ISTANBUL

Here is a rundown of all the news you need to start your Saturday, including the Syrian Army launching a military operation against positions of the YPG/SDF terror organization in the eastern countryside of Aleppo; US President Donald Trump saying Greenland is vital to US national security, confirming discussions with NATO are ongoing regarding the territory; and Trump announcing the formation of a "Board of Peace" for the Gaza Strip.

TOP STORIES

• Syrian Army launches operation against terror group YPG/SDF in eastern Aleppo countryside

The Syrian Army launched a military operation against positions of the YPG/SDF terror organization in the eastern countryside of Aleppo.

In statements carried by the Syrian Arab News Agency, the army’s Operations Command said forces began responding to sites of the group and allied remnants of the former regime in the town of Deir Hafir.

The command said targeted locations functioned as military bases for the SDF and its allies, from which Iranian-made suicide drones were launched toward Aleppo.

• 'We're talking to NATO' on Greenland: Trump

President Donald Trump said that Greenland is vital to US national security and confirmed that discussions with NATO are ongoing about the territory.

"NATO has been dealing with us on Greenland. We need Greenland for national security very badly, Trump told reporters.

"If we don't have it, we have a big hole in national security — especially when it comes to what we're doing in terms of the Golden Dome and all of the other things."

• Trump announces formation of 'Board of Peace' for Gaza

US President Donald Trump announced the formation of a "Board of Peace" for the Gaza Strip.

"It is my Great Honor to announce that the Board of Peace has been formed.

"The Members of the Board will be announced shortly, but I can say with certainty that it is the Greatest and Most Prestigious Board ever assembled at any time, any place," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• President Donald Trump said the US was ready to restart mediation between Egypt and Ethiopia on a long-running dispute about Nile River water sharing.
• Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed the escalation of tensions in Iran with his Omani counterpart, Sayyid Badr Hamad Al Busaidi, in a call.
• US President Donald Trump said he welcomed Iran’s decision to cancel a large number of scheduled executions.
• US President Donald Trump said Canada was right to pursue trade agreements with China.
• The US announced new sanctions targeting individuals, companies and vessels accused of supporting Yemen's Houthi group through oil smuggling, weapons procurement and illicit financing.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of holding up Moscow-Kyiv peace negotiations mediated by the US to find a settlement for the nearly four-year war.
• Around 1,000 families have moved to secure areas after leaving Deir Hafir, east of Syria's Aleppo, occupied by the YPG/SDF terror group.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin called for stepping up political and diplomatic efforts to ensure stability in the Middle East, including around Iran, in separate calls with his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
• The head of Gaza’s administration committee said that a one-year budget has been provided by donor states to enable the committee to carry out its work, stressing the need to establish an international reconstruction fund.
• Israeli forces advanced into villages in Syria’s southern Quneitra countryside, according to a Syrian news agency.
• The first meeting of the Gaza Administration Committee began in Cairo, Egyptian media reported.
• Moscow claimed that it took control of two more settlements in Ukraine as the Russia-Ukraine war is set to enter its fifth year next month.
• As many as 3,000 people have been detained for allegedly inciting unrest or provoking demonstrations in Iran, state TV reported.
• A video shows masked US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents dragging a woman from her car during a tense Tuesday standoff in Minnesota, as she repeatedly tells officers she is disabled and trying to reach a medical appointment.
• The head of the UN nuclear watchdog said he is more worried about the risk of a nuclear accident in Ukraine than the potential use of atomic weapons, citing the fragile situation at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.
• Azerbaijan’s state oil and gas company SOCAR said it began the supply of natural gas to Austria and Germany via the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) this month.
• South Korea’s ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to five years in prison on charges he obstructed investigators' attempt to detain him last year, Seoul-based Yonhap News reported.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• Trump announces $50B investment in rural health care

US President Donald Trump announced his administration has committed $50 billion over five years to strengthen medical services in rural communities nationwide.

"We increased funding for rural health care by an unprecedented, record-setting $50 billion over five years, which will benefit Americans in all 50 states," Trump said at a roundtable discussion on rural health care at the White House.

Trump said the expanded funding was made possible by cutting “massive waste, fraud, and abuse” from Medicaid and reinvesting the savings into rural hospitals and communities.

• US approves $1.5B sale to upgrade Peru's main naval base

The US has approved a possible $1.5 billion foreign military sale to Peru to support the design and construction of maritime and onshore facilities to upgrade the Peruvian Navy’s main base, according to a notification sent to the US Congress.

"The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Peru of Design and Construction at Callao Naval Base and related elements of logistics and program support for an estimated cost of $1.5 billion," the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement.

Peru would receive a broad range of services rather than major defense equipment, including lifecycle design, construction, project management, engineering studies, technical support, infrastructure assessments and construction management, it said. The package would also include US government and contractor engineering, technical and logistics support.