(Al Jazeera Media Network) When Abdullah Ocalan said his Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, should lay down its arms and disband after more than four decades of conflict with the Turkish state and tens of thousands of deaths, there was an instant look across the border to Syria.
Syria’s northeast is largely controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led military force Turkiye has repeatedly fought against over the past decade.
The SDF is led by...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) On Monday, the United States and China reached an agreement to slash sky-high tariffs for 90 days. Though both sides claimed they could withstand a long trade war, they reached a truce quicker than many analysts expected.
The breakthrough marked a dramatic ratcheting down of trade tensions following the tariff war launched by US President Donald Trump during his “liberation day” announcement on April 2.
Trump initially unveiled so-called reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries before...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) Iraq has released more than 19,000 prisoners under a sweeping amnesty law designed to relieve pressure on its overcrowded prison system, including inmates convicted of being members of ISIL (ISIS).
The move offers legal reprieve to some individuals convicted on terrorism-related charges, judicial authorities said on Tuesday.
The law has halted all executions, including for former ISIL members. The group once controlled nearly a third of Iraq’s territory after sweeping across the...
(BBC News) President Donald Trump has said the US has "no stronger partner" than Saudi Arabia during his first major foreign trip in his second presidency – a whirlwind visit of Gulf countries mainly focused on shoring up investment.
Speaking in Riyadh, the US president also pledged to lift all sanctions against Syria, saying it was now time for the country to move forward with "a chance at greatness."
Day 1 of the tour saw the...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he hopes for a ceasefire with Russia starting on Monday and says “I will be waiting for Putin” in Turkiye personally, referring to the Russian president’s offer for direct peace talks in Istanbul.
Earlier on Sunday, Zelenskyy insisted there must be a full, temporary ceasefire in place before the negotiations proposed by Putin could start.
Zelenskyy, writing on X on Sunday, said it was a “positive sign...
(BBC News) The new Pope, Leo XIV, has called in his first mass at the Vatican for the Catholic Church to "desperately" counter a lack of faith.
Speaking the day after he was elected as the 267th Pope and first US leader of the church, he warned that people were turning away from faith and instead to "technology, money, success, power, or pleasure."
Leo said he had been elected to be a "faithful administrator" of a church...
(BBC News) Donald Trump removes the 25% tariff on UK steel and aluminium, and immediately cuts the rate on most car exports from 27.5% to 10%
The lower car rate applies to the first 100,000 vehicles exported from the UK to the US each year - 101,000 were exported last year
In return, the UK government says it's removing the tariff on ethanol for US goods, and agrees "reciprocal market access on beef"
UK PM Keir Starmer called...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) Pakistan’s military says it has downed 25 Indian drones over its territory, while India says it thwarted a Pakistani drone and missile attack on its military.
Heavy exchanges of artillery fire have been reported along the Line of Control dividing India and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
India says at least 13 people have been killed and more wounded in Indian-administered Kashmir due to Pakistani fire.
India says “Operation Sindoor” targeted “terrorist” infrastructure; Pakistan says missiles hit mosques and killed civilians in a blatant “act of war”.
Tensions have...
(BBC News) India says it has launched missile strikes on nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Pakistan says three locations were attacked and claims to have shot down five Indian fighter jets. India has not confirmed this.
India's army said at least seven civilians were killed by Pakistani shelling on its side of the de facto border. Pakistan, meanwhile, said that 26 people have been killed and 46 injured in Indian air strikes...
(BBC News) Israel's security cabinet has approved a plan to expand its military offensive against Hamas which includes the "capture" of Gaza and the holding of its territory, according to an Israeli official.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the cabinet had decided on a "forceful operation" to destroy Hamas and rescue its remaining hostages, and that Gaza's 2.1 million population "will be moved, to protect it".
He did not say how much territory would be seized...
