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Erdogan to Invite Assad for Talks to Restore Turkey-Syria Ties
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint statement to the media in Baghdad, Iraq, April 22, 2024. Photo: AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/Pool via REUTERS
Turkey will extend an invitation to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad “any time” for possible talks to restore relations between the two neighbors, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday.
“We will extend our invitation (to Assad); with this invitation, we want to restore Turkey-Syria relations to the same level as in the past. Our invitation may be extended at any time,” Erdogan said, according to a presidency readout of an interview by Turkish media.
Turkey severed ties with Syria in 2011 after the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, in which it supported rebels 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.
Speaking to reporters on his flight back from Berlin, Erdogan also said Ankara would reciprocate any positive steps from Damascus, and that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Iraqi Prime Minister could contribute to facilitating the contact.
“We have now arrived at a point where if Bashar Assad takes a step towards improving relations with Turkey, we will also show that approach towards him,” Erdogan said.
“Putin and the Iraqi prime minister have an approach for talks to be in Turkey. We are talking about mediation everywhere, why not with our neighbor?” he was quoted as saying by the Turkish presidency.
Erdogan in June did not rule out a possible meeting with Assad to revive relations.
Syrian officials however have repeatedly said that any normalization in ties can only come after Turkey agrees to pull out thousands of troops from the rebel-held northwest.
The post Erdogan to Invite Assad for Talks to Restore Turkey-Syria Ties first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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UAE Launches Water Pipeline Project to Supply Gaza
Illustrative. Palestinians gather next to donkey-drawn carts loaded with water tanks for sale, as drinking water and fuel become increasingly scarce, in Nuseirat in Gaza Strip, amid ongoing battles between Israel and Hamas. Photo by Naaman Omar apaimages Nuseirat Gaza Strip Palestinian Territory
i24 News – The United Arab Emirates has initiated the construction of a critical water pipeline linking an Egyptian desalination plant to the coastal area of Al-Mawasi in southern Gaza.
The project, approved by Israel’s defense establishment and carried out with logistical coordination across borders, marks a significant humanitarian effort to alleviate the water crisis affecting nearly 600,000 Palestinians in the war-torn enclave.
The pipeline, which will operate independently of existing Israeli water infrastructure, is designed to deliver potable water directly from Egypt into Gaza.
It is being developed under the supervision of the Israeli military’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) and was greenlit by the Israeli political echelon as a non-political, humanitarian measure.
On Sunday, the first batch of construction materials, delivered by Emirati representatives, crossed the Kerem Shalom border crossing following stringent security inspections by Israel’s Border Authority and Ministry of Defense.
Construction is expected to begin in the coming days and will span several weeks.
“This is a purely humanitarian measure, taken within the framework of cabinet decisions,” said Israeli officials, emphasizing that the project does not signal a move toward rebuilding Gaza or any shift in political posture. “The connection of the pipeline does not constitute a step towards the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip,” they added, aiming to quash speculation of normalization or broader reconciliation.
The move comes amid a temporary humanitarian truce announced by Israel over the weekend. In parallel, Israeli authorities authorized workers from the Israel Electric Corporation to reconnect a key power line from the Ashkelon power station to Deir al-Balah. This line supports the Egyptian desalination plant already contributing to Gaza’s water supply.
The UAE, intensifying its humanitarian engagement in Gaza, has also begun airdropping aid parcels into the territory.
The post UAE Launches Water Pipeline Project to Supply Gaza first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump Administration to Release Over $5 Billion School Funding That It Withheld
US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and President Donald Trump, in the East Room at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
President Donald Trump’s administration will release more than $5 billion in previously approved funding for K-12 school programs that it froze over three weeks ago under a review, which had led to bipartisan condemnation.
“(The White House Office of Management and Budget) has completed its review … and has directed the Department to release all formula funds,” Madi Biedermann, deputy assistant secretary for communications at the U.S. Education Department, said in a statement, adding funds will be dispersed to states next week.
Further details on the review and what it found were not shared.
A senior administration official said “guardrails” would be in place for the amount being released, without giving details.
Early in July, the Trump administration said it would not release funding previously appropriated by Congress for schools and that an initial review found signs the money was misused to subsidize what it alleged was “a radical leftwing agenda.”
States say $6.8 billion in total was affected by the freeze. Last week, $1.3 billion was released.
After the freeze, a coalition of mostly Democratic-led states sued to challenge the move, and 10 Republican US senators wrote to the Republican Trump administration to reverse its decision.
The frozen money covered funding for education of migrant farm workers and their children; recruitment and training of teachers; English proficiency learning; academic enrichment and after-school and summer programs.
The Trump administration has threatened schools and colleges with withholding federal funds over issues like climate initiatives, transgender policies, pro-Palestinian protests against U.S. ally Israel’s war in Gaza and diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
Republican US lawmakers welcomed the move on Friday, while Democratic lawmakers said there was no need to disrupt funding in the first place.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon separately said she was satisfied with what was found in the review and released the money, adding she did not think there would be future freezes.
The post Trump Administration to Release Over $5 Billion School Funding That It Withheld first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel to Resume Airdrop Aid to Gaza on Saturday, Military Says
Palestinians carry aid supplies which they received from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in the central Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed/File Photo
Israel will resume airdrop aid to Gaza on Saturday night, the Israeli military said, a few days after more than 100 aid agencies warned that mass starvation was spreading across the enclave.
“The airdrops will include seven pallets of aid containing flour, sugar, and canned food to be provided by international organizations,” the military added in a statement.
The post Israel to Resume Airdrop Aid to Gaza on Saturday, Military Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.