US envoy Thomas Barrack visited Syria. This marks the first official visit by a high-ranking US official since 2012. Barrack, also the US ambassador to Turkiye, met with the Syrian foreign minister. The US flag was hoisted at the envoy's residence in Damascus. This follows a meeting between US President Trump and Syrian leader Ahmad al-Sharaa in Riyadh.
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Turkish authorities have intensified their crackdown on the Istanbul municipality, detaining 30 individuals, including a former MP and three district mayors. These detentions are linked to corruption investigations, marking the fifth wave of legal action against the opposition-run administration since Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu's arrest. The opposition views these actions as politically motivated, while the government maintains the judiciary's independence.
A second group of white South Africans has arrived in the United States under a controversial refugee program initiated by the Trump administration. This program, fast-tracked after the suspension of other refugee initiatives, aims to resettle white South Africans alleging persecution, a claim the South African government denies. The US Embassy is reviewing applications from those interested in resettlement, with thousands having already applied.
The Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal from Apaches seeking to block a copper mine project on sacred land in Arizona. This decision upholds lower court rulings that permit the land transfer to the Resolution Copper, despite claims that it violates religious rights and destroys a spiritually significant site.
The US Coast Guard intercepted an overcrowded 25-foot sailboat carrying 16 Mexican nationals off the coast of California near San Diego. The vessel was spotted by a Coast Guard aircraft, and a cutter was dispatched to take the migrants into custody. This interception is part of increased efforts to stop migrant vessels.
Britain is set to significantly bolster its defense capabilities in response to escalating global threats, particularly from Russia. The Labour government plans to construct 12 new attack submarines and increase defense spending to 3% of GDP by 2029. This strategic shift includes investing in munitions factories, long-range weapons, and a cyber command to address modern warfare challenges and growing international tensions.
Israel will not cooperate with a planned visit by Arab foreign ministers to the occupied West Bank, an Israeli official announced, after a Saudi source said the kingdom's top diplomat was heading to Ramallah.that Prince Faisal bin Farhan would become the first Saudi foreign minister to visit the West Bank on Sunday.
The US Supreme Court has allowed the Trump administration to proceed with ending temporary legal protections for over 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, potentially impacting nearly a million migrants. This decision lifts a lower-court order blocking the termination of the humanitarian parole program.
A significant earthquake, measuring 6.1 in magnitude, rattled the eastern coast of Hokkaido, Japan, on Saturday evening. The Japan Meteorological Agency reported the quake struck at a depth of 20 kilometers near Kushiro.
Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, an Indian national, received a 10-year prison sentence from a US court for his involvement in a human smuggling operation. His actions led to the tragic deaths of a family of four from Dingucha, Gujarat, who froze to death attempting to cross the US-Canada border in 2022.
The race to become Africa's next "super banker" ends on Thursday, with five candidates, including one woman, vying to succeed Nigeria's Akinwumi Adesina as head of the African Development Bank in a contest that appears too close to call. In 2015 it took six rounds of voting to elect Adesina as president of the AfDB, which was founded in 1964 and now has 81 members, including 54 African nations.