Serdar Dincel
16 May 2025•Update: 16 May 2025
ISTANBUL
Here’s a rundown of all the news that you need to start your Friday, including delegations for peace talks in Istanbul between Russia and Ukraine, a Spanish broadcaster criticizing Israel’s attacks on Gaza during Eurovision, and much more.
TOP STORIES
- Delegations for peace talks between Russia, Ukraine in Istanbul
Details of the delegations for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul, Türkiye on Friday have emerged.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, a US delegation headed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Ukrainian delegation headed by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, and a Russian delegation headed by President Vladimir Putin's advisor Vladimir Medinsky will be taking part.
Scheduled to meet with Turkish, Russian and US officials, the Ukrainian delegation will be headed by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and include Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya, Security Service deputy head Oleksandr Poklad, and Foreign Intelligence Service deputy head Oleh Luhovskyi, among others.
The Russian delegation, headed by Vladimir Medinsky, will include Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) Director Igor Kostyukov, and Deputy Defense Minister Aleksandr Fomin.
- Spanish broadcaster criticizes Israel’s attacks on Gaza during Eurovision
Spanish broadcaster TVE criticized Israel’s attacks on Gaza during a Eurovision broadcast Thursday evening.
As Israeli candidate Yuval Raphael was introduced before her performance, TVE included captions questioning Israel’s participation in the song competition.
“TVE has requested a debate over its participation,” said one caption, along with: “The victims of the Israeli attacks exceed 50,000, including more than 15,000 children.”
The Spanish broadcaster then called for “justice and respect for human rights” in the competition.
NEWS IN BRIEF
- Australian war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith lost an appeal against a landmark decision that found he committed war crimes in Afghanistan.
- A South Korean court sentenced two men to 10 months in prison each for their violent behavior during a courthouse riot related to former President Yoon Suk Yeol's trial in January.
- Air traffic controllers lost communications with some planes flying into Denver International Airport in the US state of Colorado for nearly two minutes, according to a report by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
- Israeli police arrested nine people for taking part in a protest in the northern city of Haifa against Israel’s genocide in the Gaza Strip.
- After posting a cryptic message on social media, former FBI Director James Comey was accused of calling for President Donald Trump's assassination.
- Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Yasser Barnieh held discussions with a World Bank delegation on ways to cooperate in rehabilitating the country's priority sectors.
- Syrian security forces discovered a large warehouse in Latakia containing ready-to-detonate explosive devices, the Interior Ministry said.
- United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said his country plans to invest $1.4 trillion in the US over the next decade.
- US Senate Democrats introduced a resolution urging the Trump administration to use "all diplomatic tools" to stop an Israeli blockade and allow aid to enter the Gaza Strip.
- During a meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani in Türkiye, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio affirmed Washington’s support for sanctions relief to stabilize Syria.
- Rubio said Washington is "troubled" by the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, stressing the need to deliver aid to the enclave.
- Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with Rubio on the sidelines of a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Antalya, Türkiye, which diplomatic sources said discussed preparations for visits at the heads of state level.
SPORTS
- Italy to host America’s Cup in 2027, Prime Minister Meloni announces
Naples will host the next edition of the America’s Cup sailing competition in 2027, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Thursday.
It will be the first time Italy is hosting the event, considered the world’s most prestigious sailing competition.
“I am proud to announce that the America’s Cup will be contested, for the first time in its history, in Italy,” she said in a statement.
