23/05/2026

SATURDAY | MAY 23, 2026

10 Flotilla activists arrive in Turkiye

o Israel deports all foreign detainees

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correspondent said. “(Israeli forces) attacked us. Each of us was beaten, women and men. It’s what Palestinians experience all the time,” said Turkish national Bulal Kitay. Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir sparked widespread condemnation and a diplomatic backlash on Wednesday by posting a video showing the detained activists with their hands tied and foreheads on the ground. Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Oren Marmorstein, said on Thursday that “all foreign activists from the PR flotilla have been deported from Israel”. “Israel will not permit any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza,” he said. Upon arrival at Istanbul Airport, one of the activists shouted: “The Palestinian people are not alone!” as he emerged from the terminal. “We’ve been tortured, we’ve been beaten, we’ve been arrested in international waters, but we won’t give up. We will return. Palestine will be free from the river to the sea,” he said to cheers from the crowd. Adalah, the legal centre representing the flotilla members,

TEL AVIV: Israel said on Thursday it had deported all the foreign activists seized by its forces from a Gaza bound flotilla, as the first group arrived in Turkiye following global outcry over their treatment in custody. Hundreds of activists from around the world were placed in detention in Israel after they were intercepted at sea on Monday while making the latest in a string of attempts to break the blockade of the Palestinian territory. Turkish Foreign Ministry sources said 422 activists, including 85 Turkish nationals, were flown from southern Israel on three planes chartered by Ankara. Those deportation flights were confirmed by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which said several other activists had been deported to their home countries directly. A first group of arrivals were seen inside the VIP terminal at Istanbul Airport, as a crowd of supporters carrying Palestinian flags gathered to

Italian activists at Fiumicino Airport in Italy on Thursday. – REUTERSPIC

The deportations came after footage posted by Ben Gvir, captioned “Welcome to Israel” and showing the minister heckling and waving an Israeli flag among the detained activists, sparked resounding condemnation by governments worldwide. – AFP

activists from Egypt had been transferred to Taba at Egypt’s border with Israel, while those from Jordan had been transferred to Aqaba. Two South Korean nationals had been sent back to their home country and an Israeli citizen had been released in Israel.

said earlier on Thursday that the majority were “en route for deportation” from Ramon Airport in Israel’s far south. It said they had been held at Israel’s Ktziot prison, in the Negev Desert near Gaza. A spokesman for Adalah said

Pakistan seeks breakthrough in peace talks DUBAI: Iran’s foreign minister met Pakistan’s interior minister yesterday to discuss proposals to end the US-Israeli war, Iranian media reported, with Tehran and Washington still at odds over Tehran’s uranium stockpile and controls on the Strait of Hormuz. Two days after presenting the Iranians with the latest US message in the negotiations, Syed Mohsin Naqvi held another round of talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran, Tasnim and ISNA news agencies reported. Naqvi was facilitating communication to try and achieve a framework for ending the war and resolving differences, ISNA reported. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Thursday there had been “some good signs” in the talks, but there could be no solution if Tehran enforced a tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz, which it effectively closed to most shipping after the war began on Feb 28. “There’s some good signs. I don’t want to be overly optimistic. So, let’s see what happens over the next few days,” Rubio said. A senior Iranian source said on Thursday that gaps had been narrowed, although uranium enrichment and the Strait of Hormuz remained among the sticking points. President Donald Trump said the US would eventually recover Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which Washington believes is destined for a nuclear weapon, although Tehran says it is intended purely for peaceful purposes. “We will get it. We don’t need it, we don’t want it. We’ll probably destroy it after we get it, but we’re not going to let them have it,” Trump said at the White House on Thursday. Two senior Iranian sources told Reuters before Trump’s comments that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei had issued a directive that the uranium should not be sent abroad. The US president also railed against Tehran’s intentions to charge fees. “We want it open, we want it free. We don’t want tolls. It’s an international waterway,” Trump said. – Reuters

Greenlanders protest outside new US consulate NUUK: More than 500 Greenlanders demonstrated against President Donald Trump’s desire to control the vast Arctic island, after the inauguration of the US consulate’s new premises in Nuuk.

The crowd chanted and held posters reading “Go Home USA”, “Make America Go Away!” and “We are not for sale”. Many were waving Greenland’s red-and white flag, according to an AFP journalist at the scene in the island nation’s capital on Thursday. “Asu (’Stop’ in Greenlandic) USA,” read another sign. Trump has repeatedly argued that Washington needs to control Greenland because of national security concerns, claiming that if it does not, the Danish autonomous territory risks falling into the hands of China or Russia. The demonstrators turned their backs on the consulate building and observed two minutes of silence to express their displeasure with the United States. The new premises, in the centre of the capital Nuuk, had been inaugurated a little earlier in the presence of the US ambassador to Denmark, Kenneth Howery. Greenlandic broadcaster KNR reported that Howery told guests at the inauguration that Trump had now ruled out the use of force to control Greenland and said Greenlanders would decide their future themselves. Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen had declined an invitation to take part in the inauguration.

Protesters demonstrating against the American consulate’s inauguration in Nuuk. – AFPPIC Earlier in the week, Nielsen held talks with Trump’s special envoy for Greenland, Jeff Landry, who made his first visit, uninvited, to the island since his appointment in December. Landry said on Wednesday the US needed to strengthen its presence in the territory. “It’s time for the US to put its footprint back on Greenland,” he said as he wound up his four-day visit. “Greenland needs the US.” – AFP

Sexual misconduct probe hangs over Andrew LONDON: UK police investigating former prince Andrew said yesterday they are also open to probing a claim of sexual misconduct against King Charles III’s brother. was brought to Windsor, a town north of London where Andrew was a resident, in 2010 “for sexual purposes”.

“examining a number of aspects of alleged misconduct following the release of files under the Epstein Files Transparency Act”. In addition to the investigation into misconduct in public office, it stressed “the assessment of reports that a woman was taken to an address in Windsor in 2010 for sexual purposes is ongoing”. The force repeated its appeal for anyone with relevant information to come forward. – AFP

The force is reportedly concerned that the public believes they are only focused on accusations of misconduct in public office by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. They have been probing allegations Andrew shared sensitive information with Epstein. The force said their investigation was

Andrew, the second of the late queen Elizabeth II’s three sons, was arrested in mid February after new revelations stemming from his ties to US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Detectives at Thames Valley Police said they have been in touch with the lawyer of a potential victim following reports a woman