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Turkish Company Applies to Explore for Oil in East Med

A Turkish Petroleum (TPAO) engineer poses on the helipad of Turkish drilling vessel Yavuz in the eastern Mediterranean Sea off Cyprus, August 6, 2019. (Reuters)
A Turkish Petroleum (TPAO) engineer poses on the helipad of Turkish drilling vessel Yavuz in the eastern Mediterranean Sea off Cyprus, August 6, 2019. (Reuters)
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Turkish Company Applies to Explore for Oil in East Med

A Turkish Petroleum (TPAO) engineer poses on the helipad of Turkish drilling vessel Yavuz in the eastern Mediterranean Sea off Cyprus, August 6, 2019. (Reuters)
A Turkish Petroleum (TPAO) engineer poses on the helipad of Turkish drilling vessel Yavuz in the eastern Mediterranean Sea off Cyprus, August 6, 2019. (Reuters)

Turkey's state-owned energy company TPAO has applied for a license to explore for crude oil in the eastern Mediterranean, the Turkish Energy Ministry said in a statement in the country's Official Gazette on Friday.

According to a Turkish map database, the three areas where TPAO plans to carry out the exploration are in Turkish territorial waters off the coast of Silifke in Mersin province.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last week Turkey would carry on exploring for oil and gas in the eastern Mediterranean in comments that may revive tensions with the European Union and Greece amid attempts to repair their frayed ties.

Turkey is at odds with EU members Greece and Cyprus over energy resources and jurisdiction in the region, and tensions flared last year when Turkish and Greek navy frigates escorted vessels exploring for hydrocarbons.

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World

Australia Pledges Cyclone Aid to Pacific Neighbors

Australian servicemen stand on HMAS Canberra, ahead of the Kakadu International Fleet Review, a biennial maritime exercise marking 125 years of the Australian Navy, in Sydney, Australia, March 21, 2026. REUTERS/Hollie Adams
Australian servicemen stand on HMAS Canberra, ahead of the Kakadu International Fleet Review, a biennial maritime exercise marking 125 years of the Australian Navy, in Sydney, Australia, March 21, 2026. REUTERS/Hollie Adams
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Australia Pledges Cyclone Aid to Pacific Neighbors

Australian servicemen stand on HMAS Canberra, ahead of the Kakadu International Fleet Review, a biennial maritime exercise marking 125 years of the Australian Navy, in Sydney, Australia, March 21, 2026. REUTERS/Hollie Adams
Australian servicemen stand on HMAS Canberra, ahead of the Kakadu International Fleet Review, a biennial maritime exercise marking 125 years of the Australian Navy, in Sydney, Australia, March 21, 2026. REUTERS/Hollie Adams

Australia pledged Au$2.5 million ($1.7 million) in aid to Pacific neighbors Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands Sunday, after tropical cyclone Maila caused devastating floods and landslides that killed 11.

In Bougainville, an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea that is seeking independence, school was cancelled this week after the cyclone destroyed critical infrastructure including roads and bridges and severely disrupted food supply chains, the region's government said in a statement Saturday.

Eleven people were killed in the region, including eight in a landslide.

Access to Panguna, home to a gold and copper mine that was once among the world's largest, had been cut.

The Bougainville autonomous region president, Ishmael Toroama, urged the population to "not lose hope" in a statement Friday.

The weather system began to weaken Saturday and has since been downgraded to a tropical low.

Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong pledged Au$1 million for Papua New Guinea to respond to the cyclone's impact in Bougainville and Milne Bay.

Another Au$1.5 million will be provided to Solomon Islands, where severe impacts have been felt in remote communities across Western and Choiseul provinces.

World

Russia, Ukraine Trade Accusations on Easter Truce Violations

People cry as they hold hold photos of their missed relatives as Ukrainian soldiers return from captivity during a POW exchange between Russia and Ukraine in Chernyhiv region, Ukraine, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
People cry as they hold hold photos of their missed relatives as Ukrainian soldiers return from captivity during a POW exchange between Russia and Ukraine in Chernyhiv region, Ukraine, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
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Russia, Ukraine Trade Accusations on Easter Truce Violations

People cry as they hold hold photos of their missed relatives as Ukrainian soldiers return from captivity during a POW exchange between Russia and Ukraine in Chernyhiv region, Ukraine, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
People cry as they hold hold photos of their missed relatives as Ukrainian soldiers return from captivity during a POW exchange between Russia and Ukraine in Chernyhiv region, Ukraine, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday that Ukrainian troops are violating the Easter ⁠truce while Russian ⁠forces are observing the ⁠declared ceasefire.

Civilians, including a child, were injured in a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Kursk region, ⁠the ⁠Ministry was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

Moscow accused Ukraine of 1,971 violations, while the Ukrainian army said that Russia has violated the truce in place for Orthodox Easter nearly 2,300 times since it came into effect.

"As of 7:00 a.m. on 12 April, 2,299 ceasefire violations were recorded. Specifically: 28 enemy assault actions, 479 enemy shellings, 747 strikes by attack drones... and 1,045 strikes by FPV drones," the Ukrainian military's general staff said in a post on Facebook.

"There were no missile strikes, guided aerial bomb strikes, or Shahed-type UAV strikes," it added.

World

At Least 30 Dead in Stampede at Haiti’s Historic Laferriere Citadel

A refugee woman rests at a school in Marchand Dessalines, Haiti, 04 April 2026 (issued 11 April 2026). EPA/Lebon Elysee
A refugee woman rests at a school in Marchand Dessalines, Haiti, 04 April 2026 (issued 11 April 2026). EPA/Lebon Elysee
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At Least 30 Dead in Stampede at Haiti’s Historic Laferriere Citadel

A refugee woman rests at a school in Marchand Dessalines, Haiti, 04 April 2026 (issued 11 April 2026). EPA/Lebon Elysee
A refugee woman rests at a school in Marchand Dessalines, Haiti, 04 April 2026 (issued 11 April 2026). EPA/Lebon Elysee

At least 30 people were killed on Saturday in a stampede in the northern countryside of Haiti, authorities said, warning that the death toll could rise.

Jean Henri Petit, head of Civil Protection for Haiti's Nord Department, said the stampede occurred at the Laferriere Citadel, an early-19th-century fortress built shortly after Haiti's independence from France, Reuters reported.

One of Haiti's most popular tourist attractions, the fortress was packed with students and visitors ⁠on Saturday who had ⁠come to participate in the annual celebration of the UNESCO World Heritage site, Petit added.

Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé said in a statement that he "extends his sincere condolences to the bereaved families and assures them of his profound ⁠solidarity during this time of mourning and great suffering."

He added that "many young people" were in attendance at the Citadel's celebrations, although it is unknown who died and the prime minister's statement did not give an estimate of the death toll.

Petit said the stampede occurred at the entrance to the site, adding that the rain further exacerbated the disaster.

The deadly stampede comes as Haiti is grappling ⁠with widespread ⁠violence by gangs that have massacred civilians, as well as an increasingly deadly crackdown by security forces.

The island nation has also been the site of various disasters in recent years, including a 2024 fuel tank explosion that killed two dozen people, another fuel tank blast in 2021 that killed 90 people and an earthquake that left some 2,000 people dead that same year.