Author: Aslan Cem

A senior UN official on Friday called on Lebanon and Israel to strictly adhere to international humanitarian law and refrain from killing civilians throughout their military operations on the Lebanese southern border. “Civilians — including humanitarian and medical workers — must be protected wherever they are. Civilian objects — including homes, farms, and hospitals — must be protected,” UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon Imran Riza said in a statement. “We have recently witnessed alarming attacks killing and injuring civilians in South Lebanon, including women, children, and media personnel. Significant damage has also been inflicted upon private property, public infrastructure, and…

Israel vowed on Thursday that its forces would keep intensifying the fighting in the heart of Gaza City in the next few days, despite the implementation of a four-hour daily humanitarian pause. Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Herzi Halevi toured the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday with Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet internal security agency. They were shown in videos released by the military sitting inside a moving tank and later talking with commanders in a dimly lit room. Halevi asked the commanders to “advance with strength, in a systematic manner, and…

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Thursday that Israel’s ongoing strikes on the Gaza Strip had gone beyond the legitimate right to self-defense, labeling such attacks as serious “violations of international humanitarian law.” Shoukry made the remarks during an international conference in Paris on the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Gaza, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The Egyptian top diplomat reiterated Egypt’s call for “an immediate and sustainable cease-fire.” “We denounce all practices that aim to impose a new fait accompli to forcibly displace, transfer, and deport Palestinians from their land, as the number of displaced people…

The Indian government is planning to continue its free food grains program for five years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Saturday, as it seeks to shield consumers from growing prices of cereals ahead of a general election early next year. The extension will offer relief to consumers, but it will also lead to higher government spending and require New Delhi to procure more wheat and rice from farmers to sustain the welfare program, which provides free grains to more than 800 million people. Modi confirmed the move at an election rally in Durg, a city in the central state…

Air traffic at Hamburg airport remained suspended Sunday over a suspected hostage situation on the tarmac involving a child, local authorities said. A gunman rammed his car through the security area onto the apron where planes are parked on Saturday evening, firing two shots in the air and flinging two burning bottles out of the vehicle, police said. On Sunday morning the airport management posted on X, formerly Twitter, that efforts to negotiate with the driver of the vehicle were still ongoing. “The police operation continues, air traffic remains suspended until further notice,” posted the management of the northern German…

far-right Israeli minister suggested Sunday that dropping a “nuclear bomb” on the Gaza strip was an “option,” before being reprimanded by the government for the comment. Israeli Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu, from the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, said that “one of Israel’s options in the war in Gaza is to drop a nuclear bomb on the Strip,” daily Times of Israel reported. Speaking a radio interview, Eliyahu also “voices his objection to allowing any humanitarian aid into Gaza.” “We wouldn’t hand the Nazis humanitarian aid,” the minister said, adding that “there is no such thing as uninvolved civilians in Gaza.”…

The Protocol on Sweden’s NATO Accession was submitted to the Turkish Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday. A bill proposing the approval of the Protocol on Sweden’s accession to NATO was signed by the Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, and referred to the committee. “In order to advance the process, we requested concrete steps from Finland and Sweden to address our (Türkiye’s) legitimate security concerns, including the removal of sanctions and restrictions they have imposed on counterterrorism and defense industry exports,” Kurtulmuş said in a statement. On Monday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan submitted the bill to Parliament. Finland and Sweden applied…

Belgian police early Tuesday hunted for a gunman with suspected extremist motives who killed two Swedes with stunning viciousness before disappearing into the night. He created such fear that authorities shut down a Belgium-Sweden soccer match and held 35,000 fans inside for several hours as a precaution. Eric Van Duyse, spokesman for the federal prosecutor’s office, said the investigation was centering on “a possible terrorist motivation for the shooting” after “a claim of responsibility was posted on social media.” “This person claims to be inspired by Islamic State,” Van Duyse said. “The Swedish nationality of the victims was put forward as the…

U.S. pharmacy chain Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy on Oct. 15, the company said, after suffering declining sales and legal threats over its alleged involvement in the opioid crisis. Rite Aid has one of the largest pharmacy networks in the United States, with 2,100 outlets selling medicines and health products as well as food and hygiene items. The Philadelphia-based group said it had already reached agreements with several major creditors to restructure its debt, according to a press release. It also said it had received commitments for $3.45 billion in new financing, which should enable it to continue operating. Investors have expected the bankruptcy filing for…

The automotive sector will exceed the “1 million” threshold in all three production, export and sales figures in 2023, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Türkiye. According to the latest data shared by Cengiz Eroldu, president of the Automotive Industry Association (OSD), the total automotive production will reach 1.5 million units and exports will reach 1 million units by the end of the year. Sales will exceed 1.15 million units. With these results, the automotive market will break the historical record by exceeding the 1 million mark for the first time in history. Production and exports will catch up…