Turkey Says Supports Political Solution that Protects Syria's Unity

 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan chairs a meeting of National Security Council at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkey on March 30, 2021. (AA)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan chairs a meeting of National Security Council at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkey on March 30, 2021. (AA)
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Turkey Says Supports Political Solution that Protects Syria's Unity

 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan chairs a meeting of National Security Council at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkey on March 30, 2021. (AA)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan chairs a meeting of National Security Council at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkey on March 30, 2021. (AA)

Turkey’s National Security Council has called on actors in Syria to halt actions that could worsen the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the country, stressing the importance of achieving permanent and sustainable peace that preserves Syria's political unity.

In a three-hour meeting chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in AnkaraTuesday, Turkish officials discussed foreign policy, terrorism and regional developments.

During the meeting, they affirmed that Ankara would support any initiative that bolsters peace and stability in Syria and the region.

This came as Turkish forces combed the Latakia-Aleppo international road in the countryside of Idlib province, for the second day in a row, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

On Tuesday, SOHR activists said Turkish forces were running a patrol on Latakia-Aleppo international highway “M4”, as the patrol set off from Tarnabeh village in the east of Idlib and headed to Jisr Al-Shughour in the western countryside of Idlib.

Meanwhile, in the western countryside of Raqqa, the Observatory said oil tankers were seen entering from areas controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to regime-held areas through the crossing of Al-Tabqa.

The crossing has been closed for ten days to the commercial and civil movements due to the Russian-Iranian differences.

The Observatory said hundreds of tanks used to enter daily, but now only dozens of tanks enter since its closure on March 22 due to the conflict between the Russian and Iranian factions.

Moreover, oil tanks from SDF-held areas in the eastern Euphrates continue to reach areas controlled by the “Euphrates Shield” operating room factions. The tanks wait in queue daily near Manbij to enter the areas held by faction in Jarabulus, northeast of Aleppo, according to the Observatory.



Talks Begin in Cairo on Advancing Gaza Ceasefire

A boy sits on an armchair amid the rubble of a building near the site of an Israeli airstrike in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, on June 7, 2026. (Photo by Bashar Taleb / AFP)
A boy sits on an armchair amid the rubble of a building near the site of an Israeli airstrike in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, on June 7, 2026. (Photo by Bashar Taleb / AFP)
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Talks Begin in Cairo on Advancing Gaza Ceasefire

A boy sits on an armchair amid the rubble of a building near the site of an Israeli airstrike in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, on June 7, 2026. (Photo by Bashar Taleb / AFP)
A boy sits on an armchair amid the rubble of a building near the site of an Israeli airstrike in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, on June 7, 2026. (Photo by Bashar Taleb / AFP)

Talks on advancing the fragile Gaza ceasefire have begun in Cairo between mediators and Palestinian factions, a Palestinian source familiar with the meeting told AFP.

The discussions, which started Sunday and are set to resume Monday, come as violence continues to plague the territory despite the truce in place since October.

The talks bring together mediators Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye, along with representatives of several Palestinian factions, as efforts continue to push forward negotiations on the second phase of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

According to the source, mediators were due to meet a Hamas delegation before midday on Monday, followed by a wider meeting including all participating factions.

Egypt's state-linked Al-Qahera News channel said Sunday's talks focused on "the proposed roadmap for completing the implementation of the agreement.”

"It was held in a positive atmosphere," the channel reported, adding that there was agreement on the need to continue implementing US President Donald Trump's plan.

The talks come amid rising regional tensions, after Israel and Iran traded fire on Monday, in a serious test of another fragile truce and a potential threat to hopes for a deal to end the wider Middle East war.

Despite the Gaza truce technically in effect since October, daily violence has rocked the territory, over half of which is under Israeli military control in defiance of the ceasefire's terms.

Israel has killed at least 936 people since the ceasefire began, according to Gaza's health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the UN.

Both Hamas and Israel accuse each other of violating the truce.

The first phase of the ceasefire involved the release of the last Israeli hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel.

A transition to the second phase, which was supposed to involve Hamas's disarmament and a gradual withdrawal of the Israeli military, has been stalled for months.

The question of Gaza's post-war governance also remains one of the main sticking points in negotiations on implementing the provisions of phase two.

Israel rejects any return of Hamas to power, but also rejects a direct takeover by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority at this stage.

Hamas, meanwhile, demands the establishment of a Palestinian administration before considering handing over part of its arsenal -- a key stipulation for the second phase, along with Israel's withdrawal.


Houthis Attack Israel, Declare Ban on Israeli Shipping in Red Sea

A Houthi soldier mans a machine gun mounted on a vehicle while on patrol in Sanaa, Yemen, 04 June 2026. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
A Houthi soldier mans a machine gun mounted on a vehicle while on patrol in Sanaa, Yemen, 04 June 2026. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
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Houthis Attack Israel, Declare Ban on Israeli Shipping in Red Sea

A Houthi soldier mans a machine gun mounted on a vehicle while on patrol in Sanaa, Yemen, 04 June 2026. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
A Houthi soldier mans a machine gun mounted on a vehicle while on patrol in Sanaa, Yemen, 04 June 2026. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB

Yemen's Houthi militias announced a missile attack on Israel on Monday and declared a ban on Israeli shipping in the Red Sea, raising the specter of a return to major disruption on the key route.

"We declare a complete and total ban on Israeli maritime navigation in the Red Sea," said a statement from the Houthis' armed forces, which also confirmed the first missile attack on Israel since early April.

The announcement was made after Israel and Iran traded fire on Monday.

The new attacks, including a strike on an Iranian petrochemical complex, came hours after US President Donald Trump called on Israel to refrain from retaliating against Tehran's missiles.


At Least 21 Iraqis Killed, 19 Wounded in Bus Crash and Fire Near Nassiriya

 Vehicles enter and exit an underpass road during rainfall in Baghdad on March 15, 2026. (AFP)
Vehicles enter and exit an underpass road during rainfall in Baghdad on March 15, 2026. (AFP)
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At Least 21 Iraqis Killed, 19 Wounded in Bus Crash and Fire Near Nassiriya

 Vehicles enter and exit an underpass road during rainfall in Baghdad on March 15, 2026. (AFP)
Vehicles enter and exit an underpass road during rainfall in Baghdad on March 15, 2026. (AFP)

At ‌least 21 Iraqis were killed and 19 others injured when a passenger bus crashed and caught fire near the southern city of Nassiriya on Sunday, police and health officials said.

The accident occurred after the driver lost control of ‌the bus on ‌a highway near ‌Nassiriya, ⁠causing the vehicle ⁠to overturn and burst into flames, the officials said.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi ordered an investigation into the causes of the crash and ⁠directed authorities to submit a ‌report ‌on the circumstances surrounding the accident, ‌his office said.

Police and medical ‌officials said 21 people were confirmed dead at the scene and in hospital, while 19 others ‌were wounded.

Most of the injured were in critical ⁠condition ⁠and suffering from severe burns, health officials said.

The cause of the crash was under investigation, police said.

Road accidents are common in Iraq, where speeding, poor road conditions and inadequate enforcement of traffic regulations contribute to a high number of fatalities each year.