A strong, 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck in Turkey on Sunday, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The temblor happened at 7:53 p.m. Eastern European time about 7 miles southwest of Bigadiç, Turkey, data from the agency shows.

As seismologists review available data, they may revise the earthquake’s reported magnitude. Additional information collected about the earthquake may also prompt U.S.G.S. scientists to update the shake-severity map.

Aftershocks can occur days, weeks or even years after the first earthquake. These events can be of equal or larger magnitude to the initial earthquake, and they can continue to affect already damaged locations.

There is a peace deal between Azerbaijan and Armenia, after nearly four decades of conflict.

The final stage was brokered by US President Donald Trump in the White House.

Crucial to the deal is a corridor to connect the main part of Azerbaijan with another part of its territory, which is cut off because it is on the other side of Armenia.

But how long will it take before the corridor becomes a reality?

And what will Washington’s growing presence in the South Caucasus mean for the region?

Presenter: James Bays

Guests:

Vasif Huseynov – Head of department at the Center of Analysis of International Relations (AIR Center)

Jamila Mammadova – Research assistant at the Henry Jackson Society

Vahram Ter-Matevosyan – Political analyst

UN ambassadors have condemned Israel’s plans to “take control” of Gaza City as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted it was the “best way” to end the war.

During a press conference, which Netanyahu said was intended to “puncture the lies”, the Israeli leader said the planned offensive would move “fairly quickly” and would “free Gaza from Hamas”.

He also claimed Israeli hostages held in Gaza were “the only ones being deliberately starved” and denied Israel was starving Gazans.

Meanwhile, Israel came under heavy criticism at an emergency meeting of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, with the UK, France and others warning the plan risked “violating international humanitarian law”.

Along with Denmark, Greece and Slovenia, they called for the plan to be reversed, adding it would “do nothing to secure the return of hostages and risks further endangering their lives”.

Other council members expressed similar alarm. China called the “collective punishment” of people in Gaza unacceptable, while Russia warned against a “reckless intensification of hostilities”.

UN Assistant Secretary General Miroslav Jenca told the meeting: “If these plans are implemented, they will likely trigger another calamity in Gaza, reverberating across the region and causing further forced displacement, killings, and destruction.”

But the United States defended Israel, with Ambassador Dorothy Shea telling the meeting the US had been working “tirelessly” to free hostages and end the war, and the meeting undermined those efforts.

She added the war “could end today if Hamas let the hostages go”, and accused other UN members of taking advantage of the meeting to “accuse Israel of genocide”, an allegation she insisted was “demonstrably false”.

Thousands of protesters have also taken to the streets across Israel to oppose Israel’s plan, fearing it puts the lives of hostages at risk.

In his presser, Netanyahu said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had been instructed to dismantle the “two remaining Hamas strongholds” in Gaza City and a central area around al-Mawasi.

He also outlined a three-step plan to increase aid in Gaza, including designating safe corridors for humanitarian aid distribution and more air drops by Israeli forces and other partners.

It would also include increasing the number of safe distribution points managed by the controversial US and Israeli-backed Gazan Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

The UN reported earlier this month that 1,373 Palestinians had been killed seeking food since late May, when GHF set up aid distribution sites.

Netanyahu claimed Hamas had “violently looted the aid trucks”, and, when asked about Palestinians killed at GHF sites, said “a lot of firing was done by Hamas”.

Asked about the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza – 20 of whom are still thought to be alive – Netanyahu said “if we don’t do anything, we are not going to get them out”.

The Israeli leader also took aim at the international press, saying it had bought into Hamas propaganda. He labelled some of the photos of malnourished children in Gaza that have run on newspaper front pages across the world as “fake”.

Throughout the war, Israel has not allowed international journalists into Gaza to report freely. But Netanyahu said a directive telling the military to bring in foreign journalists had been in place for two days.

Since Saturday, five people have died as a result of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza, bringing the total number to 217 deaths, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

It also said that in total more than 61,000 people have been killed as a result of Israel’s military campaign since 2023.

Israel launched its offensive in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October that year, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

In the past, figures from the Hamas-run health ministry were widely used in times of conflict and seen as reliable by the UN and other international organisations.

By offering nothing except continual massacre for the Palestinians, and attempting to subjugate the surrounding areas to its will, Israel finds itself “in a predicament of its own making”, argues former Israeli adviser Daniel Levy.

Levy, president of the US/Middle East Project, tells host Steve Clemons that Israel has put Arab leaders in a bind, as regional disgust grows towards Israel for its war crimes in Gaza.

And while Western governments and cultural institutions have been carrying water for Israel for decades, argues Levy, some have begun “acknowledging things they worked hard not to acknowledge for an awfully long time.”