees who provoked the former president’s outrage after sending each other pejorative text messages about him. Peter Strzok, who was a lead agent in the FBI’s investigation into ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign, has alleged in a lawsuit against the Justice Department that he was wrongfully fired for exercising his First Amendment rights when he and a colleague traded anti-Trump text messages in the weeks before he became president. Lisa Page, the FBI lawyer who texted with Strzok and had also been assigned to the Russia investigation, has sued…

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday kicked off two days of high-stakes diplomatic talks in Beijing aimed at trying to cool exploding U.S.-China tensions that have set many around the world on edge. Blinken opened his program by meeting Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang for an extended discussion to be followed by a working dinner. He’ll have additional talks with Qin, as well as China’s top diplomat Wang Yi and possibly President Xi Jinping, on Monday. Neither Blinken nor Qin made any substantive comments to reporters as they began the meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. Despite Blinken’s presence in the…

The ruins of an ancient Greek city in Asia Minor have become visible recently for the first time in three decades due to a drought that has caused the water of the Bayramiç Dam to recede. The ruins belong to Skepsis, an ancient city inhabited by the Greeks and Romans. Archaeologists believe it was first settled in the 6th century BC. Skepsis was one of many ancient Greek cities (Greek: poleis) in Asia Minor—or what is now modern-day Turkey. The archaeological site“The remains of the city that we know as the Ancient City of Skepsis in Bayramiç came to light…

Archaeologists have made an important discovery while exploring Salamis, a small island off the coast of Greece near Athens where a now-sunken city once stood. Scientists found a partially submerged building as well as a variety of marble treasures dating back to the 4th century B.C., the Greek Ministry of Culture announced while unveiling the striking new findings from an extensive underwater excavation project. A 12-person team of marine archaeologists discovered what is believed to be a massive public building that existed as part of the ancient city of Salamis, according to the culture ministry. Officials shared images on Facebook…