ISTANBUL (AA) – In a phone call with Sweden’s premier on Saturday, Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Stockholm needed to change its attitude on the PKK group and its Syrian branch, the YPG. Sweden’s application for NATO membership was on the agenda in the call with Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, accordi...
Cairo, Egypt – (AFP/AA) Egypt President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday hailed Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani’s visit to Egypt as an “important step” for developing ties between Cairo and Doha. Al-Sisi and Tamim held talks in Cairo on Saturday where they discussed bilateral relations and regional developments, t...
Baghdad, Iraq – (AFP) As a seven-year-old boy in Baghdad, Mohamed Ali had dreams of becoming a goalkeeper — until a car bomb in the central Tahrir Square ripped away his left arm. Today, at age 22, Ali is a member of an all-amputee football team, made up entirely of players who lost arms or […]
Tunis, Tunisia – (AFP) Tunisian police on Thursday arrested former prime minister Hamadi Jebali, an ex-senior figure in the Ennahdha party which is the nemesis of current President Kais Saied, Jebali’s lawyer said. He could not say why Jebali was detained. “The police arrested Mr Jebali in his car in Soussa, then took him to ...
ISTANBUL (AA) – The devastating earthquake, which has left over 1,100 people dead in Afghanistan, has revived calls for return of Afghan foreign reserves from the US, as the war-torn nation struggles to meet the immediate needs. Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, led the calls urging Washington to release the frozen...
BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) – Milorad Dodik, the Serbian member of Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidential Council, and Croatian President Zoran Milanovic criticized the failure Friday of the EU to grant candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina at the EU Leaders’ Summit in Brussels, Belgium. “Some EU leaders see Bosnia and Herzegovin...
KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) – Burkina Faso’s army said Friday it had given civilians two weeks to evacuate areas in the northern and southeastern regions ahead of a military offensive against terrorists blamed for recent deadly attacks. “A delay of 14 days will be accorded to residents to relocate to safer zones,” army spokesperson Yves Di...
ANKARA (AA) – Turkish forces claim to have “neutralized” three more PKK fighters in the northern Iraq, the National Defense Ministry said on Friday. Two militants were targeted in Metina area and one more in the Operation Claw-Lock zone, the ministry said on Twitter. Turkish authorities use the term “neutralize” to imply the targeted individua...
JERUSALEM (AA) – Israel has reiterated its rejection of the mounting evidence that points to its involvement in the killing of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. In a statement, the Israeli army accused the UN probe of being “biased”, citing Palestinians’ refusal to hand the bullet that killed Abu Akleh to Israel...
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) – Newly elected Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud disclosed on Friday that he had tested positive for coronavirus. He added that so far he was asymptomatic. “My fellow citizens, I would like to inform you that today I tested positive for COVID-19,” Mohamud, who took office in May after winning the...
