The Turkish president Erdogan on Friday met with his Somali counterpart in the capital Ankara and discussed bilateral relations and regional issues. The closed-door meeting between Erdogan and Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was held at the Presidential Complex.

During the meeting, Erdogan said that the cooperation between the two countries will continue to grow and that steps will be taken to further develop the relationship. He further emphasized that Ankara will continue to stand by the Somali people in their fight against terrorism and said that it is important for Somalia to achieve national unity in its efforts against terrorism.

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Syrian President Mr. Ahmad al-Sharaa welcomed the United States Special Envoy for Syria, Thomas Barak at the People’s Palace in Damascus on July 10. The meeting marks a significant diplomatic exchange between Syria and the U.S. as part of ongoing efforts to address the complex issues surrounding the Syrian conflict and the broader geopolitical landscape in the region.

The two sides discussed several key topics, including the humanitarian crisis, the ongoing security situation, and the prospects for a political resolution to the conflict. They also emphasized the importance of dialogue, with the aim of finding sustainable solutions that would lead to stability and peace in Syria.

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French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday vowed to fight illegal migration across the English Channel in small boats as they begin talks at a UK-France summit on the last day of the French president's state visit to Britain.

Keir Starmer, British Prime Minister said "We all agree the situation in the Channel cannot go on as it is. So we're bringing new tactics into play and a new level of intent to tackle illegal migration and break the business model of the criminal gangs." 

Thursday's summit follows two days of events spanning pomp and politics, trade and culture for Macron and his wife.

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with his Chinese counterpart at a summit in Malaysia on Friday, the first in-person session between the two and a possible prelude to a presidential summit.

The top American envoy is scheduled to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Kuala Lumpur at 3 p.m. local time, according to Rubio’s public schedule. Both officials are attending a gathering of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which ends Friday.

The meeting will be among the highest-level sitdowns between the two countries since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January. A positive conversation between the top envoys will increase the chance of a leadership summit that may further ease tensions following their trade truce, although many points of friction remain.

Rubio told reporters Thursday that he would raise Chinese support for Russia in any meeting with Wang. “The Chinese clearly have been supportive of the Russian effort, and I think that generally they’ve been willing to help them as much as they can without getting caught,” he said after a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Beijing’s economic and diplomatic backing for Moscow after it invaded Ukraine is just one of many sticking points in relations between the world’s two largest economies.

In their last phone call, in January, Rubio raised concern about China’s behavior toward Taiwan and the South China Sea, while Wang warned the US to handle Taiwan-related matters carefully.  Trump has said he would like to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping this year, and a senior Chinese official last week expressed optimism over bilateral ties.

In a phone conversation in early June, Xi invited Trump to visit China. The US administration has been reaching out to business executives to weigh interest in accompanying him on a possible trip to China this year, Bloomberg News reported last week.

In February, Wang traveled to New York for a United Nations Security Council meeting, but no bilateral meeting with the Trump administration took place. In the following weeks, a series of tit-for-tat measures saw US tariffs on Chinese products jump to as high as 145% before it was suspended for 90 days after negotiations in May.

Ref - Bloomberg

Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday, just days after President Donald Trump expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin for not engaging in peace talks with Ukraine, according to a senior State Department official.

The meeting is set to take place in Malaysia on the sidelines of a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN.

It will be the second time that Rubio meets with his Russian counterpart, the first being in Saudi Arabia earlier this year. The two have talked on the phone multiple times in recent months as the US pushed for a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia that never came to fruition.

Throughout the first few months of his second term, Trump sought a more conciliatory tone with Putin, aimed at drawing him into agreeing to end the Ukraine war. Now, as Russia’s assault on Ukraine continues Trump’s anger is public, setting up a potentially tense meeting between Rubio and Lavrov.

(Ref: CNN)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel is prepared to negotiate a permanent ceasefire in Gaza during a proposed 60-day truce, but only if the territory is fully demilitarized. " Israeli and Hamas delegations arrived in Doha, Qatar, on Sunday to negotiate a temporary truce, following a deadly Hamas-led attack in October 2023. 

According to Netanyahu, a deal proposal presented by U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff includes a 60-day ceasefire that would also secure the release of 10 living hostages as well as several deceased. About 50 hostages are still held in Gaza, with around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive.

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Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte attend a ceremony in Berlin to mark the 70th anniversary of Germany's membership of NATO. The Chancellor said Europe as a whole can rely on the Federal Republic of Germany and the Germany will take the lead in strengthening NATO’s European pillar.

German minister of Defence also made a speech highlighting the economic power of Germany in Europe and expressing his confidence in NATO and the people who make it strong.

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Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday. The meeting held within the framework of the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The peace talks came a day after the US expressed hope for a swift deal. During the meeting, both sides agreed on the text of a comprehensive peace deal in March.

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Russia's top diplomat Sergei Lavrov arrived for a meeting with the foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Kuala Lumpur. Lavrov is also expected to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit. After Malaysia, Lavrov will visit North Korea this weekend, the latest in a series of high-profile visits by top Moscow officials as the two countries deepen military ties.

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South Korea's former president Yoon Suk Yeol exited the Seoul Central District Court and was escorted to the Seoul Detention Center late Wednesday after attending a hearing that lasted about seven hours.

Early Thursday, the court approved a fresh arrest warrant for the former leader and placed him in custody. Once the warrant was issued, Yoon was placed in a solitary cell at the facility, where he can be held for up to 20 days as prosecutors prepare to formally indict him including on additional charges.

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