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Fire in Southeast Türkiye Kills 11, Greece Evacuates Villages for Safety

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire burning near Kumkoy, in Gallipoli peninsula, Türkiye, Tuesday, June 18, 2024. (Sercan Ozkurnazli/Dia Photo via AP)
Firefighters work to extinguish a fire burning near Kumkoy, in Gallipoli peninsula, Türkiye, Tuesday, June 18, 2024. (Sercan Ozkurnazli/Dia Photo via AP)
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Fire in Southeast Türkiye Kills 11, Greece Evacuates Villages for Safety

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire burning near Kumkoy, in Gallipoli peninsula, Türkiye, Tuesday, June 18, 2024. (Sercan Ozkurnazli/Dia Photo via AP)
Firefighters work to extinguish a fire burning near Kumkoy, in Gallipoli peninsula, Türkiye, Tuesday, June 18, 2024. (Sercan Ozkurnazli/Dia Photo via AP)

A fire that apparently started in crop stubble spread through settlements in southeast Türkiye overnight, killing 11 people and leaving dozens of others requiring medical treatment, officials and news reports said Friday.

In neighboring Greece, authorities evacuated several villages in the southern Peloponnese region because of wildfires.

The blaze in Türkiye broke out in an area between the provinces of Diyarbakir and Mardin. Fanned by winds, it moved quickly through the villages of Koksalan, Yazcicegi and Bagacik, Diyarbakir Gov. Ali Ihsan Su said. The fire was brought under control early Friday.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca posted on X that 11 people were killed. Around 80 others required treatment, including six who were in serious condition.

Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said that authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the fire, which lit up the night sky.

Residents believe the blaze was caused by sparks from a power line that set crop residue ablaze, according to independent news website Gazete Duvar. Some of the hospitalized people were villagers who tried to extinguish the fire, it said.

Hundreds of farm animals also perished in the fire, according to news channel HaberTurk.

Across the country in northwest Türkiye, meanwhile, firefighters were battling a wildfire near the town of Ayvacik in Canakkale province, the state-run Anadolu Agency said.

No one was hurt, but authorities evacuated the small village of Camkoy as a precaution, the agency reported.

It was one of several wildfires that have erupted in the province of Canakkale in the past week amid high winds and scorching summer temperatures.

Wildfires also erupted in Greece amid very windy, hot and dry conditions. About a dozen villages or settlements were ordered evacuated as a precaution because of wildfires in the southern Peloponnese region.

There were no immediate reports of injuries. State-run ERT television reported at least six homes burned in one southern village that had been safely evacuated in advance. Firefighters on the ground were assisted by water-dropping aircraft.

The greater Athens region was on the top wildfire emergency footing Friday because of the weather forecast, with bans on entering forests and parks. A fire in the area of Saronida, south of the Greek capital, was brought under control in the evening.

The fire service said late Friday that 64 wildfires had broken out around the country in the previous 24 hours.

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World

US Treasury Issues Iran-Related Missile and Drone Sanctions

The US Treasury Building is viewed in Washington, May 4, 2021. (AP)
The US Treasury Building is viewed in Washington, May 4, 2021. (AP)
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US Treasury Issues Iran-Related Missile and Drone Sanctions

The US Treasury Building is viewed in Washington, May 4, 2021. (AP)
The US Treasury Building is viewed in Washington, May 4, 2021. (AP)

The US on Wednesday sanctioned individuals and entities in several countries related to their support of Iran's ballistic missile and drone production, in the latest attempt to pressure Tehran.

A total of 32 individuals and entities based in Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Türkiye, China, Hong Kong, India, Germany and Ukraine that operate multiple procurement networks are being targeted in Wednesday's designations, the Treasury Department said in a statement.

"These networks pose a threat to US and allied personnel in the Middle East and to commercial shipping in the Red Sea," the department said in a statement.

The US, its European allies and Israel accuse Tehran of using its nuclear program as a veil for efforts to try to develop the capability to produce weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

World

At Least 37 Dead after a Passenger Bus Falls into a Ravine in Peru

The health manager of the Arequipa region said the bus hit a pickup truck and it went off a road on a curve, falling more than 200 meters (more than 650 feet) to the banks of the Ocoña river - (File photo of Peru police/The AP)
The health manager of the Arequipa region said the bus hit a pickup truck and it went off a road on a curve, falling more than 200 meters (more than 650 feet) to the banks of the Ocoña river - (File photo of Peru police/The AP)
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At Least 37 Dead after a Passenger Bus Falls into a Ravine in Peru

The health manager of the Arequipa region said the bus hit a pickup truck and it went off a road on a curve, falling more than 200 meters (more than 650 feet) to the banks of the Ocoña river - (File photo of Peru police/The AP)
The health manager of the Arequipa region said the bus hit a pickup truck and it went off a road on a curve, falling more than 200 meters (more than 650 feet) to the banks of the Ocoña river - (File photo of Peru police/The AP)

A passenger bus fell into a deep ravine early Wednesday after crashing with another vehicle in southern Peru, killing at least 37 people and injuring 13 more, authorities said.

The health manager of the Arequipa region, Walther Oporto, said to local radio RPP that the bus hit a pickup truck and it went off a road on a curve, falling more than 200 meters (more than 650 feet) to the banks of the Ocoña river.

The bus had departed from the city of Chala, a mining area also in southern Peru, and was heading to the city of Arequipa.

Fatal bus accidents are not uncommon in Peru. The cause of Wednesday's accident was not clear, but authorities have said in the past that reckless driving and excessive speed are behind many of these events, The AP news reported.

In August, a bus overturned on a highway and 10 people died. In July, another bus traveling from Lima to Peru’s Amazon region also overturned, leaving at least 18 people dead and 48 injured.

In January at least six people died and 32 were injured when a bus fell into a river.

In 2024 there were approximately 3,173 deaths as a result of traffic accidents in the South American country, according to official data from the Death Information System.

World

Palestinian NGO Cannot Appeal UK Court Ruling over F-35 Parts to Israel

Police officers detain a protester during a mass demonstration organized by Defend our Juries, against the British government's ban on Palestine Action, at Trafalgar Square in London, Britain, October 4, 2025. REUTERS/Toby Melville
Police officers detain a protester during a mass demonstration organized by Defend our Juries, against the British government's ban on Palestine Action, at Trafalgar Square in London, Britain, October 4, 2025. REUTERS/Toby Melville
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Palestinian NGO Cannot Appeal UK Court Ruling over F-35 Parts to Israel

Police officers detain a protester during a mass demonstration organized by Defend our Juries, against the British government's ban on Palestine Action, at Trafalgar Square in London, Britain, October 4, 2025. REUTERS/Toby Melville
Police officers detain a protester during a mass demonstration organized by Defend our Juries, against the British government's ban on Palestine Action, at Trafalgar Square in London, Britain, October 4, 2025. REUTERS/Toby Melville

A Palestinian NGO was on Wednesday refused permission to appeal a court ruling that Britain lawfully allowed F-35 fighter jet parts to be indirectly exported to Israel, despite accepting they could be used to breach international humanitarian law.

Al-Haq, a Palestinian rights group based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, unsuccessfully challenged Britain's Department for Business and Trade over its decision last year to exempt F-35 components when it suspended export licences for arms that could be used in the war in Gaza.

The group last month asked the Court of Appeal for permission to challenge a lower court ruling that found Britain's decision was lawful and dismissed Al-Haq's challenge, Reuters reported.

The Court of Appeal refused permission, ruling that it was a matter for the government to decide whether national security issues relating to the supply of F-35 components outweighed an assessment that Israel was not committed to complying with international humanitarian law.

When it suspended export licences in 2024, Britain assessed that Israel was not committed to complying with such law in its military campaign, which Gaza health officials say killed more than 68,000 Palestinians.

But Britain did not suspend licences for British-made F-35 components, which go into a pool of spare parts Israel can use on its existing F-35 jets.

London's High Court rejected the challenge in June, saying in its ruling that then-business minister Jonathan Reynolds was "faced with the blunt choice of accepting the F-35 carve-out or withdrawing from the F-35 programme and accepting all the defence and diplomatic consequences which would ensue".

The Court of Appeal heard Al-Haq's application for permission to appeal as Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas signed an agreement last month to cease fire and free Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

In a similar case earlier this month, a Dutch appeals court confirmed a decision to throw out a case brought by pro-Palestinian groups to stop the Netherlands exporting weapons to Israel and trading with Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories.