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Erdogan Does Not Rule Out Meeting Syria's Assad to Restore Ties

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (DPA)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (DPA)
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Erdogan Does Not Rule Out Meeting Syria's Assad to Restore Ties

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (DPA)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (DPA)

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday he did not rule out a possible meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to help restore bilateral relations between the neighbors.

Türkiye severed ties with Syria after the 2011 Syrian civil war and supported opposition looking to oust Assad.

It has carried out several cross-border military operations against militants it says threaten its national security and formed a "safe zone" in northern Syria where Turkish troops are now stationed.

Asked by reporters about Assad's reported comments that his government was open to normalization initiatives as long as they respected Syria's sovereignty and contributed to counter-terrorism, Erdogan said Ankara and Damascus could act to restore ties.

"There is no reason for it not to happen," Erdogan said, and added Türkiye had no intention of interfering in Syria's internal affairs.

"Just as we kept our ties very lively in the past - we even held talks between our families with Mr Assad - it is certainly not possible (to say) this will not happen again in the future, it can happen," he said after Friday prayers.

Syrian officials have repeatedly said that any moves towards normalizing ties between Damascus and Ankara can only come after Türkiye agrees to pull out thousands of troops it has stationed in the opposition-held northwest.

In April 2023, the defense ministers and intelligence chiefs of Iran, Russia, Syria and Türkiye held talks, as part of efforts to rebuild Türkiye-Syria ties after years of animosity.

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World

Another Train Crashes in Spain, Killing at Least 1 Person

Emergency services personnel work at the site where a train crashed into a collapsed retaining wall between Gelida and Sant Sadurni d'Anoia, Barcelona, Spain, late 20 January 2026. (EPA)
Emergency services personnel work at the site where a train crashed into a collapsed retaining wall between Gelida and Sant Sadurni d'Anoia, Barcelona, Spain, late 20 January 2026. (EPA)
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Another Train Crashes in Spain, Killing at Least 1 Person

Emergency services personnel work at the site where a train crashed into a collapsed retaining wall between Gelida and Sant Sadurni d'Anoia, Barcelona, Spain, late 20 January 2026. (EPA)
Emergency services personnel work at the site where a train crashed into a collapsed retaining wall between Gelida and Sant Sadurni d'Anoia, Barcelona, Spain, late 20 January 2026. (EPA)

Commuter rail service in Spain's northeastern Catalonia region was suspended Wednesday after a Barcelona commuter train crashed the night before, Spanish authorities said.

At least one person died in the Barcelona-area crash, and 37 others were injured as crews worked at night to complete the rescue effort. The train hit a retaining wall that fell onto the tracks, authorities said.

The news late Tuesday of another train crash mere days after Spain’s worst railway disaster since 2013 left many Spaniards in disbelief.

Emergency workers were still searching for more victims in the wreckage from Sunday’s deadly high-speed crash in southern Spain that killed at least 42 people, injured dozens more and took place some 800 kilometers (497 miles) away.

Three days of national mourning were underway, and the cause of that crash was being investigated.

The victim of the Tuesday night crash was a trainee train driver, regional authorities said. Of the 37 people affected, five were seriously injured. Six others were in less serious condition, emergency service said. Most of the injured had ridden in the first train car.

The suspension of commuter trains Wednesday morning caused significant traffic jams on roads leading into Barcelona. Regional authorities in Catalonia asked people to reduce unnecessary travel and companies to allow remote work while the disruptions continued.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez acknowledged the Barcelona area crash, writing on X on Tuesday night: “All my affection and solidarity with the victims and their families.”

While Spain’s high-speed rail network generally runs smoothly, and at least until Sunday had been a source of confidence, commuter rail services are plagued by reliability issues. However, accidents causing injury or death are not common in either.

The commuter train crashed near the town of Gelida, located about 37 kilometers (23 miles) outside Barcelona.

Spain’s railway operator ADIF said the containment wall likely collapsed due to heavy rainfall that swept across the northeastern Spanish region this week.

World

EU Is at a Crossroads Towards More Independence, von der Leyen Says

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, on January 21, 2026. (AFP)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, on January 21, 2026. (AFP)
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EU Is at a Crossroads Towards More Independence, von der Leyen Says

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, on January 21, 2026. (AFP)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, on January 21, 2026. (AFP)

The EU needs to speed up its push for ​independence to defend itself in a fast-changing world, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.

"We are at a crossroads. Europe ‌prefers dialogue ‌and solutions – ‌but ⁠we are ​fully ‌prepared to act, if necessary, with unity, urgency and determination," von der Leyen said in a speech in European Parliament.

"In this ⁠increasingly lawless world, Europe needs ‌its own levers of ‍power," ‍she said.

"We know them: ‍A strong economy, a thriving single market and industrial base, a strong innovation and ​technology capacity, united societies and above a real capacity ⁠to defend ourselves."

World

France Asks for a NATO Exercise in Greenland, Is Ready to Participate

Snow-covered houses line a hillside in Nuuk, Greenland, as warm evening light hits the neighborhood on January 20, 2026. (AFP)
Snow-covered houses line a hillside in Nuuk, Greenland, as warm evening light hits the neighborhood on January 20, 2026. (AFP)
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France Asks for a NATO Exercise in Greenland, Is Ready to Participate

Snow-covered houses line a hillside in Nuuk, Greenland, as warm evening light hits the neighborhood on January 20, 2026. (AFP)
Snow-covered houses line a hillside in Nuuk, Greenland, as warm evening light hits the neighborhood on January 20, 2026. (AFP)

France has asked for a ​NATO exercise in Greenland and is ready to contribute to it, French President Emmanuel Macron's office said on Wednesday.

News of the request comes ‌as US ‌President Donald ‌Trump barrels ⁠into ​Davos, ‌Switzerland, on Wednesday, where he is likely to use the World Economic Forum to escalate his push for acquiring Greenland despite European ⁠protests in the biggest fraying of ‌transatlantic ties in ‍decades.

Speaking in ‍Davos on Tuesday, Macron ‍said Europe would not give in to bullies or be intimidated, in a scathing ​criticism of Trump's threat to impose steep tariffs if ⁠Europe does not let him take over Greenland.

NATO leaders have warned that Trump's Greenland strategy could upend the alliance. Trump has linked Greenland to his anger at not receiving a Nobel Peace Prize.