Briefly

TURKIYE

Syria's interim FM meets with Erdogan

Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Wednesday during his first official visit to Turkiye. The meeting between Erdogan and Al-Shaibani addressed the most recent situation in Syria and the steps to be taken to preserve the country's territorial integrity, Turkiye's Communications Directorate said in a statement on social media. Erdogan emphasized the importance of lifting international sanctions on Syria, according to the directorate.

AUSTRALIA

PM reshuffles cabinet ahead of election

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a cabinet reshuffle on Thursday ahead of the general election, which must be held by May. Albanese announced the ministry changes following the resignation of Bill Shorten as National Disability Insurance Scheme, or NDIS, and government services minister. Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth will take on the additional role as the NDIS minister, and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher will also take on the additional role to become the government services minister.

SOUTH AFRICA

Death toll of trapped miners rises to 87

The death toll of miners trapped while working illegally in an abandoned gold mine in South Africa has risen to at least 87, police said on Thursday as they wound down a rescue operation that has pulled more than 240 survivors out from deep underground. National police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said that 78 bodies were retrieved from the mine in an official rescue operation that began Monday, while another nine had been recovered previously.

INDIA

Space agency docks two satellites in space

The Indian Space Research Organization on Thursday successfully docked its SpaDeX satellites, namely SDX01 (Chaser) and SDX02 (Target), in space, confirmed the agency in a post on X. The process of docking was delayed at least twice in recent weeks and was finally scheduled for Thursday. According to the space agency, post-docking, the control of two satellites as a single object, was successful, and unlocking and power transfer checks will follow in the coming days. India became the fourth country to achieve space docking after Russia, the US and China.

Xinhua - Agencies