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AK Party Says Turkey, Israel Want to Improve Strained Relations after Presidents’ Call

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan leaves his seat to address members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey, January 15, 2019. (Reuters/Umit Bektas)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan leaves his seat to address members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey, January 15, 2019. (Reuters/Umit Bektas)
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AK Party Says Turkey, Israel Want to Improve Strained Relations after Presidents’ Call

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan leaves his seat to address members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey, January 15, 2019. (Reuters/Umit Bektas)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan leaves his seat to address members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey, January 15, 2019. (Reuters/Umit Bektas)

Turkey and Israel have agreed to work toward improving their strained relations after a rare phone call between their presidents, a spokesman for Turkey’s ruling AK Party said on Wednesday.

The two countries expelled ambassadors in 2018 after a bitter falling-out. Ankara has condemned Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and its treatment of Palestinians, while Israel has called on Turkey to drop support for the militant Palestinian group Hamas which rules Gaza.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Israel’s new president, Isaac Herzog, on Monday to congratulate him on taking office, according to Reuters.

Israel’s presidency is a largely ceremonial office.

“A framework emerged after this call under which advances should be made on several issues where improvements can be made, and where steps towards solving problematic areas should be taken,” spokesman Omer Celik said after an AK Party meeting.

Celik singled out the Palestinians as one of many issues Turkey wants to discuss with Israel, adding that areas such as tourism and trade should be a “win-win” for both nations. Bilateral trade has remained strong amid the political disputes.

During the call, which came a day after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visited Ankara, Erdogan told Herzog he valued maintaining dialogue and said Turkish-Israeli relations were key for regional stability.

Erdogan also reiterated his support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, adding “positive steps” would also help Turkey’s ties with Israel, his office said.

In May, Erdogan called Israel a “terror state” after Israeli police shot rubber bullets and stun grenades toward Palestinian youths at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque.

Israel accuses Turkey of aiding members of Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by Israel and its Western allies.

Turkey has also recently been trying to repair its frayed ties with Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Monday’s call came a month after Naftali Bennett became Israeli prime minister, replacing Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom Erdogan had frequently traded barbs.

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World

Researchers: Over 2,700 May Have Died Due to England Heatwaves

People sit in the shadow of a tree to protect from the sun by the Daumesnil Lake during a heatwave at the Bois de Vincennes park in Paris on July 11, 2026. (Photo by Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)
People sit in the shadow of a tree to protect from the sun by the Daumesnil Lake during a heatwave at the Bois de Vincennes park in Paris on July 11, 2026. (Photo by Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)
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Researchers: Over 2,700 May Have Died Due to England Heatwaves

People sit in the shadow of a tree to protect from the sun by the Daumesnil Lake during a heatwave at the Bois de Vincennes park in Paris on July 11, 2026. (Photo by Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)
People sit in the shadow of a tree to protect from the sun by the Daumesnil Lake during a heatwave at the Bois de Vincennes park in Paris on July 11, 2026. (Photo by Behrouz MEHRI / AFP)

At least 2,700 people could have died in England and Wales as a result of heatwaves that struck in May and June, according to a study released Monday.

Experts from Imperial College London, the Met Office and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine used weather data, climate models and studies on excess mortality during heatwaves to arrive at their estimate.

"More than 2,700 people are thought to have died from heat-related causes during the May and June heatwaves in England and Wales," AFP quoted a statement as saying.

"Of those, it's estimated that 42% died as a result of the extra heat caused by human-induced warming," it added.

The UK and most of Europe experienced two unprecedented heatwaves in May and June, with monthly records set at 35.1°C and 37.7°C, respectively, in England.

"They were extreme heatwaves for the UK, and for all parts of western Europe, and they're particularly exceptional for the timing and how early in the year they occurred," Mark McCarthy, science manager of the Met's climate attribution team, was quoted as saying in the study.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) will publish its official estimate of heat-related deaths in the coming weeks, based on death records from recent heatwaves.

The study's models "while they are not a measure of observed mortality, they help illustrate the scale of risk associated with extreme heat and the growing threat climate change poses to our wellbeing," said Lea Berrang Ford, head of UKHSA's Centre for Climate and Health Security.

The study estimates that around 550 people died as a result of the heat between May 21 and 29, and nearly 2,200 died between June 18 and 28 in England and Wales.

The authors emphasize the role of climate change, which is making heatwaves more intense and frequent.

They estimate that maximum daytime temperatures were 3°C to 4°C higher than they would have been without global warming.

The Climate Change Committee (CCC), the body responsible for advising the government on climate change, warned last year the UK was "not ready" to deal with the consequences of climate change.

In a report published in May, it estimated 92 percent of British homes could be too hot by 2050, and recommended the government set maximum temperature limits in the workplace, as well as investing in air conditioning for public buildings such as hospitals and schools.

World

EU Countries Weigh Trade Ban on Israeli Settlements

TOPSHOT - Journalists, protesters and local Palestinian landowners, who say some of their land was taken for the newly built Mount Tarousa settlement (background), run from tear gas fired by Israeli security forces blocking a road leading to the hilltop during a rally against the settlement near Dura in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on June 19, 2026. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP)
TOPSHOT - Journalists, protesters and local Palestinian landowners, who say some of their land was taken for the newly built Mount Tarousa settlement (background), run from tear gas fired by Israeli security forces blocking a road leading to the hilltop during a rally against the settlement near Dura in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on June 19, 2026. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP)
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EU Countries Weigh Trade Ban on Israeli Settlements

TOPSHOT - Journalists, protesters and local Palestinian landowners, who say some of their land was taken for the newly built Mount Tarousa settlement (background), run from tear gas fired by Israeli security forces blocking a road leading to the hilltop during a rally against the settlement near Dura in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on June 19, 2026. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP)
TOPSHOT - Journalists, protesters and local Palestinian landowners, who say some of their land was taken for the newly built Mount Tarousa settlement (background), run from tear gas fired by Israeli security forces blocking a road leading to the hilltop during a rally against the settlement near Dura in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on June 19, 2026. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP)

EU foreign ministers on Monday discussed imposing an import ban on products from Israeli settlements, after pressure from a raft of member states.

"Everybody agrees that the situation in the West Bank is really intolerable," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said at the start of a meeting in Brussels, AFP reported.

"What is happening in the West Bank is actually making it more and more impossible that the two-state solution ever can come into effect."

Several EU countries -- including Ireland, the Netherlands, and Spain -- have already imposed their own trade restrictions on Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, considered illegal under international law.

Under pressure for the EU as a whole to take measures, the bloc's executive last week laid out options to curb trade with settlements, including a ban.

"There have been a lot of asks and requests from the member states regarding the ban of the trade with illegal settlements," Kallas said.

"Let's see if these options that have been provided now will have a stronger push from member states."

Diplomats said the debate at a meeting in Brussels on Monday was not expected to yield any concrete decisions, but would help to sound out if there is enough support to move forward.

The slow pace of the discussion has angered countries keen to curb trade -- with some diplomats accusing the European Commission of dragging its feet.

Belgium's foreign minister Maxime Prevot said the options laid out appeared to be more "a bone to gnaw on than a genuine desire to move forward."

"We are calling for concrete proposals," he said.

There is disagreement in Brussels as to whether that move would need backing from all 27 member states or just a weighted majority.

Diplomats say that key players Germany and Italy are still undecided on the move.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the territory, excluding east Jerusalem, among some three million Palestinians.

The UN chief Antonio Guterres has condemned the "relentless" expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, saying in a report seen by AFP last month that they are contributing to the territory's worst displacement crisis since 1967.

The EU has long been hampered by divisions over its approach towards Israel, with some members staunchly backing the country and others supporting the Palestinians.

World

Garbage Heap Collapse Kills 9 at India Waste Plant

This photograph taken on July 8, 2026 shows a pedestrian (C) walking amidst vehicles along a bridge in New Delhi. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP)
This photograph taken on July 8, 2026 shows a pedestrian (C) walking amidst vehicles along a bridge in New Delhi. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP)
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Garbage Heap Collapse Kills 9 at India Waste Plant

This photograph taken on July 8, 2026 shows a pedestrian (C) walking amidst vehicles along a bridge in New Delhi. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP)
This photograph taken on July 8, 2026 shows a pedestrian (C) walking amidst vehicles along a bridge in New Delhi. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP)

Nine workers were killed at a waste-to-energy plant in western India after a garbage heap collapsed onto an administrative building following heavy rains, the facility's operator said Monday.

Building and construction accidents are common during India's June-to-September monsoon season, with old and rickety structures buckling after prolonged downpours.

The accident occurred last Wednesday at the Antony Waste plant on the outskirts of Pune, when thousands of tons of waste from a nearby landfill gave way, trapping 23 people inside the building.

"The incident, triggered by incessant rains causing thousands of tons of waste from an adjacent landfill to destabilize, severely damaged the structure where 23 personnel were present," AFP quoted the company as saying in a statement.

Nine were killed and the other 14 were rescued alive.

Rescue efforts were hampered by the rain as workers struggled to reach those buried under debris, according to plant officials.

Operations at the plant have been temporarily suspended pending structural and safety assessments.

Scientists say climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events in India, the world's most populous country.

The arrival of a potentially powerful El Nino weather system this year could also shift normal weather patterns in the country, weather forecasters say.