Red Crescent

An aid delivery in Gaza descended into chaos on Saturday with shots fired and a Red Crescent paramedic reporting five dead, as almost six months of Israeli bombardment has left hundreds of thousands in desperate need.

The Istanbul Municipality has dispatched five trucks loaded with essential aid supplies destined for Gaza in a display of solidarity with the people in the beleaguered region under Israeli attack.

The death toll resulting from the dual explosions in the vicinity of the grave of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani has climbed to 103, coinciding with the somber anniversary of his assassination. The tragic incidents unfolded at a critical moment, marking four years since the general's demise, a figure revered for his strategic role in Iran's military operations across the Middle East.

One person died and 50 were injured in a tornado that broke out in the city of Pazarcik (Kahramanmaras province, Southeastern Turkey), Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter, quoted by BTA.

Pazarcik was also the epicenter of the first destructive earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 on February 6 in Turkey.

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the joint presidential candidate of the Nation Alliance and the Republican People's Party (CHP) leader, has unveiled an action plan he will implement in the first 100 days of his government if elected in the May 14 elections.

Hürriyet newspaper was deemed worthy of six awards at the Press Photo Contest of the Year and the Turkish Journalism Achievement Awards, as photojournalists Murat Şaka was honored with three awards, Selahattin Sönmez bagged two and Selçuk Selman Özger earned one.

Turkey has established a new residential region in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib to host all the Syrians displaced from their houses amid the civil war in the country that has been going on since 2011.

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu warned against a possible civil war in Afghanistan and expressed Turkey's will to contribute to peace and stability in the country.

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Elaborating on the Taliban's future government, the minister emphasized that the international community should take a wait-and-see approach before recognizing its rule.

Ankara will never stop supporting the Palestinian cause, the Turkish foreign minister said on May 18. 

"Under the leadership of our president [Recep Tayyip Erdogan], and with the power vested in us by our parliament, we will never give up supporting the Palestinian cause," Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu told lawmakers in parliament.

World Blood Donor Day this year once again will be held on June 14, but in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was established in 2004 to raise awareness of the need for safe blood, and to thank donors for their life-saving gift.