By Joshua McElwee

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT TO ANKARA (Reuters) -Like many Americans on the annual holiday of Thanksgiving, Pope Leo was travelling on Thursday, flying from Rome to Turkey for his first overseas trip as leader of the Catholic Church.

While the first U.S. pope may not have a chance to enjoy a meal with turkey, stuffing and the other traditional dishes this year, several journalists aboard his papal flight from Rome tried to make sure he had a taste of the annual feast.

ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkey's defence ministry said on Thursday that a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia must be achieved first before any discussions can take place on possible troop deployment for a potential reassurance force.

On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron said the force would have French, British and Turkish soldiers. Ankara, which has maintained cordial ties with both Moscow and Kyiv during the war, has said it was open to discussing such a deployment but only if its modalities were set.

(Reuters) -Venezuela has revoked operating rights for six major international airlines after they suspended flights to the country following a warning from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

Venezuela's civil aviation authority revoked permits for Iberia, TAP, Avianca, Latam Colombia, Turkish Airlines and Gol, with Caracas saying in a statement that the carriers had "joined actions of state terrorism promoted by the United States" by "unilaterally" halting commercial flights.

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia has listed Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a state sponsor of terrorism, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Thursday, following an intelligence assessment that it had orchestrated attacks against Australia's Jewish Community.

Australia in August accused Iran of directing two antisemitic arson attacks in the cities of Sydney and Melbourne and gave Tehran's ambassador seven days to leave the country on Tuesday, its first such expulsion since World War Two.

(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

With no backpack, books or uniform, 11-year-old Layan Haji navigates the ruins of Gaza City and heads to a makeshift classroom after two years of war halted her education.

But the school is not what she is used to. Painted walls and students' artwork no longer adorn the walls and hallways -- instead, tents set up in a battered building serve as their temporary classrooms.

"I walk for half an hour at least. The streets are devastated, full of ruins... It is difficult and sad," Haji said, wearing a torn shirt and patched trousers.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for his government to re-examine Afghan immigrants who entered the United States during the former President Joe Biden's administration.

The president called the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington "an act of terror," saying the suspect came from Afghanistan in 2021.

"This heinous assault was an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror," Trump said in pre-taped remarks from Florida, where he is spending the Thanksgiving holiday.

Pope Leo XIV began a four-day visit to Turkey on Thursday, urging Ankara to embrace its role as a mediator in a world gripped by conflict after talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"Mr President, may Turkey be a source of stability and rapprochement between peoples, in service of a just and lasting peace," he said in the capital as he began the first overseas trip of his papacy.

By Joshua McElwee

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Pope Leo begins his first trip outside Italy as Catholic leader on Thursday with a visit to Turkey, where he is expected to make appeals for peace in the Middle East and urge unity among long-divided Christian churches.

The first U.S. pope chose mainly Muslim Turkey as his first overseas destination to mark the 1,700th anniversary of a landmark early Church council there that produced the Nicene Creed, still used by most of the world's Christians today.

Tension is escalating between Israel's political and military top brass over accountability for the failures behind the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused of sidestepping blame.

Weekly protests against Netanyahu's leadership of the subsequent two-year war in Gaza and demanding the return of hostages became emblematic of the anger boiling within parts of Israeli society over how the attack and its fallout have been handled.

Iran will allow two French citizens held by the Islamic republic for over three years to return home in "exchange" for France freeing an Iranian citizen "in the next two months", Tehran's foreign minister said on Wednesday.

In an interview with TV channel France 24 after talks in Paris with his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot, Abbas Araghchi said "an exchange was negotiated between us and France".