Author: Aslan Cem

Donald Trump on the sidelines in France where he attended the re-opening of a change of direction of U.S. involvement in helping NATO and Ukraine. This was also confirmed by the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaking at the OSCE conference in Malta. The Russian take the signaling of the European and U.S. as concerning. Trump is perceived as the rising star on the foreign affair domain as a tough negotiator. The toughness becomes evident with the former Lithuanian prime minister becoming the first dedicated defense commissioner this month, tasked with turbocharging Europe’s defense industry and the stuttering push to…

Türkiye’s top diplomat has expressed confidence that the United States will reassess its relationship with the YPG in northern Syria, suggesting that a second Trump administration might even contemplate withdrawing U.S. troops from the area. “My assessment is that they will review their ties with PKK/PYD. Because we tell them how serious we are on this issue at every opportunity. The Democrats have recently started to elaborate on this as they saw this was no longer sustainable,” Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Ankara bureau chiefs of various media outlets over the weekend. Recalling that the partnership between the U.S. and YPG had started as a…

Turkey is stepping up its efforts to mediate between Somalia and Ethiopia as tensions rise between the two Horn of Africa nations. This diplomatic initiative is part of Ankara’s broader strategy to solidify its growing influence in this strategically vital region. Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan described August’s second round of indirect talks in Ankara between his Ethiopian and Somali counterparts as constructive and positive. “We were able to focus on the details and technicalities of concrete steps that are important convergences on some major principles and specific modalities”, Fidan said. “This constitutes notable progress.” While there was no breakthrough,…

Labor introduced a bill on November 16, which cites Osborne, South Australia, as the first designated zone for the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines. The Australian Naval Nuclear Power Safety (Transitional Provisions) Bill 2023 allows for naval nuclear reactors at Port Adelaide under a new “Australian Naval Nuclear Power Safety Regulator”. That entity is to report directly to Minister for Defence Richard Marles. Nuclear submarines have never used this port. Alarmingly, Section 132 of the bill overrides the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998 and the military regulator is given powers over the civilian Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA). The Medical Association for Prevention…

As most people were equally poor, poverty was not a social, political, or economic issue in traditional societies. Scarcity of food, clothing, shelter, illiteracy, and ill health were common factors, and ordinary people had a hand-to-mouth life. Then, it was a way of life with cultural traditions and practices to ensure the community’s sustainability at a low standard of living. Then, it was a common phenomenon worldwide. However, the Industrial Revolution brought rapid economic growth in the Western economies and eradicated mass poverty. Due to science and technology advancements, food and other basic needs were available at affordable prices. People’s…

The “Species Count” event held Saturday in Kocaeli’s popular tourist spot, Ormanya, attracted nature enthusiasts keen on exploring the area’s diverse flora and fauna. Organized by the Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality, this citizen science event gathered participants to document various living organisms in the region using the “inaturalist” mobile phone application. Accompanied by experienced guides and instructors, the participants had the opportunity to observe and photograph plants, birds, insects, mammals and other creatures populating the local ecosystem. Equipped with binoculars, magnifying glasses, and the mobile app, nearly 100 nature enthusiasts made 494 observations, recording a total of 113 different species during…

Heavy fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants continued outside hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday, forcing thousands to flee while some chose to continue sheltering within. An Israeli military spokesperson told Xinhua that the intense battles against Hamas currently “include the area surrounding the Al Shifa Hospital but not the hospital itself.” World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday that the strikes “have exacerbated the already critical circumstances” and that “regrettably, the hospital is not functioning as a hospital anymore.” The Palestine Red Crescent Society…

Israel’s imports of goods decreased by 15.07 percent year-over-year in October, according to figures released by the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics on Monday. Israel’s total goods imports last month amounted to 6.99 billion U.S. dollars, down from the 8.23 billion dollars recorded in October of the previous year, according to the data. The Israeli imports were significantly affected by the ongoing conflict that broke out between the country and Hamas on Oct. 7, which had an overall impact on the Israeli economy. The Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry said the security situation caused a significant decrease in the…

The Israeli Basketball Super League, which was suspended on October 7 due to the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict, will resume on Saturday, November 25. The decision was announced Sunday by the Israeli Basketball Super League Administration (BSL), which stated that the games will be held in the teams’ home arenas unless this is impossible due to updated instructions from Israel’s Home Front Command. Due to the security situation, the BSL also decided that there would be no limit on the number of foreign player transfers throughout the season. Since the outbreak of the conflict, many foreign players have left…

Participants of the Joint Arab Islamic Extraordinary Summit hosted by Saudi Arabia on Saturday denounced Israel’s “war crimes” in the Gaza Strip and rejected Israel’s claim that its actions against Palestinians in the coastal enclave were self-defense. The final communique released after the one-day summit, which took place in the Saudi capital of Riyadh and gathered the leaders of a number of Islamic and Arab countries as well as international organizations to discuss the situation in Gaza, called for an end to the military operations and siege of Gaza to allow the entry of humanitarian aid. The communique also called…