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Turkish Police Detain 10 Accused of ISIS Links, Minister Says

Turkish police detained 10 people believed to be linked to ISIS. (Getty Images/AFP)
Turkish police detained 10 people believed to be linked to ISIS. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Turkish Police Detain 10 Accused of ISIS Links, Minister Says

Turkish police detained 10 people believed to be linked to ISIS. (Getty Images/AFP)
Turkish police detained 10 people believed to be linked to ISIS. (Getty Images/AFP)

Turkish police detained 10 people believed to be linked to ISIS and have arrested five of them, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Friday.

Yerlikaya said Türkiye’s MIT intelligence agency, police, and counter-terrorism squads carried out an operation in the western coastal city of Izmir after intelligence showed the suspects had hidden supplies in the city.

The authorities discovered explosive gels, materials used to make explosives, as well as weapons and ammunition hidden in the mountainous region of Izmir's Bornova district, Yerlikaya added.

"As a result of the operation, 10 suspects were detained. Of these, five were arrested and judicial control rulings were made for five others," the minister said on social media platform X.

Under judicial control rulings, the suspects may leave police detention but they have certain conditions and oversights imposed on them.

Footage from the operation, shared by Yerlikaya on X, showed several police cars in a mountainous area, with police searching inside of a small cave for the hidden materials. It also showed authorities searching a house and detaining the suspects. Reuters could not independently verify the footage.

ISIS has conducted numerous attacks across Türkiye, including on a nightclub in Istanbul on Jan. 1, 2017, in which 39 people were killed. Turkish police have carried out several operations targeting the militants.

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World

Trump Reposts Suggestion that Rubio become Next Cuba Leader

Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump and Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) react during campaign event at Dorton Arena, in Raleigh, North Carolina, US November 4, 2024. REUTERS/Jonathan Drake/
Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump and Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) react during campaign event at Dorton Arena, in Raleigh, North Carolina, US November 4, 2024. REUTERS/Jonathan Drake/
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Trump Reposts Suggestion that Rubio become Next Cuba Leader

Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump and Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) react during campaign event at Dorton Arena, in Raleigh, North Carolina, US November 4, 2024. REUTERS/Jonathan Drake/
Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump and Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) react during campaign event at Dorton Arena, in Raleigh, North Carolina, US November 4, 2024. REUTERS/Jonathan Drake/

President Donald Trump reposted a social media message on Sunday suggesting that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, born to Cuban immigrant parents, would become the next leader of Cuba.

Trump republished on his Truth Social platform a message from X user Cliff Smith on January 8 that read: "Marco Rubio will be president of Cuba," accompanied by a crying laughing emoji, AFP reported.

"Sounds good to me!" Trump commented in his repost.

The largely unknown user, whose bio refers to him as a "conservative Californian," has less than 500 followers on X.

Trump's repost comes a week after US forces seized Venezuela's authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro in an overnight operation in Caracas that killed dozens of Venezuelan and Cuban security forces.

Cuba's communist government has yet to directly respond to the US president's provocative suggestion that an American citizen could rule the island.

But shortly after Trump's post, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez insisted "right and justice are on Cuba's side."

The United States "behaves like an out-of-control criminal hegemon that threatens peace and security, not only in Cuba and this hemisphere, but throughout the entire world," Rodriguez posted on X.

World

UK's Former US Envoy Apologizes to Epstein's Victims, Not for His Own Ties

British Ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson walks on the day British Prime Minister Keir Starmer holds an emergency Cobra meeting to discuss Israel-Iran conflict, in London, Britain, June 18, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy/File Photo
British Ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson walks on the day British Prime Minister Keir Starmer holds an emergency Cobra meeting to discuss Israel-Iran conflict, in London, Britain, June 18, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy/File Photo
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UK's Former US Envoy Apologizes to Epstein's Victims, Not for His Own Ties

British Ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson walks on the day British Prime Minister Keir Starmer holds an emergency Cobra meeting to discuss Israel-Iran conflict, in London, Britain, June 18, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy/File Photo
British Ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson walks on the day British Prime Minister Keir Starmer holds an emergency Cobra meeting to discuss Israel-Iran conflict, in London, Britain, June 18, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy/File Photo

Britain's former US ambassador Peter Mandelson, who was dismissed over his links to Jeffrey Epstein last year, apologized on Sunday ​to the victims of the late convicted sex offender but not for his own actions.

Mandelson was fired in September over emails that came to light revealing a much closer relationship than previously acknowledged. The veteran British politician called Epstein "my best pal" and had advised him on seeking early jail release.

"I want to apologize to ‌those women ‌for a system that refused to ‌hear ⁠their ​voices and ‌did not give them the protection they were entitled to expect," Mandelson told the BBC broadcaster when asked if he wanted to say sorry for his links, Reuters reported.

Mandelson said he would only apologize for his own ties if he had known about Epstein's actions or been complicit.

"I was not ⁠culpable, I was not knowledgeable of what he was doing," he said.

"I ‌believed his story and that of ‍his lawyer, who spent ‍a lot of time trying to persuade me of ‍this ... that he had been falsely criminalized in his contact with these young women. Now I wish I had not believed that story."

Britain's government said at the time of Mandelson's dismissal that ​the depth of his ties to Epstein appeared "materially different" from what was known at the ⁠time of his appointment.

It has since named Christian Turner as its next ambassador to the US in a pivotal moment for transatlantic ties.

"Do you really think that if I knew what was going on and what he was doing with and to these vulnerable young women that I'd have just sat back, ignored it and moved on?", Mandelson added in the interview, describing Epstein as an "evil monster".

Mandelson also said he believed that, as a gay man in Epstein's ‌circle, he was "kept separate from what he was doing in the sexual side of his life".

World

German FM Puts Emphasis on Close Ties before US Trip

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul attends a press conference in Beijing, China December 8, 2025. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul attends a press conference in Beijing, China December 8, 2025. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo
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German FM Puts Emphasis on Close Ties before US Trip

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul attends a press conference in Beijing, China December 8, 2025. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul attends a press conference in Beijing, China December 8, 2025. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul emphasized the importance of transatlantic relations on Sunday as he ​left for a trip to Washington that takes place at a delicate time due to tensions over US interests in Greenland and Venezuela.

"Never before has it been so crucial to ‌invest in ‌the transatlantic partnership in ‌order ⁠to ​remain ‌capable of shaping the world order," Wadephul said in Berlin before his departure.

He said he would address what he called "differences of opinions" between Germany and the United States during ⁠a meeting on Monday with US Secretary ‌of State Marco Rubio.

"Where ‍there are ‍differences of opinion, we want ‍to address these differences through dialogue in order to fulfil our shared responsibility for peace and security," Wadephul said.

On ​his way to Washington, Wadephul plans to stop over in Iceland ⁠on Sunday, where a meeting on Arctic security is scheduled with his Icelandic counterpart in Reykjavik.

Later on Monday, he also plans to meet UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

"For Germany, reliability as an international partner clearly includes a commitment to international law and international cooperation," he said, ‌referring to the United Nations.