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Sochi Summit Supports 'Syrian dialogue' Over New Constitution, Elections

Presidents Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, Vladimir Putin of Russia and Hassan Rouhani of Iran meet in Sochi, Russia, November 22, 2017. Kayhan Ozer/Turkish Presidential Palace/Handout via REUTERS
Presidents Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, Vladimir Putin of Russia and Hassan Rouhani of Iran meet in Sochi, Russia, November 22, 2017. Kayhan Ozer/Turkish Presidential Palace/Handout via REUTERS
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Sochi Summit Supports 'Syrian dialogue' Over New Constitution, Elections

Presidents Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, Vladimir Putin of Russia and Hassan Rouhani of Iran meet in Sochi, Russia, November 22, 2017. Kayhan Ozer/Turkish Presidential Palace/Handout via REUTERS
Presidents Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, Vladimir Putin of Russia and Hassan Rouhani of Iran meet in Sochi, Russia, November 22, 2017. Kayhan Ozer/Turkish Presidential Palace/Handout via REUTERS

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced consensus of the guarantor states over the most important steps in the Syrian file, in remarks following the tripartite summit held on Wednesday in the city of Sochi, with his Turkish and Iranian counterparts; Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hassan Rouhani respectively.

In their statements, the three presidents pointed out that military operations against terrorism in Syria had practically ended and that the degree of violence in the country had been greatly reduced, thanks to their efforts in sponsoring the Astana process and the establishment of de-escalation zones, which they said had contributed to preserving Syrian unity and sovereignty.

The leaders emphasized the need to cooperate on the Russian initiative to hold a comprehensive national dialogue conference in Sochi.

They also outlined the next stage in the areas of reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Syrian economy and the provision of humanitarian assistance to the people.

Speaking at a joint press conference, Putin said that participants in the summit have emphasized the success of operations against terrorism in Syria, which “marks the beginning of a new stage that paves the way for comprehensive settlement and the political reconstruction of Syria in the post-crisis period.”

The Russian president stressed that the three countries assigned their ministries of foreign affairs, defense ministries and security institutions “to work to determine the structure and date of the [Syrian national] conference”, to be held in Sochi, with the participation of all forces, political parties, internal opposition and the ethnic and religious components of the Syrian society.

He added that the conference would allow “Syrians to discuss the main issues on the national agenda, primarily the future structure of the state and the adoption of a new constitution based on internationally-sponsored elections.”

Putin also said he briefed his Turkish and Iranian counterparts on the results of his talks with the head of the Syrian regime Bashar al-Assad in Sochi.

The Iranian president said the aim of the tripartite summit in Sochi was to discuss peace in Syria and create conditions for the return of refugees.

Erdogan, for his part, said participants in the summit have agreed on the need to provide assistance to launch a broad, fair and free political process, led by the Syrians, in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions.

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World

Britain Likely to Expel Israeli Diplomats if Jerusalem Consulate Closes

A view of the British Consulate in East Jerusalem, September 9, 2026. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
A view of the British Consulate in East Jerusalem, September 9, 2026. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
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Britain Likely to Expel Israeli Diplomats if Jerusalem Consulate Closes

A view of the British Consulate in East Jerusalem, September 9, 2026. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
A view of the British Consulate in East Jerusalem, September 9, 2026. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

Britain is likely to expel Israeli diplomats if Israel carries out its order to shut the British consulate in East Jerusalem this week in a dispute over sanctions targeting Israeli settlements, four sources said.

Israel on September 8 ordered Britain to close the East Jerusalem consulate within 30 days and remove its diplomats from the city, after Britain said it would impose a ban on trade of goods made in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The 30-day deadline for Britain to close the consulate ends on Thursday, which will impact around 30 British diplomats who work there, along with their ‌family members, the ‌sources said.

If the consulate is closed, Britain is likely to respond ‌by expelling ⁠a similar number ⁠of Israeli diplomats from Israel's embassy to the United Kingdom, the sources said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

The sources did not say how quickly Britain would act if the consulate closes. After Britain announced the sanctions, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused London of interfering in this month's Israeli general election.

The British foreign office did not respond to a request for comment. The Israeli foreign ministry declined to comment. An Israeli official said any action against Israel would be met with a response.

The British sanctions announcement, and ⁠Israel's response, marked a new low in the relationship between the once ‌steadfast allies. Britain has repeatedly criticized Israel over its actions in ‌the war in Gaza and over Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians. Israel's government has accused Britain's governing Labor party ‌of being hostile towards Israel.

The British consulate, in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem, ‌handles the country's relations with Palestinians in the city as well as in the West Bank and Gaza. It also provides consular services to Palestinians.

The consulate has been in Jerusalem for almost 200 years, long before the State of Israel was established in 1948.

Reuters reported on Monday that Britain's top national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, had ‌quietly visited Israel last week in a bid to keep the consulate open but failed to reach an agreement. A fifth source said Britain ⁠was still hopeful an ⁠agreement could be reached.

Two other sources said that Britain has asked European countries to raise the issue with Israel in hope of convincing the government to reverse its decision.

A spokesperson for Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar told Reuters on Monday the consulate would close on Thursday.

In announcing the sanctions, Britain said that Israel's actions were undermining the possibility of a two-state solution — the idea of a Palestinian state co-existing peacefully alongside Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government openly rejects the idea of Palestinian statehood.

Britain, which recognized the State of Palestine last year, cited Israeli government-backed projects to expand settlements and rising settler attacks targeting Palestinians in the West Bank. The British sanctions are to take effect next year.

France and Canada joined in announcing sanctions. Israel has not taken action against Paris or Ottawa.

The incident highlighted growing frustration among Israel's longtime allies over its settlements in the occupied West Bank, territory Israel captured in a 1967 war. Nearly all countries and all UN bodies view the settlements as illegal under international law, which Israel disputes.

World

WHO: No Signs of Further Russian Infections after Plague Lab Worker Dies

A woman leaves the grounds of the headquarters of Russia's consumer and health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor in Moscow on October 5, 2026. (Photo by Igor IVANKO / AFP)
A woman leaves the grounds of the headquarters of Russia's consumer and health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor in Moscow on October 5, 2026. (Photo by Igor IVANKO / AFP)
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WHO: No Signs of Further Russian Infections after Plague Lab Worker Dies

A woman leaves the grounds of the headquarters of Russia's consumer and health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor in Moscow on October 5, 2026. (Photo by Igor IVANKO / AFP)
A woman leaves the grounds of the headquarters of Russia's consumer and health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor in Moscow on October 5, 2026. (Photo by Igor IVANKO / AFP)

The World Health Organization said on Tuesday that Russian authorities have identified all of the people in contact with a laboratory worker at a ⁠plague research institute in ⁠Siberia who died of unknown causes.

"All of the patients' contacts ⁠have been reportedly identified and are being monitored for illness, and none to date have shown symptoms of illness," said WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier.

He said ⁠Russian ⁠authorities, who have yet to officially respond to a WHO request for information, are investigating whether pneumonic plague caused her death in Siberia's Irkutsk region.

He deemed the public health risk in Russia to be low.

"The WHO initial risk assessment from the information available estimates the risk to be moderate to low for Irkutsk, a low risk for the Russian Federation as a whole, and very low for the WHO European region," Lindmeier told a press briefing.

Russia's consumer and health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor insisted Tuesday that a document circulating online indicating heightened sanitary-epidemiological measures and restrictions in the Irkutsk region was fake.

"We wish to clarify that the document and information in question do not originate from official sources and are untrue," it said on Telegram.

"No such decisions have been made at this time," it said, stressing that "the sanitary-epidemiological situation in the Irkutsk Region ... remains stable.”

World

Tens of Thousands Expected in Paris for High School Protests

The unrest has erupted with just months to go before the 2027 election to choose a successor to centrist President Emmanuel Macron. Jean-Christophe VERHAEGEN / AFP
The unrest has erupted with just months to go before the 2027 election to choose a successor to centrist President Emmanuel Macron. Jean-Christophe VERHAEGEN / AFP
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Tens of Thousands Expected in Paris for High School Protests

The unrest has erupted with just months to go before the 2027 election to choose a successor to centrist President Emmanuel Macron. Jean-Christophe VERHAEGEN / AFP
The unrest has erupted with just months to go before the 2027 election to choose a successor to centrist President Emmanuel Macron. Jean-Christophe VERHAEGEN / AFP

Tens of thousands of demonstrators are expected on the streets of Paris on Tuesday as France's powerful trade unions join high school students rallying for better conditions in a wave of protests marked by clashes with police.

Students have blocked the entrances to hundreds of high schools for 15 to 17-year-olds since late September, complaining of missing teachers, overloaded timetables, dilapidated classrooms and buildings that cannot cope with rising temperatures.

While many protests have been peaceful, some demonstrators have lit dustbin fires, destroyed bus shelters or clashed with riot police, who have responded with batons, tear gas and riot-control rounds, AFP said.

The government says 215 students and 715 police officers have been injured since the start of the movement, with a 15-year-old losing a hand on Monday after, according to a police union source, he picked up a sting-ball grenade fired by riot officers.

The unrest has erupted with just months to go before the 2027 election to choose a successor to centrist President Emmanuel Macron after his maximum two terms in office.

More protests are expected across the country on Tuesday after teaching was disrupted at 589 of the country's 3,700 lycees and 32 universities, according to the education ministry and a student union.

Authorities are expecting some 20,000 to 40,000 demonstrators in Paris.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu's office has called for "peaceful" gatherings, calling for a return to "a structured, legal and democratic form of opposition".

The head of the CGT labor union Sophie Binet has said its members would be there to "protect high-school students".

- 'Disproportionate police repression' -

Several unions and rights groups have accused the police of using disproportionate force against the protesters.

Amnesty International late Monday said the French authorities should "put an end to the disproportionate police repression seen in recent days during student protests".

"The images and testimonies widely circulated over the past week raise alarming concerns about the dangerous use of tear gas, batons and policing techniques by the police," Amnesty's Anne Savinel-Barras said.

The police have launched 10 internal investigations into allegations of brutality since the protests started, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said late Monday.

The government has sought to address the grievances, while accusing the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party of being behind the movement.

Veteran LFI presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon has strongly supported the protests, while calling for non-violent methods.

Since the start of the movement, 24 schools have been burned or ransacked, according to the education ministry.

More than 5,000 people, 87 percent of them minors, have been arrested.

Lecornu's office said 85 teaching staff have also been injured.

The prime minister has sought to address the issue of missing teachers and renovating buildings that are dilapidated.

The government is also pushing legislation to make those responsible for damaging public property pay for repairs themselves, instead of using public funds.

Lecornu has said the draft law could allow compensation payments to be recovered from family allowances and housing benefits while ensuring a minimum income.

Union leader Binet has said it would "end up targeting the most vulnerable families".